Chapter 118: The Suicide Strategy

Chapter 118: The Suicide Strategy

On the third day, the match between Ron and Xiaofei officially began. Ron and Xiaofei stood in the arena, and as the commentator passionately hyped up the match, the field selection began.

As the glowing ring spun, it stopped on the water field. Xiaofei whistled and smiled, saying, "This is the field I wanted most. Ron, I may not be able to beat you, but I'll make sure you see my strength!"

Then the turn order was decided. The indicator stopped on the green side—Xiaofei would go first.

Without hesitation, Xiaofei said, "Arbok, I'm counting on you."

"Solgaleo, it's your turn to shine!" Ron said.

As Arbok entered the field, it immediately dove into the water, leaving only its head exposed. Solgaleo made a thunderous roar as it made a dazzling entrance. Its massive size instantly drew everyone's attention, and as Ron saw the surge in popularity points, he felt ecstatic.

"Arbok, Toxic," Xiaofei said.

Arbok dove under the water and launched a toxic sludge bomb at Solgaleo. But Solgaleo didn't dodge—when the sludge hit its body, it slid off and fell into the pool below, causing no harm at all.

"Don't waste your energy. My Solgaleo is a Steel type. Your poison..." Ron hadn't finished his sentence when he suddenly saw the once-clear blue water turn into a pool of purple toxic sludge. The corrosive liquid had already eaten through several of the floating platforms on the water field.

"Heh, turning the water field into a toxic field is at least a kind of insurance," Xiaofei said.

Ron shook his head and replied, "Nice idea, but most legendary Pokémon can fly. Even if they can't, they can move through the air. This toxic field won't help you at all. Solgaleo, Psychic."

Solgaleo's immense psychic power lifted Arbok out of the water and then gently flung it onto the ground beside the pool, knocking it out.

"Come back, Arbok. Let's go, Murkrow," Xiaofei sent out the Dark and Flying-type Murkrow, clearly prepared to deal with a Psychic-type Pokémon.

"Murkrow, Perish Song!" Xiaofei went all in, using a full-on suicide strategy.

Ron, helpless, said, "Protect."

Solgaleo was shielded by a protective light barrier. Murkrow's Perish Song had no effect. But Xiaofei wasn't giving up—he kept having Murkrow sing Perish Song again and again. Ron had no choice but to have Solgaleo use Thunderbolt to end it. But the effect of Perish Song still activated, and Ron, helpless again, had to switch Solgaleo out.

"Weezing, let's go," Xiaofei sent out Weezing.

"Celebi, I'm counting on you," Ron said.

Celebi nodded and flew from Ron's shoulder to the field. Its petite and adorable figure drew a large crowd's attention. The commentator also mentioned that Celebi was a Johto-exclusive legendary Pokémon, which gave Ron a big boost in popularity points.

Silently giving the commentator a thumbs-up in his mind, Ron also prepared for whatever new suicide tactic Xiaofei had planned.

"Weezing, Smokescreen!" Xiaofei called.

Weezing immediately released a thick cloud of smoke, covering the entire field. Through his bond with Celebi, Ron sensed a shadow rushing toward it. Realizing the threat, he had Celebi use Protect just in time to block Weezing's Destiny Bond.

Ron was starting to get annoyed. Xiaofei kept using suicide tactics, which made Ron extremely tense. If one of these strategies actually took down a legendary Pokémon, it would be a huge embarrassment.

Xiaofei checked the time, then said, "Weezing, Explosion!" Weezing's Explosion ignited the gas it had released, and a thunderous blast rocked the entire field. Even the tournament staff had to raise protective glass walls to shield themselves from the impact.

Once the dust settled, the entire field had been blasted clean, and half of the toxic water in the pool had evaporated. The commentator wiped sweat from his forehead and praised Celebi, still perfectly protected by the light barrier, before announcing that Xiaofei had lost three Pokémon. There would be a five-minute intermission.

Xiaofei and Ron exchanged glances, and both could see the resentment in the other's eyes.

Xiaofei resented his tactics being seen through. Ron was just fed up with Xiaofei's annoying suicide strategies.

After the five-minute break, both players returned to the field. The water arena was refreshed, now filled with clean water.

"Go, Electrode," Xiaofei sent out Electrode.

Electrode was a round Pokémon without arms or legs. It looked like an upside-down Poké Ball. It was also a master of self-destruction. Ron's expression darkened—Xiaofei was clearly committed to this suicide strategy to the very end.

"Celebi, Future Sight," Ron was done playing around and went all out.

Psychic orbs surrounded Celebi and shot into the air. Electrode, crackling with electricity, charged toward Celebi. Celebi fired a Leech Seed, which stopped in front of it. Then, under Celebi's power, it quickly sprouted into a wall of vines, blocking Electrode's electric attack.

"Now's our chance—Electrode, Explosion!" Xiaofei shouted.

Ron couldn't even complain anymore. The Explosion shattered the vine wall and the resulting blast sent Celebi flying, injuring it.

In the stands, many spectators, including some trainers, were amazed. Seeing a legendary Pokémon actually get hurt by an Explosion made them think: Art is explosion! Not strong enough? Try exploding. Can't win? Try exploding. Want to catch a legendary Pokémon? Just send out a bunch of self-destructing Pokémon. Truly, art is explosion!

But Ron wasn't giving Xiaofei another chance. These explosions were beyond annoying.

"Go, Qwilfish," Xiaofei said.

The moment Qwilfish entered the water, numerous psychic orbs appeared around it. Under a brutal psychic barrage, Qwilfish fainted as soon as it entered the field.

"Come back, Qwilfish," Xiaofei said, looking at Ron with resentment before sending out his last Pokémon—Crobat.

And that was that. A barrage of psychic orbs rained down. Crobat didn't even get a chance to retaliate before losing its ability to battle.

Xiaofei sighed and recalled Crobat, then looked at Ron with even more resentment.

Ron felt a little creeped out by the stare and walked over to shake his hand. Only then did Xiaofei say, "If I let you win, I'll die."

"Then play properly," Ron rolled his eyes. "Starting off with suicide tactics—who fights like that? If I didn't finish the match quickly, who knows what else you would've pulled."

The two exchanged glances and smiled. Xiaofei grinned and punched Ron lightly in the chest, saying, "Good luck in the next matches. Don't lose to anyone until I beat you myself."

"Don't worry. The championship is mine," Ron replied confidently.

Then, Ron extended his fist toward him, and Xiaofei grinned as they bumped fists. It was their promise to each other.