Chapter 40- Tournament: top 8

I walked across the field with Cara, noticing the odd expression on her face. Before I could open my mouth, she spoke first.

“That was a good match. but you know, there is such a thing as overkill.” She said but there was a smile on her face.

“My bad. But you are right, it was a good fight.” I said.

We shook hands before making our way back to the rooms where we waited for the fights. Of course, once I was there, two people were waiting for me. Once they saw me coming toward them, they started to whisper between them, taking care to make it loud enough so I could hear.

“You know, I don’t think we should have motivated him that much.” Sera opened with.

“I think you’re right. maybe we can dial it back a bit?” Arnold answered before clearing his throat and speaking normally. “I think you should relax a bit, man. I don’t you to be too tired.”

“He is right, chill my dude!” Sera answered in an overly uncharacteristic way.

“Ahah! Very funny. I take it you’re not worried about your match?” I directed the question to Sera.

The silver head expression shifted from amusement to a bit more serious. I could still see that she was excited for the match though.

“I have a plan that should work. It’s a simple one but simple isn’t always bad.” She shrugged.

She didn’t seem worried so I opted for a nod before thinking about the encounter with Caitlin once she came. Hopefully, it won’t be too long for that. Shauntal did tell me she would come by in the days to come, but that statement alone is very vague.

Either way, I think I have it pretty much figured it out. Now I just need to check with Nike if it can be sensed.

After mulling over it, I released Skoll from his Pokeball. That action drew the eyes of a few trainers, but they soon decided to focus on the match that was currently reaching its climax. The fighting type tried to mask it, but I could see the frustration at having been returned early from the fight. But he was still willing to hear me out.

“Sorry about that. But we were at a standstill. Rather than have you go for a losing battle, I prefer to keep you as fresh as possible for tomorrow. Because if what I think will happen happens…”

My words were interrupted by the cheer of the crowd coming for the screen. The fight was finally over, with the winner being the guy who seemed to focus on Dark types.

“…I’ll need you more than ready for that match. What do you say about trying to finish the match by yourself?” I asked but it wasn’t a real question.

It was a challenge.

One that the fighting type was more than ready to take on. His eyes then focused on the screen that was displaying the highlight of the fight while the field was being repaired. He was quite literally locked in. I opted to let him scan the clips since they wouldn’t last long anyway and I returned him after.

It was only a few minutes after that, and Sera was called onto the fields. We wished her good luck and settled to watch the match. And her strategy was really the simplest one she found. What can you do to stop your opponent from putting themselves in an advantageous position? Simple. You use Taunt. Which is what she did. The poor guy was clearly aware of the effect of the move but didn’t seem to have anything prepared.

The fight went on long enough that the taunt dissipated but not before Sera managed to not only pile a lot of damage but also got Pyroar zooming thanks to a generous use of Fire Charge. I was skeptical when I saw her select the fire type as her opening Pokemon given that the guy liked to set his rain up, but it didn’t matter if she didn’t let him. By the time he managed to set up his rain, his Pokemon was on its last leg and Pyroar knocked him out.

“Probably should have used Supersonic to get the confusion before the rain,” I said aloud.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t have been enough to knock out her Pyroar, but it would have been a lot easier on the second Pokemon,” Arnold added.

Once the first Pokemon was knocked out, the trainer opposite her didn’t hesitate and sent another ball flying. What appeared was a water type I remember watching fight. A Buizel appeared on the field and I realized why the guy was so intent on setting the rain even with his Pokemon last strength. Buizel basically came in in peak condition plus extra with its ability Swift Swim. How did I know it had Swift Swim as well? Because he made a point to showcase his speed.

Also, sending a water type against a fire type under the rain was a good idea if the fire type in question only had a fire move. Which isn’t the case for Pyroar. I remembered seeing him discussing in secret with his teammate and my guess was proved correct when they baited the Buizel closer. Then lighting sparked in his mouth. One Thunder fang shouldn’t be enough to knock the water type out, but it seemed they got lucky with the paralysis. With the boost of speed from its ability negated, the water type had a tougher time fighting.

