The order for the three contestants was decided by computer draw, with each needing to compete in two matches.
Match 1: Serena Elm vs. Tim Wynn
Match 2: Auron Vale vs. Serena Elm
Match 3: Tim Wynn vs. Auron Vale
The finals use a points system: a win earns one point, a loss earns none. Rankings for champion, runner-up, and third place are decided by total points.
The principal stood on stage, drew lots, then explained the finals rules to the first-year students before announcing the start of the matches.
"Both sides, send out your Pokémon!"
"Go, Beauty!"
"Go, Dratini!"
The first match was Beauty (Feebas) versus Dratini. Skill-wise, Dratini's Thunder Wave could restrict movement, while Beauty had Dragon Breath and Ice Beam, both of which could deal double damage.
However, Dratini was more agile and had better resistances. Beauty, on a non-water field, had trouble moving. All things considered, it was a 60/40 matchup—Beauty on the 40. But if Beauty performed exceptionally, there was a chance to take Dratini down.
With a flick, the flag dropped. The battle began.
"Dratini, Thunder Wave!"
"Beauty, Ice Beam!"
A burst of yellow electricity shot from Dratini and struck Beauty, making her already slow speed even slower. Dratini dodged the Ice Beam with ease.
In previous matches, Beauty had already revealed her trump cards—Ice Beam and Dragon Breath—so this time she used them right from the start, hoping to catch Dratini off guard. But Tim Wynn had anticipated this and didn't let it work.
"Dratini, Dragon Breath!"
"Beauty, Dragon Breath!"
Dratini straightened up in midair and unleashed a beam of green light. Beauty, gathering her energy, fired off a Dragon Breath as well. The two attacks clashed in midair, but Dratini's was stronger, blasting through Beauty's attack and hitting her directly.
"Beauty!"
Serena Elm called out, worried for her Pokémon.
Luckily, Dratini's attack had lost some strength in the clash, so it didn't do too much damage, still within Beauty's endurance.
"Dratini, Dragon Breath!"
"Beauty, Ice Beam!"
On the ground, Beauty's eyes filled with determination as she faced the incoming attack. She took a deep breath and shot a thicker Ice Beam than usual. The icy beam collided with Dragon Breath in the air. A moment later, shards of ice rained down as Dragon Breath dissipated. Beauty had held her ground.
Tim's expression remained calm as he continued to command Dratini.
"Dragon Breath!"
"Beauty, again, Ice Beam!"
Both attacks collided and canceled each other out. But while Dratini seemed relaxed, Beauty was already panting. If this kept up, Beauty would fall before Dratini.
Serena's heart softened as she watched her exhausted Beauty. She'd cared for Beauty since she was born, and even in matches against Auron and Jace Rowan, she'd always held back, especially with favorable type matchups. That made it easy to reach the top three.
But now, for the first time, Serena saw Beauty like this—pushed to her limits. She felt a twinge of guilt. She knew it would be hard to win, so maybe…
"Beauty…"
Serena called to Beauty, hesitant, almost ready to forfeit.
But Beauty turned to her, determination shining through those usually blank eyes. That look made Serena's heart ache.
"If that's how you feel—go, Beauty! Use Hypnosis!"
All this happened in a heartbeat. Tim kept up his cool demeanor.
"Dragon Breath!"
Tim thought Beauty would keep using Ice Beam to counter his attack. But Dratini's Dragon Breath shot through the rippling purple waves of Hypnosis, hitting Beauty directly. The Hypnosis, though, also struck Dratini, who couldn't dodge in time.
"Now's our chance, Beauty! Ice Beam!"
Seeing that Hypnosis hit, Serena lit up, hoping to finish Dratini with a double-damage Ice Beam.
Beauty, barely standing, mustered an Ice Beam that struck the sleeping Dratini.
Even though Beauty had taken another Dragon Breath, her stubborn will held on just long enough to fight back. Still, she was running on empty—one more hit and she'd be out.
