Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

It has three white feathers on each side of its cheeks, a tuft of white down on the back of its neck, reddish-brown upper body and wing coverts, dark blue chest, abdomen, legs and inner wings, and a yellow and blue band at the tip of its reddish-brown tail feathers.

Its appearance is very similar to the guardian beast of Tetsuya's tribe in his previous life, and its personality is also similar. It is a spirit that values ​​unity and cooperation, and the frontal wounds it leaves to protect its companions are its medals.

However, its excellent close-combat ability cannot mask its lack of speed.

In battles where the skies are the primary arena, speed is the key factor in determining victory or defeat.

"Warrior Eagle, bring on the Demon Mask again!" Itagaki Sadahisa issued the command.

Chapter 267 was something I predicted.

Ghost Mask, a transformation skill that significantly reduces the enemy's speed upon hit.

Itagaki Sadahisa was well aware that if things continued this way, the Brave Eagle would only be worn down by Pidgeot's speed until it ran out of energy and lost.

The situation on the court also made him realize that simply strengthening himself was not enough; he also needed to weaken his opponent. Only by increasing his strength and decreasing his weaknesses could the Warriors Hawks possibly keep up with the speed of the Pidgey.

The main problem was that Itagaki Sadahisa underestimated Hidori's speed.

Based on Pidgeot's previous performance in the game, according to his thinking, Brave Eagle could barely catch up with Pidgeot when it was moving at high speed after being boosted by Tailwind.

In close combat, the Warrior Eagle can easily and completely overwhelm the Pidgey.

But unexpectedly, even after a three-game winning streak in the first elimination round, Pidgeot still has a lot of room for speed improvement. Currently, its normal speed on the field is at least ten percent faster than it showed before.

That's a huge difference.

Although Itagaki Sadahisa had planned to preserve the speed of Hidori, this data clearly far exceeded his expectations.

"Use a flash of lightning to create distance," Tetsuya commanded.

He was quite troubled.

This opponent is clearly someone who excels at gathering intelligence before a battle and developing targeted plans; his strategies and methods at each stage are very effective.

These kinds of trainers are the most difficult to deal with.

It's fortunate that he had a backup plan.

On the field, Pidgeot, its body glowing white, instantly dashed a distance away, dodging Warrior Eagle's Demon Mask in a flash.

Unlike in the game, the Oni Mask transformation skill has a certain range; it only works when you are very close to the opponent.

In other words, this skill requires grasping the exact timing to achieve 100% success.

Otherwise, it is relatively easy to dodge from a distance.

"I said, don't run away!" Itagaki Sadahisa couldn't help but start verbally provoking Tetsuya.

"I didn't run away. This is a game, there's no need to be in such a hurry to lose."

Tetsuya retorted without any hesitation.

It's just psychological warfare; anyone can use that.

"If I were you, I'd have Pidgeot use Aerial Ace to counterattack. What's the point of using Air Slash from so far away? The beauty of Pokémon battles lies in the impact of every punch," Itagaki Sadahisa tried to persuade Tetsuya.

"No wonder your performance in the previous tournament wasn't great. It seems your command skills aren't up to par. What a waste of your Pokémon." Zhe remained unmoved and even stabbed the opponent's main artery.

Itagaki Sadahisa is very withdrawn.

It wasn't because Tetsuya said his command skills were bad—those who know, know what he meant—it was mainly because the poor results at the tournament were just too disheartening.

But what could he do? He faced top-ten seeded players in the first round of the knockout stage twice in a row. It's no wonder he couldn't achieve good results with that kind of luck.

I had hoped to make it into the top 64 in this third tournament, but I didn't expect to be blocked again.

Itagaki Sadahisa was almost numb; he knew his own strength was definitely not lacking.

As Pidgeon, in its high-speed movement state, was attacked from a distance by air slashes, the Brave Eagle, whose tailwind state dissipated, was being toyed with like a dog. Itagaki Sadahisa was almost helpless.

"Follow the wind," he commanded again.

Although it is tantamount to slow suicide, one cannot sit idly by and wait for death.

Seeing the Brave Eagle's speed gradually increasing, Pidgeot decisively ended its Air Slash and began chasing the Brave Eagle around the arena in its high-speed movement state.

It's shameless, but it works very well," Tetsuya said calmly.

He paid no attention to the fact that the cheers from the surrounding audience had gone from enthusiastic at the beginning to calm and indifferent now.

