Chapter 250: Paper Art
The elimination tournament officially began.
Lorelei's opponent was named Chuck.
At first, Will didn't recognize the name. But once the battle started and the man suddenly ripped his shirt off, Will remembered exactly who he was.
The future Fighting-type Gym Leader of the Johto region, known as "The man who talks with his fists."
Chuck was an optimistic and emotional martial artist, but he tired very easily.
However, that might have been because of his age later in life.
At least right now, this Chuck looked full of vitality, like he could fight for ten hours straight without breaking a sweat.
"Not a simple opponent, either."
Will sighed. Never mind Agatha later; they might not even make it past Chuck.
Will had also checked the other brackets. He discovered it wasn't just Lorelei who was in a "group of death"; every group was a group of death.
In the future...
Kanto's Vermilion City Electric-type Gym Leader, Lt. Surge.
Kanto's Fuchsia City Poison-type Gym Leader, and future Elite Four member, Koga.
Johto's Mahogany Town Ice-type Gym Leader, Pryce.
Sinnoh's Ground-type Elite Four, Bertha.
Hoenn's Sootopolis City Water-type Gym Leader, Juan.
Hoenn's Dragon-type Elite Four, Drake.
They had all shown up for this Kanto Conference.
With these people blocking the way, any group Lorelei was in would be hell.
Although... truth be told, Lorelei's status wasn't far off from theirs. After all, she was also a future Kanto Elite Four member, and one with considerable seniority. Even though she was the youngest among them now, in terms of future League standing, she was their senior.
No wonder Sunflower said the difficulty of future Conferences would drop significantly.
Competing against a group like this, rookie trainers stood absolutely no chance. Only by shunting these monsters off to the "World Coronation Series" or the Gym Leader Tournament would rookies ever see the light of day.
"Piplup, do you want to go first?" Lorelei whispered in Will's ear.
"Think for yourself. You decide."
Will shook his head. He wasn't the trainer; this was something a trainer had to consider. At this point, the order he appeared in wouldn't change the overall situation. It was more important for Lorelei to gain experience.
"Umm... then I'll send Lapras out first."
Lorelei frowned, put Will down, and threw a Poké Ball.
Will didn't know what she was thinking, but he was just going to focus on fighting. He guessed Lorelei would save him for last as her ace.
Perfect. Will could observe Chuck's fighting style and his Pokémon's strength from the sidelines. He didn't expect Lapras and Cloyster to trade one-for-one. As long as they could cripple Chuck's second Pokémon or drag out the fight until it was exhausted, he was confident he could clinch the victory.
"Contestant Lorelei sends out Lapras! Contestant Chuck sends out Poliwrath!"
The announcer's voice rang out, and the screen displayed the icons for Lapras and Poliwrath.
The first battle began.
Facing the Water/Fighting-type Poliwrath, Lapras was undoubtedly at a huge type disadvantage.
Moreover, Poliwrath was Chuck's starter and his highest-level Pokémon. Lapras was facing the enemy boss right out of the gate.
"Lv. 53... then the other two probably average around Lv. 50. This is going to be tough..." Will smiled bitterly and shook his head.
This match was hard to win. The level gap was significant, and Fighting countered Ice. Lapras could put up a fight, but Cloyster was probably just going to be cannon fodder.
As the battle continued, Will noticed something promising.
Chuck's fighting style was very simple. To summarize: "Punch and kick continuously."
He had no tactics to speak of; he just charged straight in. He preferred close-combat physical moves. For the naturally tanky Lapras and Cloyster, this was actually a favorable matchup.
Also...
When the battle entered a heated phase and Lapras was starting to struggle, the opposing Poliwrath began to pant heavily.
"Terrible stamina..."
Will's eyes lit up. He'd found a fatal weakness.
Stamina.
Chuck's Pokémon were just like him! Every punch, every kick, even every step was done with full force. This meant they got tired very easily and burned through stamina incredibly fast.
"As expected, like trainer, like Pokémon." Will grinned.
Now that he'd spotted this, he had a plan. He didn't know if they could win, but he saw a chance.
