Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

Two visible wind forces collided and dissipated repeatedly in the very center of the field, eventually disappearing without a trace.

"Is it that amazing?" Tetsuya's eyes widened.

Although he knew that the cunning tengu was good at creating wind, he was still very surprised by what he saw for the first time.

After all, the cunning tengu lives deep in the forest far from civilization, especially in very large and ancient forests, making them a relatively rare type of spirit.

In addition, its habitat is mainly in the Hoenn region. As a native member of the Kanto region, Tetsuya only had a slight understanding of it from information and had never seen or experienced it in person before.

Having only had a brief encounter with this opponent, he could only marvel at how powerful this Pokémon truly was.

"Pidgeotto, use wing attack!" Tetsuya was excited and commanded Pidgeotto to rush up and launch a close-range attack.

He was very curious to know how the ability to read the enemy's mind and preemptively attack them, as described in the encyclopedia, was actually achieved, since he could see it more clearly in close combat.

Of course, his confidence in doing so stemmed from his significant advantage on the field. If he only had one Pokémon left, he certainly wouldn't have let Pidgeot do that.

A layer of white light gradually covered the wings of the Pidgeot, and it swooped down from the sky like a predator, leaving afterimages.

The sun blazed down its rays, casting huge shadows across the field.

Despite the menacing Hiddo, the cunning tengu's expression remained unchanged.

"Wild swings and strikes!" Hatayama Natsuko's commanding voice rang out.

"Do~"

The short syllables suggest that the cunning tengu was not as relaxed as he appeared.

It slowly raised its hands, striking a strange pose.

From Tetsuya's perspective, the cunning tengu's preparatory attack stance is somewhat similar to the moment before a shot putter or javelin thrower releases an object, roughly with his right hand pointing diagonally towards the sky and his left hand placed on the back of his head.

This was the first time Tetsuya had ever seen such a novel preparatory action.

Of course, Hatayama Natsuko wouldn't tell him that this was the most suitable posture for her to use in a counterattack, which her cunning tengu had developed over many years in the wild.

The distance between Hidden Eagle and the cunning Tengu is getting closer and closer.

"Beep~"

With a powerful cry, Pidgeot was the first to change its attack angle.

Its posture constantly rotated and changed in the air, making it impossible to tell from which direction it would suddenly rush to attack the cunning tengu.

Countless afterimages appeared in people's eyes.

At this incredibly tense moment, countless people unconsciously blinked because of the soreness in their eyes.

"boom"

The sound of a collision rang out at that moment.

The cunning tengu, which had been in a strange posture, has returned to normal.

"what happened?"

This is a question that appeared in the minds of many people at the same time.

Tetsuya, who was focused on his work, did not have this question. He had a clear understanding of the actions taken by the cunning tengu.

"Do you first use your outstretched right hand to block, and then instantly counterattack with your left hand?"

Tetsuya recalled the scene that had just happened in the blink of an eye and subconsciously frowned.

There is a prerequisite for doing this: the block must be successful. Otherwise, the counterattack with the left hand is a joke. Even if the attack hits the opponent when the opponent is out of balance, the weak force is probably only slightly stronger than a tickle.

Watching Pidgeon instantly create distance after being hit, Tetsuya now had ample time to consider his guess.

"Just reacting isn't enough." He squinted and continued to recall the details of what had just happened.

"Was it aided by the wind?"

Tetsuya vaguely saw tiny whirlwinds appearing in the cunning tengu's leaf-like hand.

"I feel like one time is enough. I'll ask Pidgeot after this is over."

Having roughly formed his own ideas, Tetsuya once again turned his attention to the competition field.

Despite his brief lapse in concentration, the situation for Hatayama Natsuko and the cunning tengu on the field did not improve.

According to Hatayama Natsuko's original plan, after the cunning tengu used its Frenzy Slash, Pidgeot should have been confined to the ground for a while.

However, Pidgeot's reaction was too fast, and it was also caught off guard. After the cunning Tengu blocked its wing attack and retaliated once, Pidgeot immediately used the momentum to get into the air.

