Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

Tetsuya, who was about to command it to dodge, shrugged. Since it wanted to do it, he would let it be.

Sensing Tetsuya's actions, Blaziken knew that its trainer had agreed with its idea, and the flames on its arms burned even more fiercely, which the rain falling from the sky could not stop.

A white light appeared on its claws.

"呲-"

An unpleasant screech of friction rang out, but the enthusiastic atmosphere of the scene did not stop the sound from spreading.

Everyone involuntarily frowned, and time seemed to stand still for a moment in the main arena, becoming somewhat quiet.

"Bah————"

Not finished yet.

The sound grew louder as the Blaziken's white claws tore through wave after wave of water guns.

The Lucky Kappa started dancing involuntarily again.

All I can say is that their musical taste is quite unique.

This also relieved the audience.

If the Lucky Kappa hadn't been dancing and had instead been constantly releasing water guns, who knows how much longer they would have had to endure this torment.

Hatayama Natsuko once again helplessly called for a halt to Rakuten Kappa.

Her expression as she looked at Tetsuya was very solemn; he truly lived up to his reputation as a genius recognized by everyone in the league.

It's worth noting that while previous opponents could exploit Ludicolo's unique characteristic for targeted attacks, none could match the brilliance of Tetsuya's Blaziken.

First, there was the rhythm of her footwork, then the strategy of retreating to advance. Hatayama Natsuko suddenly realized that there was a reason why she had lost so badly.

As for Tetsuya, his only thought right now is, what's so special about catching a blade barehanded? My Blaziken can catch bullets barehanded, so who says a water gun isn't a gun?

However, his mouth didn't slow down either: "Blazing Chicken, Revenge!"

The fact that Ludicolo's leap stopped the water gun was a minor issue; the bigger problem was that Blaziken used that time to not only destroy all the water guns but also greatly close the distance between them.

Tetsuya was initially worried that even if Blaziken was fast, Kappa wouldn't be without time to react, since distance was still an objective factor.

But looking at the distance of only ten steps or so, Tetsuya felt that even if Arceus came, it would be useless, he said.

Blaziken took a step, and the entire Pokémon instantly appeared before Ludicolo's eyes.

The nearly 2.3-meter-tall Blaziken looked down mercilessly at the 1.56-meter-tall Pokémon in front of it, then raised its leg and lashed out with a powerful kick.

"boom"

The Lucky Kappa flew backwards into the sky again.

Oh~ this rhythm, it seems pretty good?

That was all it could think about; it had even forgotten to scream.

"Lucky Kappa!" Hatayama Natsuko's extremely tense voice rang out. Could it be that she can't fight anymore?

She thought about it carefully and realized it couldn't be that bad. Although the Revenge move was twice as powerful after Blaziken was hit by Water Gun, and Blaziken also had the help of its own type bonus, Ludicolo's resistance to Fighting-type moves was normal. Its HP, which had been recovering to almost full in the rain, couldn't have been knocked out of its fighting ability by a single blow.

Hatayama Natsuko was startled by her own wildly racing mind.

It's not that figuring this out is particularly troublesome or difficult; it's just that, given her normal reaction time, she probably wouldn't think about it that quickly.

It should take at least a few seconds to react.

"As expected, I still have to fight against a strong opponent," Hatayama Natsuko thought to herself, relieved by the weak cry from the Rakuten Kappa.

"Low kick".

However, her moment of relief was a little off, as Tetsuya's attack command arrived shortly afterward.

After kicking Ludicolo away, Blaziken, which had been following behind, raised its powerful leg again.

"boom."

Another loud bang.

The happy kappa closed its eyes.

Its trainer, however, seemed somewhat dazed.

"Ludicolo is unable to battle, Blaziken wins!!"

Chapter 281 The Rich Girl's Panic

With the referee's announcement, the first half of the match between Tetsuya and Natsuko Hatayama officially came to an end.

