Looking at the fallen Raichu on the ground, Sky stared at the Banette in disbelief—why had this thing suddenly unleashed power three to four times stronger than it had shown before?
If not for that sudden surge in attack power, his Raichu wouldn't have gone from having the advantage to being forced on the defensive and ultimately losing.
Many spectators at the scene were trainers and most could tell that the power of Banette's move just now seemed off—it was simply too strong.
> "What just happened? Raichu was about to win—how did it suddenly collapse?"
> "Can someone with a brain explain—Banette didn't Mega Evolve, so why did that Shadow Ball get so much stronger all of a sudden?"
> "Where's the commentator? Say something!"
Every match had dedicated commentators, and depending on the event's level, the commentators' professionalism varied.
In a global tournament like this, where participants started at the Elite-level, the battles between their Pokémon were often hard for ordinary people to follow. Even some trainers might find certain aspects confusing.
So for commentating on Elite-level or higher matches, the commentators' knowledge base was crucial—they needed to understand most Pokémon traits, moves, and habits.
A skilled commentator needed the understanding of a Pokémon researcher and the insight of a professional trainer when it came to timing and strategy in battle.
After a moment of silence, the commentator pondered aloud, "The power of that Shadow Ball just now was at least three times stronger than the ones Banette launched earlier."
"And it caught Raichu completely off guard."
"Banette did not Mega Evolve, nor had it used any stat-boosting moves before. Unless it intentionally concealed its strength to catch Trainer Sky by surprise."
"But that doesn't make sense either. What's the point of hiding your strength if you end up getting injured."
Although Banette had defeated Raichu, it had also sustained considerable injuries.
Had it deliberately weakened its Shadow Balls earlier to lull Raichu and Sky into a false sense of security, and taken significant damage in the process, only to unleash its full power at the last moment to take down Raichu?
At first glance, it might sound somewhat logical, but upon closer thought, it was complete nonsense.
Hiding your strength was about setting up your opponent, but to do that, you first needed to ensure you didn't get injured while holding back.
Raichu was both stronger and higher-level than Banette. In such a situation, what would Banette even gain by hiding its strength?
> "And? Why aren't you saying more?"
> "That girl didn't cheat, did she?"
> "The possibility can't be ruled out."
The commentator, who had been silent for a moment, finally continued: "I suspect that before the match, Banette had devoured a large number of Pokémon souls. After all, Ghost-type Pokémon can boost their strength by consuming souls."
"But this method has its drawbacks."
"However, there's another way to use these devoured souls—the energy obtained from devouring them could be temporarily stored."
"Later, this energy can be released through moves, and the power of these moves will be greatly enhanced under the influence of this energy."
Hearing that, everyone understood what had happened. Julian, sitting in the coaching area, also nodded along—this commentator indeed had some skill.
Julian's nod happened to be caught on camera, and with that, everyone fully believed what the commentator had said.
"Thank you for Champion Walker's acknowledgment," the commentator said with a smile.
> "It can be done like that? Devouring a large number of Pokémon souls before the match—doesn't that mean many Pokémon were killed?"
> "It's Babath—do you still not understand the inherent nature of this nation?"
> "Does this count as cheating?"
> "This method doesn't count as cheating. Devouring souls and storing soul energy are abilities of Ghost-type Pokémon. The opponent simply made full use of these ability."
"It seems that Trainer Saori's Banette has a remarkable talent for devouring souls. Otherwise, storing such a large amount of undigested soul energy would have been extremely difficult—a significant challenge for the Pokémon itself."
"If not careful, the stored energy could run rampant and explode inside Banette, potentially even causing its death," the commentator added.
This method was extremely dangerous, and on top of that, it required slaughtering a large number of Pokémon beforehand to obtain enough souls. It was far too cruel.
> "So scary… That cute-looking girl actually killed so many Pokémon?"
> "Arrest her! Killing Pokémon without cause is illegal. That's international law—every country has to obey it!"
> "Guess why she dared do it then?"
> "If they were all Caterpie or Weedle, it might be somewhat acceptable…"
> "Ew, just thinking about them makes me sick."
> "The soul quality of such Pokémon is too low—it won't work. Magikarp won't do either."
---
"I lost, I lost! My 100 bucks, my 100 bucks!"
Celebi couldn't accept the outcome of this match. Full of confidence, it had bet on Raichu to win and put in all of its pocket money for the day—and ended up losing everything.
"Alright, just take my money. Go collect the winnings back."
Seeing the devastated Celebi, Julian couldn't help laughing a little. He pulled out the betting slip he had just sent Celebi to buy—both the principal and the winnings had come back safely.
For this match, the odds were:
Raichu—1:1.1
Banette—1:1.5
The lower odds for Raichu indicated a higher probability of winning—but unfortunately, it lost.
Seeing the slip in Julian's hand, Celebi's expression became even worse, like it had gone a whole day without eating fried chicken.
"What's wrong?"
Julian asked, puzzled. He had told it to bet on Banette—a hundred should have turned into a hundred and fifty.
"I... I bet on Raichu for you too... Waaah..."
This time, Celebi truly felt like dying. When Julian told it to bet on Banette, it thought Julian must have lost his mind. But its own mind was clear, so it changed the bet on Julian's behalf and placed it on Raichu.
Julian took a closer look at the slip—sure enough, Raichu's face was printed on it. Celebi really had bet on Raichu.
He wasn't angry, though. Instead, he smiled amusedly at Celebi, who had brought this on itself. This guy's brains were as "sharp" as ever.
Jirachi, on the other hand, was delighted. It held up its own betting slip, which had Banette's face on it—clearly it had followed Julian's advice and bet on Banette to win.
A hundred had now become a hundred and fifty.
"Celebi, I'll share half of my winnings with you!"
Jirachi had always been loyal. It comforted its crestfallen buddy warmly.
Celebi felt even more wronged at this moment.
Julian then added, "After the match, I'll have Sky take you to eat fried chicken."
"No! I don't want him to take me! That trash couldn't even beat that Banette—I could defeat it with one hand!"
Celebi shook its head furiously. The reason it had lost its bet was all because of the two culprits—Sky and Raichu.
*****
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