Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

Tetsuya sat quietly on a chair at the rest stop, staring straight ahead without moving.

Meanwhile, Sugiyama Kage took out his remaining three Poké Balls and seemed to be explaining something.

The fifteen-minute break passed quickly.

At the referee's prompting, the two returned to the control platform.

"Alright, the second half of the match is about to begin amidst great anticipation. I wonder what kind of fierce battle the two players will bring us?"

Without further ado, let's look forward to it!

The commentator, who had been building up the atmosphere for a full fifteen minutes, finally took a break and drank some water during the brief time when both sides sent out their Pokémon.

Tetsuya's team still used Togekiss; he did not choose to change his Pokémon.

Sugiyama Kage sent out a Water/Ground type Swamp King.

Quagsire is a chubby blue water fish Pokémon with purple and dark green stripes on its back and tail. Its body is so slippery that it is difficult to catch.

It is naturally carefree and somewhat silly. It lives in the water and doesn't care at all even if it bumps into rocks or the bottom of a boat. Its sluggishness is almost on par with Slowpoke.

However, it is much smarter than Slowpoke; it is not truly stupid.

Compared to its initial form, Upo, Swamp King lost the light purple horn on its head, but gained two more arms, and its tail became larger and more powerful.

Despite having the Ground type, Quagsire can only learn a few Ground moves, only about seven or eight.

Furthermore, it is not separated from rock and ground; in addition to ice-type moves, it has many rock-type moves that are effective against Togekiss.

Therefore, Sugiyama Kage's choice was not wrong.

"Togekiss, Air Slash." Tetsuya's tactics remained unchanged. One trick is all you need, and in a one-on-one fight, Togekiss only needs this one tactic.

"Instant amnesia."

After the halftime break, Sugiyama Kage, who had been somewhat flustered, clearly recovered considerably and calmly gave instructions to Numa-o.

The Swamp King remained silent, its ever-smiling mouth stretching even wider, its sesame-seed-sized eyes revealing no logic to its actions.

When the air slash struck it, it had no visible effect whatsoever.

For a moment, Tetsuya couldn't even be sure if it had fallen into a state of fear.

Swamp King's reaction time is not fast to begin with, and the instant amnesia will cause the Pokémon's brain to go blank for a period of time. Considering the increase in energy defense ability, it is normal that it cannot be seen.

"An empty city strategy, huh?" Tetsuya pondered for a moment, then gave the order: "Air Slash."

Whether you're actually scared or not, hitting you is definitely the right thing to do.

Furthermore, Tetsuya had complete faith in Togekiss's luck, just as he believed in his own.

"Boom!"

The sound of a boulder rolling rang out, and a jumble of rocks appeared before the Swamp King.

Togekiss's first air slash wasn't so lucky; Quagsire failed to enter a cowering state. However, Sugiyama had already told it during the match, so Quagsire maintained its original form.

But it definitely couldn't take the hit a second time, so it used Rock Blockade as instructed by Sugiyama Kageya to block in front of it and slip inside.

The biggest difference between reality and games is that you can basically use all skills in creative ways.

Golduck's ability to indirectly control itself with psychic powers is about average, and using Rock Totem for defense is a piece of cake. That's what makes Pokémon battles so interesting.

Tetsuya laughed: "Pokekis, Aura Missile."

Does blocking your view actually help?

He looked at the Swamp King, who was hiding somewhere inside the rock formation, completely ignoring everything else.

Wave missile, guaranteed to hit.

A blue ball of light appeared swirling around Tokiss's mouth, and one could vaguely see blue specks of light flashing on the people present.

However, it vanished in the blink of an eye, as if it were an illusion. No one noticed it, and everyone was watching the battle on the field with tension.

The blue sphere grew larger and larger, soon reaching the size of a soccer ball.

With a flick of his head, Pokkiss launched the Aoko missile towards the rocks in a "headball" motion.

The self-aiming wave missiles darted freely through the crevices of the rocks.

"boom"

A dull thud rang out, and Swamp King was sent flying.

With Blaziken's help, Togekiss learns Aura Sphere very quickly, and its talent in this area is even greater than Blaziken's.

After all, Togekiss is a Pokémon with a strong Aura ability—isn't sensing happiness one of its abilities?

Therefore, the wave missiles it used were just as powerful.

Even with the defensive boost from the instant amnesia skill, Swamp King couldn't help but show a pained expression on his usually dull face.

Sugiyama Kage found the situation increasingly troublesome. Did the rare Togekiss really have so many skills it was proficient in?

Chapter 274 A Clash of Aces

The key is not that Togekiss has many skills, but that the skills it has mastered are extremely rare and difficult to deal with.

I won't go into detail about switching locations; Psychic-type moves are difficult to deal with in any situation.

As the most intuitive manifestation of waveguide power, the wave missile is not only powerful but also has the effect of "targeting enemies".

According to Sugiyama Kage's initial idea, the high-speed stars that Pokkis just used should be of a similar type.

Compared to the agility of the wave missile, the high-speed star, while also guaranteed to hit, can be blocked by the rocks created by the rock blockade skill.

In this way, Sugiyama Kage envisions that Swamp King's physical exertion will be much less than it is now.

However, it can only be said that there is a difference between imagination and reality.

Sugiyama Kage touched his nose: "Swamp King, Sludge Bomb."

As a Water/Ground type, Quagsire is actually quite adept at using Poison types, as can be seen from its name. Sludge Bomb, Acid Bomb, Sludge Wave, and even Toxic are all Quagsire's specialties.

Tetsuya unconsciously rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.

Since the Fairy type hasn't been confirmed yet, he's probably the only one who knows that Togekiss is weak to Poison-type moves.

In other words, by sheer chance and without knowing what he was thinking, Sugiyama Kage chose the skill that was most advantageous to Swamp King.

