Pokémon: Sandstorm Sovereign

Chapter 51: Everyone Has a Trump Card

By the time Basalt returned to the contestant waiting room, Wade's battle had already begun.

This time, Tyrogue's opponent was actually the Ghost-type, Duskull.

Duskull has a mask resembling a human skull. The top of the mask is pointed, with three teeth and two large eye sockets. Inside the sockets is a black body with a single red eye that can move from side to side. In addition, Duskull has a will-o'-the-wisp-like part connecting to its head, two white markings on its back that look like femurs, and two short, broad hands that are always held behind its back, giving it a hunched posture. Its lower body has cloud-shaped feet, but it mostly floats with the wind rather than using them to stand, giving it an overall oval shape.

In terms of typing, the Ghost-type Duskull should have been able to wipe the floor with the Fighting-type Tyrogue. After all, the Normal-type move "Fake Out" and the Fighting-type moves "Force Palm" and "Vacuum Wave" were all ineffective against Duskull. Not only that, but as a Ghost-type Pokémon, Duskull also had the ability to turn invisible, making it very tricky to deal with. This was the main reason why Duskull, despite its unremarkable stats, had made it this far.

But unfortunately, reality doesn't always follow logic. Because the geniuses of this world don't play by the rules!

At the start of the match, Duskull immediately used its ability to turn "invisible," slowly fading away and disappearing into the air, attempting to approach Tyrogue stealthily.

"Tyrogue, use Foresight!"

Faced with Duskull's disappearance, Wade tightened his belt, not panicking at all.

"Taro~"

Tyrogue squatted slightly, concentrating its spirit. Its eyes suddenly snapped open, flashing with a strange light. It turned its head to scan its surroundings, then quickly rushed out, fists swinging. It leaped into the air, its palm aimed at a specific spot in mid-air.

BAM!

A burst of energy exploded, the light flashing like the muzzle flash of a machine gun.

"Dusk~~"

A pained cry suddenly rang out, and the Duskull that had been hidden in the air was instantly sent flying, its body tumbling for a good distance before falling to the ground.

Foresight, a Normal-type move. After it's used, moves that are normally ineffective against Ghost-type Pokémon, as well as moves used against opponents with high evasion, will now hit. After using "Foresight," the Fighting-type move Force Palm could now hit Duskull.

"Duskull…"

Wade's opponent cried out in alarm. On the field, the Duskull was dizzy, unable to even float properly.

"It's paralyzed? Talk about when it rains, it pours," Basalt shook his head.

In the games, besides dealing decent damage, Force Palm also had a 30% chance of paralyzing the opponent. Of course, in the real world, there was no such thing as a fixed probability. As a Pokémon's skill proficiency and development deepened, the probability of triggering additional effects would get higher and higher. But at this stage, for a Novice-level Tyrogue, its trigger chance was probably not even up to the 30% average. For it to trigger now, all one could say was that its opponent's luck was really bad.

Although it was paralyzed and the situation was very disadvantageous, Duskull didn't give up. The arms held behind its back suddenly spread open, and a large black shadow instantly appeared behind it, looking exceptionally sinister and terrifying.

The Ghost-type move, Night Shade!

"Use Detect, then another Force Palm!"

Wade's brow furrowed slightly, but he ultimately clenched his fist and shouted the command. Detect was fine, even if it was revealed. But the move Detect was his trump card, originally saved for the finals. But now he had no choice. Ghost-type moves were very strange and difficult to defend against. And Tyrogue's defense was indeed not high. If it got hit, it could lead to a series of unfavorable consequences. To ensure victory, Wade had to use it early.

Voom!

After using Detect, Tyrogue felt as if time had slowed down. It could see the flow of the Night Shade's energy clearly. Its feet danced, nimbly avoiding the elemental energy projected from the dark shadow. It once again closed in on Duskull and extended its palm.

BAM!

The muzzle flash appeared again. The move Force Palm was used once more, and Duskull was sent flying again. This time, although Duskull hadn't lost its ability to battle, it could barely get up. After being hit by a follow-up "Vacuum Wave," it finally fainted completely.

"Duskull is unable to battle. The winner is… contestant Wade!"

With the referee's ruling, this battle, despite the extreme type disadvantage, was still easily won by Wade. Wade was truly worthy of his genius title.

"This Tyrogue is quite impressive. How long has it been training, and it has already mastered 'Detect'? In terms of strength, it's probably already able to pass the Junior-rank assessment! Coach Wei, you've taught a very outstanding student," Officer Tanaka praised with a beaming smile.

Although Detect wasn't as good as Protect, it was still a rare and divine defensive move, and it was very difficult to learn. For Wade's Tyrogue to learn it at the Novice level, its talent was not just high.

"Chief Tanaka, you flatter me. It's mainly that Wade himself is talented and willing to work hard, training diligently every day, rain or shine. I'm just on the side, giving a few pointers here and there," Victor Wei said humbly, though he felt a little giddy from the praise. He didn't dare to take all the credit.

