Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

Wu Neng became more and more excited the more he thought about it.

As for the possibility of being ganged up on by his eldest son and father after running away, he said it was no big deal.

If all else fails, I can use my younger brother as a scapegoat, since it's mainly his fault for telling me to do it this way.

"Then let's wait until after the next qualification review," Wu Neng said cheerfully.

Xiao Gang, watching the live broadcast on TV, probably never imagined that his father was plotting to "run away from home." Fortunately, he was somewhat sensible enough to consider the qualifications of their dojo and didn't run away immediately.

However, Xiao Gang probably wouldn't think Wu Neng is reliable.

"Alright, the match officially begins! Blue team: Shinagawa Seiji; Red team: Tamaki Tetsuya!"

It seems both sides' first Pokémon are primarily for probing. While Shizuka's team often uses Onix as their main force, Tetsuya is sending out Gigantamax, which has only appeared once before. This is a duel between two Pokémon representing rock and earth; let's wait and see what kind of exciting battle they bring us…”

The commentator's passionate voice echoed through the main arena.

"Onix, charge!"

The petite Shinagawa Seiji pushed up his glasses and issued the order with considerable force.

For Onix, which has a hard head and is immune to recoil damage, using moves like Charge is extremely advantageous.

Not to mention Onix's size advantage, ranking among the top of all Pokémon, once it hits, even a Pokémon like Gigantamax, which is resistant to Normal-type moves due to its type, will suffer considerable damage.

And don't forget, this is despite Pang Yan's huge advantage in body weight.

Tetsuya's massive rock monster, nearly 2 meters tall and incredibly wide, supports a weight of over 300 kilograms. Compared to Shinagawa Seiji's Onix, which is over nine meters long but only weighs over 200 kilograms, they are not even in the same league based on the data alone.

Fortunately, the weight and strength of elves are not absolutely related, otherwise we would not have seen that visually stunning scene on the field.

For example, a mosquito coil swimmer (standard height 1.3 meters and weight 54 kilograms) might overturn a heavy mud horse (standard height 2.5 meters and weight 920 kilograms).

This is one of the reasons why Pokémon battles are so captivating; the feeling of a tiny Pokémon achieving a resounding victory despite its appearance being completely out of place is incredibly appealing.

Tetsuya watched as the massive Onix charged towards him with overwhelming force, and sweat involuntarily beaded on his forehead. This kind of all-encompassing charge was simply exhilarating.

His eyes were filled with a fighting spirit.

Scared? That's impossible; the word "scared" doesn't exist in his dictionary.

As for the Giant Rockruff, its seemingly lifeless eyes were indifferent as it stared at the rapidly charging Onix, quietly waiting for its trainer's command.

"Pang Yan Monster, Cannon Beam!"

Tetsuya waved his hand, choosing to confront Onix head-on.

"Dangoro!" "Buzz~"

The muffled roar and the sound of the cannon beam energy gathering rang out almost simultaneously, and the orange crystals all over Pang Yan Monster's body emitted a faint glow.

A silvery-white ball of light gradually took shape in front of Pang Yanguai.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the battle reached its climax from the very beginning.

The ground beneath Pang Yan's feet gradually shattered due to the fluctuations caused by the energy condensation of the cannon beam, and the light orb of the skill grew larger and larger.

Onix, however, dragged its massive body through all the obstacles in its path, roaring like an earth dragon and kicking up dust.

The audience instinctively held their breath, and even the commentator fell silent for a moment.

Unbeknownst to them, the cannon shot out silently.

After a brief silence, a loud "boom" echoed throughout the arena from the point of impact between the Cannon and Onix.

"Roar--"

A weak yet incredibly frenzied roar emerged from the silvery-white light.

The giant rocky body of Onix reappeared on the field, still charging forward, accompanied by fading silver wisps of light.

Compared to when it first appeared, its body is now covered with wounds.

"Boom."

Nevertheless, dragging its injured body, the giant onyx charged forward relentlessly and crashed into the giant rock monster.

