Reiji left the trainer platform and stepped back to the edge of the field. A shaded rest area had been set up there, with cold drinks and food prepared for the contestants.
The mid-battle break was for the Trainers, not their Pokémon. They were not allowed to release their Pokémon or feed them. The Pokémon had to stay inside their Poké Balls.
The current match status was shown clearly on the big screen. Reiji still had the advantage.
Reiji — Shun
Poliwhirl [Recalled] — Poliwrath [Recalled]
Farfetch'd [Recalled] — Electabuzz [Out]
Forretress [Recalled] — Infernape [Recalled, Out]
Kingler [Out] — Breloom [Out]
Slowpoke [Battling] — Heracross [Recalled]
According to the screen, Reiji had only lost one Pokémon and had recalled three. Slowpoke being recalled for the break did not count; once the break ended, it would return to the field.
Shun had lost three Pokémon: Electabuzz, Infernape, and Breloom. He had also recalled three times. Since Infernape had gone down right before the break, Shun would have to send out the next Pokémon when the match resumed, and he would have the first move.
Both sides had revealed five Pokémon on the screen, with one still hidden each. If Reiji took out Shun's Poliwrath, Heracross, and final unknown Pokémon, this knockout match would be his.
That earlier worry had not been exaggerated at all. There were four rounds from the knockouts to the finals, and every round would be full battles like this. If a Trainer only had one team of six, reaching the finals would be brutally hard.
Just look at Kingler. It was one of Reiji's main Pokémon, and he had high hopes for it, yet it had already gone down in the first knockout match. The injury itself was not serious, but it had passed out from dehydration and exhaustion. There was no way it could fight in the next round. At minimum, it would need to rest until the third round.
Without two full teams—one main lineup and one backup lineup—it would be extremely hard to push all the way to the finals and win the championship.
In the Elite Four lounge, Lance glanced at the stadium screen.
"Your student is going to lose."
Shun only had three Pokémon left. Lance did not know how much strength Poliwrath had left after that burst attack, but it clearly would not be useful anymore. Otherwise, Shun would not have recalled it.
The same went for Reiji's Poliwhirl. Reiji had recalled it too, which meant it was exhausted and could not keep fighting.
Shun still had an exhausted Heracross and one unknown Pokémon. Even if the last one was fresh, how was it supposed to handle Farfetch'd, Forretress, Slowpoke, and Reiji's own fresh unknown Pokémon?
"Yeah. He ran into someone strong," Bruno said with a sigh.
He had seen Shun use that move before. Back then, it had injured his Hitmonchan, and Hitmonchan lost the ability to fight afterward. It was a one-time burst move.
"What's this kid's relationship with him?" Lorelei looked at Lance. "Why do they both know the same move?"
She knew Lance had investigated Reiji, and he had also mentioned Shun from Kinnow Island before. That meant Lance had seen him too. He had to know something.
"Ask him when he gets back," Lance said.
He did not want to say more. His investigation showed that the two were brothers, though not by blood. Reiji had been adopted, and both of them were registered under the same old man's household. On paper, Reiji really was the older brother.
Lance kept quiet, and Bruno turned toward Lorelei. She clearly knew something too. That left him as the only one in the dark, and now he was curious enough that he would definitely ask Shun once he returned.
He had thought that burst move was something only Shun could use. Then this Reiji showed up and used it too, and he was obviously far better at it.
In the room next to the Elite Four lounge, Blaine also fell into thought after seeing Shun's performance. This kid who had appeared out of nowhere was not only an Elite Four member's student, but also seemed to have some connection to Reiji. He could ask that brat later what their relationship was.
"Rai-nii is amazing." Ash had been watching from the stands, and the match had him completely fired up. This was what a clash between Advanced Trainers looked like. Compared with this, his match with Ritchie really did look like two rookies scraping by on luck.
Among Ash's Pokémon, Pikachu barely counted as one that could take part in a battle like this. Charizard counted too. Muk probably counted as well.
That was only three Pokémon.
Kingler was still a bit short. It had only evolved during the tournament.
And even among those three, Pikachu had been drained, Charizard refused to listen, and Muk had been carrying too much on its own. From the group stage until now, Muk really had done a huge amount of work.
"So this is an Advanced Trainer…" Gary did not say it out loud, but Reiji was still the rival he kept in mind. Now Reiji was holding the advantage against Shun, an Elite Four member's student. That made Gary raise his estimate of him again.
Especially those two blue tadpoles. They were probably the real aces for both sides. Only an ace could fight another ace to a draw, and that alone showed how strong Poliwhirl was.
