Chapter 28: Jealousy

The tournament had narrowed down to the final two contestants.

Ryuu, who had torn through the brackets using his elite-level Frogadier, and Itsuki, who had done the same with his Servine.

Both had fought through multiple rounds, but now, it was time for the final battle.

The announcer's voice boomed across the arena.

"Next up—our final match! Ryuu vs. Hoshino Itsuki! Contestants, please take the stage!"

Ryuu stepped onto the battlefield, his expression unreadable.

Across from him, Itsuki stood grinning with confidence.

The rivalry between their fathers had naturally passed down to them, making this battle even more intense.

"I was wondering when we'd finally get to fight," Itsuki smirked.

"I thought you'd go to Tokyo No.1 High, but you ended up in a lesser school instead."

Ryuu raised an eyebrow.

"Does it matter? The result would still be the same."

Itsuki narrowed his eyes.

"We'll see about that. Go, Servine!"

A flash of light revealed the green serpentine Pokémon, its leafy tail flicking sharply.

Servine looked confident—almost arrogant—as if it already expected victory.

Ryuu pulled out a Poké Ball, pausing for a moment.

Frogadier was strong, but against a fresh Servine with a type advantage, it wasn't the best option.

A smirk played on his lips.

He had another ace up his sleeve.

"Come on out, Bagon!"

A blue-scaled dragon Pokémon landed on the battlefield, letting out a fierce growl.

For a moment, the entire stadium went silent.

Then—

"Wait... that's a Bagon?!"

"Holy crap! He has a pseudo-legendary?!"

The crowd exploded in shock and excitement.

People were whispering and pointing, their eyes filled with envy.

Having an evolved Frogadier was already impressive, but a Bagon?

That was on a whole different level.

Itsuki stiffened, his confident smirk vanishing.

"Y-You have a Bagon?!"

Ryuu shrugged.

"Oh, you mean this? Yeah, I found it in the wild. It jumped in front of me, so I caught it."

Itsuki: "...!!!"

His eye twitched.

Was this guy serious?!

He'd spent months searching for rare Pokémon, yet Ryuu just happened to find a Bagon by chance?!

Unfair. Absolutely unfair.

The jealousy was almost unbearable.

"Damn it…" Itsuki gritted his teeth so hard it was audible.

His hands clenched into fists of frustration.

Even the spectators were green with envy.

It was the dream of countless trainers to own a pseudo-legendary, yet here Ryuu was, acting like it was no big deal.

Ryuu, however, didn't care.

Instead, he glanced at Bagon's updated stats in his head.

[Bagon]

Level: 23 (Elite)

Moveset: Ember, Flamethrower, Fire Fang, Dragon Pulse

Potential: Champion

After days of intense training, Bagon had improved tremendously—even learning Flamethrower.

Ryuu smirked.

This would be fun.

Itsuki finally snapped out of his frustration, shaking his head.

"Tch. Doesn't matter. My Servine will still crush it!"

He pointed forward.

"Servine, Vine Whip!"

Two long, green vines lashed out toward Bagon, slicing through the air with incredible speed.

Ryuu remained calm.

"Bagon, dodge and counter with Ember."

Whoosh!

Bagon swiftly sidestepped the attack.

The moment it dodged, it opened its jaws and unleashed a burst of flames.

A wave of red-hot embers shot toward Servine, who barely jumped back in time.

"Servine, Create distance!" Itsuki shouted.

The Grass-type skidded back, its movements graceful yet tense.

Itsuki clenched his fists.

This wasn't going to be easy.

Ryuu smirked.

"You're already on the defensive?"

Itsuki scowled.

"Shut up! Servine, use Vine Whip to keep it at bay!"

Servine lashed out with its vines, swinging repeatedly to force Bagon to keep dodging.

However—

Ryuu's eyes gleamed.

That was a mistake.

"Bagon, grab Servine's vines!"

Before Itsuki could react, Bagon caught one of the vines in its teeth, yanking Servine forward.

"What?!" Itsuki gasped.

Now Servine was wide open.

"Bagon—Flamethrower!"

Fwooooosh!

A roaring inferno erupted from Bagon's mouth, the intense flames engulfing Servine instantly.

The arena lit up with red and orange flames.

The temperature soared, causing the audience to gasp in awe.

Servine screamed, its body writhing in pain from the devastating Fire-type move.

Itsuki's eyes widened in horror.

"No—Servine!"

Boom!

The attack finally ended, and Servine collapsed to the ground, smoke rising from its charred body.

The referee hesitated for a moment, then raised a flag.

"Servine is unable to battle!"

"The winner is Ryuu!"

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