The first five rounds breezed by for Auron—five straight wins, no real challenge. From the sixth match onward, the tournament started assigning random opponents, and it was almost guaranteed you'd face others with impressive win streaks.
Soon enough, Auron checked the draw for his next match and saw his opponent looked familiar.
Lucas Grant offered a wry smile as they met on the field. "What are the odds, right?"
It clicked for Auron—Lucas was from his school, the same guy he'd knocked out of the Academy Tournament's top ten. He couldn't remember the name, just that he was from Class 5. Auron grinned. "Yeah, pretty wild."
The referee called them to their marks, and both stepped back, ready.
"Trainers, send out your Pokémon!"
Auron tossed his Poké Ball, releasing Munchlax onto the field. Lucas released a Carkol—the evolved form of Rolycoly.
Pokémon: Carkol
Male
Type: Rock/Fire
Ability: Steam Engine (Speed is greatly boosted when hit by Water or Fire-type moves)
Talent: Green
Basic Moves: Tackle, Smokescreen, Rapid Spin, Rock Tomb, Flame Charge, Rock Polish, Ancient Power
Egg Move: Stone Edge
Auron immediately scanned the info: compared to its Rolycoly stage, Carkol had gained Flame Charge, Rock Polish, and Ancient Power. That Flame Charge could ramp up its speed quickly, and with the addition of Fire-typing, its resistances had improved—but it also gained a crippling 4x weakness to both Water and Ground. Even with Carkol's high defense, there was no way it could survive two Earthquakes from Munchlax.
The referee dropped the flag—the battle began.
"Munchlax, Earthquake!"
"Carkol, Stone Edge!"
Both went for raw offense, neither fast enough to dodge. But Earthquake, being 4x effective, was devastating; after the first shockwave, Carkol was already on the verge of collapse, barely holding on.
Lucas immediately called out, "Ref, I surrender!"
He knew the score—no point risking an injury or total knockout. He wanted to save his Pokémon's strength for the next matches. The referee nodded. "Opponent forfeits. Munchlax is the winner!"
Lucas walked over, offering a handshake. "You really are our school's ace. Aren't you worried, though, training two Pokémon at once? Won't that hurt your chances in the university entrance exams?" (Note: "university entrance exam" here refers to the battle portion for Skyspire or similar.)
Auron grinned, "You've seen what my two can do. Think I'll have any trouble passing?"
Lucas paused, then laughed at himself. "You've got a point. Anyway, you're amazing."
He gave Auron a thumbs-up and hurried off to rack up more points.
After match six, there was a ten-minute break. Auron's tournament device pinged with a message:
Are you ready for your next battle?
[Yes] / [No]
He tapped "Yes."
The system quickly matched him with another streaking contender, and he headed to the assigned field for his seventh match.
Again, both trainers took their places.
"Trainers ready? Send out your Pokémon!"
Auron released Munchlax. His opponent tossed out a Diggersby—known as the top "normal-type brawler" of its evolutionary line.
Pokémon: Diggersby
Male
Type: Normal
Ability: Huge Power (doubles physical attack)
Talent: Orange
Basic Moves: Mud-Slap, Leer, Tackle, Work Up, Quick Attack, Rage, Double Kick
Egg Moves: Rollout, Defense Curl, Snore, Mud Shot
Auron's eyes narrowed slightly. An orange-talent Diggersby with Hidden Ability, Huge Power. That's no joke—only Fighting-types could hit it for double damage, but with Egg Moves like Rollout and Defense Curl, it could be very hard to take down.
The flag dropped.
"Munchlax, Counter!"
"Diggersby, Quick Attack to close the gap, then Double Kick!"
Auron had seen Double Kick in the movepool. That told him his opponent would try to open with a fast attack—especially since Diggersby outspeeds Munchlax and Quick Attack has priority. That meant Munchlax would be hit first, triggering Counter to return double the damage and possibly interrupt Double Kick.
And, as planned, Diggersby's Quick Attack hit first, but the force was bounced right back by Munchlax's Counter, sending Diggersby tumbling and disrupting his second move.
His opponent looked shocked—was that luck or did Auron really anticipate everything?
"Diggersby, get close, try Double Kick again!"
"Munchlax, Earthquake!"
Diggersby's legs flashed as it dashed in, but Munchlax's Earthquake shook the ground, breaking his rhythm and dealing massive damage. With no Fighting resistance and only one HP, Diggersby was already struggling to stand.
It was clear—even with Huge Power, Diggersby couldn't withstand a heavy hitter like Munchlax. Plus, Counter would only return one round's worth of Double Kick, which made it a risky play. The next round, Diggersby's stamina was all but gone.
The trainer gritted his teeth, not wanting to give up. "Diggersby, Quick Attack and Double Kick!"
"Munchlax, Mega Punch!"
Diggersby darted forward, feet glowing, and landed two sharp kicks. Munchlax grunted but endured, his right fist glowing white as he slammed Mega Punch into Diggersby, sending him sprawling.
The ref checked for consciousness. "Diggersby is unable to battle! Munchlax wins!"
Auron quickly ran to check on his Pokémon.
"Munchlax, you good?"
"Munch!" The big guy beamed, patting his belly to show he was fine.
Auron grinned. "Great! Tonight you get two premium Pokéblocks."
Munchlax's eyes lit up, drooling a little at the thought.
The premium Pokéblocks Auron made recently were top-tier: technically A+-grade, boosting physical power or conditioning, but they couldn't be eaten recklessly. For strengthening, you could take one, sleep on it, and wake up stronger—but for true stat boosts, you needed to train and use Pokéblocks as a supplement. Even for Munchlax, with all his training, two per month was the max. The ingredients were rare, too—his mom had called in favors, and Ashen had tapped into his network just to find enough for a single batch.
Golbat, even after evolution, could only manage half a block at a time.
With another win under his belt, Auron pinged his friends on the team chat:
Auron: How's it going for you guys?
Serena: Just finished my match. Four wins so far.
Auron: @Jace @Tim, what about you two?
…
Serena: No reply—they're probably still battling. What about you, Auron?
Auron: Seven straight wins already. If luck holds, I'll make finals before lunch.
Jace: You're nuts. I'm dead tired and I've only got five wins.
Auron: That's the difference between us! Anyway, gotta keep it rolling. I want to wrap up by noon.
Auron put his phone away, clicked "Yes" on the tournament interface, and headed to the next assigned field.
As usual, both trainers released their Pokémon before the ref could finish the introduction.
Pokémon: Litten
Male
Type: Fire
Ability: Blaze (powers up Fire-type moves when HP is low)
Talent: Blue
Basic Moves: Ember, Scratch, Growl, Lick, Roar, Fury Swipes, Bite, Double Kick
Egg Moves: Fake Out, Swagger, Fire Fang
Auron was briefly stunned by the opponent's sleek, black-and-orange kitten—Litten, the base form of the mighty Incineroar. He'd once used Incineroar as a staple in doubles but drifted away from it after switching to singles, where it was less dominant.
This one didn't have Intimidate, but its Fake Out Egg Move was still clutch.
The ref's flag dropped.
"Litten, Fake Out!"
"Munchlax, Defense Curl!"
...and the battle went on!
Note (at end of chapter):
Move Priority: Some moves act faster than others. Most have a priority of 0. Quick Attack is +1 (acts before most), Extreme Speed is +2, and Fake Out is +3 (faster still). Protect, at +4, trumps even Fake Out.
Negative priority exists, too (Trick Room at -7, Roar at -6), meaning those always go after other moves.
Some abilities (like Prankster or Gale Wings) can also alter move priority, adding +1 in special cases.