Now that both Pokémon had recovered part of their stamina, the battle had essentially returned to the starting point once again.
The spectators were thoroughly captivated.
A clash this evenly matched, A battle where both sides constantly countered one another ,The entertainment value was simply incredible.
'What a troublesome opponent...'
Silas sighed inwardly.
His battle experience had been forged through real danger and life-and-death encounters.
Years spent fighting in the wilderness and operating in the gray world had given both him and his Pokémon exceptionally rich combat instincts And yet Even under those circumstances, Cynthia's control over the battlefield wasn't inferior to his at all.
As expected of the future Sinnoh Champion.
Even now, she was already beginning to reveal her terrifying talent.
"Glaceon, Ice Beam. Cut off its escape routes."
Cynthia's confident voice echoed out the moment the hailstorm stabilized. Under the freezing weather, Ice Beam became noticeably stronger.
More importantly Its activation speed increased dramatically.
Almost instantly.
"Umbreon, Protect!"
Silas reacted immediately.
The attack came too quickly to dodge. He had no choice but to defend. At the same time, Silas realized something clearly:
Umbreon simply wasn't suited for being a direct offensive core.
Not only was its offensive movepool relatively narrow ,Its attacking stats were fundamentally lacking.
Umbreon excelled more as:
• a defensive wall
• a support Pokémon
• a disruptive frontline tank
Especially with recovery moves like Moonlight and Wish, endurance had never been its weakness.
If this battle continued the same way ,constant probing constant exchanges constant recovery ,Then with both his and Cynthia's command ability... This fight might genuinely last all night.
Instead Why not settle it properly?
Silas's gaze met Cynthia's.
Battle intent burned in both pairs of eyes.
At that moment, neither needed words.They understood each other perfectly.
"Umbreon. Abandon defense. Full-force Bite."
"Glaceon, Quick Attack forward and use Ice Fang."
Glaceon's fangs released freezing mist as it lunged forward.
Crunch!
It bit down toward Umbreon.
At the same time, dark energy surged wildly around Umbreon's jaws. Even while enduring the freezing pain, Umbreon bit directly into Glaceon's shoulder But it didn't stop there. Its tail whipped around simultaneously.
SMACK!
The strike landed cleanly against Glaceon's side.
Seeing this, a faint smile appeared on Silas's face. This was exactly what he had always taught his Pokémon. Every part of the body could become a weapon.
Teeth. Claws. Tails. Fangs.
If two attacks could be used simultaneously, Then never attack with only one.
In battle, hesitation was weakness.
Just like now Umbreon maintained Bite while simultaneously following up with Pursuit using its tail strike.
Against any opponent ,Strong or weak–Going all out was never wrong.
That was one of Silas's core beliefs.
The deadlock instantly shattered.
Glaceon staggered slightly from the unexpected combo attack.
"Umbreon, Feint Attack."
A dark blur instantly appeared behind Glaceon.
BOOM!
The surprise hit landed heavily. Glaceon cried out in pain.
"Glaceee!!"
Silas immediately noticed something. Barrier's enhancement was beginning to weaken. Boosting moves like Barrier consumed significant stamina over time.
Maintaining it for this long already exceeded his expectations. Neither side used recovery moves anymore.
No Moonlight. No Wish.
Only pure offense remained.
The battle rapidly devolved into brutal exchanges.
"Glaceon, Ice Shard!"
"Umbreon, Bite!"
"Glaceon, Icy Wind!"
"Umbreon, Pursuit!"
"Glaceon, Ice Beam!"
The clash intensified again and again.
Eventually Perhaps because Umbreon's stamina was slightly superior...Or perhaps because Cynthia herself had grown tired of such drawn-out attrition ,She suddenly spoke.
"This match ends here."
"I concede."
The entire arena froze.
Nobody had expected that.
Silas himself looked slightly surprised.
Cynthia calmly explained:
"If neither of us uses recovery moves anymore, Umbreon probably has the higher chance of winning."
"But it's still uncertain."
Then she gave a small nod.
"Thank you for fighting seriously."
"I learned a great deal from this battle."
Hearing those words from the famous "cold genius" of Sinnoh surprised many people.
Silas smiled lightly in return.
"The feeling's mutual."
"We both improved."
Cynthia noticed the faint surprise in his expression but didn't explain herself further.
She wasn't truly arrogant.
Cold? Yes.
But not prideful.
In reality, Cynthia deeply respected Trainers who shared her passion for battle. For her, traveling the world and battling strong opponents wasn't merely entertainment.
It was growth.
Every battle was a lesson. Every opponent had something worth learning from. And that feeling of constant improvement ,She loved it.
Glaceon rested weakly in Cynthia's arms.
Although its injuries had mostly been treated, its stamina was nearly exhausted.
After handing Glaceon over to nearby medical staff, Cynthia prepared to leave and review the battle in private But Silas suddenly called out.
"Cynthia."
"You forgot your prize."
Only then did Cynthia pause. Nearby, the third-place Trainer was already staring eagerly at the prize table.
Even if he couldn't personally use the TMs, selling one would fund his training expenses for years.
The difference between Trainers was obvious.For ordinary Trainers: A million Pokédollars could support them for years.
For Silas? With six Pokémon constantly consuming resources ,That amount might not even last three months.
Especially after purchasing expensive TMs and training materials.
As for Cynthia...She had been so focused on the battle that she genuinely forgot about the rewards entirely.
In the end, Silas chose the Stone Edge TM first.
His reasoning was simple. Once Sandile eventually evolved into Krookodile, it could naturally learn Earthquake on its own.
That immediately removed Earthquake from consideration.
Stealth Rock was excellent strategically But it didn't quite fit Krookodile's aggressive fighting style.
After careful consideration ,StoneEdge was the perfect choice.
Cynthia selected Stealth Rock And the lucky third-place Trainer walked away with the incredibly valuable EarthquakeTM instead.
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(End of chapter)