[Bonus chapter for PowerStones]
On the field.
Owen and Liden stared each other down. Owen could tell that Liden had likely prepared himself for the psychological barrage.
A pity, Owen thought. For this battle, Eevee and I plan to do the exact opposite. Since you're braced for trash talk, we won't say a word. We're going to fight this one seriously.
Let the world keep guessing while he walked his own path.
Pshh... Pshh...
As the match began, Ivysaur was the first to act, its flower bud pulsing. A moment later, a cloud of pink mist erupted, spreading across the field. This deceptive Sweet Scent was primarily directed toward Eevee's position.
"Sweet Scent!" Liden commanded immediately. Ivysaur didn't hesitate, using its mastery of the move to lock down the arena.
Seeing Ivysaur deploy its signature move, the guests and audience focused their attention. The field was about to be covered. Once the mist settled, Eevee wouldn't be able to run freely. Just a single breath of that scent would leave her dazed and vulnerable to Ivysaur's follow-up combos.
However, at that exact moment...
Whoosh!
Eevee, her expression unchanged, used Sand Attack. But this wasn't the Sand Attack she had shown before. In previous matches, the move was precise and sharp, with visible grains of sand thrown like a weapon into the enemy's eyes.
Now, the sand was fine and pervasive, rising like a miniature sandstorm. Visibility plummeted. A hazy yellow dust intermingled with the pink mist, and suddenly, Ivysaur and Eevee lost sight of each other.
"This Eevee has incredible control over Sand Attack," a guest remarked, surprised.
"Indeed. Her mastery is profound. I didn't expect her to have put so much work into Sand Attack on top of her natural speed. They must have practiced this countless times."
The murky dust neutralized the Sweet Scent, masking the aroma and making the move fail.
"Owen clearly had a counter-strategy ready. However... while the dust blocks the scent, Eevee has also lost her vision of the enemy.
That's not ideal, as Eevee lacks long-range moves," another guest noted. "Ivysaur's Vine Whip is incredibly fast and flexible; it won't be easy to dodge blindly!"
The guests were right. With visibility obscured, Liden hesitated for only a fraction of a second before giving the most logical command.
"This works for us! Sweep through with Vine Whip!"
Powerful vines lashed out, creating ripples in the swirling dust and mist. Yet, Owen remained perfectly calm.
"Dodge."
Eevee took a step, her body tilting slightly. Her movement wasn't as explosive as in the previous match, but it was incredibly fluid—almost soulful. It was as if she could perceive the trajectory of the vines before they even arrived.
The vines whipped through the air, striking the exact spot where Eevee had stood a millisecond before, leaving deep gashes in the ground. They were terrifyingly close, yet they failed to touch a single hair on her body.
"Maintain the momentum. Get close to it," Owen said.
He had completely shifted his fighting style. Eevee appeared far more aggressive now, sprinting toward Ivysaur in the blink of an eye.
Ivysaur wasn't fast, but its vines were. They were as agile as hands, and combined with Sweet Scent, they had neutralized many faster opponents—that was why Liden was a Seed.
Liden could see that Eevee's current sprinting speed was much slower than what she had shown in the last round. And yet, even as Eevee ran directly at it, Ivysaur's vines simply could not land a hit.
"Eevee, Double Team," Owen continued.
In an instant, Eevee split into three afterimages, further confusing Ivysaur's dual vines.
"Attack the one on the right!" Liden shouted, quickly identifying the real one because only the right-most Eevee was still in motion.
But Owen's goal wasn't just to deceive Liden; it was to control the space. Eevee's reaction speed was so fast that every time the vines fell, she was already somewhere else.
Through repeated baiting, Ivysaur had been lured back into a corner of the field to try and find a wider sweep radius.
Though Eevee wasn't running at her top speed, she felt faster than ever. To a layman, it looked strange; to a professional, it was staggering.
"This Eevee's reaction speed is nonsensical. This shouldn't be possible for a rookie's Pokémon."
"It's like she can predict the opponent's attacks ahead of time."
"It's more than that; her body is perfectly coordinated with her awareness. Her physical control is superb."
Several guests were internally shaken. Reaction speed and movement speed are two entirely different things.
A fast Pokémon might not be good at dodging if its brain can't process the incoming threat. Even if the brain reacts, the body might not move in time. That "time lag" is the hardest thing to master.
Eevee's performance was nothing short of breathtaking. Faced with a dense barrage of vines, she wasn't even attacking yet—she was simply suppressing the opponent with her presence, piling immense psychological pressure on Liden and Ivysaur.
"Weren't they supposed to rely on trash talk to win? Why is he suddenly so fierce?" Liden' heart began to race. His original plan was in shambles.
"Something's not right."
Lu, the student from Heaven's Heart Dojo with Psychic abilities, stood up and stared intently at Eevee. "That reaction speed... honestly, it shouldn't appear in a Pokémon at this stage. It's rare even among Psychic types."
The other guests followed his lead, focusing entirely on Eevee. They realized now that her reflexes were her true trump card.
The previous opponents simply hadn't been strong enough to force her to show them. Or perhaps, Owen hadn't wanted to win through pure skill until now.
Between the Anticipation ability and the "Stump Training Method," supplemented by real-world combat experience, Eevee's reflexes were her most "monstrous" trait.
The audience and guests weren't the only ones in awe. On the observation deck, Lynnea and the previously eliminated Hannah were frozen in shock.
A Seed Player... is being pinned down by Owen? They rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing things.
"This Eevee's stamina is also remarkable; she's been dancing around Ivysaur for quite some time," the Metropolis Trainer Association representative noted.
In this oppressive exchange, the reflex advantage was dominant. Eevee continued to use her "Sandstorm" to neutralize Sweet Scent and Sleep Powder, frustrating Liden to no end. As the stalemate dragged on, it was actually the Ivysaur that began to show signs of fatigue first.
"Within a minute, Liden will lose. Ivysaur is full of openings now."
"To think we were all wrong. Owen was clearly holding back. As the first trainer to knock out a Seed Player... he is officially the biggest dark horse of this tournament," Lu said with a chuckle. "What a sly fox. His current fighting style is the polar opposite of the image he built in the qualifiers."
"I truly pity Liden' mental state right now."
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