"Dangoro!"

Pang Yan let out a rare cry.

It wasn't because of injury, but because I wanted to show my strength.

Its eyes were fixed on the giant rock snake that was so close at hand, and its four legs left deep marks on the ground.

After being thrown a distance by the impact, Pang Yan Monster stopped using its own strength.

"Next up is our turn, Pang Yan Monster, Earth Power."

Taking advantage of the moment when Onix was stunned after using its skill, Tetsuya gave chase.

The Hard Head trait can indeed prevent damage from recoil, but it does nothing to eliminate the stun effect after using such a powerful move.

To be honest, he was quite surprised that Onix could withstand a Cannon shot head-on.

It's important to know that the Steel-type Beam Cannon is extremely effective against Onix, especially considering that Onix's physical defense is far superior to its energy defense and stamina.

While it might not completely disable Onix's fighting ability, Tetsuya's plan was to prevent the continued use of the Sacrifice Charge.

It can only be said that Shinagawa Seiji is indeed a favorite to win this tournament. After years of training, his Onix is ​​definitely one of the best in the Elite Four level.

Fortunately, Tetsuya was not unprepared for this scene.

While Gigalith has mastered the Steel-type energy move Cannon quite well, its power is definitely inferior to that of a typical Steel-type Pokémon. If the opponent were so easily defeated, it wouldn't be considered a formidable foe.

Ground-type energy attacks, which are effective against Onix, are the second delicious dish Tetsuya prepared for Onix.

Even if someone is incredibly strong, with limited stamina, it's impossible to maintain combat ability after consecutively using two exceptionally effective skills. Tetsuya firmly believed this.

Pang Yan's body sank, and pale yellow ripples were transmitted very subtly to the depths of the earth.

Shinagawa Seiji adjusted his glasses again. Even someone as physically strong as Tetsuya couldn't see the other person's eyes clearly against the sunlight.

"Orochi, Rockfall."

His commands were exceptionally concise, and his tone was unusually calm, showing no concern whatsoever about losing the first game.

The outcome is still uncertain.

"Roar"

The giant rock snake roared furiously to the sky.

Most Onix are usually quite docile, but once provoked, they become extremely ferocious. Onix can often be seen attacking humans and other Pokémon in agony, both in the wild and in cities.

For this very reason, it is a very battle-hardened Pokémon, making it very suitable for battles.

Once the giant onyx was freed from its stiff state, it coiled its tail on the ground, and a huge rock appeared out of thin air.

To Tetsuya's somewhat surprised look, the rocks created by the rockfall were hurled straight at an open space beside him by Onix.

That was the location of the earth's energy, and Tetsuya was quite aware of this.

But that's because I'm Onix's trainer. The tacit understanding we've developed through daily interactions and training is enough for us to communicate and make arrangements. So how did Onix know?

There is only one explanation: this giant onyx has an extremely strong sense of energy.

Tetsuya's gaze was very serious.

This perception is not just talk. You should know that one of the few weaknesses of the Earth Power move is that it is not well concealed against other Pokémon of the same type. The traps where energy is buried are easily discovered.

Tetsuya and Pang Yan had done countless hours of training to address this.

In addition to depth and location, Tetsuya also designed a way to bury fake earth energy for Pang Yan Monster.

In other words, in the perception of a typical elf, it can "see" many earth energy energies lying in ambush, although only one can actually cause damage.

To determine which Earth Power is real, one would need time to react, but Onix's decisiveness seemed to completely bypass this time, heading straight for the real Earth Power.

For Onix, which is extremely bad at energy manipulation and perception, having such a perception ability is incredibly rare.

Just by looking at the list of physical skills that Onix can master, you can tell how reckless this Pokémon is.

No wonder Zhe was somewhat surprised.

"It's all-encompassing, without any blind spots," Tetsuya sighed silently.

