Chapter 349: MVP
After his match was over, for a rare change, Arthur didn't go back to watch the rest of the competition with his teammates.
He was worried about Specter, so he followed him to the medical center.
Although Specter wasn't seriously injured in the match, his body had been through a lot over the years, and Arthur was afraid of any complications.
But when he got there, he didn't see any problems with Specter. All he saw was the guy showing off.
"I took down two in a row that match. You tell me, who else could be the MVP but me?"
Arthur arrived on the scene and couldn't help but facepalm.
You're over two hundred years old, and more than half the Pokémon here are the descendants of your old comrades. Can't you be a little more mature?
Mismagius, watching from the side, was trying to stifle her laughter but didn't step in to interrupt Specter's fun.
Although Specter's eagerness to take credit looked a bit childish, it gave Mismagius a strange sense of comfort and reassurance.
Because only at times like this was Specter's boisterousness genuine.
In the past two hundred years, Specter had done things far more impressive than this, but back then, he had never taken off his mask and laughed so freely.
Even though he had achieved astonishing things in the past, his fame had once crossed borders, his wanted posters plastered across both the East and West continents!
But the Specter of that time had never been as happy as he was today, winning an ordinary professional league match for his master.
A Pokémon's life goals are often different from a human's.
That past, as an underground emperor, was not something Specter cared to remember. Instead, today, fighting as his master's Pokémon again after two hundred years, was far more worthy of his boasting.
For a moment, he was grinning from ear to ear, his little hands on his hips, floating in the air and cackling wildly.
This shameless self-praise finally drew the dissatisfaction of Old Flame's daughter.
The little delinquent had no patience for old seniors and immediately called him out.
"Tch! You only got a two-for-one because of the advantage my dad set up! If my father hadn't forced the opponent to send out Primarina, do you think it would have been that easy for you?!"
After Mismagius translated, Arthur was surprised to realize that Old Flame's daughter's understanding of the rules of the game was progressing quite quickly.
She had been out of the valley for less than half a year, and now she could already follow a match with some competence. It was quite a surprise to Arthur.
This girl might be rebellious, but she wasn't dumb.
Old Flame's daughter's point was sharp and professional. For a moment, even Specter was left speechless.
She was right. If he were to really decide the MVP of this match, Arthur himself would also be inclined to give it to Old Flame.
Serena actually had three captain-level aces. If it weren't for the lingering threat of Old Flame's Outrage, her third Pokémon would have been her captain-level Milotic.
For Specter to take on two captain-level opponents in a row would have been difficult—the arena's restrictions were still a significant handicap for him, preventing him from phasing through walls at will, which could easily result in a foul.
The pressure Old Flame had applied was immense, forcing Serena not to risk sending out her second ace to face the rest of his Outrage.
She was afraid of a mutual destruction scenario.
So she was forced to choose the Fairy-type Primarina, using the safest type matchup to win the second round.
This advantage was created by Old Flame!
When there's a tier difference between the opponent's Pokémon, forcing them to choose a Pokémon with a type advantage but lower raw power is, in itself, a tactical victory.
Without Old Flame forcing out the lower-tier Primarina, Specter's subsequent victory certainly wouldn't have been so easy.
This kind of implicit contribution, which isn't directly reflected in the score, cannot be overlooked.
Specter himself was a seasoned veteran. It wasn't that he didn't understand this, which was why he had nothing more to say.
Damn it! Can't a ghost just show off in peace?!
Seeing Specter gritting his teeth, unable to speak, the younger Pokémon all started to laugh. For a moment, the room was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.
Seeing they had had their fun, Arthur finally entered the room, interrupting his Pokémon's post-match tea party.
"Alright, that's enough. Settle down. You'll have time for a post-match review when we get back. Now, Specter, go and finish the rest of your check-up. If there are no problems, we should get back to watching the match."
Seeing that Specter was fine, Arthur was relieved.
His teammates were still competing. He had to get things sorted out and go back.
If Specter's condition was stable, he needed to recover as soon as possible. In case of a tiebreaker, he might be needed on the field again.
Although the possibility of a tiebreaker was smaller with the current format, as a professional player, you had to be meticulous. It was better to be fully prepared.
After Specter finished his check-up and it was confirmed that he didn't need to be hospitalized, Arthur stuck a Revival Herb in his mouth and then took him back to the stadium.
When he returned, the final singles match had already ended. Unfortunately, Starlight and Frost had not been able to hold onto this last round. Alex had been defeated by Melody.
Melody was the main player who had transferred from the Blaze Team. The year before last, she had been a starting main in the Champions Cup, and had been selected as an All-Star both last year and the year before. In terms of raw power, she was indeed a cut above Alex.
And since Alex specialized in the Dark type, his tactical system was still relatively one-dimensional, making it difficult to compensate for the power gap with strategy.
Not being shut out and only losing by two points was already a decent performance.
Then came the doubles matches.
Currently, Starlight and Frost still had a two-point lead, so the pressure on the doubles division wasn't that great yet.
For the first match, Bella and Justin took the stage!
They were facing the opposing team's new rookie duo: Harry and Andrew.
Both sides had a Togekiss, and their partners were an Aerodactyl on one side and a Pidgeot on the other.
In this round, all four Pokémon on the field could fly.
The commentator made a fitting joke, "It looks like we're about to see a real dogfight."
By now, the two commentators had finally recovered from their consecutive jinxes in the first two singles matches.
There were no more matches with Arthur. They felt they couldn't possibly be professional jinxes, right?
That's not possible, right?
They had successfully made the correct prediction in the final singles match, reading every play perfectly. For a moment, their confidence had returned!
A true commentator must be bold in their predictions.
"What do you think of this match?"
"In terms of fame, I'm more optimistic about the Starlight and Frost pair. After all, Bella is also a highly popular doubles player, with both skill and looks. But, and I have to say this, the Otter Team's new rookie pair was also astonishing in the Devon Cup. Their performance there was no worse than many famous duos! So if I had to say, I'm personally a bit more optimistic about the Otter Team's side."
The two commentators, taking advantage of the last few moments before the match, were once again making their bold predictions.
But this time, even the Otter fans, who usually love to hear good things, were starting to feel a bit nervous hearing this commentator's words.
The fans had been in a perfectly good mood, but now, they were starting to get anxious.
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 35 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you