And, worthy of praise...
Without Will reminding her, Lorelei also noticed this weakness. So she started deliberately commanding Lapras to fight a war of attrition, dragging the battle out to drain Poliwrath's energy.
Before long, to the cheers of the crowd, Lapras and Poliwrath fell at the same time!
"She actually traded!"
Even Will looked at Lorelei and Lapras in surprise.
Although in this life, because of his interference, Lapras wasn't Lorelei's signature Pokémon... you had to admit, the original partner was strong for a reason.
In her first tournament, Lorelei and Lapras had already shown their Elite Four potential.
Next battle.
Lorelei's Cloyster vs. Chuck's Hitmonchan.
"I knew it. Same style of Pokémon." Will raised an eyebrow.
If he guessed correctly, Chuck's next Pokémon would be Hitmonlee.
Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee were different evolutions of the same Pokémon line. One was the "Demon of Punching," the other the "Demon of Kicking." One threw punches as fast as a bullet train; the other had kicks with incredible range.
But they shared a common trait.
They were "sprinters."
They could unleash a storm of attacks in a short time, but their stamina would drop just as fast. A Hitmonchan that could punch continuously for three minutes was considered elite. But after three minutes, it had to rest, or it wouldn't be able to lift its arms.
Facing Hitmonchan, Lorelei was decisive. She had Cloyster stack defense immediately, turtling up to tank Hitmonchan's attacks.
After attacking continuously for two minutes, Hitmonchan immediately retreated, massaging its arms to recover.
Lorelei seized this opportunity to attack. And she was smart. Her goal wasn't to deal heavy damage, but to Freeze or Frostbite Hitmonchan, hindering its movement to make things easier for Will.
But the ending was inevitable. Cloyster fainted under Hitmonchan's second wave of attacks.
"Cloyster did well." Will nodded.
A Cloyster 12 levels lower managing to survive the first wave was already beyond Will's expectations. Not to mention it had successfully drained a lot of Hitmonchan's stamina and left it with a [Frostbite] status.
"Piplup! The rest is up to you!"
"Mm. Leave it to me."
Will grinned and patted his chest. He waddled onto the field, his little tail wagging.
Facing Pokémon like Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, Will wasn't scared at all. He was going to make Chuck and his Pokémon question their entire understanding of martial arts!
The third round began.
The audience didn't underestimate Will because of his size. In the group stage, Will had already made a name for himself. Everyone knew this little penguin was formidable.
Perfect sync with his trainer (seemingly without verbal commands). High-damage Water moves. Blinding speed. Incredible reaction time. And he could pull off all kinds of bizarre moves.
So, most of the audience still felt the outcome was uncertain. Even though Lorelei was at a huge disadvantage, many still thought she could win.
It all depended on Will's performance.
"Mach Punch!" Chuck shouted.
Hitmonchan moved instantly. Its speed was so fast that ordinary people could only see a blur of brown shadow.
"What is that Piplup doing?"
"Sleeping?"
"Why did he close his eyes?"
"Shut up! First time watching? That's that Piplup's special technique! Look at you, acting like a country bumpkin."
Many in the crowd were confused seeing Will close his eyes. But those who had seen his previous matches stood up in excitement. They knew that when this Piplup closed his eyes...
It was time to witness true skill!
[Paper Art] (Kami-e)
In a certain other world full of pirates, an organization called the Navy had a technique called Kami-e ("Paper Art").
It was a defensive technique. The user relaxes their body completely, becoming limp like a piece of paper, allowing them to dodge attacks effortlessly by riding the airflow created by the opponent's strikes. It could also be used to find openings for a counterattack.
Using the sensing abilities of his Aura Power, Will had replicated this technique.
In everyone's eyes...
Will stood still, his upper body swaying erratically, dodging every single one of Hitmonchan's blur-speed punches!
Whoa~
The audience gasped in shock.
"Nani?!"
"Hitmon..."
Even Chuck and Hitmonchan were dumbfounded.
"Hitmonchan, don't stop! Keep attacking! I don't believe he can dodge forever!"
"Chan!"
Swish.
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