The referee had absolutely no room to intervene. Pidgeot's behavior and the conclusion that it had lost its fighting spirit were almost unrelated. At most, the duration of the Tailwind skill was somewhat relevant, but the Tailwind skill's duration was too short to meet the required criteria.

"This is really not the way a young person plays."

In a private box in the spectator stands at the Water Arena, the red-haired Kona commented as follows.

Cynthia, with her long blonde hair, watched silently from the side.

I don't know what their reasons were for inviting these two powerful trainers to watch the elimination rounds.

It has to be said that it was fortunate that the private room had a one-way view, otherwise these two beautiful women sitting together would definitely attract the attention of all the audience, and no one would care about the battle on the field.

"Warrior Eagle, turn back at top speed."

Once the Tailwind skill's duration expired again, in order to prevent the Warrior Eagle from losing its ability to fight and also to avoid a 100% failure, Itagaki Sadahisa had no choice but to have it replace with the next Pokémon.

This was originally the worst-case scenario he had envisioned, but he never expected that he would really have no other choice but to resort to this desperate measure.

U-turn, a Bug-type move, allows you to quickly return after an attack and switch in with a backup Pokémon, making it a very strategic move.

Although it's equivalent to actively switching Pokémon, the rapid return will prevent the backup Pokémon from being in an awkward position of having to go second.

After Pidgeot dodged the pointless long-range attack, Braviary transformed into a red light and returned to its Poké Ball. At the same time, another Poké Ball on Itagaki Sadahisa's waist automatically popped open, and a red light shot out.

A gray-blue, eel-like Pokémon appeared in the water, gazing at Pidgeot in the sky.

It has a structure similar to a "wrist", with a red circle inside a yellow circle in the middle of the "palm" and three sharp claws around it, which are its hunting weapons.

Its round, suction-cup-shaped mouth faces downwards, surrounded by four exceptionally sharp teeth that can generate electricity.

The white scales are located below the tail, and there are yellow spots on its body.

It is yet another Pokémon from the Unova region, Eelking.

Despite living in water, don't be mistaken, this is a pure Electric-type Pokémon and has nothing to do with Water-type.

Its initial form is a cute little fish, but it becomes less cute after evolving into Eel around level 39, not to mention Eelking, which evolves again with a Thunder Stone.

The Mama Eel King, which is over two meters long and weighs over eighty kilograms, is very intimidating just by looking at it. It's the kind of fish that can stop a baby from crying, though it might just make the baby cry even harder.

"A great choice. The player from the distant Unova region, Sadahisa, has sent out a Pokémon that is quite advantageous in the water field. The Electric-type Eelking is very effective against both the Flying-type Pidgeot and the Water-type Pokémon that Tetsuya might send out next."

I wonder if the Eel King can defeat Pidgeot, whose stamina has been significantly depleted?

The commentator exclaimed with great enthusiasm, "Finally, they've stopped playing guerrilla tactics!"

He's finally able to work again.

Tetsuya and Itagaki Sadahisa exchanged a knowing glance; this commentary was going to be subpar again.

Tetsuya didn't register any Water-type Pokémon at all.

Moreover, aside from Pokémon that are unlikely to be used on a water-themed field, Itagaki Sadahisa felt that his opponent's three Pokémon were quite easy to predict.

Togekiss is a must-have, and you can choose between Ampharos and Serperior. There's no need to think twice; you can't just send out the weakest Leafeon, can you?

Although Pidgeot's strength exceeded my expectations, you are still too young. Sorry, I had already foreseen this. Itagaki Sadahisa's eyes regained their confidence.

Tetsuya understood the other person's gaze, and a mysterious smile appeared on his lips. Yes, it was indeed "I" who had foreseen it.

"Phidden Eagle, turn back immediately."

He gave the exact same instructions as Itagaki Sadahisa had given before.

As the Eelfish dived to dodge Pidgeot's attack, a Pokémon appeared on the field to everyone's astonishment.

Chapter 268 Victory on the Water Field (Subscribe later, subject to revision)

"Ow!"

A deafening roar erupted.

"Rhyperior! It's Rhyperior! Tetsuya has sent out a Ground/Rock-type Rhyperior in the Water mode!"

The commentator exclaimed in disbelief.

"But...but Tetsuya's Iron Raptor can actually swim?!?" (Note 1)

Before the commentators could even comment on Tetsuya's choice, a scene on the field left him stunned.