Tim frowned slightly, watching as his Dratini, now asleep, took the attack. He made no move.
"Beauty, follow up with Ice Beam!"
But before Beauty could fire another, Dratini, still under Hypnosis, began to twist, shedding a thin, transparent membrane—its Shed Skin ability. (Sometimes Dratini can shed skin to cure status conditions.)
With sleep cured, Dratini dodged the incoming Ice Beam with a graceful twist.
Tim's expression returned to its usual stoic calm.
"Dratini, Water Pulse!"
A pulse of water, not much larger than a Water Gun, struck Beauty. Finally, Beauty couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed.
"Feebas is unable to battle! Dratini wins!"
"Thank you, Beauty. Come back now."
Serena smiled through tears as she recalled her dazed Beauty and stepped off the stage.
The audience erupted in applause for Beauty's tenacity.
When the applause died down, the principal spoke.
"Thank you to both students for a wonderful match. The next round will begin in thirty minutes. Trainers, please help your Pokémon recover as quickly as possible."
There was a half-hour break between each of the final matches to allow contestants' Pokémon to rest and recover.
"You okay?"
Auron asked Serena as she stepped down from the stage.
"I'm fine. Dratini's Water Pulse wasn't that strong—just enough to knock Beauty out."
"Alright. Go heal up at the Pokémon Center. Our match is up next."
Auron gave Serena an encouraging pat on the shoulder.
She smiled.
"Don't worry about me. I'll let the referee know I'm forfeiting the next match."
Auron was confused. "Huh? Why forfeit?"
Serena gave him a look.
"What, you want to humiliate me in front of everyone? It's not like I've ever beaten you in training."
Auron scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
"It's fine. Just make sure to get revenge for me later, okay?"
Before Auron could reply, Serena ran off to the referee, exchanged a few words, got a nod, then shot Auron a quick smile before hurrying to the Pokémon Center.
Auron couldn't help but chuckle. "This girl…"
Half an hour later—
"Second match: Serena Elm forfeits. The match will now be Auron Vale versus Tim Wynn. Both contestants, please come to the stage."
With Beauty in her arms, Serena and Jace Rowan stood on either side of Auron. Hearing the announcement, both reached out and said,
"Good luck!"
Auron put his hand on top of theirs.
"Let's do this!"
Three hands came down together.
With the support of his friends, Auron walked confidently onto the battlefield.
"Both sides, send out your Pokémon!"
"Go, Zubat!"
"Come on out, Dratini!"
With a flick, the battle began.
"Dratini, Thunder Wave!"
"Zubat, dodge and use Confuse Ray!"
Zubat veered to the side, dodging the yellow spark and shot a purple Confuse Ray, but Dratini avoided it just as deftly.
They tested each other with simple moves.
"Zubat, Air Slash!"
"Dratini, Aqua Jet!"
Both moves fired off at high speed, each landing. The two Pokémon's move speeds had clearly been well-trained.
Tim was interested now. Ever since he'd gotten Dratini, it had never struggled—whether against students from other schools or in today's tournament. No one had ever matched it so well at the start of a fight.
"Zubat, Air Slash!"
"Dratini, Aqua Jet!"
Once again, both moves collided.
Auron frowned. He realized that if he kept exchanging blows like this, Zubat wouldn't be able to outlast Dratini—it would be knocked out first.
Tim smiled slightly, continuing,
"Dratini, Aqua Jet!"
"Zubat, Poison Fang!"
Zubat unleashed its Poison Fang, which it had been hiding all day. As a physical attack, Poison Fang was even stronger than Air Slash and had a high chance of inflicting poison—perfect if it landed a critical hit.
Zubat took another Aqua Jet, but the glowing purple fangs landed on Dratini. It didn't hit a weak spot, but the poison effect triggered.
Tim lost his calm demeanor, surprised that Auron had been hiding Poison Fang. If it had landed a critical hit, this match would've been over.