The cunning tengu, who wanted to continue his frenzied attacks using every part of his body, was forced to passively end the use of his skills.

Pidgeot, hovering low in the air, constantly used its speed and agility to dodge the cunning Tengu's leaf blades and grass stirrer.

When faced with an attack that it cannot avoid, all it has to do is use its wings to attack and its steel wings to neutralize it.

Leaves swirled and danced in the sky, occasionally breaking into countless pieces of green debris that fell to the ground, gradually turning the silver-gray field closer to the color of a grass field.

In this situation, Pidgeot's stamina expenditure is far lower than that of the cunning tengu.

Flying is like eating and drinking for Pidgeot, and even with irregular evasive maneuvers, it's a natural thing for it. But it's a different story when the cunning Tengu unleashes its skills.

As time passed, the speed at which the cunning tengu released its skills visibly slowed down.

Neither trainer spoke during this time, but the audience still enjoyed it immensely. Both Pidgeot's evasion and Tengu's attack were quite entertaining, and the combination of the two looked incredibly intense.

There's no need for Tetsuya to give orders. Since they have the advantage in terms of stamina, Pidgeot can just win by following this pattern.

Faced with the cunning Tengu who can react and counterattack quickly, given the current rate of stamina depletion, the damage caused by skill attacks might actually be less than what's needed.

Hatayama Natsuko, on the other hand, didn't know how to change her approach to win. It's true that Tengu is good at counterattacking, but the one who counterattacks is always on the defensive. Only by seizing the initiative can Tengu win. It's not like Wobbuffet, which only knows how to counterattack.

However, despite the proactive attack, the passive state of the cunning tengu was not improved. Although Pidgeot seemed to be running around in a sorry state, the cunning tengu was actually the one being suppressed.

Hatayama Natsuko felt extremely uncomfortable, as she couldn't muster any strength. She had experienced this feeling countless times during the match.

She knew that this meant the opposing team's command and strategy were ahead of hers.

Otherwise, judging from their paper strength, even if the opponent's ace has an advantage, the two are actually still evenly matched.

"So it turns out I'm the one who dragged them down as a trainer?" Hatayama Natsuko felt helpless and a little resentful.

She's a powerful trainer, after all; how could she be so easily crushed by a newbie?

Moreover, Natsuko Hatayama recalled Tetsuya's words and realized she should indeed have more faith in her spirit.

But who told you I'd already given up? Hatayama Natsuko unconsciously let out a cold snort.

"Cunning Tengu, bluffing!"

The cunning tengu, which was continuously launching blades, instantly stopped its attack.

"Dote~Dote~"

The cunning tengu, with his left hand on his hip, shouted imposingly at the Pidgeot in the sky, while pointing his right hand towards the ground.

Aside from that series of friendly words, the cunning tengu's general message was, "Do you dare come down and fight me on the ground? It can pin Pidgeot to the ground and beat it."

"Beep~"

The eagle's aloof voice came through, and you could tell it was still somewhat angry.

During a proper battle, Pidgeot, usually a chatterbox, rarely speaks. It prefers to taunt its defeated opponent after a victory or before the battle officially begins.

In its own words, talking too much would distract it during battle and make it easy to fail, and it wouldn't allow itself to fail for such a strange reason.

This is also one of the reasons why Tetsuya is quite at ease with it. Despite its talkative nature, Pidgeot has always been a very trustworthy partner.

However, when faced with the cunning Stranglethorn, a Dark-type Pokémon, Pidgeot clearly broke its rules.

A scene that often occurs in battles, both Pokémon stopped attacking and dodging simultaneously and began exchanging words on the field.

The sharp bird calls and the deep, fierce voices repeatedly created a jarring and strange music.

Pidgeot's eyes gradually turned blood red.

Tetsuya scratched his head in exasperation. Dark-type Pokémon were indeed adept at using disgusting moves like Bluff.

It can only be said that Pidgeot is still too young; it was so easily provoked to anger.

Of course, the bluffing skill is also a crucial factor; otherwise, simply shouting insults wouldn't have this effect.

