Gabriel had asked Elle about it, but Elle usually gave vague answers. She only said that Mr. Antonio had helped her, which is why she agreed to look after his family, but she wouldn't elaborate on the specifics.
For Gabriel, he considered Elle like family, and she indeed acted that way at home. So, when Elle spoke with a hint of anger, it sent a chill down Gabriel's spine.
He knew Elle always meant what she said.
"Haha, I'll definitely try my best."
Gabriel forced a smile, then began to inspect Elle's camera in his hands.
After reaching the Top 16, the competition had only gotten tougher. Pat, Rafael, King, and Kris had all made it into the tournament, and each battle was incredibly intense.
The opponents had really gotten stronger. Rafael, King, and Kris each required Little Mu to give everything they had to secure a victory. And Pat... that freak was even more terrifying. Even in the Top 16, Pat's Scyther knocked out opponents in a single hit. Was this even a qualification match for the Beastmaster Trials?
"Elle, do you know if there's any weakness I can exploit in Pat's Scyther?"
"You're asking me? Isn't this your match?"
Elle gave Gabriel a puzzled look, unsure of what he was getting at.
"I just don't have any ideas, you know? Pat is just too strong. I'm worried that even if I use my trump card, I still won't be able to beat him. After all, the Dragon Fang is something Little Mu and I can only use a small fraction of its power. If we overdo it, it'll end up like last time."
Indeed, Gabriel's ultimate trump card was the Dragon Fang from his Dynamax Dragonite. While Dynamax energy was still too dangerous for Dratini, the Dragon Fang had already been sealed by Everette, leaving only a small crack that could still be of great help to Dratini.
Dynamax energy was truly mysterious. After Dratini equipped the Dragon Fang, the energy constantly influenced its body, strengthening its physical condition and allowing it to surpass other Dratini. After days of training, Dratini could even tap into the Dynamax energy within the scales to perform a Dynamax transformation. This was Gabriel's ace in the hole for the championship.
Elle looked at Gabriel helplessly. He didn't know either. Pat was clearly a monster. When Elle was his age, she could never compete with him; it was just a sheer power difference.
"I don't know. But maybe you could call James. They're probably brothers, so asking him might be more helpful than asking me."
Elle shook his arm to relieve some of the fatigue, then took a sip of milk tea from the table.
Anyway, it wasn't his match. Why should he worry? Let Gabriel handle the tough questions.
Gabriel stared at the camera in his hand with a headache. All he could do now was study hard. The battles ahead would only get tougher, and he could not afford to be careless!
The next day, Gabriel left the house with dark circles under his eyes. He had stayed up too late watching videos, and Elle had to wake him up this morning.
"Hm?"
Dratini looked up at Gabriel with concern. It was clear Gabriel wasn't in great shape.
"I'm fine. I'm feeling great! You'll have to lead the way in our upcoming battle, Little Mu," Gabriel said, trying to reassure him.
Dratini nudged Gabriel's hand and looked up confidently.
"I'm invincible!!"
Gabriel arrived at the stadium early. His match was the first of the day, and his opponent was KING.
KING's Pokémon was a Kadabra, and during the battle, it displayed the signature power of Psychic-type Pokémon. Kadabra's Telekinesis relentlessly struck the opponent, while its own attacks could barely be touched as Kadabra would warp away using Teleport.
Although Kadabra seemed a bit dazed, it was a powerful adversary and a difficult opponent to face.
Gabriel soon stepped onto the battle stage. His opponent, KING, When he saw Gabriel, he released his Kadabra.
"Gabriel, right? I've watched your matches. You're definitely a strong opponent, but if this is all the strength you have, this match will be mine."
he was rather arrogant!
Gabriel stared at KING, determined.
"Kadabra's strong, but we'll fight with everything we've got."
The match quickly began. They couldn't let Kadabra take the first move. If a Psychic-type Pokémon gained the initiative, Dratini would be completely overwhelmed!
"Little Mu, Quick Attack, go!"
"Kadabra, use Telekinesis to interrupt the opponent!"
Although Gabriel immediately ordered Little Mu to rush toward Kadabra, the opponent reacted quickly. Kadabra's body glowed with a blue aura—clearly activating Telekinesis.
"Dratini, rush in! Disrupt the opponent's rhythm! We can't let Kadabra get a chance to retaliate!"
Telekinesis wrapped around Dratini, causing it to slow down, but Dratini quickly broke free. Breaking through the hold caused Dratini some damage, but it had to control the battle's rhythm. There was no time to let Kadabra relax!
KING clearly hadn't expected Dratini to make such a swift decision, and soon, Dratini closed in on Kadabra.
"Kadabra, quickly use Teleport—no, use Light Screen!"
Although KING wanted Kadabra to use Teleport to avoid Dratini's attack, Dratini, moving at the speed of Quick Attack, was already right next to Kadabra. With a powerful tail strike, Kadabra had no chance to dodge. It hastily raised Light Screen to block.
But in the rush, Light Screen couldn't withstand Dratini's Dragon Tail. The shield shattered instantly, and Kadabra was sent flying with a single tail swipe.
"Don't give Kadabra any time to recover, Dratini, Quick Attack again!"
Gabriel had no intention of giving Kadabra a break. As soon as Kadabra hit the ground, Dratini closed the distance and used Quick Attack again, following it up with another Dragon Tail that sent Kadabra flying into the air.
"That's it, Dratini! Even a Psychic-type Pokémon can't use its moves while being knocked into the air. Finish it off with Dragon Rage!"
"Kadabra, dodge quickly!"
KING shouted in desperation, but Kadabra, still reeling from being knocked into the air, could only barely open its eyes before a blast of fierce blue flames hit it directly in the face, severely injuring Kadabra.
"Kadabra is unable to battle. Dratini wins the match."
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