Benjamin: 'I am an Advanced-level psychic. How do you plan to deal with that?'
Rowan: 'If I bring out my mid-stage Pseudo-Champion Abomasnow and Mega Evolve it, how do you plan to deal with that?'
As Rowan's final Pokémon, Abomasnow, took the field, the aura of a mid-stage Pseudo-Champion swept across the arena. Originally, it had already been at the peak of early-stage Pseudo-Champion, and with Julian's help, its growth time had been drastically shortened, allowing it to reach the mid-stage Pseudo-Champion level within a month.
"Abomasnow, Mega Evolve!"
A burst of seven-colored light erupted, and a few seconds later, Mega Abomasnow appeared.
The Level 84 Abomasnow had now become a Level 86 Mega Abomasnow.
This instantly wiped the confident expression off Benjamin's face. He had expected Rowan to have an ace up his sleeve, but he never imagined that his ace Pokémon would be at such a high level.
In the World Youth Championship, Rowan's mid-stage Pseudo-Champion Abomasnow undoubtedly stood among the strongest of the entire tournament.
Even among the strongest contenders, their ace Pokémon were only at the early-stage Pseudo-Champion level at best, mostly hovering around the peak of early-stage.
> "Holy! I'm shocked, bros! I never expected Rowan's ace to be this strong!"
> "Look at that stiff expression on Benjamin's face—it's cracking me up! LOL!"
> "Benjamin: What do I do? I want to win too, but this guy is cheating."
If Benjamin didn't have a mid-stage Pseudo-Champion Pokémon in his lineup, then the outcome of this match was already decided.
The fifth Pokémon he sent out next was a Copperajah at the peak of Elite-level, which was defeated by Mega Abomasnow in less than two minutes.
He had intended to stall for time to force Rowan out of Mega Evolution, but Abomasnow's damage output was simply too high. Moreover, it seemed to have consumed some kind of Ice-type treasure, making its Ice-type moves more powerful than those of many other Ice-type Pokémon.
Benjamin's sixth Pokémon was a Metagross.
As Metagross took the field, many people's eyes instinctively turned to Julian in the coach's seat.
The silver-white Metagross had always been a signature Pokémon of the Walker family. And since Julian became a Champion—even capable of commanding a First-class Legendary—this iconic Pokémon of the Walker family has drawn even more attention.
Some enthusiastic fans even listed Metagross as the "#1 pseudo-legendary," all because its trainer was simply too damn impressive.
Benjamin's Metagross made many people recall the Walker family's Metagross—though his was the normal blue coloration, rather than the silver variant.
"Metagross, Mega Evolve!"
The Level 82 Metagross temporarily ascended to Level 83 as Mega Metagross.
As a member of the Gallian royal family, Julian had expected Benjamin's ace Pokémon to be Aegislash, the royal family's signature Pokémon.
But surprisingly, it wasn't. In fact, Aegislash didn't even make an appearance.
If not for the verified identity records, Julian would have wondered whether this guy was really from the Gallian royal family.
'This guy really is an Advanced psychic—this is already his third Mega Evolution.'
Rowan felt a slight sense of relief. Luckily, with Julian's help, his Abomasnow had advanced to the mid-stage Pseudo-Champion level ahead of time. If it had still been at the peak of early-stage Pseudo-Champion, even with Mega Evolution, it would have been hard to say whether he could have won against this Metagross.
"Rowan, Rowan, he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!"
Over on Rowan's side, his thirty-member cheerleading squad, seeing their sponsor's ace perform so powerfully, raised their cheers even louder, their legs kicking higher. This drew the gaze of many spectators away from the match.
"That guy Rowan is so shameless. Next match, I'm hiring a hundred-person cheerleading squad!" Sky was practically green with envy.
He wasn't jealous that Rowan had a mid-stage Pseudo-Champion Pokémon—he would reach that level himself sooner or later. But he was envious that Rowan had thought of the cheerleading squad idea.
He could hire one later too, but it would just be copying someone else's idea.
With the referee's whistle marking the end of the match, Rowan had managed to win the battle, though not without some tense moments.
He won the match, but his biggest trump card had been exposed.
After this battle, Rowan, with his mid-stage Pseudo-Champion Pokémon, instantly became a hot favorite to win the Championship. So far, no other contestants had a mid-stage Pseudo-Champion Pokémon—there were several with early-stage Pseudo-Champion ones, though.
Celebi came back happily, money in hand.
One hundred had become one hundred and thirty—that extra thirty could buy a cup of milk tea!
"So, how was my performance?"
Rowan walked over, a faint smile on his face. Defeating Benjamin, an Advanced-level Psychic, was indeed something worth boasting about.
Benjamin, on the other hand, was simply unlucky.
If he hadn't been matched against him, Ember, Asher, or Pierce, any of these four—with his Advanced Psychic abilities; allowing him to use Mega Evolution three times—would have given him a relatively high chance of winning against any of the other six from Drakoria.
But he just had to run into Rowan. So, sometimes luck was a part of strength too.
With Benjamin's strength, he definitely had the potential to rank among the top ten in this tournament, yet he was eliminated so early.
"You still have the nerve to show off? Your ace was forced out by your opponent. While my opponent surrendered midway, and I even took down three of her Pokémon," Sky said, looking quite pleased with himself as he eyed Rowan.
He then stepped forward, slung an arm around the other's neck, and asked, "Where'd you get those cheerleaders from? And how much did you pay them?"
Of course, Rowan would never admit to paying for them.
"They're all my female fans who organized this spontaneously. What do you mean, 'paid'? You just can't stand others being more talented and popular than you."
"Bullshit! Their moves are so professional, and you're telling me they're your fans? If they're not professional cheerleaders, I'll eat shit standing on my head."
"They are professional cheerleaders, but they're also my fans. They came to cheer for me for free. How could I possibly spend money on something like this? My family is poor."
The last sentence made even Julian roll his eyes.
Sky didn't want to talk to this guy anymore. If the Willow family was "poor," then his family must be beggars. The Willow family's shipping business spanned the entire world, monopolizing over 20% of global maritime transport—and he called that poor?
"Hmph, next time I'll hire a hundred," Sky snorted.
Regardless of whether Rowan admitted it or not, Sky was determined to hire a hundred cheerleaders himself.
He would surpass Rowan in both quantity and quality.
"Suit yourself," Rowan said indifferently.
But inwardly, he was cursing: 'This bast**d wants to compete with me in everything.'
'One hundred? That's nothing.'
'Hmph, next time I'll hire two hundred! I'll have them bring all the cheerleading squads to cheer for me.'
'But damn it's really expensive though.'
'Just standing there, shouting, and lifting their legs costs me 100,000 per person.'
Those thirty cheerleaders had already cost him three million.
And now Sky wanted to hire some too. Would these cheerleading squads jack up the price because of him?
Watching the two pretending to be friendly while scheming in their heads, Julian took Celebi and Jirachi and left the venue.
Since it had won some money, Celebi generously offered to treat Julian and Jirachi to cola.
*****
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