Chapter 441: An Awkward Captain Battle
In this battle against the Otter Team, the members of Starlight and Frost still had a certain psychological advantage.
Because in their previous clash during the regular season, they had been the victors.
Of course, this didn't mean they could relax.
Coming into the playoffs, it wasn't just Starlight and Frost that had adjusted and grown. The Otter Team, with its major change in culture, was also showing a new face every day.
For one thing, their captain was now consistently playing in the 6-on-3 singles matches. This change alone was something Arthur and his team had not experienced during the regular season.
In the past, although the Otter Team's captain was relatively diligent, that was mostly just in comparison to the other members of his team at the time.
At his core, this captain still had some of the old-era mindset.
And he himself was very handsome. At thirty-six, he was still single, and was perennially voted the most popular diamond bachelor in the professional circuit. He was very keen on participating in various variety shows and endorsement activities.
In the past, the Otter Team had been called the "influencer team," and a large part of that was thanks to him.
The Otter captain used to have a favorite saying: "Those who are better looking than me don't work as hard, and those who work harder than me aren't as good-looking~"
But this year, the arrival of Luna and Serena had made it so he could no longer say that…
Luna had been taught by Arthur himself back at the Sea Carp team. The daily training plan Arthur had made for her had always started at ten hours a day!
If she didn't finish, she'd work overtime. At worst, she'd eat faster, sleep less, and go to the bathroom fewer times a day, but her training could not fall short!
Luna, who had been brought up under this kind of military-style management, can you imagine the shock she gave the Otter captain when she arrived?!
His first reaction at the time was: What the hell! I was just saying that, but this girl seems to be playing for real!
And then, Melody, who had been poached from the Blaze Team, was also a free-spirited, do-as-she-pleases type.
Later, even the former captain, Serena, who he had had some common ground with, had gradually been assimilated by this group of teammates.
In the end, the Otter captain awkwardly discovered that he, an old relic of a bygone era, had instead become the real minority on the team…
It made the Otter captain scratch his head several times—
Wait a minute! Isn't this the team I restructured with a one-kick-four? Weren't you all supposed to be centered around me? Crap! How did I become the substitute?
And what made the situation most awkward was that he couldn't beat Serena…
Although the Serenity Team hadn't made it to the playoffs last year, that didn't stop Serena from fighting her way to a third-place finish in the League Cup singles tournament!
And the Otter captain himself hadn't even made it to the top eight…
The Otter captain had originally thought this was a newly formed "Galactic Battleship" with him at its core!
But in the end, he discovered that he was the one who least fit the culture of this new battleship.
Recently, more and more netizens had even been sending him private messages teasing him.
"Captain, I've thought of a great way to optimize the lineup! How about we replace you? Put in so-and-so, and I feel like the Otter Team will take off!"
Every time he saw such a message, the Otter captain wanted to flip a table.
This is my damn team! Crap!
And in today's first round, the two captains, who were in the same boat, just happened to face each other.
The commentators were amused when they saw this matchup.
"Heh! This is very rare. In today's first round, we're seeing a captain battle in advance. Captain Leo of the Starlight and Frost team versus Captain Warren of the Otter Team. A captain battle in the first round is really quite rare. It's just that this captain's battle might not feature six Pokémon."
The audience immediately burst into laughter.
"Not being able to field six Pokémon, that's something. I feel like the commentator is just trying to stir up trouble. I like it!"
As for the official live stream, the chat was even more brilliant, with witty remarks flying.
"Newbie question: Doesn't a captain's battle require registering twelve Pokémon? Why are these two captains only registering six? Is it because they don't have enough Pokémon?"
"Captain? What's wrong, Captain? Don't stop (the persecution)!"
"These two teams are so strong. Their captains must be very amazing, right?"
Leo, Warren: …
There's a kind of weariness called starting the match, running into the other captain, and then realizing, I'm the same…
And so, for this entire round, the two opponents' expressions never changed. All their commands were given in the same tone.
They were numb. Completely numb…
In the end, it was Leo whose performance was a cut above. He took the first round in this singles match, winning this meme-filled captain battle.
But unfortunately, even as he left the stage, his expression was still stiff.
In the second round, Aaron once again put on a stable performance, defeating Melody.
Aaron's improvement this season was truly astonishing.
From a benchwarming substitute last season to now being able to take on the responsibility of a key match in the playoffs and defeat an All-Star main player!
Both his personal style and the strength of his Pokémon had undergone an amazing transformation in less than a year!
His Milotic had learned Foresight Slash and Iai strike.
His Inteleon had become more and more skilled with its gun-fu.
And the power of his ace, Garchomp's Dragon Claw, was getting stronger by the day!
If it weren't for the emergence of ridiculously talented players like Arthur and Zhuge Feng, who only appear once in a century, Aaron would absolutely be on the list of the most watched and anticipated players this year.
Now, in the Starlight and Frost team, no one had been more influenced by Arthur than him.
And then, another player who had been deeply influenced by Arthur took the stage.
It was just that this one had been taught and influenced by Arthur last year at the Sea Carp team.
That would be the most surprising main player this year, besides Arthur and Zhuge Feng: Luna!
She had entered the main singles stage with a relatively small number of Pokémon, but had made rapid progress through unparalleled focus and diligence!
Especially since one of her current aces was a Pokémon that is very, very rarely seen on the professional stage: a Beedrill!
Yes, after Luna had started using her Beedrill again, it had improved at an astonishing speed. Now, its strength had steadily reached the main singles level and had secured its place as an ace!
Before her, very few people in the world had used a Pokémon with such weak species potential like Beedrill in a professional league.
This type of Pokémon had almost always been defaulted to as a beginner-friendly choice for amateur matches.
But now, Luna had brought it to the main singles stage and had achieved quite excellent results!
This was certainly thanks to Arthur's initial guidance, but Luna's own hard work after her awakening was just as important!
She had always been the most diligent person on this current Otter Team, bar none!
In the end, in this round, Luna defeated Alex, opening up a path for the Otter Team.
And with that, the singles segment was over. Starlight and Frost was temporarily leading 4-2.
The point difference had not been widened.
Next, the doubles matches were about to begin.
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