Gavin West walked off the field with a confident grin, whistling as he tossed an empty Pokéball in his hand.
"The second match is over. Next, let's welcome our third battle: Connor Shaw and Mason Black—please take the stage!" the announcer called out.
Two people stepped forward from behind Auron, glanced at each other, and headed onto the field.
"Trainers, send out your Pokémon!"
Twin flashes of red light lit up the arena.
Connor sent out a Rookidee, while Mason chose a Mr. Mime.
Jace Rowan laughed as he leaned toward Auron. "Hey, those two—weren't they the ones we were analyzing yesterday? Didn't expect them to face off today."
Auron chuckled, keeping his eyes on the data screens.
Pokémon: Rookidee
Gender: Male
Type: Flying
Ability: Keen Eye (Prevents accuracy from being lowered and slightly increases move accuracy.)
Potential: Blue tier
Basic Moves: Peck, Hone Claws, Swagger, Leer, Fury Attack, Pluck, Taunt, Swift
Egg Moves: Brave Bird, Tailwind, Roost
Pokémon: Mr. Mime
Gender: Male
Type: Psychic, Fairy
Ability: Technician (Boosts the power of weaker moves.)
Potential: Purple tier
Basic Moves: Power Swap, Guard Swap, Encore, Quick Guard, Copycat, Pound, Baton Pass, Wide Guard, Confusion, Role Play, Protect, Icy Wind
Egg Moves: Hypnosis, Fake Out, Psywave
Auron stroked his chin. "This won't be easy for Rookidee. It hasn't evolved into Corviknight, so it doesn't have Steel typing or stats. Mr. Mime's got better stats all around, and he can hit Rookidee hard with Icy Wind."
But if Rookidee's Trainer uses [Tailwind] well, and stacks [Hone Claws] and [Swagger], he could one-shot Mr. Mime with [Swagger]. (Note: In this context, Swagger is a physical Dark-type move whose power increases the more Rookidee's stats have been boosted, and isn't affected by stat drops.)
In other words, each Hone Claws doubles Swagger's power, and two boosts means four times the power. Plus, Dark is super-effective against Psychic, giving Rookidee a fighting chance.
This battle would be decided by both Trainers' command skills and timing.
Whoosh—the referee's flag dropped. The battle began.
Just as Auron expected, Rookidee's Trainer knew his own weaknesses and started with [Tailwind] for a speed boost, keeping his distance to stack buffs. Once he'd stacked enough, he'd try to land a decisive [Swagger] for the win.
Mr. Mime, on the other hand, opened with [Fake Out], dashing in to smack Rookidee before it could get airborne, flinching it.
"Rookidee—Encore, Tailwind!"
"Mr. Mime—Icy Wind!"
Mr. Mime spun its hands, conjuring a blast of freezing wind toward Rookidee. But with [Tailwind] active, Rookidee easily dodged, taunting Mr. Mime with a cocky "Caw-caw!"
The repeated taunts only made Mr. Mime angrier.
"Rookidee—Hone Claws!"
"Mr. Mime—Icy Wind!"
Another flurry of [Icy Wind], another dodge—now Mason, Mr. Mime's Trainer, started to realize something was off.
"Mr. Mime—Encore!"
"Rookidee—Hone Claws!"
When Rookidee fell under [Encore], both Trainers cracked smiles for different reasons. Mason was thrilled: for the next three moves, Rookidee would only be using [Hone Claws], so he could attack at will. Connor was just as pleased—if he could survive three attacks, his next [Swagger] could knock Mr. Mime out in a single hit.
"Mr. Mime—keep using Icy Wind!"
Mason was pumped. Not only did [Icy Wind] get the Technician boost for extra power, but it was also super-effective against Rookidee. Just two hits would be enough to finish it.
But with Tailwind still up, Rookidee dodged again and again, both Trainer and Pokémon wearing matching smug grins. Two more attacks to go—then it would be their turn.
Mason didn't panic, continuing to order [Icy Wind].
This time, Rookidee tried to dodge as usual, only to realize it was slowing down—Tailwind had finally run out.
[Icy Wind] landed, sharply lowering Rookidee's speed. Connor looked rattled.
Now, with Encore in effect, Rookidee couldn't use [Tailwind] again, and [Hone Claws] boosts weren't enough for wide dodging—especially after the speed drop.
Connor hesitated, but decided to risk it all. If Mr. Mime's next [Icy Wind] didn't finish Rookidee, he could try a last-ditch [Swagger].
Unfortunately, things didn't go his way. Mr. Mime's [Icy Wind], boosted by Technician, finished Rookidee before it could attack. Connor's comeback plan was finished before it even started.
Frustrated, Connor recalled Rookidee and walked away, not looking back.
"Rookidee is unable to battle. Mr. Mime wins!"
Mason took a deep breath and returned Mr. Mime, then spoke gently to the Pokéball.
"Thanks, buddy. You did great."
The ball wiggled in his hand, and Mason smiled as he walked off the field.
The announcer helped smooth things over for the early exit.
"Looks like Connor Shaw wasn't happy with the outcome and left a bit early, but let's not dwell on that—let's congratulate Mason Black for advancing to the quarterfinals! Now, who will our next amazing match-up be?"
"Oh, there we go! Up next—Tim Wynn versus Simon Greaves. Both Trainers, please take the field and show us what high-level battling looks like!"
Auron and the others sighed from the stands. They'd all known an internal battle was coming, but now that it was here, it still stung a bit.
Tim walked over to Simon, reaching out with a smile.
"Let's go out there and give them a real show, alright?"
Simon, normally shy, met Tim's hand, his lips twitching into a smile. In his usual quiet voice, he replied,
"Okay."
Auron shouted teasingly, "Simon, you're picking up all Jace's bad habits!"
Jace, laughing with Serena and Lena, shot back,
"As if! He learned them from you!"
Ignoring the playful banter, Tim and Simon headed for the field, side by side.
Watching them go, Lena felt a wave of happiness and emotion. After all this time, Simon had finally taken that step forward—no longer shutting himself in a world of just himself and Lena.
With tears in her eyes, Lena turned to Auron.
"Thank you," she whispered.
Auron, clueless, scratched his head, then seeing Lena turn back to the match without explaining, just shrugged and focused on the battle too.
(End of chapter)