They did manage to knock the lion out eventually, only for another big cat to replace him. Luxio against a paralyzed and tired Buizel? It wasn’t even a fair fight. She made short work of her opponent and ended the fight without so much as a scratch.

After she left Pyroar’s ball to be healed, she sauntered back to us with Luxio by her side. The electric kitty seemed content with her victory but opted to lay at her trainer's feet once we started to talk. We quickly made fun of her for her strategy, if could call one move strategy, before switching to a more serious atmosphere once Roy came onto the field.

As much as we didn’t want to admit it to ourselves, we knew that he was one of the stronger competitors in our tournament. We focused on his match, trying to see if we could glean some useful tidbits…only for him to once more sweep his opponent with his Pignite this time.

One thing was sure, while he was skilled with his Axew, he might be even stronger with his Pignite.

---

At the end of the top 16 matches, we took advantage of the break to meet back with the others. Pops and Nana were more than happy to keep us with them. While Mathew was busy doing whatever he was doing, we went back to watch Frank fight. He was one of the highest profile trainers that were participating in this tournament as it turned out. Then again it wasn’t a surprise given the number of badges he got.

While I thought that watching a higher-level battle would help, learning everything from Frank’s was kind of hard. He was much more skilled than his opponent and quickly overwhelmed her. I felt bad for her because she simply got unlucky to get matched with someone more experienced. That didn’t seem to deter her, and they were seen chatting for a long while after they were done with their match.

For the rest of the afternoon, I was stuck trying to bleed out some energy from Skoll. The little guy was excited for tomorrow and I think anyone could feel it. Nervous energy unfortunately transferred over to Tyr. Unfortunately, because I was still reluctant to have him train for now. The nurse said three days which were technically up. The bandages were removed, and she even said that he was healing faster than she expected.

After a bit of hesitation, I let him train his movement. He was more than happy and started exercising with his scalchops. They were slow and methodical movements, but they seemed to be some kind of meditation for him. Well, as long as it helped him, so be it.

Thankfully it seemed that it was enough to tire the designated battle junky from my team and he passed out as soon as he touched the bed. I shook my head and repositioned him before going to bed myself. I also made a point to look for something that Tyr could use his scalchops on. According to Pops, it might have contributed to his restlessness.

---

Top 8.

That was the height we stood on right now. I think that by now it was fair to assume that all of those who made it didn’t do so because of luck. Real skill had to be involved. No more trainers made it because they were lucky. This means the number of sweeps should be a lot harder than previously. And yet that was what I was going for in this round. It wasn’t that I looked down on my opponent, but rather I was placing high expectations on my team and me. The plan was for Skoll to give it his all, but if that wasn’t enough, Nike would clean it up. By now she had her Fairy feather equipped because her Disarming Voice would be her win condition if she needed to fight.

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I was pulled out of my thoughts by the silence that fell in the waiting room. The room until now almost seemed to be buzzing with different hushed conversations and whispers. Sure, with only 8 trainers left and only 6 in the room, it was bound to be quiet, but not so. That meant one of the trainers on the field did something that caught the attention of those gathered. Looking up, it was Arnold because of course it was.

The girl in front of him sent out a Nuzleaf, which in itself was rare, but not the reason for the silence. Arnold was focusing and analyzing the situation. In front of him stood a bull. Normally talking of bulls in Unova you would think of Boufanlant, but it wasn’t one.

“Is that a shiny Tauros?” My next opponent asked aloud.

Shiny Pokemon or Chromatic Pokemon. They have a rare color but nothing else. It is more similar to albinism but I don’t remember Tauros’ shiny being black.

“No, they have a greenish tint to their fur. And look at the horns they are clearly different.” Another trainer spoke up.

