"Then if Brother Stone sends out Graveler, he won't be affected! There's still a chance! Come on, Brother Stone!"
After hearing Icarus's explanation, Airi's eyes lit up. She immediately thought of a way to break the situation and began cheering loudly at the TV again.
The entire lounge area was already noisy and chaotic, so her voice didn't stand out at all. That was why she dared to shout so boldly.
"Sigh… In theory, yes. But Graveler is a much larger target, and it's slower too. Even if it isn't affected by the smell, winning still won't be easy…"
Watching the enthusiastic Airi, Icarus sighed inwardly, though he didn't say those thoughts aloud. Instead, he also shouted a few times:
"Stone! Go for it!"
After all, Pokémon battles were full of surprises, and battlefields changed constantly. No one could guarantee victory.
If battles were determined solely by type matchups and data calculations, then there would be no need for Trainers at all.
Back on the battlefield, Stone indeed sent out Graveler.
His opponent did not switch Pokémon. The moment the referee announced the start of the match, the opposing Trainer immediately ordered Gloom to use Growth.
Because of the first-move advantage, Stone could only watch helplessly as Gloom completed one stat boost.
"Hana~"
Gloom cried out happily, looking as if it had never felt better in its life.
"Gloom, Razor Leaf!"
"Graveler, Rock Shield and Stomp!"
The instant Gloom finished boosting, both sides issued commands simultaneously.
"Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh~"
Four Razor Leaf blades sliced rapidly through the air toward Graveler.
"Hey-cha! Dong!"
Graveler raised a Rock Shield with its left hand while gathering yellow-brown energy in its right fist before smashing it into the ground.
"Bang! Bang bang!"
The Razor Leaf attack was blocked without issue.
"Hana! Ha!"
At the same time, Gloom lost its footing from the tremor and fell to the ground.
"Now! Continuous Rock Blast!"
Seeing Gloom knocked down, Stone immediately ordered Graveler to follow up.
"Hey! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
Graveler responded instantly, rapidly condensing rocky spears in its hands before firing three shots in succession.
As an Ordinary mid-level Pokémon, this level of continuous attack was already easy for it.
"Roll away! If you can't dodge, use Acid!"
Seeing the incoming stone spears, Gloom's Trainer immediately shouted commands.
"Sha sha Gulu"
Gloom rolled twice in succession, narrowly dodging two of the attacks. As for the final spear, it spat Acid directly at the tip, corroding it enough to reduce the damage to almost nothing.
"Razor Leaf! Clash head-on!"
The moment Gloom regained its footing, its Trainer immediately continued the assault.
"Maintain Rock Shield! Use continuous Rock Throw with the other hand!"
Stone clearly had no intention of backing down in a direct confrontation.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
"Bang bang bang!"
"Hana~ Hana!"
"Hey-cha!"
For a time, leaves and rocks flew wildly across the battlefield.
But overall, Graveler clearly had the advantage.
Nearly all the Razor Leaf attacks were blocked by its shield, while Gloom's body gradually accumulated small cuts and bruises from the flying rocks.
"It looks like Brother Stone really has a chance!"
Watching the scene unfold, Airi said excitedly.
"Maybe… but something feels off. Is that Gloom just trying to wear Graveler down?"
Icarus nodded, but a strange sense of unease lingered in his mind.
Because they were only watching through a screen, they couldn't personally smell the battlefield.
What they didn't know was that Gloom had been continuously releasing a specially controlled stench the entire time.
Under Gloom's precise manipulation, the smell barely affected the audience or Trainers outside the field. It merely smelled unpleasant to them.
But for Graveler inside the arena, things were completely different.
A strange exhaustion gradually spread through its body.
Its eyelids became heavier and heavier.
Several attacks that should have landed cleanly suddenly missed.
"Graveler! Snap out of it! We're almost there!"
Stone also noticed something was wrong, but he assumed Graveler was simply getting tired from excessive stamina consumption. He immediately shouted encouragement.
"Hey Hey-cha"
Graveler tried to force itself awake.
But suddenly, its body stopped responding.