Watching the secretly pleased Victor, Coach Miles's lips curled up slightly, and he remained silent. He couldn't be bothered to comment; it would be a waste of breath, even though that Tyrogue was indeed very well-raised. But Tyrogue's flaws were also obvious. Its physical stats were too poor; its attack, defense, and speed were not outstanding. If it was hit by an opponent, it would be easily injured. Its margin for error was too low.

An excellent Pokémon, besides being able to dish out damage, must also be able to take a hit. This was Coach Miles's personal understanding.

…

The competition continued, and soon the top eight were decided. So far, not a single seed player had been defeated. It had to be said, the officials' judgment was quite sharp; the selected seed players were all of a very high standard.

"But in the next round, a seed player should be going down," Basalt muttered from a corner, his eyes fixed on Wade.

But at the same time, he saw Wade looking past him, at Luna.

Damn it! Basalt cursed inwardly. As expected, he was being underestimated by Wade. This guy, he's already looking at the food in the pot before he's even finished what's in his bowl?

This was tolerable, but what was not?

"Today, I'm going to let you know what a… real… surprise… is!!!"

Basalt clenched his fists, released Drilbur, and began to plan his strategy in the corner. This time, not only did he have to win, but he also had to win beautifully.

…

The eight matches of the second round of the main tournament took nearly an hour. To allow the contestants to recover their stamina, there was another half-hour break.

At 3:30 in the afternoon, the third round of the main tournament finally began. The importance of these four matches was, in some ways, even higher than the finals. Because winning this match meant the contestant could go to Metro City for advanced training. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, not something that money could buy. Compared to the opportunity for advanced training, the prizes were not as important, because they could be bought with money.

Of course, this was for the wealthy contestants. Basalt was not in this category. Although he had received another 30,000 Pokédollars in prize money after entering the top eight, his total savings were now only 100,000 Pokédollars. Compared to those contestants with deep pockets, it was nothing. After all, his Drilbur could only eat fragments of Type Gems before. And even those were a gift from Dr. Martin out of apology.

Truly an ordinary family's Basalt.

And some people, like Luna, were even using heavenly treasures like "Never-Melt Ice" in their training. That was a seven-figure stat-boosting item.

But at this moment, Luna was a little busy, because her opponent in the third round was a Magnemite, a Steel/Electric dual-type Pokémon. Against Magnemite, Smoochum's Icy Wind and Confusion were not very effective.

However, this was not enough to stump the tournament favorite, Luna!

After using Confusion to deflect a Thunder Wave, the thick-lipped Smoochum squinted its small eyes in a cute expression, and several red, heart-shaped energies flew from its lips, hitting the unsuspecting Magnemite.

Sweet Kiss, a Fairy-type move, kisses the opponent with angelic cuteness, thereby causing confusion.

The poor Magnemite couldn't handle such a move and was instantly confused. On the field, Magnemite shook its head as if it were drunk, but it wouldn't listen to commands and would sometimes even attack itself.

Seizing the opportunity, Smoochum began to attack with Confusion, rapidly weakening its opponent's stamina. However, the resistance of a Steel-type Pokémon was too strong. After several consecutive hits, Magnemite was about to recover from its confusion, but it still had stamina left.

"Smoochum, use Sing!" Luna's voice was crisp and pleasant.

Sing, a Normal-type move, uses a beautiful and comfortable song to put the opponent to sleep.

The confusion hadn't even worn off, and now it was asleep. This time, not even a god could save Magnemite. After two more Icy Winds, Magnemite finally lost its ability to battle. But as for Smoochum, although it hadn't taken any damage, just using its moves had consumed a lot of its stamina and mental energy.

This was the terror of a tank-type Pokémon. Even if it just stood there and let you hit it, it could still tire you out.

"Tyrogue's Detect and Foresight, Smoochum's Sing and Sweet Kiss… these seed players are so cunning. Every one of them has a hidden trick. They're all certified cunning schemers!" Basalt smacked his lips, becoming more and more wary of the seed players. Especially Luna's Sing. Even if Drilbur used "Dig" to go underground, could it really block the penetration of the song?

"Chari~" 凸(｀0´)凸

Drilbur glanced at Basalt, full of contempt. You're one to talk, you damn hypocrite!

Although you're my trainer, to be honest, aren't you the most cunning schemer on this field? To this day, Basalt had still made Drilbur hide its Dig and Sandstorm moves, not to mention its terrifying Sand Rush ability. If it were to go all out, would it not have a spot among the seed players?

After Luna left the stage, Felix and his Gligar also defeated their opponent, though they had to go all out to do it. It couldn't be helped. At this stage, there were no more pushovers. Although the seed players' opponents were not as strong as them, they weren't far behind. Even for the seed players, winning was no longer so easy.

"Now, let's give our warmest round of applause and welcome the contestants for Group C, Basalt and Wade… to the stage!"

The host, Hudson, shouted into the microphone, riling up the audience's emotions. With the seed players advancing one after another, would this match also be won by a seed player?