“Then what is that Pokemon? Is it a completely different one?”

It was at that time that is spoke up. “A regional variant.”

And from a region that I don’t know!

While the thought echoed in my head and the stress increased at the idea of facing an unknown Pokemon, there was also the excitement of facing an unknown Pokemon. There were probably many of those and I couldn’t wait to see those. It was basically a dream come true.

“Found it! I think.” Sera spoke up and everyone turned their head in her direction. “It’s a regional Tauros from Paldea. But there are three forms of them almost identical…”

The puzzled expression on her face disappeared once Arnold made the opening move. It was a Double Kick and once she saw it, she lowered her voice to speak only to me.

“Tauros in Paldea have the fighting type. The issue is that there are two other forms. One with the water/fighting type and the other with fire/fighting type.” She squinted at the screen. “This one seemed to be the water and fighting type, but I’m not too sure.”

It didn’t help us that Arnold was just using Fighting moves. But at least the shape of the horns matched closer to the one Aqua breed. It was exciting to think about fighting him. But before that, I still needed to beat the Dark type guy.

He obviously went full in with the dark appearance. Dark denim jacket over a black shirt with a laid down Krookodile where the heart is. Combined with the black jeans and combat boots he wore, I had to admit that he did look intimidating. At least style-wise because he had what I would describe as a baby face, the kind that looked harmless.

Regardless of how he looked it wouldn’t matter.

It took a little while for Arnold to win and come back to us. And with the field having sustained minimal damage, I was up next. A deep breath in, and I was out of the tunnel. The crowd was still riled up from the previous matches and cheered as we exited our respective tunnels. After the usual presentation by the referee, our two balls flew into the field depositing Skoll and a Liepard from my opponent’s side.

“Set up!”

“Fake Out!”

Two commands were given simultaneously, and two moves were executed. However, only one move had the effects expected. Going back a few days, I used the little time I had to give Skoll something I should have honestly thought of sooner, the TR for Work Up that I got after defeating Cheren.

The dark type leopard blurred before reappearing in front of Skoll and swiping at his face to break his focus something that proved useless as Skoll’s muscles contracted briefly and for a split second he seemed to have increased in stature. As he returned to normal, a faint mist could be seen emanating from his body. To be clear, the Fake Out did have an effect, but already expecting this move from a Liepard, I instructed Skoll in advance to reuse the move if he was interrupted. And with the opponent so close to him, it was an opportunity too good to let go.

“Brick Break!”

An orangish glow covered his arm and he brought it down on the still-stunned cat. The violence of the hit caused the dark type to fall on the ground briefly before it regained its senses and jumped backward. It just so happened that this time opening the space is something I was fine with.

“Go for it.” as the command left my mouth, Skoll’s body seemed to swell once more with another use of Work Up.

“Match it with Hone Claws.” My opponent shouted.

The Liepard’s claws extended, and with surprising agility, raked them against each other. The thing with Hone Claws is that technically, one use of the move didn’t mean only one boost from the game. He could sit there and continue to rake them for as long as he wanted. And since I didn’t want to see if there was a limit to that I had to stop it.

“Bullet Punch.”

Skoll dashed forward and before the dark type could react, a metal fist smashed into its side. With the added power from the Work Ups, it held enough power to send the opponent flying. Following another command, Skoll used Quick Attack and dashed after Liepard before slamming it to the ground with another use of Brick Break, only to have it be dodged as the feline twisted out of the way of the downward chop.

“Psycho Cut!”

While mid-dodge, Liepard’s claws extended before the entire limb was covered in the purplish telltale sound of psychic energy. Then in one fluid motion, it lashed out toward Skoll. The fighting type barely had time to cross his arms in front of him and was sent backward. There was a brief standstill as we both took stock of the situation. The presence of Psycho Cut was a major wrench in our plan since it gave them a way to retaliate effectively. Another move would have been fine, but Psycho Cut with its tendency to land in critical locations meant that a single attack could turn the match in their favor.

