Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

"call"

The sound of wind breaking through the heavy and massive tortoise shell was exceptionally clear.

Even because of the direction the Blaziken was hitting, the turtle's shell kept spinning.

"High-speed rotation".

Just as Blastoise, which had been launched backwards, was about to crash into the wall next to the arena and suffer secondary damage, Shinagawa Seiji spoke up again.

The tortoise shell, which had been spinning, immediately stopped.

This process of going from extreme motion to extreme stillness made the onlookers feel extremely uncomfortable.

Immediately afterwards, two thick and powerful hind legs extended from the two openings in the shell, and Blastoise used the force of its backward flight to slam hard against the wall.

“kela”

It was just a simple action, but the wall seemed to have been subjected to some exaggerated impact, and it made a cracking sound.

The crack spread from where the Blastoise's feet were resting.

"Boom"

Another dull, loud bang.

Blastoise, having stopped its movement, pushed off with both legs and launched itself out like a cannonball.

No, even artillery shells are insufficient to describe its momentum; it would be more appropriate to call it a rocket.

As it flew out, its exposed feet retracted back into its shell.

At the same time, the tortoise shell spun even more rapidly than when it flew backward, and a faint white aura even appeared around it.

"laugh-"

With his excellent hearing, Cheol-ye could even hear the hissing sound of the tortoise shell rubbing against the air.

"Jump."

Blastoise's high-speed counterattack forced Tetsuya to give detailed instructions, and he could only shout out a single word briefly.

Fortunately, Blaziken and Blaziken had a high enough level of understanding and instantly grasped his thoughts.

Blaziken, whose claws were somewhat numb from the recoil of hitting the hard shell, had no time to adjust its condition before it evaded the attack under Tetsuya's command.

Its long legs immediately bent down and squatted, then it exerted force.

Unlike Blastoise's impressive display of power, Blaziken's jump seemed rather underwhelming.

However, momentum is never the key to determining the outcome.

With the combined help of its powerful leg muscles and racial traits, Blaziken, using the Flying-type move Bounce, seemed to truly transform into a flying Pokémon, soaring straight into the sky.

The blazing blazer quickly became a tiny black dot in people's sight, and even those with good eyesight could only barely make out its outline.

This height certainly exceeds the stipulated fifty or sixty meters.

However, the 50-60 meter rule is specifically for flying Pokémon, in order to prevent passive avoidance of battle and making the competition too ugly.

Pokémon like Blaziken, which cannot fly, are not within the scope of the restrictions—they will soon be landing and fighting anyway, and this kind of high-altitude falling attack is extremely effective in maximizing the audience's anticipation.

As everyone watched the sprites swoop down from the sky to attack, their hearts were practically in their throats, afraid of missing any exciting moments.

Blastoise failed to hit Blaziken due to Blaziken's incredibly fast reaction.

But Blastoise, which was parallel to the ground and constantly rotating at high speed at low altitude, immediately began to tirelessly make irregular movements around the entire area.

If it dodges quickly enough, the Blaziken falling from the sky won't hit it, and it will even get hit back when it lands and cushions its impact.

Shinagawa Seiji, who was looking up to pinpoint the location of the Blaziken, unconsciously narrowed his eyes.

Under the direct sunlight, he couldn't see anything at all.

It's a very common tactic for disrupting vision, but commonness often means it's effective.

Shinagawa Seiji quickly gave up on finding the exact location of the Blaziken.

He didn't give any instructions, but just watched quietly, his expression even showing a hint of leisure.

In contrast, Tetsuya's expression was very serious.

It's actually a bit strange.

Logically speaking, between Blaziken, which successfully inflicted damage without suffering any harm, and Blastoise, which was attacked but failed to retaliate, the latter should undoubtedly be the one to worry about.

But now it's completely the opposite.

"It's so hard," Tetsuya exclaimed.

Most people might not have seen it, but he took advantage of the moment Blastoise paused while pushing off the wall to find the spot where Blastoise hit Blastoise.

A small dent, a dent that seems rather small compared to the entire tortoise shell.

Even with multiple buffs, Blaziken's powerful Focus Punch couldn't break through Blastoise's defenses head-on.

If this were delivered to an opponent of similar near-superstar caliber, it would be enough to render them incapable of fighting.

While the internal impact is certainly considerable, it is this kind of attack that appears to have no effect on the surface that is most discouraging.

Especially when the opponent clearly has enough energy to launch a counterattack, they may not even know how much damage they have caused.

Tetsuya found it very troublesome.

This exaggerated defensive ability is truly terrifying, especially since Blastoise is not only good at defense, but its attack is also not to be underestimated.

The Blastoise, spinning rapidly, is like a tough hedgehog, yet it's also a turtle.

Tetsuya subconsciously looked up to confirm the location of the Blaziken once again.

By this time, the Blaziken had already begun its descent, its form becoming clearer and clearer as it drew closer to the ground.

It was time to make a decision, Tetsuya grinned, but it seemed he didn't have many options.

"Brute force".

He shouted the next command to the Blaziken.