An overwhelming wave of fatigue surged up from deep inside it.
Then—
"Boom!"
Graveler collapsed onto the ground fast asleep.
"Graveler! Why did you suddenly fall asleep?! Wake up!"
Seeing Graveler collapse without warning, Stone froze before shouting anxiously.
"What?! How did Graveler suddenly fall asleep?!"
Both Airi and Icarus stared at the screen in shock.
"It's the smell!"
Icarus quickly figured it out.
"That Gloom mixed Sleep Powder into the stench. With that level of control, it only affected the battlefield itself, so Stone never noticed anything unusual!"
"Was it really the smell…?"
Back on the battlefield, Stone finally realized what had happened.
"That's right," the opposing Trainer answered calmly. "You should surrender. Graveler is asleep. Even if I attack now, the result won't change."
At this point, Gloom's Trainer was already certain of victory and didn't mind answering the question of a defeated opponent.
"I see…"
Stone nodded slowly.
"Thank you for holding back. I forfeit."
After hearing the answer, he calmly admitted defeat.
He was already satisfied with making it this far. Since the loss came from his own lack of preparation, there was no point stubbornly dragging things out.
"This match is won by Contestant #489!"
The referee immediately announced the result.
At this point, among the three of them, only Icarus remained in the tournament.
"Brother Stone lost too…"
Airi looked disappointed.
Humans were always like this.
At first, their goal was merely to survive a few rounds.
But once they advanced, they naturally began wanting more.
And when that hope failed, disappointment followed.
In reality, if people were just a little more content, they would suffer much less unhappiness.
"It's fine, Airi. This is our first tournament anyway. Treat it as experience."
Icarus comforted her calmly.
To be honest, after watching Gloom's performance, even he felt impressed.
For a brief moment, he even felt that Gloom suddenly seemed… pretty useful.
"Moo moo~ Moo moo!"
As Icarus's starter Pokémon, Weepinbell shared the deepest connection with him through their Mind Contract.
It immediately sensed his thoughts and instantly became unhappy.
"What do you mean that smelly thing seems useful?! I'm stronger and way more useful than that ugly flower! (╬Ò﹏Ó)"
"Alright, alright, I was just thinking out loud."
Icarus quickly touched Weepinbell's Poké Ball to calm it down.
"It should be my turn soon. I'll let you battle later."
"Brother Icarus! You have to win!"
After finally pulling herself together, Airi looked at him with determination.
"Yeah."
Icarus nodded.
"To be honest, I actually hope I run into that Pikachu you mentioned. It'll be a good chance for Weepinbell to show what it can do."
"Contestants #378 and #246, please proceed to Battle Arena 3!"
"Contestants #378 and #246, please proceed to Battle Arena 3!"
At that moment, the broadcast echoed through the lounge again.
"246! Brother Icarus, that's Endo Satoshi's number!"
Airi instantly became excited.
"You guessed it right! You have to avenge me! Come on, let's go! I'll cheer for you from the stands!"
Icarus himself was also a little stunned.
He hadn't expected his random prediction to actually come true.
Maybe he should have declared earlier that he'd definitely make the top three.
"Alright. Bring Stone along too, otherwise he won't know where we went."
After giving the reminder, Icarus headed toward the contestant entrance.
—
A few minutes later, Icarus stood on the right side of the battlefield.
"Ash! Go for it!"
"Don't disgrace the Endo Family!"
"One-shot him!"
Because his opponent was a direct descendant of one of the Four Great Families—and because he had won several previous matches through overwhelming victories—the audience support for Endo Satoshi was extremely loud.
Practically the entire arena was cheering for him.
The repeated chants of "Ash" gave Icarus an uncomfortable feeling.
For a moment, it genuinely felt like he was fighting some kind of chosen protagonist.
But after observing the boy carefully, Icarus quickly relaxed.
The guy's flashy clothes, carefully braided hair, and arrogant expression were nothing like a certain hot-blooded idiot from his previous life.
Aside from sharing the same name, there was no resemblance at all.
"Brother Icarus! Good luck!"