“Skoll, how are you feeling?” I asked.

The answer I got was a firm “Rio” and a vigorous nod. I didn’t even need to see his face to picture the grin plastered on his face.

Of course, he would love that kind of situation. But the main problem with this Liepard is its speed and nimbleness. If it were to focus on dodging, the amount of damage Skoll dealt would plummet. Even with Steadfast being activated earlier it’s barely enough to keep up… I guess we just have to slow it down then.

“Skoll, Quick Attack!”

The command was given and he was gone. He dashed forward leaving behind a white trail as the type energy bolstered his speed. He was in front of the dark type before it could react and simply rammed it with his shoulder.

“Liepard! Use Psycho Cut once more!”

“Dodge it! And Force Palm!” The corner of my mouth twitched upward as I called the move.

Force Palm was the last move I was training with Skoll and he finally mastered it enough in his training yesterday. I was surprised at how fast he managed it given that he was also learning Brick Break and Ice Punch at the same time, even focusing more on these two. At least until Klint, Nana’s Gallade, confided to me that Skoll was harassing him to spar with him. and during these spars, the little fighting type was always trying the move apparently. I only learned of this yesterday, once they were sure he could use the move in a real battle and not just training.

I would still need to talk to him about rest and keeping secrets, but for now, it was time to witness the result of his training. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing something my Pokemon planned by himself but the entire sequence seemed to slow down. I saw how after being rammed by Skoll, Liepard twisted its body in the way only cats know how, landing its feet. I saw its claws bite down on the sand of the arena as it propelled itself with a front limb already covered in psychic power and poised to strike. Skoll waited at the last moment before shifting his weight, letting the powered limb pass by centimeters from his muzzle first and body later.

At that moment, I witnessed it. A hungry smile that always wanted more. A burning determination in his eyes that showed that he would not let what he desired be denied. It briefly sent a chill down my body as I realized the depth of his ambition.

Then he made his move.

His palm struck out. While I was expecting it to be covered in fighting type energy, it wasn’t all. A faint almost imperceptible speck of blue flickered through it. Realizing its defenseless position, the big cat tried to jump back, but it was too late as Skoll's palm made contact with its side. As if a spell had been broken, it was sent rocketing backward at full speed.

It fell to the ground and tumbled for a few moments before coming to a stop. The field held its collective breath as people waited to see if it would rise back up, creating another upset in the competition.

And of course, it did. But thankfully the aim of slowing it down seemed to have worked. As it shakily stood back up, I noticed how its muscles seemed to lock. It was clearly paralyzed. My opponent examined the situation and visibly steeled his resolve.

“Go for it. Frontal!”

That was all he said, but apparently, his Pokemon understood it. It was clearly slowed, but it rushed forward as fast as it could. I was curious about what their aim was. Surely it couldn’t just be a desperate rush? Either I wasn’t planning on taking a free hit.

Before I could tell Skoll to move out of the way with Detect, Liepard sped up assisted by a light green type energy. With the timing off, even if Skoll wanted to dodge he wasn’t prepared for the change in speed. The light green type energy wrapped around Liepard just before it made contact with Skoll. The impact sent him skidding back, while the opposing Pokemon was projected upward and backward. Before it could land on the ground, a red beam of light grabbed ahold of it.

I quickly looked at my opponent, only to realize that the Ball in his hand wasn’t the source of the red light. Instead, it was thrown out on the field once the Pokemon that was previously on the field was fully retracted. It took me a couple of seconds to realize what had happened, but it was fairly obvious afterward. They just used U-turn.

A Pokeball was sent flying in, interrupting my thoughts. Out of it came a Pokemon I wasn’t expecting. What I was expecting was the Pawniard that he had been using the previous match, but I guess that was naïve of me. Of course, he would have more than two Pokemon, and that one was somewhat surprising since it isn’t native to Unova.