However, compared to Tetsuya's relatively brisk pace after retrieving Blaziken, Natsuko Hatayama seemed somewhat distracted.

This is quite normal; anyone who gets swept in a row would be in a bad mental state.

Even though Hatayama Natsuko had anticipated that her Pokémon's type would be at a disadvantage against the opponent's ace Pokémon, she never expected the outcome to be like this.

Not to mention defeating Blaziken, it didn't even consume much stamina.

"Is there still a chance?" Natsuko Hatayama asked herself silently as she sat in the rest area.

There probably aren't any left. A bitter smile played on her lips. She only had two near-Elite Four members and one elite Pokémon left, while the opposing team, apart from Blaziken, had five Pokémon at their peak.

Unless she can take on two or even three Pokémon at once, she has no chance of winning.

However, without an attribute advantage, the only way to take on two or three opponents at the same stage is to use a pseudo-legendary Pokémon.

Leaving aside what Natsuko Hatayama was thinking about, Tetsuya was preparing tactics for the second half.

"First of all, there's no need to bring Blaziken on board."

Tetsuya was quite clear on this point.

On the one hand, the halftime break is long enough for Blaziken to wear off all the buffs it just received, so Blaziken won't have much of an advantage if it comes back on the field in the second half.

Tetsuya didn't believe that Blaziken, with its stamina already depleted, could defeat two more Pokémon of the same level in a row.

The reason why he was able to take on three opponents in the first half was largely due to luck, at least that was the case with the Blizzard King, who seemed to have no idea what he was up to.

Even with a strong attribute advantage but no speed or attack bonuses, Blaziken's maximum strength is only enough to take down one of its opponent's units with half its stamina.

After all, Pokémon are still living beings, and a decline in stamina will lead to a slight decrease in various abilities. A Pokémon in its prime is very dominant against a Pokémon that has exhausted too much stamina.

Moreover, after battling for so long in the first half with so many buffs, and being worn down by the opponent's Pokémon attacks, Blaziken's physical condition needs some time to recover.

To put it bluntly, temporary strength always comes at a price. Whether it's the Speed ​​Boost ability or the boost from Swords Dance/Bodybuilding moves, these all put a strain on Blaziken's body.

It's fine in the short term, but if it goes on for too long, its body may still be damaged.

This is also where pseudo-legendary Pokémon are superior to ordinary Pokémon—pseudo-legendary Pokémon can withstand the burden brought by this kind of bonus far more than ordinary Pokémon. This is not only reflected in the fact that it can stack more status effects within the same stage, but also in the fact that it can maintain the status effect for a longer period of time.

The main reason is their exceptional physical qualities.

Of course, individuals and groups are not the same. Considering Blaziken's talent and Tetsuya's training, the gap between it and an excellent pseudo-legendary individual is not that big. The main reason is that Tetsuya felt it was unnecessary.

For a match where victory is 90% certain, there's no need for Blaziken to exert itself further; its partner will handle it and bring victory to Tetsuya.

The Blaziken taking on three opponents at once is already quite impressive.

Tetsuya wondered who his next opponent would be, a rather arrogant thought on his part.

"The halftime break is over. We'll have to wait and see what kind of exciting battle the next two players will bring us!!"

A mechanical-sounding narration began, and Tetsuya felt like he was about to throw up from hearing those lines so much.

However, judging from the heated atmosphere inside the main arena, it's clear that although this statement is somewhat clichéd, it's still quite effective.

Amidst the intense anticipation and deafening cheers, Tetsuya and Natsuko Hatayama once again ascended the command platform.

"Then, the second half of the match between Tetsuya Tamaki and Natsuko Hatayama is officially starting!"

With the referee's signal and the commentator's shout, Tetsuya and Natsuko Hatayama exchanged a glance, nodded, and threw out their respective Poké Balls.

"It's up to you, Pidgeot!" "I'm asking you one more time, Yeevee."

"Beep~" "Eee~"

The two elves' energetic calls echoed across the field.

