Chapter 209: Battle Against Crescent
The preliminary tournament has concluded, and Ryan, Sapphire, Ash, and Ruby have all advanced. That evening, Ryan and Lillie checked the battle distribution list and also registered their participating Pokémon. However, when Ryan and Lillie saw the battle distribution list, they were both stunned.
Since there was only one main venue, only four matches could be held per day, for a total of eight days. Ryan was assigned to the first match on the morning of the first day, his opponent being Crescent, the trainer with a legendary Pokémon whom Ryan had previously recruited.
This wasn't what surprised them; what surprised them was that in the first match on the afternoon of the sixth day, Sapphire's opponent was Ash. Sapphire was definitely going to be eliminated!
Ryan and Lillie exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes. After all, Ash's strength far surpassed Sapphire's; in a battle between the two, no matter how hard Sapphire persisted, it would be futile.
Ryan felt helpless, knowing that he and Ash would only meet in the finals again. His position also meant he was always the first to appear, and Ryan wouldn't believe there wasn't something fishy going on. The League's arrangement was simply to make Ryan reveal more of his trump cards so that the later contestants could prepare.
But the only thing Ryan couldn't understand was why Crescent was chosen to battle him first. Given the League's usual practices, they should have put her later, dragging her into the semifinals to fight him.
Ryan didn't plan to think too much about it; whoever the opponent was, he'd just beat them all!
After considering it, Ryan filled in the information for six Pokémon: Mienshao, Togekiss, Gallade, Metagross, Aerodactyl, and Greninja.
The next day, the main venue of the Ever Grande Tournament was bustling with activity. After all, the final 32 matches were all being held at the main venue, attracting many spectators. Ruby and his friends joined Ash and his group, taking seats at the front of the stands to cheer on Ryan.
Ryan and Crescent emerged from the player tunnel and stepped onto the battle platform. The rules of the final tournament had changed. First, the battle arena had to be chosen at the start of the match, with four types: Rock, Grass, Water, and Ice. The match proceeded until one side lost three Pokémon, at which point the match paused for five minutes as a halftime break, after which the battle arena would be changed again.
As the commentator explained, Ryan and Crescent's images appeared on the large screen, and a wheel for selecting the battle arena spun. When the wheel stopped spinning, the pointer indicated a Rock arena.
Then, the metal plate in front of Ryan opened and fell to both sides, while a Rock arena slowly rose from below. With the referee's signal, the two sent out their Pokémon.
Ryan's starting Pokémon was Mienshao, and Crescent's was Pidgeot. Mienshao bowed respectfully to Pidgeot, then assumed a fighting stance, its eyes sharpening.
"Pidgeot, Mega Evolve!" A ring on Crescent's finger glowed, connecting with the Mega Stone around Pidgeot's neck. After a flash of light, Mega Pidgeot appeared.
"Pidgeot, Tailwind!" Crescent called out.
Pidgeot flapped its wings, creating a powerful gust of wind. However, Mienshao wasn't intimidated by Mega Pidgeot. A glint of light flashed in its eyes, and Mienshao leaped into the air, its whip-like fur binding Mega Pidgeot's neck. With a powerful throw, it slammed Mega Pidgeot into the rocks below.
"Don't be afraid, we won't lose in a battle of strength! Pidgeot, use Aerial Ace!" Crescent said.
Mega Pidgeot flapped its wings forcefully, successfully counteracting the downward force. Simultaneously, Aerial Ace slammed into Mienshao, propelling it into the sky. Despite being attacked, Mienshao remained calm. Using the strength of its arm fur, it leaped above Mega Pidgeot and delivered a powerful High Jump Kick to its head!
The blow rendered Mega Pidgeot powerless to flap its wings. Though it instinctively flapped twice, it was completely disoriented and crashed heavily to the ground. Mienshao, using its momentum, landed lightly on a nearby rock. Standing on one leg, it beckoned to Mega Pidgeot, signaling it to come at it.
Mega Pidgeot took a while to recover on the ground. It let out an angry cry, spread its wings, and soared into the air, unleashing a Brave Bird at Mienshao.
Ryan calmly said, "Finish it off with Drain Punch."
Mienshao nodded, its gaze fixed on Mega Pidgeot. Just as it was about to reach it, Mienshao leaped away, dodging the attack. Then, its whip-like fur wrapped around the long feather on Mega Pidgeot's head. Using the momentum, Mienshao flipped itself onto Mega Pidgeot's back, took a deep breath, and unleashed a barrage of Drain Punches on Mega Pidgeot's back.
Although Fighting-type attacks deal half damage to Flying-types, it couldn't withstand Mienshao's high-intensity, rapid attacks. Mega Pidgeot exited its Mega Evolution mode, collapsing helplessly to the ground, unable to battle.
Mienshao used the momentum to spin a few times in the air, landing steadily on the ground. It bowed respectfully to Crescent. Mienshao was at full health!
"Pidgeot is unable to battle. Crescent, please switch Pokémon," the referee announced, raising his flag.
"Gengar, it's your turn!" Crescent recalled Pidgeot and immediately switched to Gengar to deal with Mienshao.
As soon as Gengar entered the field, it put on a frightening expression, creating numerous eye patterns around Mienshao and staring at it. The sudden appearance of these eyes startled Mienshao; this was Gengar's Mean Look, designed to prevent Mienshao from escaping.
But, it was still too naive! Ryan said, "Mienshao, U-turn!"
Mienshao stomped the ground forcefully, crashing into Gengar at incredible speed, then transforming into a red light and returning to its Poké Ball. A flash of white light followed, and Gallade entered the field!
Gallade stared at Gengar, its elbow blades springing out, forming invisible energy waves around them. Now, Gengar had met its match!
Crescent looked at Gallade with a worried expression. She hadn't expected Mienshao to have a move like U-turn that forced a switch. Although Gengar's Ghost-type was super effective against Psychic-type, Psychic-type was also super effective against Gengar's Poison-type. Moreover, Gengar's defense wasn't very high, while Gallade relied on physical attacks. This was going to be difficult!
(End of Chapter)
[+500 Power Stones = +2 Extra Chapter]
[+10 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/Soulforger (20+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01