A small, black raven flapped its wings before taking off properly and circling above. It had an almost witch-like hat made of feathers on its head. The red eyes of the Murkrow locked onto Skoll’s and its feathers rustled. Unfazed. Skoll simply jumped lightly to prepare himself.

“Murkrow, use Night Shade!”

As soon as the command was given, a Murkrow seemingly made of shadows exited the original one and rushed for Skoll.

“Scatter it with Bullet Punch!”

True to its name, the steel type move smashed into the apparition dispersing it into motes of shadow but before the counter-attack could be launched, Murkrow was already in front of Skoll, wings alight with a Wing Attack. But that didn’t mean much since they decided to get close.

“Ice Punch!” I unconsciously clenched my fist as I called the move, and Skoll’s mirrored action instantly dropped the temperature around him

A frozen punch made contact with the glowing wing and both recoiled from taking a super effective hit. Except only Skoll was boosted and a battle junky. After the initial contact, he drew his second fist back and it was covered in ice type energy. The second Ice punch snapped forward, not leaving any room for the Murkrow to avoid it. Then a third one followed suit.

The small raven was sent back and sprawled on the ground, unconscious.

I looked at the result that, let’s say, two and a half punches produced and looked back at Skoll. The little guy was so excited that he turned around to face me with a grin splitting his face from ear to ear. If not for the flash of a Pokeball behind him, something told me that he would have actually jumped in celebration. It seemed I had missed the referee call and even my opponent recalled his downed Pokemon.

It also seemed like the opposing teen didn’t want to waste time since Liepard reappeared back on the field. The damage it had taken was still apparent and I could spot its muscle stiffening too, showing that it was still paralyzed. That made sense since most Pokeballs didn’t heal the Pokemon but only put them in a weird stasis-like state.

The only reason that I could even let my thoughts wander like that was because my opponent had clearly given up already and was waiting for the match to finish, unwilling to surrender. Something that didn’t take long to pass as Skoll closed the distance with Quick Attack first =, then finishing the fight with another Brick Break.

“Liepard is unable to battle! The victory goes to Riolu and Nexon!” The referee raised his hand and spoke out loud.

While the announcer took the relay to hype up the crowd, I walked to the center of the field after I noticed my opponent doing the same. We didn’t need to do it, but we weren’t forbidden also. Skoll reached my side and was bouncing up and down in excitement. I patted the small fighting type on the head and his answer was a small growl-like purr as he swatted my hand playfully.

Look at him playing the tsundere! I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“That was a good one. I hope we can fight once more. With a fully trained team this time.” He smiled while rubbing his Murkrow’s ball.

“I agree that was a good one. But fully trained?” I asked a bit surprised at the admission.

“Yeah. He is my latest capture. It seemed like a better idea than to send my Pawniard.”

I nodded. It seemed he really got the short end of the stick. The choice was tough between a minimally trained Pokemon and one fully trained but with a quadruple weakness to the fighting type. In the small talk that followed while we walked back to the room, I exchanged numbers with the guy whose name turned out to be Ange. I found it a bit ironic since it was the French for Angel. Given the reputation of dark type, it was a little thing that made me chuckle internally.

By now, Skoll was resting in his ball and we were almost at the room when someone Touched me. It wasn’t a physical touch, but rather a mental one. Turning my head, I found a Musharna that was floating behind a corner and a voice reached out to me.

‘You wished to talk with Caity?’ I nodded. Even without context, I doubted a Musharna would just wander around looking for someone with a trainer named Caity, or rather Caitlin. ‘Please follow me.’

“I’m sorry can you tell my friends that I join them later? The guy with the black Tauros and the silver head. I just have to talk with someone.”

Ange seemed confused but nonetheless nodded. I turned around and followed after the Mursharna that was quietly floating while waiting for me.

It was time to talk with Caitlin and use a bit of knowledge to stop one if not some of the numerous world-ending events that potentially plagued this world. No biggie.