If Gary wanted to beat someone like that, he still had a long way to go.
"According to the public records, he has only been a Trainer for half a year. His earliest known starting point was Kinnow Island. You can catch up," Professor Oak said. He saw the frustration in his grandson's eyes and gently patted Gary on the shoulder. There was no need to rush. Step by step was enough.
"I know, Grandpa." Gary unclenched his fist. He had already made up his mind. Once the Indigo Plateau Conference ended, he would start special training. Most of his Pokémon had already evolved. What they lacked now was strength.
"Hey, what exactly did you drag me here to see? The sun is brutal. My face is going to tan." Inspector Joy poked Daisy with one finger, then quickly pulled her hand back. The sunlight was so harsh she was afraid even her finger would tan.
"You really didn't notice anything? Didn't hear anything?" Daisy was speechless. Joy had spent so long around the guy. She knew what Pokémon he used and what his voice sounded like. After listening for this long, how had she still not figured it out?
"Notice what? Was I supposed to notice something?" Joy was just confused. She could tell her friend was hiding something, but Daisy refused to say it directly and kept making her guess. How was she supposed to know?
"Forget it. Just keep watching." Daisy rubbed her forehead. Since Joy could not tell, Daisy did not bother reminding her. This was only a guess anyway. She was not sure enough to confront Reiji about it.
Once the five-minute break ended, Reiji and Shun returned to the battlefield. Reiji sent Slowpoke back out and waited for Shun to choose his next Pokémon.
"Contestant Shun, please send out your Pokémon. The match will continue. Contestant Shun has the first move."
The referee dropped his flag, and Shun threw the Poké Ball he had already prepared.
"Go, Pelipper!"
Shun only had Pelipper and Machoke left. Against Slowpoke, Machoke had a x2 weakness to Psychic, so Pelipper was his only real choice. In the end, he simply had too few backups, and too many of his Pokémon were Fighting-type, which left them open to Psychic moves.
"Pelipper, bombard it with Air Cutter!"
Shun planned to use the aerial advantage to wear Slowpoke down. Even if Slowpoke used Trick Room, that was fine. Neither side had a type advantage over the other.
Reiji had no intention of letting that happen. He recalled Slowpoke with its Poké Ball and sent out Farfetch'd, which had already woken up.
"Far! Far!" Farfetch'd had used Rest to clear its paralysis and recover the stamina it had spent earlier. It looked up at Pelipper in the sky, then beat its wings and rose into the air.
"Farfetch'd, Agility. Steel Wing."
"Far!" Farfetch'd locked onto Pelipper with Keen Eye. This was an aerial battle.
After Agility boosted its speed, Farfetch'd's wings shone bright silver, and it dove at Pelipper.
"Pelipper, Agility. Dodge it!"
"Peli!" Pelipper was slightly faster than Farfetch'd by nature. Overall, it still had the edge in speed.
The two Flying-types chased each other through the air, weaving, dodging, and striking so fast the crowd could barely keep up.
With such a messy aerial battle, Reiji had no real way to command it. He had to leave the decisions to Farfetch'd and trust it.
Pelipper was getting tired of being harassed. It suddenly turned and beat its wings hard, trying to stop Farfetch'd with Hurricane.
But golden light rushed over Farfetch'd's body, wrapping around it completely. With one hard beat of its wings, it broke through the pressure of the wind and charged straight at Pelipper, the source of the storm.
"Brave Bird," Shun said as soon as he saw the move. "Pelipper, use Brave Bird too!"
Brave Bird was a Flying-type physical powerhouse move with 120 power. The user took recoil equal to one-third of the damage dealt.
Both charged, covered in power, and smashed into each other. The collision set off a blast that threw dust across the battlefield.
The staff's Pidgeot blew the smoke away. Farfetch'd and Pelipper lay on the field, both unconscious. They were out together.
Reiji and Shun recalled their Flying-types in silence. Neither of them had expected Brave Bird to take both Pokémon down at once.
Reiji realized that forcing Farfetch'd into aerial battles was still a stretch. For that, he really needed a large raptor-type Pokémon like Pidgeot. That made him think of the island's Pidgey chick back on the deserted island. Unfortunately, its mother would not let it leave, so there was nothing he could do.
When he had time, he could go back to that island and see if he could lure the little bird out. If he could catch that Pidgey, it would be perfect.
Reiji pulled his thoughts back. The match continued. Both Trainers, after recalling their Pokémon, took out new Poké Balls and threw them onto the field.
"Go, Heracross!"