Blaziken, struggling to maintain its balance in the sky, nodded coolly.

Its eyes closed, then suddenly opened again.

After taking a deep breath, Blaziken relinquished control of its body and let itself fall freely.

The Blaziken's descent speed increased, and its muscles swelled up even more.

The two sides, who were getting closer to each other, quietly waited for the right opportunity.

Blastoise unintentionally ended up directly beneath Blaziken after it landed.

"fall!"

Tetsuya's eyes hardened, and he gave the order.

Whether it's a trap or not, just take this one step at a time.

Chapter 292 Fighting

Blaziken's powerful legs shoot straight down like cones, seemingly splitting the air in two wherever they go.

Directly below it, the frantically spinning shell foreshadows Blastoise's imminent attack from Blaziken.

"Bear it, then break the shell—the tail of the water flow."

Shinagawa Shizuji watched Blaziken plummet faster and faster, then calmly adjusted his glasses and gave Blastoise the command to counterattack.

It's unclear whether the Blastoise, which was spinning rapidly and had retracted into its shell, heard him, but the speed at which its shell spun suddenly increased dramatically.

It felt like an instant, yet also like a long time had passed. Blaziken leaped high and then landed with tremendous force, slamming into Blastoise's rapidly spinning shell.

"Whoo-"

A harsh, screeching sound rang out.

Blaziken, flexing its muscles in attack, showed a pained expression the instant it kicked the turtle's shell.

However, for a creature that is warlike and eager for battle, this pain is nothing.

Blaziken gritted its teeth, strained its waist again, and the muscles on its body were even trembling.

"Boom"

The tortoise shell hit the ground with a dull thud.

At the same time, the red Blaziken used the rebound force to leap into the air and perform a backflip back to the ground.

"Down"

As soon as it landed, Blaziken immediately knelt on one knee and let out a cry of despair.

Tetsuya looked closely and saw that its right leg was trembling incessantly.

This is the main force it used to attack the Blastoise's shell.

"Is it because of the recoil caused by high-speed rotation?" Tetsuya's expression was very serious.

I wonder how worn out Blaziken's feet are.

But now is not the time to consider this issue.

The tortoise shell, which had been spinning on the ground, gradually came to a stop, and the sound of a hard object breaking came from it.

"Click~"

Blastoise's powerful roar, showing no signs of weakness when it entered the arena, once again resounded throughout the entire area.

The Blastoise's head, limbs, and tail all protrude from its shell simultaneously, with water constantly flowing to its tail.

The blue tail and the blue water flowed together, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other.

Blastoise slammed its thick limbs on the ground, and its massive body shot out at a speed that defied visual perception.

With the help of hatching, Blastoise's physical attack, energy attack, and speed abilities are greatly enhanced.

Although its physical and energy defenses decrease at the same time, for Blastoise that first uses its shell retraction ability, its physical defense actually only returns to its most basic state, and its energy defense is only reduced slightly.

This slight reduction is negligible for Blastoise, which is already known for its defense; the key is its enhanced attack and speed.

Blaziken, kneeling on one knee, had no way to dodge Blastoise's high-speed attack.

Although Blastoise's high speed is only slightly faster than Blaziken's normal speed, Blaziken's movement is severely restricted now.

Putting aside the problem with its feet, the stiffness caused by using brute force also rendered it unable to move.

Blastoise quickly appeared in front of Blaziken, despite Blaziken's unwilling gaze.

The blue water tail lashed out at Blastoise's upper body as it turned around.

Without a doubt, Blaziken was sent flying backwards.

After rolling around on the ground a few times, the Blaziken, its eyes spinning in circles, collapsed to the ground.

"Blizzard is unable to battle, Blastoise wins, and Tamaki Tetsuya is the first to lose three Pokémon. The first half ends and we are going into halftime. The second half will begin in fifteen minutes."

The referee immediately raised his flag and announced the result.

The cheers and sighs of the audience in the arena were so mixed that it was difficult to hear clearly.

However, everyone agreed that the battle was incredibly exciting, as it's rare to have the opportunity to witness a battle between Elite Four level Pokémon live.

Tetsuya helplessly recalled Blaziken.

One blow was within his expectations.

Water Tail is a powerful physical attack, and Water-type moves are very effective against Fire-type moves. Considering the difference in strength, it's surprising that Blaziken, which isn't known for its defense, could withstand a single hit.

However, the fact that he hadn't been able to inflict much damage on Blastoise was clearly not within his expectations.

It's worth noting that Blaziken has always played the role of a striker in his team, and despite its offensive prowess, it failed to inflict enough damage on Blastoise.

To avoid weakening Fire-type attacks with Water-type moves, Tetsuya specifically chose Fighting-type moves, Blaziken's second type, for his attack, but it still wasn't very effective.

Is there really such a big difference between a Heavenly King and a near-Heavenly King?

Tetsuya was momentarily stunned; this shouldn't be happening.

His Blaziken is stronger than most Elite Four Pokémon, so even if he can't defeat it, he shouldn't be unable to inflict significant damage.