"Yes, yes, you're not reckless at all. You're very smart," Zhang Tian nodded approvingly.
"That's right, I thought so too," Cynthia added with a smile.
"It feels like you two are making fun of me," Bea grumbled.
"Alright, let's take a break and rest up," Zhang said. "The tournament is about to start. Two hours seems like a long time, but it will pass in the blink of an eye."
"Right," Bea nodded. Not minding the cold, she sat directly on the ice, leaned against her Machamp, and fell asleep. Zhang closed his eyes and stood in place, meditating to restore his energy after waking up so early. Cynthia just shook her head with a helpless smile and sat down next to her Garchomp.
Two hours later, the tournament began.
Relying on his Legiana, Zhang easily reached the finals, becoming one of the top 32. He noticed that none of the quasi-Elite Four level trainers had been pitted against each other. It was clear the organizers wanted to keep the strongest players for the end to make the finals more spectacular. It wasn't fair, but it was normal.
"The Round of 32 officially begins!" Iris's voice boomed. "The first match is Zhang Tian versus Raihan!"
Zhang walked towards the massive battlefield. The final stage was 10 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide; the organizers understood that a normal battlefield was too small for trainers of this caliber.
In the live chat, the flame war had already begun.
"Finally! The baby battles are over! Time to see a clash of kings!"
"Go, Zhang Tian! Annihilate this foreign trainer!"
"That's right, sweep him! Show them the strength of our Great Xia!"
"Don't be so arrogant! Our Raihan will crush your 'Dragon Boy'!"
"He's just a poser with a big Pokémon! Our Raihan is a true Dragon Master!"
"Finally, I can get serious," Raihan said with a smug look as he stepped onto the field. "I hope you don't disappoint me."
"Oh," Zhang replied casually. He knew who Raihan was: the Dragon-type Gym Leader from Galar, the strongest in the region. Of course, this version of him was just a quasi-Elite Four trainer, not the champion-level opponent from the games.
"Please be quiet," Iris announced. "I will now announce the rules for the finals. First, the flight altitude is limited to 500 meters. Second, this will be a 6v6 single battle. Whether you win or lose a round, you must recall your Pokémon. You cannot leave a Pokémon on the field to continue battling after it has won. Any stat boosts from support skills will be canceled upon recall."
Zhang frowned slightly. That was a disgusting rule. It prevented a player from snowballing an advantage. The organizers clearly wanted to make the matches more spectacular, rather than allowing one side to dominate. It doesn't matter, he thought. No matter how the rules change, it all comes down to hard power. His brow relaxed.
"Third, you cannot switch Pokémon during a battle unless you use a move like U-turn. Fourth, Dynamax, Terastallization, Mega Evolution, and Z-Moves can each only be used once. Now, let the battle begin!"
"10! 9... 1! Begin!"
"Go, Redhelm!"
"Go, Goodra!"
Both trainers threw their Poké Balls. Since it was a 6v6 battle, Zhang had more room for error, so he decided to start with a Pokémon that was strong, but not one of his absolute aces: his Redhelm Arzuros.
A large, purple, snail-like dragon appeared in front of Raihan. In front of Zhang stood the Redhelm Arzuros. After years of training, it had grown to its maximum size of 9.24 meters, even larger than the biggest individuals seen in the games.
"Another huge, unknown Pokémon!"
"It's not as big as that flying dragon, but it's as long as an Onix and much wider!"
"Where does this Zhang Tian get these Pokémon?"
"Go, Zhang Tian! Crush Raihan!"
Redhelm Arzuros
Level: 59 (Quasi-Elite Four)Item: Focus Sash
Goodra
Level: 52 (Quasi-Elite Four)Ability: HerbivoreItem: Assault Vest
Assault Vest, Zhang thought, holding back a laugh. He predicted I would lead with a special attacker. Too bad for him. I don't really have any. Apart from the dual-attacking Fulgur Anjanath, almost all of his monsters were physical attackers.
