Unlike Zhang Tian and Bella, most of the audience was a little confused. They couldn't quite follow the rapid exchange of tactics. But the trainers in the crowd were deep in thought.
"He predicted his opponent's prediction," many of them lamented, marveling at Bella's strength and the immense advantage of being a psychic. Compared to ordinary people, psychics had a massive edge, especially in official competitions. In a real life-or-death battle, of course, a powerful trainer would have their own Psychic-type Pokémon to fill that role.
Pelipper, U-turn! Bella's eyes glowed pink.
"Roar!" The Tobi-Kadachi roared and backed away. It didn't know what the Pelipper was planning, having never fought one before. However, the cruel wild had taught it a simple truth: do whatever it takes to prevent the enemy's attack from succeeding. If the Pelipper wanted to get close, it would get far away.
Agility!
The Tobi-Kadachi retreated while using Agility again. Its Speed was now at +4 stages.
Swish!
Its speed was incredible. It reached the edge of the field in an instant. The Pelipper couldn't catch up at all, even with the bonus from Tailwind.
"What speed!"
"So fast!"
"How can something that big be so fast?"
The audience stared at the Tobi-Kadachi, their faces a mask of shock. Its speed was almost unbelievable.
So fast… its base speed must be around 160. It must be holding a Float Stone too, halving its weight and doubling its speed. Trouble. I miscalculated. My Pelipper can't catch up. It seems I can't switch it out with U-turn, Bella thought. In that case, let's go all out!
The Tobi-Kadachi had already stacked two Agility boosts. She couldn't let it continue. From the very beginning, both she and Zhang had made miscalculations. This was a real battle; opponents wouldn't always act as you expected. Of course, intelligence was crucial. If she had known how fast Zhang's Tobi-Kadachi was, she never would have ordered Pelipper to use U-turn. She wouldn't make that mistake again.
Pelipper! Surf! Use your full power and cover the entire field! Leave it no room to dodge! she commanded telepathically.
"Peli!" Pelipper spread its wings and unleashed a colossal wave of water hundreds of meters high, which surged toward the Tobi-Kadachi.
"Is this the power of a quasi-Elite Four Pokémon?" someone in the audience asked, his mouth agape. Everyone knew Pokémon at that level were powerful enough to destroy towns, but seeing it with one's own eyes was a different kind of shock. In an instant, most of the battlefield was submerged.
"Roar!" The Tobi-Kadachi raised its head and roared, not a trace of fear in its eyes.
Rumble!
It opened its mouth and fired a massive bolt of lightning at the Pelipper—the move Thunder. In the rain, Thunder never misses.
CRACK!
The huge bolt of lightning struck Pelipper. At the same time, the Tobi-Kadachi was engulfed by the massive wave. Surf covered the entire battlefield, leaving no place to hide. It had no choice but to take the hit.
Boom!
The Tobi-Kadachi was swept away by the water and pushed completely out of the battlefield. It wasn't seriously injured; its massive size made it far more durable than an ordinary Pokémon, and it wasn't weak to water. But this was a competition, not a life-or-death battle. Being pushed out of the arena meant defeat.
Meanwhile, the Pelipper, with its 4x weakness to Electric-type moves, was knocked out in one hit by the Thunder and fell to the ground, seriously injured.
"The Tobi-Kadachi has left the competition area and, according to the rules, has lost its qualification to battle!" the referee announced. "The Pelipper is seriously injured and has fainted, also losing its qualification to battle! Because they were knocked out simultaneously, a 30-second countdown will now begin! Both contestants, please prepare your next Pokémon!"
"30!"
"29!"
The countdown began again.
"Return, Tobi-Kadachi!" Zhang recalled his monster. At the same time, Bella recalled her Pelipper.
"A tie! I never expected that."
"That Tobi-Kadachi is so powerful. It was hit by that huge wave but barely seemed injured."
"If this were a real battle, the Tobi-Kadachi would have won."
"This is a competition. You have to use the rules to your advantage. My Queen is amazing! She used a weaker Pokémon to force a trade with a stronger one! That's the Battle Queen for you!"
"That young man is incredible, forcing the Battle Queen to use the rules to get a swap. Not long ago, she used a single Pokémon to sweep an opponent's entire team of six!"
The audience buzzed with discussion. Most of them couldn't follow the tactical game between the trainers, but they didn't need to. They just wanted to see powerful skills and Pokémon clashing.
"Zhang Tian, you are very experienced, and your Tobi-Kadachi is trained exceptionally well," Bella praised him from across the field. "If this were a real battlefield, I would have already lost."
"You're too kind, Gym Master," Zhang replied politely. "If this were a real battlefield, you would have used your Champion-level Pokémon, not just your third-tier ones."
"You say that, but there's not a trace of modesty in your eyes," she laughed softly. "But that's as it should be. A true warrior never fears anyone, no matter how strong their opponent is. It seems I need to get serious. I acknowledge you, Zhang Tian. You are a true rival. I look forward to a real battle between us one day. I'll be waiting for you to reach the Champion level, and I don't think you'll keep me waiting long."
"Be careful. I'm going to use my true power now. I'm getting serious," she said, a fiery battle intent rising in her eyes. She was known as the Battle Queen for a reason. At first, she hadn't considered him a real opponent, just a junior. But now, she recognized his strength. She understood that it wouldn't be long before this junior grew into a Champion himself, perhaps even becoming her fiercest rival and the biggest obstacle on her own path to the title.
The full story so far is available on Patreon!: patreon.com/Zefyrus
(145 chapters available now!)