In battles between Pokémon of varying strength levels, the competition isn't actually about whose Pokémon is stronger, but rather whose Pokémon has fewer weaknesses.

The fewer weaknesses you have, the fewer ways your opponent can find to defeat you, and the easier it is for you to achieve victory.

The reason Lance is no match for Lorelei is not because he is weak, but because Dragon-types are simply powerless against Ice-types.

The same applies to flying-related systems.

Only when one's overall strength is superior will attributes not become a decisive factor. However, if the gap is not large, the previous match between Tetsuya and Natsuko is the best example.

Winning against type disadvantages isn't as commonplace as Ash portrays in the anime; otherwise, how could he be the protagonist?

Of course, similar to the barrel principle, if your strengths are ridiculously strong, having many weaknesses is not a problem. Otherwise, Lance wouldn't have become the world's second-best, a master-level trainer second only to Leon.

The most obvious example is Slaking.

The negative effects of its characteristics cannot negate its power.

If you're not careful, it might just send your opponent flying into the sky to go home and find their mother.

Shinagawa Seiji isn't truly strong enough to be without any weaknesses, but if we're only talking about the near-King level, Tetsuya thinks he deserves that assessment.

"It seems this rockfall has taken Tetsuya a bit by surprise."

Wu Neng, watching on television, commented with a smile.

Although he wasn't there to see more details and didn't know how Zheye usually trained Pang Yanguai, Wu Neng, who was rough but meticulous, still noticed this from the close-up shots of Zheye's face on camera.

He was, after all, a powerful gym leader. Although he was terrible in many aspects of his life and personality, it did not affect his judgment in Pokémon battles.

To outsiders, it simply appeared that Onix, with its tail raised, collided with the pre-positioned Earth Force, which suddenly appeared. Only those involved could truly understand the interplay of Pokémon abilities involved.

Even something as simple as taking a step ahead requires an unknown amount of effort and money.

"This kid named Jing Si's Onix is ​​worth learning from; he's put a lot of effort into manipulating energy."

When your Onix can't find a way to improve in the short term, trying this might be a good option.

Wu Neng casually pointed out some pointers to his eldest son.

Xiao Gang nodded silently.

As for whether to follow it or how to modify it, that is his own choice and consideration.

There is no trainer in the world who can become stronger by following the path taken by predecessors.

Even if the Pokémon species are the same, the individual differences between Pokémon, the trainer's style and habits, etc., will make it impossible for them to be exactly the same, and their performance in battle will definitely be vastly different.

"Keep it up!" Xiao Gang thought to himself as he watched TV, encouraging Zheye.

Tetsuya on the field naturally wouldn't receive his thoughts, but his belief in winning remained firm.

"Pangyan Monster, Invisible Rock."

Tetsuya's eyes flickered. Since the goal of a quick and forceful attack had not been achieved, he decided to try a different approach.

"We're coming too, Onix, Stealth Rock."

Shinagawa Seiji quickly caught up with the pace.

The initial advantage he had gained was beginning to show signs of being countered by Tetsuya, which was not a good sign for him.

The commentator was still babbling away, and he couldn't keep up with the pace for a moment; the offensive and defensive rhythms of the two players were changing too quickly.

The audience is quite tolerant of his performance. After all, this kind of thing happens frequently at the annual tournament, and you can't expect a Champion-level trainer to do the commentary for them.

Let alone whether Elite Four level trainers would accept it, they wouldn't dare to enjoy such treatment.

At most, the usual quarter-finals or quarter-finals occurred in the round of 16.

This also fully demonstrates that the two players on the field are very strong; otherwise, a highly experienced commentator with professional training would not make such a mistake.

Shinagawa Seiji is one thing; it's normal for him to have that kind of ability.

Tetsuya's performance surprised many people.

Most people think he has the ability, but he is more likely to be crushed when facing a championship contender. The lack of experience is the most fatal point.

The evenly matched, even slightly dominant, situation on the field was a slap in the face for them.

"See? I told you this kid was pretty good."