The next morning, 8:30 AM.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the grand Pokémon tournament hosted by the S.S. Anne!" An enthusiastic emcee stood at the center of the stage, shouting into his microphone. "A total of 300 trainers have registered for this event.
We thank you for your incredible support! Now, allow me to introduce the rules. This will be a one-on-one elimination tournamentwinners move on, losers go home. However, the next point might not be so friendly to some trainers."
The emcee paused for dramatic effect. "We are currently in the middle of the ocean. The only thing protecting us is the S.S. Anne. If it were to spring a leak, wouldn't we all be in great danger out here in the vast sea?"
"Yes!" the crowd below responded in unison.
"Excellent!" The emcee nodded with satisfaction. "Therefore, the second rule is that no trainer is allowed to use heavy Pokémon or certain prohibited moves. I will now announce the banned Pokémon and moves: Rhydon, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Golem... Earthquake, Rock Slide, Surf, Fire Blast, Thunder..."
As each name and move was read, sighs erupted from the audience. With these bans, many trainers found their strongest Pokémon unusable. The restriction on high-power moves added a layer of uncertainty to the matches, making it possible for an underdog to pull off an upset.
The total population on the S.S. Anne was around a thousand. Subtracting the crew and staff, there were fewer than nine hundred passengers. The fact that more than a third of them were participating proved just how tempting mystic items and a mysterious Pokémon Egg from the Sinnoh region were to trainers.
The dining tables in the central hall had been cleared to make room for ten separate battle courts. With 300 participants, anyone hoping to reach the finals would have to defeat sixteen consecutive opponents without a single loss. The difficulty was self-evident.
Some waiters and sailors had volunteered to act as referees. As an outside security contractor, Hisoka wasn't part of the official S.S. Anne roster, giving him total freedom of movement. Joining the tournament was no problem, though out of politeness, he still had to report his intention to Captain Tekshin.
"Misty, are you participating too?" Ash looked at Misty, who seemed even more fired up than he was.
Misty rolled her eyes at him. "Duh! Don't you know how much a Mystic Water would help someone like me, who wants to be a Water Pokémon Master?"
"I didn't know that!" Ash replied, shaking his head blankly.
"You!" Misty grit her teeth in frustration. "Then why are you entering?"
"To challenge all these trainers, obviously," Ash said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He then grinned. "And if I win, I get a Pokémon Egg from another region! Just thinking about it makes me feel like I'm burning up with excitement!"
"Brock, aren't you joining?" Misty ignored the hot-blooded idiot and turned to the motionless Brock.
Brock nodded and smiled. "You two go ahead. My Onix is on the banned list, and I'd definitely get knocked out if I relied only on Geodude. Besides, Mystic Water doesn't do anything for me."
"That's true."
The competition officially kicked off. Hisoka started his first match on Court 9. His first opponent sent out a Beedrill.
"Weavile, use Night Slash!"
"Weavile~"
Weavile let out a malicious hiss. Her speed was so blinding that the opponent didn't even have a chance to react. Beedrill was generally considered a fast Pokémon, and its Bug type gave it an advantage over Dark types.
Unfortunately, against Weavile's high-speed blitz, the Beedrill only saw a dark shadow flicker before its eyes. A sudden, sharp pain flared in its wing, and a second later, its entire body slammed into the floor.
Beedrill hadn't lost its ability to fight, but its right wing had been severed by Weavile's Night Slash. A Beedrill missing half a wing was essentially crippled. It couldn't fly, and without its wings for balance, it could only lie on the floor, buzzing and twitching helplessly.
"Beedrill!" its trainer cried out, rushing onto the court to scoop up the grounded Pokémon. He looked heart-broken as he stroked the jagged stump of the wing before turning to run toward the medical bay.
"You should announce the result now," Hisoka said, looking at the dazed sailor acting as the referee. Amateurs were truly amateurseven a simple judgment was taking too long.
"Oh, right!" The sailor snapped out of it and raised a green flag toward Hisoka, shouting, "The winner of this match is Hisoka from Viridian City!"
"Wait, how long did that match even last?" a bystander whispered to his neighbor.
"I have no idea. Everything just blurred, and then that Beedrill lost its wing."
"That black Pokémon that looks like a Meowth is way too fast. I'd bet it wasn't even two seconds from the start of the match to that Beedrill going down."
"Two seconds? You've got to be kidding me."
Hisoka left the court under the stunned gazes of the crowd. Because the match had ended so quickly, he would have a thirty-minute break before his next round.
In that match, he had actually told Weavile to hold back. If the Night Slash hadn't hit the wing but a vital part of the body, it would have been a killing blow with no chance for rescue. Bug-type Pokémon like Beedrill were simply too fragile; with Weavile's attack power, almost any direct hit was fatal.
Fortunately, a Beedrill's wings could regenerate. As high-energy organisms, Pokémon possessed incredibly strong life force.
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