"Mental shock, crush it," Tetsuya ordered.

Since their superpower prowess has already been exposed, there's no need to hide it any further. Using superpower skills against poison-type skills is a perfectly normal tactic.

The psychic waves in their physical form collided with the dark purple sludge in the middle of the field.

"Whoo-"

The sludge lay on the ground, revealing clear signs of corrosion, which fully demonstrates its potent toxicity.

Taking advantage of this moment, the blue Swamp King opened its mouth wide and took a deep breath.

His already large body became even larger, especially his abdomen.

Tetsuya's expression changed; this Quagsire's inherited skills were truly outstanding: "Togekiss, use Solar Beam!"

The urgency in his words was very obvious.

Tokiss immediately flew high into the sky, and the sun shone on it, causing the points of light to gradually gather.

"Four times the strength should be enough for a one-hit kill," Tetsuya thought, watching Togekis prepare.

He must aim for a fatal blow.

Although Togekiss's mastery of the Grass-type move Solar Beam is not ideal, Quagsire is so weak against Grass-type moves that even if it were to use its preferred Flying-type move, the damage Togekiss would probably be far less than the damage from the unfamiliar Solar Beam.

As for why Tetsuya was in such a hurry, it was entirely because Swamp King's performance just now indicated that it was using a charged-up skill.

This skill, when viewed alone, is not particularly remarkable. However, the effect of increasing the user's physical and energy defense capabilities by consuming a considerable amount of time is not as good as using two different skills, which might even have shorter durations.

However, when charged up and combined with the other two skills, it can produce drastically different results.

One is swallowed, the other is spat out.

Each time a charge is used, the spirit can not only improve its abilities but also accumulate power once, up to a maximum of three times. Of course, the more times it uses a charge, the more difficult and slower it becomes.

It's like forcing yourself to eat more than you can chew; you're lucky if you don't explode.

After charging up, use Swallow. The recovery effect depends on the number of times the power is charged. According to the data, if you can charge up three times, Swallow can restore the user to almost 100% of their condition.

If it's unleashed, it will damage the enemy. After three charges, the damage can be devastating, making it easy for elites to defeat quasi-kings.

However, unless you ambush them in the wild, charging twice is the norm and the limit in a regular battle. Charging once is not very meaningful, and the preparation time for the third charge is enough for the opponent's Pokémon to use three moves that are enough to make your Pokémon lose its ability to fight.

Pokémon like Quagsire cannot learn these three skills on their own; they can only learn them through inheritance from their parents. That's why Tetsuya praised Quagsire's inherited skills as quite good.

Moreover, according to research, these three inherited skills are usually bundled together; simply put, you either don't have one or you have all three.

Sugiyama Kage is now facing a choice.

The Quagsire has completed its first charge-up. Judging from the way Togekiss is concentrating the energy of the Solar Beam, there shouldn't be enough time left for the Quagsire to complete its second charge-up.

So, should he choose to use his attack to weaken Togekiss at this moment, or should he let Quagsire continue to charge up and withstand the Solar Beam before charging up again and then unleashing his attack to incapacitate Togekiss?

Sugiyama Kage frowned deeply; he had to make a decision quickly, as time did not allow him to think it over.

He looked up at the large screen above the field displaying the number of Pokémon, gritted his teeth, and said, "Quake, charge up."

With unwavering determination, Sugiyama Kage knew that in his current predicament, only by taking a gamble could he hope for victory.

Swamp King, with his large, immobile belly, gradually turned serious from his smiling face.

It opened its mouth again and gasped for air.

A mysterious light flashed across its body, and with each flow, its body grew slightly larger.

A moment of silence fell over the field.

Tetsuya looked up at the sky; it had been clear and sunny all morning.

Moreover, after Golduck's Rain Dance, there are even fewer clouds floating in the sky directly above the field.

"So today is a good day for a battle," Tetsuya laughed. "Togekiss, Solar Beam."

That was preparation; this time, it's launch.

A white beam of light, tinged with green, slammed down from mid-air.

Swamp King's power-up was still not complete; the purple and dark green stripes on its back had become lighter in color due to its swollen body.

"Hold on, Swamp King!" Sugiyama Kage shouted.

The next moment, the blue Swamp King disappeared in a flash of white light.

The audience held their breath, watching the close-up shot on the screen above the arena.

Togekiss remained suspended in the air, unable to move due to the stiffness caused by the use of Sunbeam, and its shadow perfectly covered the location where Swamp King was.

As the light faded, Tetsuya clicked his tongue.

"Swamp King, use Jet!"

Sugiyama Kageya quickly spotted the still upright body of the Swamp King and, with a look of delight, issued the command.

But the Swamp King made no move.

"Uh~"

Swamp King involuntarily exhaled a puff of white smoke, and then his upright body collapsed straight forward to the ground.

Sugiyama Kage's expression froze.

Tetsuya breathed a sigh of relief. He really thought that Swamp King had not lost its ability to fight. In its current state, Togekiss could not dodge the attack. Two charged attacks would be enough to make it lose its ability to fight.

This swamp king was standing upright entirely by sheer willpower.

Tetsuya thought about it and realized that this statement was also incorrect. The instantaneous amnesia and the enhanced defensive capabilities during the charging process must have also had a significant impact; otherwise, even with Swamp King's strong willpower, he wouldn't have been able to do it.

"Swamp King is unable to fight, Togekiss wins." The referee numbly raised the flag.

He's only raised the red flag representing Sugiyama Kage once so far, and his right hand is getting a little sore.

"Tetsuya has won again! Togekis has defeated its second opponent, and Sugiyama Kage is in grave danger!!"

The narrator's voice echoed in Sugiyama Kage's ears.