Chapter 246: A Look of Confirmation
The Jinchan Team was a formidable enemy.
However, there was good news for Sea Carp: by the time they faced Jinchan, Asher's suspension period would be over.
Although Elijah was very resentful about this, the change was undoubtedly beneficial for the team as a whole.
Asher's big-match experience and Pokémon reserves were much better than the rookie Elijah's.
Not long after, Arthur and his team relatively easily won their match against the lower-tier team.
The team's overall record reached five wins and two losses, while Arthur himself had accumulated another two-game winning streak.
His grasp on the Best Rookie award had invisibly become a few points stronger.
In the blink of an eye, it was the weekend again.
On this day, the Sea Carp Team played an away game against Jinchan!
The double buff of a weekend match and a popular team allowed Arthur and his team to once again experience what a "mountain and sea of people" truly meant!
There were no empty seats in the massive competition venue.
Jinchan's home venue was not an outdoor stadium, but a very large indoor arena. Upon entering, looking up, the entire place was filled with waving fluorescent glow sticks and support light boards.
Some people were even holding Lanturn, whose tentacles glowed, and swaying them.
The countless dazzling lights all demonstrated the influence of the sport of Pokémon competition in this era.
It was deservedly the number one competitive sport!
When Bella entered the arena, she couldn't help but murmur, "So beautiful."
Arthur, next to her, coolly interjected, "None of them are cheering for us."
Bella glared at him, annoyed. "You talk too much!"
In terms of popularity, they certainly couldn't compare to a traditional powerhouse team.
Of course, in terms of strength, they couldn't really compare either.
And sure enough, just past the halfway point of the match schedule, the cheers throughout the arena were already resounding through the heavens, completely unstoppable.
Because in this match's singles phase, it was the Jinchan Team's coach who had won the lineup gamble.
They won all three 1v1 matches!
After the singles portion was over, the score was already 6 to 0.
It was already over…
The Sea Carp fans could already start chanting "RNM, REFUND!" ahead of time.
It was a feeling of being both unexpected, yet somehow within reason.
At this moment, Arthur's face was as calm as an old well.
It couldn't be helped; he was used to it.
Their team's singles performance was really just at this level.
However, at this time, Luna was still encouraging him.
"Fight well. Don't give up on your own match just because the team is losing. Don't forget you still have to compete for Best Rookie. You should strive to win every single match!"
Arthur nodded gravely.
Luna was right. He was no longer just fighting for the team's victory or defeat.
He was also fighting for his own merits!
He was determined to win this year's Best Rookie award, so he had to go all out for a win in every regular season match, even if the outcome of this next small round was already inconsequential to the overall result.
Subsequently, after a mid-game break and some ad reads, the doubles phase of the competition officially began!
Arthur and Asher were the first to take the stage.
And appearing opposite them was the Jinchan Team's long-famous finishing pair.
The two were named Mu Sen and Chen Lin. Judging from their names, they seemed to have quite a bit of fate together.
This duo's most commonly used signature Pokémon were Charizard and Sableye. Of course, they also had some backup Pokémon they could substitute, but most of the time, these were the two that took the stage.
The versatility of this combination was very strong.
Sableye's typing was Dark/Ghost. This type combination was very clever, giving Sableye only one weakness, the Fairy type, while simultaneously having strong resistance to Normal, Fighting, and Psychic-type moves. It could be said to be an extremely difficult Pokémon to specifically counter.
Charizard's fame was even greater, a popular Pokémon whose popularity had remained high for years.
Chen Lin's Charizard also had more than enough raw power. Like Luna's two main Pokémon, it had also reached the "Main player level," and could be considered a top-tier powerhouse on the doubles scene.
This made their lineup not only highly versatile but also not lacking in overall strength!
They were a pair of opponents not to be underestimated!
And for this match, Arthur also brought out his second registered Pokémon on the professional league stage for the first time: Mismagius!
He couldn't go "fishing" this time; the opponents were great white sharks.
The main reason was that according to the data, the opposing Sableye's ability was also Prankster.
Having been burned once before, Arthur didn't dare to let Greninja go head-to-head with this kind of opponent again.
On the other side, the Pokémon Asher brought out this match was Braviary, a large, raptor-type Pokémon.
It was worth mentioning that Braviary also had two subspecies. One's typing was Normal/Flying and was more widely distributed. The other was Psychic/Flying and was relatively rare in the wild.
Asher's was the former, the more common type.
At the start, Asher was very domineering. The moment the referee's whistle blew, he loudly shouted a stunning command.
"Braviary, use Brave Bird!" (Note 1)
Using an ultimate move right at the start was also quite unsportsmanlike.
Directly forgoing all probing and harassment, Braviary immediately tucked in its wings, turned into a bullet, and dove down, sweeping towards Charizard at high speed!
This move was calculated in advance.
Because they had guessed through analyzing recordings that the opposing Charizard would, as was its custom, first use—
"Charizard, Sunny Day!"
Chen Lin's Charizard was very skilled at "Sunny Day." Its proficiency with the skill was very high; the energy ball it spat out was large and round, and the light it provided was particularly ample.
This was another reason why Arthur didn't use Greninja this match: within the range covered by this artificial light source, the power of Water-type moves would be suppressed.
At the same time, Charizard's own Fire-type moves would be enhanced.
It was just that in order to get this buff, it had been careless at the start and hadn't dodged, taking the full brunt of Braviary's unsportsmanlike opening ultimate move.
"BOOM!"
The energy exploded, creating a stunning roar in the air!
Subsequently, Sableye made its move—
"Use Quash!"
Quash: A Dark-type skill. Its effect is to release a curse of delayed energy on the enemy. If the enemy is in the process of using a move, it will slow and delay the opponent's action. If the enemy has already used a move, it will extend the opponent's cooldown period.
On the professional scene, no one was a pushover, especially since the opponents Arthur's team was facing were a strong team.
Although Asher had caught the opponent off guard with an opening ultimate move by taking advantage of an unchanging behavioral habit, the opposing duo's counterattack was also extremely sharp!
The cooldown for an ultimate move was already long. To be hit with "Quash" on top of that, Braviary instantly felt as miserable as if it had eaten shit.
However, Arthur's retaliation immediately followed.
"Mismagius, use Spite!"
In the air, Charizard was just about to laugh mockingly at Braviary, but the next second, a curse pattern appeared above its own head.
The Ghost-type skill: Spite. It curses the target, amplifying the stamina and energy consumption when the enemy uses a skill, while also extending the opponent's cooldown period.
At that moment, the smile on Charizard's face froze.
And behind the two Flying-type Pokémon, Sableye and Mismagius looked at each other, then turned their heads with a tacit understanding.
A confirming look in their eyes—they were both people who played dirty!
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