Pokémon: Sandstorm Sovereign

Chapter 52: Fierce Battle with a Seed Player

Basalt and Wade walked out from their respective contestant tunnels, and the venue instantly erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

As a favorite to win, Wade's popularity among high school students was quite high. This was especially true because they knew that Wade himself seemed to practice martial arts, and his practical combat ability was astonishing, which made both the boys and girls admire him even more.

However, Basalt, blessed with good looks, now had popularity on par with Wade's. On the forums, in particular, fans had already quietly started preparing to form a "Basalt Fan Club" to support him. And behind the scenes, the owner of the J&L brand, Jack, played an important role, using his money power to fan the flames. As his brand's official critic, the higher Basalt's popularity, the greater the promotional effect for his brand. It was a mutually beneficial situation. Besides, spending a few tens of thousands of Pokédollars was just peanuts in the eyes of Boss Jack.

The key now was whether Basalt could make it into the top four. If he could, even if he ultimately stopped at the top four, he would still have commercial value when he later participated in the Metro City training and selection.

"Basalt, I've had the 50,000 Pokédollars ready for a long time. Whether you can take it away depends on your own ability." In the audience, Jack, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, propped up his chin and sighed. Based on the strength both sides had shown so far, Basalt's chances of winning were not high. Tyrogue's Fake Out and Vacuum Wave combo, in particular, was a real headache. Apart from the Ghost-type Duskull, no one had yet escaped the beatdown of this combo.

…

"Go, Brother Basalt!"

In the audience, Leo cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs, cheering for Basalt. Boss Leo's shout instantly ignited the emotions of the girls from Seaside County Second High. Not to be outdone, they also stood up to cheer for him.

Eventually, all the girls in the venue who had fallen for Basalt's good looks also started cheering, creating a chain reaction. The boys, however, had limited enthusiasm in their cheers. This was because they also felt that Basalt's chances of winning were not high. In the face of an external opponent, they no longer held hostility towards Basalt; this was the result of rational analysis.

Tyrogue had a powerful combo and the move Detect. How was anyone supposed to fight that? With their head?

I really didn't hire any bots, Basalt thought, truly baffled by the deafening cheers for him.

At this point, it wasn't just Basalt; Wade was also baffled. Aren't I the seed player? Are you guys cheering for the wrong person?

But neither of them had time to think too deeply. Because after stepping onto the battlefield, the referee had already signaled for them to release their Pokémon.

The match was about to begin!

"Come on out, Tyrogue!"

"Let's go, Drilbur!"

Their eyes met, and Basalt and Wade threw their Poké Balls at almost the same time.

"Taro~"

"Chari~"

Drilbur's entrance was as flamboyant as ever. Tyrogue, on the other hand, struck an offensive pose.

Tyrogue had a pink head and body. Its hips and shoes were brown, and it had white tape wrapped around its hands and stomach. Its pupils were golden, it had three protrusions on its head, and its body was hairless. Also bald, but in terms of looks, Tyrogue was clearly at least two tiers below Squirtle.

"Both contestants, take your positions. Let the battle begin!"

As the referee waved his small flag, the battle for the top spot in Group C officially began.

Whoosh!

Without even needing a command from Wade, the moment the match began, Tyrogue clapped its hands together, aiming at Drilbur. An airwave shot across the field, hitting Drilbur with the speed of a thunderclap that gives no time to cover one's ears.

The first move of the combo: Fake Out!

"Chari~"

Drilbur grunted, squatting slightly to stabilize itself. Basalt had mentally prepared his little mole for Tyrogue's combo long ago, so although it couldn't prevent being hit, it could minimize the damage.

"Hah!"

Just after the Fake Out, Tyrogue seized the opportunity and threw another punch. The vacuum wave created by the force of the punch once again descended upon Drilbur. Compared to Fake Out, the same-type Vacuum Wave clearly dealt much more damage. Drilbur stumbled back three steps—thump, thump, thump—before finally stopping its retreat.

Tyrogue's combo… Drilbur had withstood it!

But withstanding it was one thing. After taking two consecutive attacks, Drilbur's stamina had already dropped considerably, and it was panting slightly. If not for the fact that its constitution had been greatly improved after absorbing and refining the Smooth Rock Crystal, Tyrogue's combo would have probably left the little mole with critical health.

"There it is! There it is! Tyrogue's Fake Out + Vacuum Wave combo!" the commentator shouted madly into the microphone. But then, seeing that Drilbur's footing was steady and it hadn't been knocked down or sent flying, the commentator began to praise Drilbur, exclaiming, "But, Drilbur was not knocked down by Tyrogue's combo. This Drilbur's defense is terrifying!"

"So, in this evenly matched contest, who will the flower of victory fall upon? Let's wait and see, the outcome will be decided soon…" The commentator began to speak in ambiguous platitudes. As a commentator, even if one side was at a disadvantage, he couldn't show any bias. This was a basic professional requirement.

"Coach Miles, your student's Drilbur looks pretty badly injured. At most, two more Force Palms and it'll be down, right?" On the guest panel, Victor Wei looked at Coach Miles with a grin. "And don't forget, Tyrogue has the move Foresight. After using Foresight, Force Palm is a guaranteed hit!"

"The move Foresight is indeed quite troublesome. Looking at the situation on the field right now, if Drilbur doesn't have any other trump cards, it's indeed in a dangerous position…" Officer Tanaka, dressed in his police uniform, also spoke up at this time. As a neutral party without any personal feelings involved, his words were quite sincere. And don't forget, Tyrogue also had the move Detect, which could effectively defend against most attacks.

Seeing that Officer Tanaka was also not optimistic about Basalt, the smugness on Victor Wei's face grew even more pronounced. If Wade won, he would also get the secret technique for "Aqua Jet" from the Meteor Club. That was a good thing! The more secret techniques he had, the deeper the foundation of his Vigor Club would be, and the better its future development would be. With one side gaining and the other losing, it was only a matter of time before the Vigor Club would trample the Meteor Club underfoot.

"Drilbur has a trump card."

Coach Miles's indifferent voice suddenly rang out, making the radiant Victor Wei shudder.

"Wh… what trump card?" Victor's expression changed slightly as he looked at Coach Miles.

Hearing this, Officer Tanaka also raised an eyebrow, listening intently. From their understanding of Coach Miles, they knew he wasn't one to joke around.

"Drilbur's trump card is…"

Coach Miles smiled and looked at the craned necks of Officer Tanaka and Victor Wei, just beginning to speak.

But at that moment, the commentator's high-pitched voice suddenly rang out, instantly drowning out Coach Miles's voice.

"Here it comes! Here it comes! Drilbur is starting its counter-attack…"

With no other choice, the three guest commentators had to turn their attention back to the battlefield.