"Dratini, Twister!"
"Zubat, dodge, then Poison Fang again!"
A whirlwind formed and swept toward Zubat, who barely dodged by moving to the edge of the field.
"Dratini, get close and Wrap it up! Don't let it use Poison Fang again!"
While Zubat tried to evade, Dratini rushed over and wrapped tightly around it before it could attack.
"Zubat, use Poison Fang!"
Zubat's glowing fangs bit down hard on Dratini. Dratini yelped, released its grip, then shed a layer of skin—once again, its Shed Skin ability kicked in, curing the poison.
"Zubat, Pursuit!"
"Dratini, Thunder Wave!"
Auron ordered Zubat to chase with Pursuit, but Tim let Dratini take the hit in order to paralyze Zubat.
Dratini was thrown back, breathing heavily. Zubat, now paralyzed, looked to Auron for instructions.
Auron said nothing.
"Haha, Dratini, Dragon Breath!"
Tim was feeling confident now. With paralysis slowing Zubat and the risk of it being unable to move, Dratini could win easily.
"Zubat, Poison Fang!"
Zubat tried to move, but paralysis took hold, failing the attack. Dragon Breath hit home.
Tim was puzzled. At this rate, it would take four more Dragon Breaths to win, and without a type advantage, there were too many variables if this dragged out.
"Dratini, Dragon Dance, then Dragon Tail!"
As Dratini prepared to boost itself, Auron's eyes lit up.
"Now's the time, Zubat! Use your berry, then Poison Fang!"
Zubat munched a red, cherry-like berry—the Cheri Berry that cures paralysis. (This was what Auron had told Jace Rowan to prepare that morning.) Zubat had waited until now to use it, as it could only be used once. If used too early, Dratini could inflict status again.
Auron had gambled: once Dratini tried to boost with Dragon Dance, that was his chance. With paralysis cured, Zubat immediately lunged in with Poison Fang, interrupting Dratini's setup.
Now Tim was completely rattled. He understood what had happened—item use was usually something taught at university level. How did Auron know to use it here?
"Zubat, finish it! Poison Fang!"
"Dratini, Substitute!"
In the games, Substitute takes a quarter of max HP; in real life, it's half of current stamina—a real survival move, not something to use at the start.
Zubat's dark, cross-shaped Poison Fang tore through Dratini's Substitute and struck Dratini's real body.
Critical hit. Battle over.
"Dratini is unable to battle! Zubat wins!"
Thunderous applause erupted. The whole crowd was blown away by the fight (and by Auron's endless tricks).
After the match, the two walked to the podium to await the principal's award presentation. Tim leaned over and whispered,
"Your Zubat—does it have the Infiltrator ability?"
"That's right, Infiltrator."
Auron answered. Tim's eyes sparkled with interest.
"Got any plans tonight? Let me treat you to dinner, maybe exchange some Pokémon training tips?"
Auron glanced at him in surprise. Seeing the look in Tim's eyes—like a kid eyeing a new toy—he hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Sure, but I might bring a couple of friends. Is that alright?"
Tim looked curious. "Who?"
"Her, and someone else," Auron said, nodding toward Serena, who'd just walked over.
Tim frowned. "Why bring a girl to a guys' night out?"
Auron: ???
"Didn't you try to ask her out before?"
Tim replied sheepishly, "Ah, that was back at New Year's. My uncle asked if I had a girlfriend. I said no, and he looked at me like I was a disappointment. So I decided to get one next semester—but if I was gonna date, I wanted the best. So I tried to date her, but she ignored me. Later, when I got Dratini, I realized—Pokémon are way better than girls."
Auron patted him on the shoulder.
"You've got a lot to learn, kid."
Tim looked utterly confused.
Serena stepped up beside Auron, curious. "What are you two talking about?"
"Nothing," Auron replied, thinking: For all his cold, rich-kid vibe, turns out he's just a goof.
(End of Chapter)
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