Chapter 369:
Perhaps it was everyone's expectations, or simply because there were fewer people, the matches didn't slow down as the contestants grew stronger; instead, they became faster.
The entire day of the 16th quickly saw the Round of 16 to Top 8, followed by the Top 8 to Top 4 in the afternoon.
There were no surprises in between.
The four advancing to the Semi-finals were Hayashi Kaede, Tobias, Fiona, and Kensuke.
Aside from Tobias, Fiona had already revealed five Pokémon: Gengar, Gourgeist, Chandelure, Beautifly, and the Ground-type Marowak.
She was a woman who looked to be nearing thirty. Unlike most female contestants in the Pokémon League Conference, her attire was casual, her hair disheveled as if rarely groomed.
Her cheeks were somewhat thin, with faint, persistent dark circles under her eyes, like someone who often stays up late.
But fortunately, in the Pokémon world, basically no one suffers from acne or similar troubles.
Kensuke's Pokémon were Charizard, Blastoise, Sceptile, Swellow, Flygon, and a Pidgeot.
…
January 17th.
The final half-day of the Pokémon League Conference!
Under the announcer's setup, the Semi-final draw quickly began.
The portraits on the central screen changed rapidly, and soon, the matchups for the four were determined.
Tobias vs Fiona, Kaede vs Kensuke.
The first match was Kaede vs Kensuke.
The second match was Tobias vs Fiona.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Kensuke looked at the calm-faced Kaede and took a deep breath.
"Sigh..."
Actually, by now, Kensuke knew in his heart.
Although he knew that advancing step by step would eventually lead him to face Kaede and Tobias, and now, these two stood like mountains before him.
But no matter how high the mountain, having come this far, he had to challenge it!
"Alright, today is the final day of the Pokémon League Conference! Let's see who will claim the championship! Now, let's begin drawing the field!"
The announcer was still hyping up the crowd.
In fact, by now, even if he didn't, the audience would be buzzing with excitement.
"It's here, it's here, finally here! So far, Kaede and that... what's his name, Tobias, haven't lost a single match. Can Kensuke change that?"
"Wouldn't that depend on which Pokémon Kaede chooses? If he sends out Gardevoir right away, wouldn't Kensuke be finished?"
"Alright, it's starting. It's the Lake Water field. Looks like Milotic is coming out again. Yay, the beautiful Milotic..."
"Just wondering which Pokémon Contestant Kensuke will choose..."
The field selection below was complete.
As Kaede's video channel grew increasingly popular, people began speculating about his every move in the matches.
For example, his pattern for sending out Pokémon was quite easy to guess.
In the initial 3v3, he let every Pokémon make an appearance. Later, in 6v6, it depended on the field; whichever Pokémon suited the field would be sent out.
With the current Lake Water field, it was eighty percent likely to be Milotic.
But this put Kensuke in a dilemma.
He was momentarily unsure whether to send out Blastoise or Sceptile on this field.
Sceptile had an advantage over Milotic, but... it felt somewhat unfair.
Because before the match, he had also seen analysis about Hayashi Kaede's Pokémon selection and knew there was an eighty percent chance Milotic would be sent out.
Knowing which Pokémon the opponent would send and then countering it made him feel uneasy.
"Both contestants, please send out your first Pokémon simultaneously!"
The announcer was already urging from above.
Kensuke gritted his teeth and took out a Poké Ball.
*'Forget it! So what if I lose?'*
Winning should be done fairly and squarely!
Even if he lost, he wanted to lose with a clear conscience!
"Milotic, I'm counting on you..."
"Blastoise, come on out!"
"Blas... toise!"
The Blastoise emerging with two giant cannons on its back landed on a wooden plank, splashing water, and roared defiantly at Milotic.
But its 1.7m height held no intimidation whatsoever against the nearly nine-meter-long Milotic.
Even Blastoise itself was startled upon seeing its opponent.
*This big?*
"Blastoise?"
Kaede didn't know about Kensuke's internal struggle.
Because whether it was the Level 54-55 Sceptile or this Level 56-58 Blastoise, he didn't think either was a match for Milotic.
Don't be fooled by Milotic watering plants every day without battling; it was genuinely very strong.
But it had to be said, Kensuke's Pokémon were all exceptionally well-trained.
[Pokémon: Blastoise]
[Gender: Male]
[Ability: Torrent]
[Potential: Red]
[Individual Values: HP (31) Attack (28) Sp. Atk (18) Defense (31) Sp. Def (31) Speed (20)]
[Level: 56-58]
[Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Withdraw, Hydro Pump, Rapid Spin, Protect, Water Pulse, Rain Dance...]
The clash between these two Pokémon didn't involve much strategy.
Both Milotic and Blastoise were Water-type artillery Pokémon.
They almost simultaneously called out the move Hydro Pump.
Torrents of water surged from the mouths of both Pokémon. One stream was visibly thicker than the other, and after just one clash, Blastoise was at a disadvantage and was forcefully washed into the water.
Then came the underwater collisions, Aqua Tail, Water Pulse, various move exchanges—all dominated by Milotic.
Milotic's proficiency in these moves might not match Blastoise's, but its clashes relied on pure stats.
Basically, *I'm bigger and stronger than you, and my energy intensity is higher than yours.* It was all about overwhelming power.
After Blastoise's defeat, Kensuke immediately chose to change the field.
The field for the second round was Grassy Field.
On this field, Kensuke hesitated again, finally choosing to send out Sceptile.
Kaede naturally chose Serperior.
The result was similarly one-sided.
"Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!" Kensuke gathered all his focus, preparing to give one hundred percent attention to this battle.
But Kaede's command was, "Serperior, use Leaf Storm!"
The wind howled, clouds gathered, leaves filled the sky like a blizzard, swept up by a gale. Every single leaf carried a sharp edge, practically filling the entire battlefield.
Sceptile only saw green before its eyes, then everything went dark.
Although, however...
What Kaede wanted to say was, this was only the first time Contrary Serperior used Leaf Storm. The second, third time... as it continues the power would only be greater.
Not to mention that his Serperior could actually stack Leaf Storms and it hadn't even used the World Tree's blessing yet too.
Moreover, there is also the 30% boost to Grass-type move power from the Mew Energy Cubes... that should have been applied...
To be honest, Kaede himself wasn't sure exactly how strong Serperior was now...
As for why he used this move...
It was because it wasn't really suitable to use the full form of Leaf Storm elsewhere. The Pokémon League Conference was the best place to test out moves.