[Bonus chapter for Powerstones]
In the second match, although the Scyther's opponent put up a struggle, they failed to make a significant impact.
The Seed Player, Miles, successfully advanced.
It went exactly as everyone expected.
The third and fourth matches lacked major highlights. Owen judged that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Miles would be the one from this group to advance to the Top 16.
"The Seed Players are truly impressive. I've trained with Growlithe for so long, but if I had to pit him against that Scyther, I still wouldn't feel confident."
"If Growlithe's Fire-type moves can hit, it's one thing, but if they miss, things get difficult..." Lynnea remarked, comparing their strengths.
"Has your Growlithe learned Agility and Flame Burst yet?" Owen asked.
"That... not yet..." Lynnea admitted awkwardly.
Then the chances of winning were indeed slim. If they met, it would likely be a one-sided defeat. Unless she used a Fire Stone to evolve Growlithe right now—then she might win based on Arcanine's overwhelming physical stats.
After Group A's four matches ended, the tournament entered a brief intermission before the Group B contestants began their preparations.
Owen didn't plan on leaving; he intended to watch the entire day's proceedings. Having a general impression of all the advancing players and knowing their combat styles was a far more meaningful use of time than squeezing in a bit more training.
As the saying goes: Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
He planned to record the matches of the remaining Seed Players to study them later with Eevee. For the sake of victory, Owen was going all out.
Throughout the morning, the matches proceeded in an orderly fashion. The Mr. Mime of the Group B Seed and the Misdreavus of the Group C Seed both gained a following of fans.
The battles were, after all, a stage for the contestants to showcase themselves; an excellent performance could easily attract supporters.
"One more match and it's you," Lynnea said from the observation deck.
"Don't be nervous," Owen said.
"Shouldn't you be the nervous one?" Lynnea asked, surprised.
"True. If you're not nervous, help me record a video during my match! I'll do the same for you later," Owen suggested. "Just remember not to let your hand shake. It's a rare chance to compete; it'd be a nice memento."
Lynnea was speechless, but on second thought, recording a video as a souvenir was indeed a good idea. Even if they didn't make the Top 16, the footage would prove they were there.
"Deal," Lynnea agreed.
Soon, the first match of Group D concluded. Owen made his way to the tunnel leading to the field, waiting for his cue. Outside, the commentator began the introductions.
"Next up is our fourteenth match of the day! First, let's introduce the contestant coming from the left, Owen! Owen comes from Fairview. He won his qualifying matches with ease, and his strength is not to be underestimated."
"And emerging from the right is Hannah. Like Owen, she isn't a local, traveling from the distant city of Urbis..."
"Now, let's see what kind of exciting battle they bring us!"
On the guest platform, after watching so many matches, the guests were starting to feel fatigued. Only a handful of the dozen battles had been visually interesting.
However, appearances had to be maintained. As Owen and Hannah took the field, they engaged in symbolic conversation.
"Fairview... speaking of which, a micro-Secret Realm appeared there recently. Not only were there no casualties, but a Salac Berry tree was discovered.
The Fairview Trainer Association really has great luck," a representative from the Dawn Group remarked.
"Indeed, the provincial association likely benefited quite a bit as well..." a representative from the Metropolis Trainer Association added.
The other guests offered their agreement. Meanwhile, the battle below had already begun.
"A Cacnea, huh? This species... I remember they love living in the desert, right?"
"Question for you: Does Cacnea gain the Dark type after evolving?"
"Does it know any Dark-type moves right now?"
"Why aren't you answering?"
On the field, Eevee dodged the Poison Sting needles fired from Cacnea's arms while Owen peppered his opponent with questions.
He had reflected on his strategy: distracting an opponent didn't necessarily require insulting them; constantly drawing their attention could achieve the same result.
Owen had scrutinized the tournament rules several times and found no rule prohibiting talking to the opponent—a discovery that gave him plenty of ideas.
Against a Pokémon like Cacnea, Owen simply asked three questions, and the girl across from him already looked annoyed.
"Uh... it looks like Owen is saying something to Hannah on the field," the commentator said, adjusting his glasses. "Could they be old acquaintances?"
Because Cacnea's speed couldn't match Eevee's, and Eevee had undergone numerous high-difficulty battles at the club, Owen was comfortable letting her handle the fight while he practiced his unrefined "trash talk."
He didn't necessarily enjoy this tactic; he would have preferred to win in a high-and-mighty, cool, and handsome fashion. But that wasn't "stable."
Having sacrificed so much for the Young Ho-Oh Cup, he decided to throw away his pride. As long as it didn't break the rules, he would use any means to win.
He could go back to being a quiet, handsome man after he had the Soothe Bell and the prize money in hand.
"By the way, the Seed Player in our group is also a Grass-type trainer. How does that make you feel? Since Cacnea is also a Grass-type, right?"
"In your opinion, what did Cacnea lack that caused him to be set as a Seed instead of you?"
"Will you shut up?!" Hannah snapped.
"Watch out! Eevee is closing in on your Cacnea!" Owen warned.
Hannah jumped, seeing that Eevee had indeed used Quick Attack to suddenly accelerate toward Cacnea. She... she had actually spaced out!
"Cacnea, use Needle Arm, quick!" Hannah shouted.
Cacnea's strength was respectable enough to have made it this far. Hearing the command, it immediately swung its thorny arms violently toward the Eevee beside it. Seeing Cacnea react so quickly, Hannah breathed a sigh of relief, vowing to focus.
However...
"Eevee, Quick Attack."
Owen's next command made Hannah freeze. Cacnea wasn't attacking Eevee at all—it was attacking an afterimage created by Eevee's high-speed movement (Double Team).
If she had been observing the situation carefully, she never would have fallen for it so easily. But because of Owen's psychological trap, Hannah hadn't realized that Owen's "warning" was part of the scheme.
The goal was to distract her into giving the wrong command, creating an opening for Eevee to strike.
As Eevee slammed into Cacnea, sending it flying, Hannah felt like crying. She had never experienced such a frustrating battle.
She couldn't help but glare fiercely at Owen, who maintained a perfectly innocent expression.
"This Owen... is quite interesting," one of the guests on the platform remarked. Many of them had never seen such a peculiar style of play.
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