If simply shouting and cursing could achieve this effect, then every Pokémon in a battle would probably be a language master, providing a full-on verbal service before the battle even begins.

"Beep~"

The Pidgeot's angry bark rang out.

Under the bluff of the cunning tengu, it fell into a state of confusion. Of course, its physical attack ability was also greatly enhanced. This is a skill effect that harms others without benefiting oneself.

Hatayama Natsuko watched this scene with a delighted expression.

The abnormal state means that Tetsuya's command is temporarily useless against Pidgeot. As a bird of prey, Pidgeot will definitely take a close-range combat approach out of its predator instincts, which is extremely advantageous for the cunning Tengu.

Sure enough, the next moment, Pidgeot charged straight at the cunning tengu, just as she had predicted.

"Cunning Tengu, Leaf Blade."

Almost the instant Hatayama Natsuko spoke, the cunning tengu, who had been cursing, immediately switched back to his habitual attack stance.

Its two large, leaf-like hands radiate a soft green light.

"boom."

Pidgeot's attacks, now in a state of chaos, were completely haphazard. After the cunning Tengu easily dodged its attacks, its leaf-like paws, which had transformed into swords, slashed fiercely at Pidgeot's body.

Unlike last time when it used an opponent's strength to retreat, this time Pidgeot took full damage, without any reduction whatsoever.

"Beep—"

A painful cry rang out from the Pidgeot.

Although it has good resistance to Grass-type moves, taking a powerful Leaf Blade head-on still causes it considerable damage.

Immediately, Pidgeot, still in a state of confusion and utterly enraged, retaliated against the cunning Tengu.

Its wings folded tightly against its massive body, and the entire sprite shot out like a missile, its body covered in a faint fluorescent color.

Tetsuya calmly watched the scene unfold before him.

In this situation, no matter how fast the cunning tengu reacts, it cannot dodge; it cannot go against its own physical limits.

After attacking the cunning tengu, Pidgeot instantly transformed into a red light and returned to the deluxe ball on Tetsuya's waist.

At the same time, another luxurious ball unfolded, and the Serpent Lord proudly appeared on the field.

But there's no longer any need for it to take any further action.

Because the cunning tengu on the other side was already lying on the ground and unable to fight.

Hatayama Natsuko stared blankly, her mouth agape, as if she wanted to make a sound but it seemed as if something was blocking her throat.

Rapidly turning back—this is the skill Pidgeot just used.

It's perfectly normal for Stranglethorn, which is 4x weak to Bug-type moves, to be rendered unable to battle after being hit by U-turn, especially since Pidgeot's physical attack power was significantly boosted by Swagger.

Tetsuya's lips curled into a knowing smile.

Generally speaking, when a Pokémon is in a state of confusion, its use of skills is disordered and irregular, and in most cases it does not use skills but simply uses physical attacks.

However, if one is determined, it is not a problem to have a slight influence.

Just like how Water-type Pokémon are more likely to use Water Gun or Water Cannon when they are confused, and Fire-type Pokémon are more likely to use Flamethrower when they are confused, Pokémon subconsciously know which move they are good at and will use that move when they are confused.

Thanks to Tetsuya's meticulous training and Pidgeot's own hard work, and after numerous private tests, Pidgeot is now about 30% confident in using U-turn after falling into a state of confusion.

The reason for training this skill is that the chaotic state is different from other abnormal states.

Once a Pokémon in a confused state returns to its normal state, it won't be long before it returns to its Poké Ball. A Pidgeot that has used U-turn is essentially a fighter who hasn't been seriously injured, and Tetsuya is well aware of the necessity of this.

Besides, this battle will come in handy.

Zhe's lips unconsciously curled up into a smile.

It can only be said that luck was on his side.

"Let's congratulate Tetsuya Tamaki!!"

After defeating yet another formidable opponent, he became the first player to reach the top 16 in this year's Quartz Conference!!

The commentator's voice, which sounded like a roar, echoed throughout the main arena.

Hatayama Natsuko's state of mind stood in stark contrast to theirs.