"Scyther, keep your distance for now and look for an opening to strike!"
Having found a reliable method to suppress his opponent, Miles flashed a smile of certain victory. The warning Owen had given him before the match was now the last thing on his mind.
Miles continued to issue commands, mentally reviewing Eevee's advantages. So what if her reaction speed is fast? Scyther had the high ground, superior vision, and immense mobility.
If one hit missed, he would simply pull back and dive again until Eevee was backed into a corner.
In terms of moves, Eevee's Bite and Quick Attack struggled to compete with a Scyther's natural weaponry. Two scythes, two wings, a reinforced horn, and spiked legs—Scyther was a biological war machine.
And what did Eevee have?
To the spectators, Scyther looked like a knight in full armour, while Eevee looked like nothing more than a common household pet.
"It looks like Owen's journey ends here," a guest on the platform remarked.
"Indeed. Scyther is a natural-born warrior, and this one has been trained well. It's simply too difficult for a Pokémon like Eevee to overcome those physical odds."
"To hold out this long against a Scyther is already an incredible feat for Owen and his Eevee," the professional trainers added. The consensus was clear: the situation was hopeless.
"Unless Scyther makes a catastrophic mistake or Eevee reveals an entirely new move, she can no longer threaten him," Classmate Lu noted. "But... neither of those scenarios seems likely."
The Death Trap
In the arena, Scyther launched another aerial assault. It circled Eevee at high speed to disorient her before seizing a gap and swinging a Fury Cutter.
Eevee remained cautious, her sharp reflexes allowing her to dodge just in time. However, as soon as she moved, Scyther utilised its superior flight speed to maintain a relentless, pressing offensive.
"Scyther is full of openings when it attacks continuously, but Eevee has no way to counter-attack from the ground," Owen sighed.
The exchange of steel and shadows became a blur on the battlefield. Seven, eight seconds passed... and then, Eevee finally showed a slip in her footwork.
Seeing this opening, Miles and Scyther were ecstatic. Even the professional trainers in the stands looked on with regret.
It's over.
Eevee had been forced into a dead corner. She had nowhere left to dodge. The match would be decided in a single stroke. Scyther adjusted its trajectory mid-air and dove for the finishing blow.
Is there no other choice? Owen thought. Fine. If it's exposed, it's exposed.
"Use Sand Attack!" Owen commanded. His voice was eerily calm, devoid of panic.
Sand Attack? Miles dismissed the order instantly. Scyther flared its wings, already prepared to blow any dust away.
"A final act of defiance?" the professional trainers wondered, surprised by the choice. Everyone knew Sand Attack couldn't stop a Scyther; it had been countered a dozen times already.
But then—
Whoosh!
In the corner of the field, Eevee's paws hit the ground. As she began a high-speed, rhythmic scratching, a surge of Ground-type energy collided with a self-generated updraft.
Centred on Eevee, the air began to swirl, whipping the sand into a high-speed vortex. The grit didn't just scatter—it condensed into several rope-like strands of solid sand!
The centrifugal force sent these "sand ropes" lashing outward. Scyther beat its wings with all its might, but it couldn't blow away a rotating vortex.
It tried to slash through, but a second rope of sand slammed into it immediately after. With a series of dull thuds, the spinning Sand Attack lashed across Scyther's body, wings, and face with surprising force.
With a cry of pain, Scyther was swatted out of the sky. Eevee didn't miss her chance. She blurred forward with a Quick Attack, slamming into Scyther's soft underbelly.
Before the mantis could recover, she lunged forward, her fangs glowing with Dark-type energy as she clamped a Bite onto its wing joint.
"Impossible!"
Several guests stood up abruptly, staring at Eevee in shock. That Sand Attack... what was that?
"I told you to be careful because we prepared a secret weapon," Owen said, his face beaming with a mischievous smile. "Whatever happened to the basic trust between people?"
A rotating Sand Attack!
More accurately, it was the Sand Attack version of the Counter Shield. This was the technique Owen had adapted from the anime, and it had just made its stunning debut.
The entire arena fell into a stunned silence.
"In-incredible! Eevee has used a form of Sand Attack never seen before! This move has completely overturned the disadvantage! A massive reversal!! We have a massive reversal!!" the commentator screamed into the microphone.
Looking at the fallen Scyther, the spectators and guests—who had already written Owen off—were frozen in disbelief.
Once the referee officially announced the result, the stands erupted into a fever pitch.
"Did you all see that?" one professional trainer asked his peers. "That Sand Attack..."
He turned to the youngest guest, Lu. "Student Lu, could you pull that off?"
"The principle is to make the move rotate, increasing its range and power to turn it into an offensive and defensive shield," Lu said honestly. "As long as one is proficient in a move, it's not impossible... but that's usually for energy-based moves like Flamethrower or Thunderbolt.
For a physical move like Sand Attack... It's incredibly difficult. This Eevee must have a very specific, unique training method."
"Exactly," another trainer mused. "With other moves, it just shows proficiency. But with Sand Attack? I can't even begin to imagine how you'd train a Pokémon to that level in a short time. Especially since Eevee is a Normal-type, not a Ground-type."
"Absurd... for such a high-level technique to appear in a rookie tournament."
The audience and the livestream chats were losing their minds. "Did he just win?!" "What happened? I need a replay!"
Up on the guest platform, another trainer asked, "What's this Owen's background? Is he the son of a Pro? Which elite high school is he from?"
"He's not from the Metropolis," the representative from Aurora Group replied. "He's from Fairview... a small, local city."
Meanwhile, feeling the weight of thousands of eyes on him, Owen let out a long breath. They were in the Top 4. But he also felt a pang of regret—the Counter Shield, their ultimate trump card, was now completely exposed.
The road ahead was only going to get tougher.
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