The Rhyperior, which should be extremely afraid of water due to its Ground and Rock attributes, stepped into the water without showing any discomfort.

"Then, that means that Sadahisa's Mama Eel King will be greatly restricted!"

The commentator quickly realized that although he didn't know why the Tyrannosaurus Rex, which should be afraid of water and stay away from it, could swim, the fact was that this Tyrannosaurus Rex that could swim greatly countered the Electric-type Eel King.

The reason it is said to be largely restrained rather than completely restrained is partly because Tyranitar is immune to Electric-type attacks, but the main reason is that Eelfish is a rather special Pokémon.

As a single-type Pokémon, Eelking is only weak to Ground-type moves, but because it only has one ability—Levitate—Ground-type moves cannot damage it.

In other words, Eelking is one of the few Pokémon without a type advantage; no type move can be particularly effective against it. Furthermore, it is resistant to Flying, Steel, and Electric types, which is an outstanding feature.

In other words, some of the Ironhide Tyrannosaurus's skills are also restricted, but they are still within a controllable range.

Besides, this was originally part of Tetsuya's plan, and he had already made ample preparations for it.

"Ghost Face".

While Itagaki Sadahisa was still in shock, Tetsuya calmly launched his attack.

"Ow!"

The Ironclad Tyrannosaurus, its head emerging from the water, let out a loud roar, attracting the attention of the Mama Eel King, whose expression turned extremely terrifying under the influence of its skill.

The mother eel king, who subconsciously looked at the armored tyrannosaurus, was startled and slapped the water with her tail, involuntarily retreating backward.

"Mama, King Eel, don't be afraid, use..."

Itagaki Sadahisa paused for a moment at this point, then asked, "What should we use?"

Putting aside the fact that its most proficient Electric-type move is completely sealed, Eel King also has a second proficient type: Poison, and it knows many Poison-type moves.

Unfortunately, the opposing Ironhide Tyrannosaurus Rex has four times the resistance to poison, so the damage it can cause is negligible.

So what's the third strongest attribute?

Unfortunately, the third strongest type for Eel King is Normal, and Tyranitar has twice the resistance to it.

Itagaki Sadahisa's face turned green.

The key point is that although the power of Normal-type moves is not negligible, most of the Normal-type moves that Eelking knows are close-range attacks.

Although the two can be considered to be in the same class in terms of body length and weight, no trainer would do the same thing as asking Eelking, an Electric Fish Pokémon, to engage in close combat with Rhyperior.

Race and physical characteristics determine that the Ironclad Tyrannosaurus Rex absolutely crushes the Eel King in this aspect.

The Eelking cast a helpless look at its trainer. "Boss, this is not what you said before the battle."

A few beads of sweat appeared on Itagaki Sadahisa's forehead as he frantically searched for a solution.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up: "Mama, King Eel, use Electric Discharge on the water surface."

Eelking knew that its Electric-type moves were ineffective against the opponent, but out of trust in its trainer, it still unleashed its Electric-type move, its body crackling with electricity.

Dazzling lightning streaked across the surface of the water in the Water Arena, instantly turning the pale blue water into a golden hue.

The next moment, the thing Itagaki Sadahisa least wanted to see happened.

Yellowish electric currents surged along the water's surface, continuously coiling around the Ironhide Tyrannosaurus Rex. In an instant, the water field seemed to return to its original state, except that the Ironhide Tyrannosaurus Rex's body still faintly shimmered with white light.

This wasn't the Eel King controlling the electric current to attack the Ironhide Tyrannosaurus Rex; on the contrary, it was trying its best to control the current so it wouldn't hit the other creature, but to no avail.

Its special ability, Lightning Rod, attracts Electric-type moves to itself, rendering them ineffective, and also increases its energy attack power.

Let alone enemy electric-type moves, it's useless against anything. This characteristic doesn't distinguish between friend and foe; as long as it's on the field, all electric-type moves will be absorbed and rendered invisible.

Tetsuya smiled slightly. Who said the lightning rod feature is useless in singles and only works in doubles or triples?

It definitely wasn't him.

If used properly, even the seemingly useless lightning rod properties of the Ironhide Raptor can play their proper role.

"Good idea. While regular Ironhide Rhyperior is immune to electric damage, it still doesn't have much resistance to paralysis. Given its already poor agility in water, even with a superior type, it will still be able to find a way to win if it enters a paralyzed state."