"Go, Slowpoke!"
Reiji sent Slowpoke out again. Against Heracross, this should be easy. Heracross had rested for half an hour, but it was still panting when it came out.
Against a Heracross in that state, Reiji gave the order directly.
"Slowpoke, Psybeam."
"Heracross, Bug Buzz!"
A colorful beam shot from Slowpoke's mouth and flew straight toward Heracross. If it landed, it would hit for x2 damage.
Heracross responded by opening the shell on its back and letting out a sharp, piercing buzz. The insect cry drilled into Slowpoke's head, making it clutch its head with its short little paws. It could not even maintain Psybeam properly.
But Psybeam had already reached Heracross. It struck hard and sent Heracross flying. Heracross hit the ground unconscious, with no chance of getting back up.
"Heracross is unable to battle. Contestant Shun, please recall Heracross."
Shun recalled Heracross helplessly. He was down to his last Pokémon.
"Go, Poliwrath!"
"Poliwrath, Mud Shot!"
"Slowpoke, Trick Room!"
"Slow." Slowpoke set Trick Room before Mud Shot could reach it, then slipped away from the attack.
The rest was simple. Facing an exhausted Poliwrath, Slowpoke appeared behind it and fired Psybeam into its back, knocking it face-first to the ground.
Poliwrath still tried to get up and fight back, but it was slower than Slowpoke now. Slowpoke's eyes glowed blue as Psychic power gathered, then a heavy Psychic blast slammed into Poliwrath and knocked it out.
Poliwrath had a x2 weakness to Psychic and could not dodge. Slowpoke finished it with Psychic.
At that point, the six-on-six knockout match was officially over. On the big screen, Poliwrath's portrait on Shun's side went dark, and all six of his Pokémon portraits turned gray.
Shun had used all six Pokémon in this match. Reiji had used five.
Reiji — Shun
Poliwhirl [Recalled] — Poliwrath [Recalled, Out]
Farfetch'd [Out] — Electabuzz [Out]
Forretress [Recalled] — Infernape [Recalled, Out]
Kingler [Out] — Breloom [Out]
Slowpoke [Recalled] — Heracross [Recalled, Out]
— Pelipper [Out]
"What a hard-fought battle! The winner of this knockout match is Contestant Reiji! Congratulations to Reiji for advancing to the next round!"
The referee made the call, the announcer shouted, and the crowd erupted. They chanted Reiji's name, along with one phrase: dark horse.
Reiji beating Shun had already surprised plenty of people, especially after seeing Shun's Poliwrath. Then Reiji revealed a Poliwhirl capable of the same thing. His performance in the knockout match had gone beyond everyone's expectations. At this point, the biggest dark horse of the tournament could only be Reiji.
The attention around him reached a new peak. In a way, he was now drawing even more interest than last year's veterans, Gym Trainers, and even Elite Four students.
One Elite Four student had already lost, and another was about to battle. The audience wanted to know how far Reiji could go from here.
Could he keep winning and reach the semifinals? The finals?
Could he even take the championship trophy?
A commoner beating geniuses, rich kids, and powerful names was exactly the kind of story people loved most. They wanted to see what would happen to this rising commoner Trainer—and whether the League would eventually bring him into its ranks.
But the match had lasted more than two hours, especially that nightmare stall between Kingler and Heracross. Reiji had no time to care about the crowd's enthusiasm. With Eevee beside him, he quickly left through the competitors' tunnel and headed for the public restroom outside the field.
He relieved himself there, then washed his face properly. Only then did his body temperature finally come down. Standing under the blazing sun for two hours while staying focused and commanding Pokémon had nearly given him heatstroke.
If Fergus had not collapsed during his own match, the stadium would never have set up shaded rest areas and free cold drinks for the contestants. Reiji really owed Fergus for that.
The problem was that reporters were right outside the restroom. Someone saw him go in, and word spread fast. Soon, everyone knew.
Reiji did not want to get surrounded by reporters. By the time he left the restroom, he had changed clothes, recalled Eevee, and completely altered his look. The reporters did not recognize him at all. He had Ditto change his face and went straight to the Pokémon Center instead of returning to watch the match live.
His next opponent would be the winner of Group B's second knockout match. Watching from the Pokémon Center was good enough. There was no need to go back and deal with the crowd.
After Reiji left, Group B's second knockout match began soon after. One of the two contestants was someone he knew well: Agatha's granddaughter, Tania. The other was a complete stranger, a background Trainer with no name in the anime.
Against Tania, that random Trainer was probably in trouble.
[End of chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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