Who would have thought that just accompanying my little sister to a small tournament would unexpectedly net me a weather skill TM worth millions?
What a treat!
This piqued Aaron's interest just a little.
Just then, the referee signaled for the two final teams to take the field.
Aaron and Lily stepped onto the battlefield, while on the opposite side, Juston and Rosaline stood facing them.
Juston's expression was grim as he stared at Aaron, while Rosaline and Lily locked eyes, the tension between them thick.
The surrounding students buzzed with discussion.
"This is really interesting... I didn't expect the top two students in the grade to meet in the finals."
"Hehe... this is going to be a good show. Rosaline's always been below Lily in rankings. She's probably been annoyed for a long time."
"I heard her cousin graduated from a Tier-2 University and is really strong!"
"I'm not blind... in the earlier matches, Juston completely steamrolled his opponents."
"And he's so cocky... now that he's facing Aaron, let's see how he gets dealt with."
"Yeah, yeah... Aaron, go! Defend our school's honor!"
"Go, Aaron!!"
The crowd was entirely cheering for Aaron and Lily.
Not a single voice supported Juston's side, making his expression grow even uglier.
He glared fiercely at Aaron, thinking to himself:
"Just wait until I grind your idol into the dirt. Let's see if you can still shout that loud."
The referee waved the flag and shouted:
"Now, the final match begins!"
"This battle will be conducted in a 3v3 Pokémon format."
"When all three Pokémon on one side lose the ability to battle, the match ends."
"Both sides, release your first Pokémon!"
"The battle officially begins..."
At the referee's command,
Juston and Aaron simultaneously threw out their Poké Balls.
"Come out... Nidoking!"
"Come out... Beedrill!"
A flash of light appeared.
Aaron's one-hit knockout Beedrill took the field.
Opposite it stood a purple, armor-like Pokémon with a dinosaur-like build.
Nidoking.
A glint flashed in Aaron's eyes as Nidoking's information appeared before him:
[Name: Nidoking]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Quirky]
[Type: Poison, Ground]
[Ability: Poison Point]
[Base Stats Total: 505]
[Level: Elite (Late Stage)]
[Potential: Gym Leader]
[Moves: Double Kick (Proficient), Poison Sting (Mastery), Focus Energy (Proficient), Megahorn (Mastery), Chip Away (Proficient), Thrash (Proficient), Earth Power (Proficient), Poison Jab (Proficient), Sludge Bomb (Proficient), Rock Tomb (Basic)...]
[Description: Nidoking, the Drill Pokémon. The evolved form of Nidorino. It uses its steel-like body to ram opponents, and its horn can pierce even steel plates.]
As soon as both Pokémon appeared, the crowd erupted in surprise.
Nidoking looked powerful and imposing, while Beedrill seemed ordinary in comparison.
With its lower base stats, it looked completely outmatched.
"Holy crap... Nidoking! That's awesome..."
"He might not be great himself, but his Pokémon is definitely cool!"
"Why isn't Aaron using that strong Snorlax?"
"Beedrill!? This feels like a bad move... did Aaron underestimate him?"
"Beedrill against Nidoking... there's no way it can win!"
"Unless that Beedrill is insanely high-level..."
No one believed in Aaron's Beedrill.
The discussions grew louder.
Aaron heard everything but remained completely unfazed.
He looked at Lily, who was slightly nervous, and spoke calmly:
"Having higher base stats doesn't mean a Pokémon is stronger."
"Remember this... there are no useless Pokémon, only useless Trainers."
"Every Pokémon in this world is unique."
"Each one has its own strengths. Our job as Trainers is to bring those strengths out."
Lily paused for a moment, then nodded firmly.
"I understand!!"
At that moment, the battle officially began.
"Nidoking... deal with this weak Beedrill for me, hahaha."
"Use Earth Power!!"
Juston laughed arrogantly as he gave the command.