"Come on, Brother Icarus!"
After scanning the crowd for a while, he finally spotted Airi and Stone.
Though he couldn't hear them clearly over the noise, he could tell from their lips what they were shouting.
"Contestant on the left, please send out your first Pokémon!"
After a brief introduction, the referee motioned for Endo Satoshi to send out his Pokémon first.
"Go, Pikachu!"
Whether it was confidence or arrogance, he immediately chose to send out his ace.
"Pika~ Pikachu!"
A flash of red light appeared, and a small yellow figure landed on the battlefield.
"Ahh! So cute!"
"Pikachu!"
"Go, Pikachu!"
The moment Pikachu appeared, its adorable appearance and cheerful cry instantly captured the hearts of the audience.
"Hmph… I don't believe you're really the chosen one."
Looking at the Pikachu while thinking about the Trainer's name, Icarus still felt oddly nervous.
He took out Weepinbell's Poké Ball and muttered softly, mostly to reassure himself.
"Buzz buzz~"
Inside the Poké Ball, Weepinbell seemed to sense his emotions again, lightly shaking the ball as if saying:
"Leave it to me!"
"Contestant on the right, please send out your Pokémon!"
The referee's voice rang out.
"Go, Weepinbell!"
Moo moo! (ง •̀_•́)ง
Weepinbell appeared full of fighting spirit.
"Battle start!"
"Pikachu, Thunder Shock!"
Endo Satoshi immediately ordered a probing attack.
"Pika~ Zzt!"
Electricity surged around Pikachu as a current shot toward Weepinbell.
"Poison Jab Machine Gun! Block it!"
"Bang bang! Hiss hiss~"
The poison bullets collided with the electricity, canceling each other out midair. Splashes of venom hit the battlefield floor, producing sizzling corrosion sounds.
"Quite potent poison…"
Endo Satoshi narrowed his eyes slightly.
Although Pikachu held a Light Ball, it was still fundamentally a fragile glass cannon.
"Pikachu, Electro Ball Dash!"
After the brief test exchange, he immediately continued the offensive.
"Pika! Pi-ka!"
Pikachu dashed forward at astonishing speed while rapidly condensing electricity around itself.
In an instant, a large Electro Ball formed around Pikachu's body and rushed straight toward Weepinbell.
"Weepinbell! Use Seed Machine Gun to interfere!"
Seeing the rapidly approaching attack, Icarus immediately ordered Weepinbell to interrupt it.
"Moo! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"
A barrage of seeds sprayed toward Pikachu.
"Bang bang bang!"
Most of the shots missed entirely due to Pikachu's agility.
Even the few that landed were neutralized by the electric sphere surrounding Pikachu.
"Too fast! Double Team!"
Realizing the interception had failed, Icarus immediately ordered evasive action.
"Moo moo~ Swish!"
Weepinbell used Double Team at full power, instantly creating two identical copies.
"Left!"
Seeing the fifty-fifty choice, Endo Satoshi shouted decisively.
He could afford the gamble.
Even if he guessed wrong, his original goal had already been achieved:
Closing the distance.
As long as the gap disappeared, Pikachu's lightning-fast attacks would become impossible to block.
As for getting caught in close combat?
He didn't care.
As long as the enemy was defeated in a single blow, then there would be no danger at all.
"Zzt—BOOM!"
Pikachu slammed into the Weepinbell on the left.
The illusion instantly shattered.
"Whew… Good thing it hit the fake!"
Airi wiped sweat from her forehead in relief.
But at that moment—
Without waiting for commands from Icarus, the real Weepinbell reacted on its own.
"Swish!"
Its Thorny Poison Vine whipped violently toward Pikachu.
Because Icarus had deliberately trained his Pokémon to think independently during battle, their combat instincts were far superior to Pokémon that only followed spoken orders.
"Oh?"
Even Endo Satoshi looked surprised.
"That reaction speed is pretty good."
He was certain Icarus hadn't spoken aloud just now and assumed it was communication through Mind Contract.
Unfortunately—
"No matter how fast your reaction is, it still won't surpass electricity."
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"