Afternoon, still at Section E, Field 7.
Owen ushered in his second battle. He had to admit, the number of rookie trainers participating in the Young Ho-Oh Cup was staggering.
No wonder so many fields had to run simultaneously; without this setup, finishing the entire tournament in a week would be an impossible task.
"Your Pokémon is an Eevee, right?"
"My condolences. My Pokémon is a Machop. I have the type advantage."
This time, Owen's opponent was a talkative trainer with a clear talent for trash talk. If Owen were a naive rookie, he might have felt some pressure.
But how could he possibly care about such a minor type of disadvantage?
"Don't you know that winning against type disadvantages is standard equipment for a protagonist?" Owen shot back.
The opponent thought, Holy crap, I've never seen someone so thick-skinned.
A moment later, both released their Pokémon. At the referee's command, Machop followed its trainer's order, forming its hands into sharp blades and lunging toward Eevee with a Karate Chop.
Swish!
On Owen's side, with just a simple command for Quick Attack, Eevee instantly vanished from Machop's line of sight.
"Your reaction speed is too slow," Owen remarked.
Machop's eyes couldn't keep up with the speed of Eevee's Quick Attack. By the time Machop realized what was happening, the strength had left its palms.
Its waist had been struck by a massive force, causing it to lose its balance entirely.
Watching Machop get dealt with so cleanly, the opponent's expression froze. How was this possible? His Machop had spent an entire month hitting sandbags with Karate Chop...
A month of hard work down the drain, unable to survive even a single exchange.
"Contestant No. 444, Owen, advances," the referee said, glancing at Owen.
This was the same referee who had officiated Owen's match that morning. Over the course of a day, this field saw countless battles; it was difficult for a contestant to leave an impression, and referees didn't usually go out of their way to remember them.
But Owen had managed it. Two matches in a row, both ended with a single move. Eevee's combat discipline was truly eye-catching.
"Excellent. Let's keep conserving our strength and advance like this. We'll secure our spot in the main event soon."
After just two battles, the advantage of Owen's special training for Eevee became obvious. Their first opponent was a typical case of zero training—the Pokémon was raised as a house pet.
The second opponent, while showing decent spirit with Karate Chop, was full of openings.
In contrast, while Eevee couldn't be called flawless, she certainly wasn't easy to target.
Having finished the second match, Owen had no more battles today. He planned to head back early and practice the Counter Shield with Eevee again.
However, as Owen passed another field, his feet stopped involuntarily.
"Hey man, what's going on over there?"
"Hmm?" The person whose shoulder Owen tapped blinked, then replied, "The girl in the blue tracksuit is apparently an apprentice from the Winter Dojo.
I just got here too, but that move really gave me a fright."
"Oh, thanks." Owen looked toward the field.
A Snorunt used Icy Wind, instantly freezing a Water-type Krabby into a block of ice. It wasn't just the power that was impressive; the technique involved was quite sophisticated.
Icy Wind usually just blows chilling air to damage an opponent; it's generally difficult to freeze things solid instantly. This Snorunt had some real tricks up its sleeve.
I wonder how this Snorunt is in other areas, Owen thought. If it's just a glass cannon mage, that's fine.
But if its basic stats are on par with Eevee's, meeting her will likely be a bitter struggle. Still, for a Pokémon like Snorunt... the odds probably aren't that high.
Watching the Snorunt's trainer walk away, Owen didn't linger. He hadn't expected to spot a high-level threat so early.
Dirty Tactics
After leaving the Oriental Pearl Arena, Owen took a taxi to a public battleground near his hotel. He and Eevee were going to continue their Counter Shield special training here.
Though they were currently facing opponents they could solve easily, Owen didn't assume everyone was at that level.
The official Young Ho-Oh Cup forums were already leaking info on several powerful rookie trainers, including that dojo apprentice. None could be underestimated.
"Dojo apprentices, huh..." Owen mused. "I wonder how many more like that are out there."
On the second day of the qualifiers, after Owen and Eevee finished their warm-up, they set out early for the arena again.
Today, their opponent was the Rock/Ground-type Geodude. Relying solely on Quick Attack might not be enough to one-shot such a thick-skinned Pokémon.
"Against a Rock-type, the power of Quick Attack is halved. Looks like we'll need to coordinate with other moves," Owen prepared himself to reveal a bit more strength.
Same field, same referee. When the match time arrived, Owen walked onto the battlefield with practiced ease.
This time, his opponent was a scholarly-looking trainer who didn't seem inclined to talk. Owen waited for a while but couldn't think of any good trash talk.
I guess I'm just not well-read enough... Owen sighed inwardly as the referee announced the start of the battle.
"Eevee, start moving!" Owen gave a proactive command without hesitation.
"Geodude, Rock Tomb!"
Even without using Quick Attack, Eevee's natural speed was more than Geodude could handle. Geodude could only watch Eevee helplessly, following its trainer's orders to launch ranged attacks.
The offensive was fierce, but the aim was a bit off. None of the thrown rocks could hit Eevee; her Ability didn't even need to trigger. Relying on sight alone, she could react and dodge easily.
"Sand Attack."
Seizing an opening between Geodude's moves, Eevee sprinted to its side. With a flick of her paws, a spray of fine sand accurately struck Geodude's eyes, blinding it.
"Keep it up," Owen commanded.
After several successive Sand Attacks, Geodude was helpless. Having lost its vision, its Tackle and Rollout moves were just wild, aimless swings. Finally, once Geodude was exhausted from being toyed with, Eevee used Quick Attack to knock it right out of the ring.
Sand Attack is truly a dirty move... Owen thought.
Sand Attack is naturally most effective when aimed at the face. However, after so much practice, Eevee could hit the eyes every single time as long as the opponent wasn't fast.
Before leaving, the referee looked at Owen again. Owen caught his eye and gave a greeting.
"See you this afternoon."
This No. 444 named Owen... if he wins smoothly this afternoon, I should designate him as a seed player, the referee thought while watching Owen's retreating back.
Stamina, movement speed, reaction time, move mastery, and mental fortitude—Owen's Eevee far surpassed the other Pokémon.
Most contestants would find it difficult to seize the initiative against her, because the gap in strength simply wasn't on the same level...
Furthermore, through three matches, Eevee had only shown Quick Attack and Sand Attack. She likely had plenty of hidden strength left, which was the most significant factor.
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