Chapter 60: The Final Battle Begins
Chapter 60: The Final Battle Begins
While waiting during the mid-match break, the guest commentators began to chat among themselves.
"It seems our predictions were correct. Luna and Basalt both made it to the finals. But based on what we just said, Smoochum's Confusion should be able to detect underground movements. In that case, this Basalt kid is probably going to lose…" Director King leaned back, placing his hands on his shoulders in a relaxed posture.
"Director King, let's not jump to conclusions. Perhaps Manager Miles has a different opinion," Victor Wei said, picking up on Director King's topic and switching into a sarcastic mode. His relationship with Coach Miles was already poor, and after losing the last bet, it had gotten even worse. He didn't care about saving face anymore; taunting him was all that mattered.
"Oh? Miles, do you have a different opinion?" Director King was slightly puzzled. He hadn't participated in the main tournament, so he didn't know the inside story.
"With Pokémon battles, on-the-spot performance is also very important. I think this match is a 50-50 split," Coach Miles said, biting the bullet and offering a noncommittal platitude. Fortunately, the good thing about platitudes was that although they said nothing, no one could refute them.
"Manager Miles, how about we make another bet? The stakes will be a secret technique again. If Luna wins, you give me the secret technique for 'Aqua Jet.' If Basalt wins, I'll give you the secret technique for 'Thunder Punch.'"
It was obvious that Victor Wei was still bitter about losing the last bet.
Hearing this, Officer Tanaka showed a look of surprise. "The secret technique for Thunder Punch? Manager Wei, that's a huge stake!"
Officer Tanaka knew that the Vigor Club's most prized secret technique was for Thunder Punch. Thunder Punch, an Electric-type move, attacks the opponent with an electrified fist and has a certain chance of causing paralysis. A normal Thunder Punch doesn't have a high chance of causing paralysis, only about 10%. But if trained according to the Vigor Club's secret method, after a Pokémon masters Thunder Punch, the probability of triggering the paralysis effect in actual combat is much higher than normal. It might not be a guaranteed paralysis with every punch, but within two or three punches, it was basically guaranteed to trigger.
"Sorry, I don't like to gamble," Coach Miles said with a shrug, not bothering to take the bait.
To be fair, the value of the Vigor Club's Thunder Punch secret technique, as well as the level of its development, was far above that of Aqua Jet. But since Coach Miles didn't think Basalt would win, he wasn't about to fall for the trap.
Damn it! Seeing that Coach Miles wasn't biting, Victor was furious. Last time, when you were screwing me over, you bet so big. Now that you see the odds aren't in your favor, you say you don't like to gamble? Have you no shame!
"Look, the contestants are starting to enter the field."
"Oh? Is it finally starting?"
After the judges chatted idly for a while longer, Basalt and Luna had finally finished their rest and slowly entered the stage.
For the two finalists, the audience also gave their most enthusiastic applause, with shouts and cheers rising one after another. Although Basalt's popularity was a bit higher, Luna's looks, charisma, and strength were also not lacking, so she had many male fans as well.
"Both contestants, please release your Pokémon."
After the two contestants had taken their respective positions, the referee waved the small flag in his hand as a signal.
"Chari~" (^ω^)
As the Poké Ball opened, Drilbur, with its huge claws held high, appeared, looking heroic and as flamboyant as ever.
"Wow, Drilbur is so strong. Those big claws could probably rival a shovel."
"Go, go, go, Baby Drilbur~~"
"Get it together, Drilbur! Win the championship, win the championship!"
…
"Smoochum~" (o^ω^o)☆
On the other side, the thick-lipped Smoochum also appeared. Its small eyes twinkled as it winked, looking very playful and cute.
"Oh my god~~ Smoochum is so cute, just like a doll."
"Right? I want one too. I've decided, when I'm a third-year, my starter will be a Smoochum."
"Sister, wake up, will you? As a Psychic-type Pokémon, Smoochum is very rare, and the purchase price is also very high. Are you sure you can afford it?"
"I don't care, I don't care, I just want one!"
…
The moment the Pokémon entered the field, the audience once again erupted in cheers, unsparing in their support. And from the looks of it, Smoochum's popularity was even higher than Drilbur's. It couldn't be helped. To be fair, if Smoochum didn't evolve, it was quite cute. But if it did evolve… well, let's not even go there.
At the same time, Basalt and Luna also happened to look at their opponents. Their eyes met, and both had an unconcealable fighting spirit.
"Both contestants, take your positions. The match… begins!"
With the referee's command, the cheers and shouts in the venue came to an abrupt halt. Almost everyone closed their mouths, holding their breath, waiting for the battle to begin.
"Smoochum, use Icy Wind!"
"Drilbur, use Rock Tomb!"
The moment the match began, both Basalt and Luna instantly got into the zone and launched their attacks.
Voom! Voom! Voom! Voom! Voom! Voom! Voom!
Seven watermelon-sized gray rocks suddenly formed. With a wave of Drilbur's large claw, they instantly turned into a volley of cannonballs, hurtling towards the opponent.
But the opposing Smoochum was clearly not an easy opponent. Its small mouth opened slightly, and a bone-chillingly cold stream of air appeared, whistling as it crashed into the rock projectiles.
The previously unstoppable rock projectiles were instantly frozen solid upon contact with the cold air stream, turning into huge blocks of frozen stone. Their momentum was halted, and they all fell from the sky to the ground.
The first exchange, and neither side gained an advantage!
"This Drilbur has such high Rock-type affinity! That was seven rock projectiles, right? And their volume was as large as watermelons!"
"To be able to increase the power of the 'Rock Tomb' skill to such an extent at this stage, the young people these days are really something else!"
On the guest panel, Director King was slightly excited, his body leaning forward from its previous relaxed posture. He hadn't seen Basalt's performance in the main tournament, so seeing Drilbur's Rock Tomb for the first time, he was very surprised.
"But Smoochum's Icy Wind is also very powerful! It actually managed to fight Rock Tomb to a draw. It seems that in the previous matches, Luna wasn't using her full strength," Officer Tanaka also said, stroking his chin and nodding.
He very much agreed with one thing Director King had said: the young people these days were indeed much more outstanding than when they were young.
…
"Drilbur, continuous Mud-Slap!"
On the battlefield, Basalt waved his hand and gave another command. He knew that he absolutely could not let up his attack. Otherwise, if he gave Smoochum even a moment to breathe, the opponent would definitely put up a Reflect to protect itself. Although Smoochum's Reflect was not unbreakable, a full-power blow from Drilbur should be able to shatter it. But with the protection of Reflect, Smoochum would essentially have an extra life and could take the opportunity to do many things. This was something Basalt would absolutely not allow to happen.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh…
Several clumps of mud were thrown out by Drilbur continuously, but whenever a clump got within seven or eight meters of Smoochum, it would be blocked by an invisible force. This mysterious force not only prevented the mud clumps from advancing an inch but also actually deflected them back, turning the tables and sending them hurtling towards Drilbur.
"The move Confusion? This level of control is really something else," Basalt praised with admiration and envy.
In the real world, the effect of Psychic-type moves was far more powerful than in the games, and the roles they could play were also very broad. Deflecting some low-power moves was to be expected.