Pidgey flapped its wings, its sharp eyes reflecting the image of Yeebu, who resembled both a cat and a fox.

It had just seen Blaziken's performance in the Poké Ball, and it was quite impressive, so as the older brother, it couldn't lose face.

Natsuko Hatayama was not at all surprised that Tetsuya sent out Pidgeot. She could only blame herself for not being prepared, which led to Abomasnow being defeated by Blaziken and losing its ability to battle. Otherwise, Abomasnow should have been the one to counter the two Flying-type Pokémon on the other side.

This is also one of the reasons why she felt a bit powerless during the break. None of her remaining three Pokémon are very good at dealing with Flying-type Pokémon in the air.

"Hidden Eagle, Air Slash."

Tetsuya's initial attack was still so familiar.

Honestly, Sky Sprites have a huge advantage over Ground Sprites.

Unless a Ground Pokémon can achieve superhuman strength and speed like Feraligatr from the previous round, it will be extremely difficult for a Ground Pokémon to get close enough to attack a Sky Pokémon.

If it weren't for the fact that most Sky Pokémon's stamina, endurance, and attack power aren't particularly outstanding, resulting in relatively weaker overall strength at the same stage, most people would definitely use Sky Pokémon as their main focus for training.

The familiar white air blades appeared in mid-air above the arena.

With a whooshing sound, sharp blades shot towards Ye Yibu.

"Iron Tail," Hatayama Natsuko commanded, fulfilling her duty as a trainer.

"Ee~"

Yeebu cried out, and its tail shone with a steel-like light.

Eevee's calls are incredibly similar to all its known evolutions, with little difference except for the tone; what they all have in common is that they are all quite cute.

Coupled with the strong grassy scent emanating from the young Yeeve, it has been quite popular since Tetsuya discovered this evolution.

Grass-type Pokémon generally have the ability to purify the air and calm people down. The adorable Leafeon that can be held in your arms has attracted countless people to Exeggutor. It is said that government officials in nearby cities are overjoyed.

In Professor Oak's words, every time they have a meeting, these people come to thank him and Tetsuya for their help.

Trainers like Natsuko Hatayama, who specialize in Grass-type Pokémon, would be even less likely to miss the opportunity to raise Leafeon.

Tetsuya thought she was still very impressive, being able to train an elite-level Eevee in such a short time.

"Clang Clang"

A sound like metal clashing rang out, and a small green shadow flew backward—it was Ye Yibu.

Despite using its iron tail to defend itself, the difference in strength prevented it from succeeding. Apart from being knocked away by the impact of several air slashes, the remaining one or two air slashes also hit it head-on.

Ye Yibu forcibly suppressed his pain and stood up, supporting himself on all fours.

"A flash of lightning!" "Bang!"

Tetsuya's command and the sound of the impact were only a fraction of a second apart.

Before Yeebu could react, Pidgeot, flying at high speed with a white light, crashed directly into it.

It rolled several times on the ground like a ball, stirring up a layer of dust.

"A flash of lightning."

The devil's whispers sounded again, and Ye Yibu shook his head, thinking it was just his imagination.

But the next moment, its body, which was thrown backwards again, told it that this was the truth.

Looking at Ye Yibu, who seemed frozen in mid-air, surrounded by a lot of white light, Hatayama Natsuko clenched her fist.

But soon, she let go weakly.

"Boom"

The sound of landing echoed, and looking at Ye Yibu lying unconscious on the ground, unable to fight, the referee mercilessly raised the flag.

"Yeep is unable to battle, Pidgeot wins."

A flash of red light, and Ye Yibu disappeared from the field.

Hatayama Natsuko remained motionless.

"Please send out your next Pokémon, Natsuko Hatayama," the referee urged.

Tetsuya has confirmed that he will not be changing his Pokémon; the audience isn't here to see a Pidgeot flying around in mid-air, just standing there doing nothing.

Hatayama Natsuko seemed startled and her body involuntarily trembled.