"Redhelm, Spinning Charge!" Zhang ordered.
"Goodra, Power Whip!" Raihan countered.
"Roar!" Redhelm bounced on its tail, then launched itself forward, spinning as it charged. At the same time, countless grass vines erupted from the ground, lashing at the charging bear. Several of the vines also struck Goodra itself. Raihan was intentionally triggering its Herbivore ability. In the real world, unlike the games, it was possible for a Pokémon to hit itself to activate an ability.
Goodra's Attack rose by one stage.
BANG! BANG!
Redhelm withstood the Power Whip and crashed into Goodra. As a Fire/Fighting type, Redhelm was resistant to Grass-type attacks, so the 120-power move only caused superficial cuts. The minor injury didn't faze the battle-hardened monster in the slightest.
"Doesn't that Redhelm feel pain?" a viewer asked.
"That's a well-trained Pokémon with strong willpower," a more experienced trainer replied.
BANG!
The huge Redhelm slammed into the Goodra, sending it flying. Redhelm's Spinning Charge, with a base power of 80, was boosted by 50% thanks to its ability. Goodra's physical defense was not high, and even though it wasn't weak to Fighting-type moves, the blow was devastating.
As it struck, a fire flashed in Redhelm's eyes. Its Attack and Speed both rose by one stage. It had triggered its own ability.
"Woooar!" Redhelm landed on its tail-like feet and immediately launched two exploding pinecones at the airborne Goodra.
"Sticky!" Goodra, still in the air, quickly raised its finger. "Thunderbolt!"
A massive bolt of lightning shot out, striking the pinecones and detonating them in mid-air.
"Roar!" Redhelm jumped into the air, two more pinecones appearing in its hands. It smashed them into the ice, and two waves of fire erupted, racing towards the spot where Goodra had just landed.
"Protect!" The translucent barrier rose just in time to block the attack.
This Goodra is well-trained, Zhang thought, impressed. Both the mid-air detonation and the quick use of Protect were Goodra's own judgments. But it was only "good."
"Redhelm, Spinning Charge!" Zhang yelled.
"Goodra, Focus Punch!" Raihan commanded.
"Roar!" Redhelm launched itself forward again. Goodra raised its fist to meet the charge.
BANG!
Redhelm's massive claws collided with Goodra's fist. Goodra's right arm instantly shattered. The huge bear crashed into the snail-dragon, and its body deformed like a balloon before being sent flying.
Redhelm's base Attack was 140, 40 points higher than Goodra's 100. Both had a +1 attack boost, but Redhelm's Spinning Charge was also boosted by 50% from its ability and another 50% for being a same-type attack. Goodra never stood a chance.
BANG!
Goodra fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Goodra is unable to battle!" Iris announced. "Please recall your Pokémon within 30 seconds!"
"How is this possible?" Raihan stared in disbelief. "How could my Goodra lose? How can his Pokémon's attack power be so strong?" He had calculated that his Goodra, with its +1 attack boost and a 150-power Focus Punch, should have been stronger.
The audience was just as shocked.
"So strong! That Redhelm's attack power is insane!"
"I can't believe it beat a Goodra with Herbivore activated!"
"Professor Oak," the host Xiaolan asked, "the audience is very confused by the Redhelm's powerful attack. What are your thoughts?"
Professor Oak tore his gaze away from the screen. "According to my observations," he said, "this Redhelm's ability likely increases the power of its Fighting-type moves by 50%, and also gives it a +1 boost to Attack and Speed after it attacks an enemy. I noticed that after its first attack, a fire flashed in its eyes, and its momentum and speed increased. If it's not the ability, it must be an effect of that specific move. It seems to only trigger once, as it didn't happen on the second attack. What a perfect ability. What a powerful Pokémon. In a sense, this Redhelm is even more powerful than a pseudo-legendary."
As he spoke, the Professor's eyes burned with the fiery passion of a researcher who had just discovered a new frontier of science.
The full story so far is available on Patreon!: patreon.com/Zefyrus