The Path of a Genius to Becoming a Pokémon Champion

Chapter 243: Sending in Backups to Show Friendliness

When Luna sent out Beedrill, everyone was stunned.

Even the on-site commentator started laughing.

"What's going on today? It seems the players are being particularly... free in their choice of Pokémon."

In the last match, the sibling pair from the Ghost Dragon Team didn't use their main Pokémon, swapping in two Poison-types to try and play a tactical counter, and ended up messing it up.

As it turned out, Luna pulled the same move in this match.

What's the deal? Are both sides sending out a backup Pokémon to show friendliness?

The audience was abuzz with discussion.

But at this moment, Arthur, in the players' backstage area, noticed two details the audience couldn't see—

On the field, Bella showed no surprise at Beedrill's appearance, which meant Luna had definitely communicated with her partner beforehand.

However, the coaching staff below the stage looked very surprised, and even a little angry.

This was very intriguing.

Arthur muttered under his breath, "No wonder they told me they wanted to cultivate me into the next doubles core."

Originally, when the coaching staff and analysis team had told him this, Arthur had just thought they were making him a big empty promise. But now, he believed them.

Because it looked like the team really wouldn't be able to keep Luna and Bella next season!

Luna wanted to play as a main player, so it made sense for her to be focused on cultivating her backup Pokémon now. But for Bella to also know and not report it showed that her heart was likewise not on the team's side.

Looking at it this way, the promise Sea Carp had made to Arthur might actually be true!

It was just a pity that Arthur, knowing this truth now, no longer felt any attachment or surprise.

Without these two beautiful seniors, who were both his teachers and friends, Arthur no longer had much feeling left for this Sea Carp team.

Leaving aside the feelings of the players and audience for a moment, on the field, the match had already begun again!

The two Pokémon the opponents sent out this match were Tangrowth and Excadrill.

Tangrowth was a pure Grass-type Pokémon. It was likely chosen to counter Luna's main Pokémon, Kabutops, but with Luna unconventionally sending out a Beedrill this match, the opponent was now the one at a disadvantage.

However, the opponent still seemed full of confidence.

"Tangrowth, use Vine Whip!"

At the start of the match, this player was the first to give a command, using Tangrowth's signature move, Vine Whip.

This move could use energy to stimulate the vines on Tangrowth's body, making them longer and tougher. This effect could be maintained for a long time after the skill ended, making it a very classic opening move for many Grass-type Pokémon.

Afterward, Tangrowth could use these enhanced vines to execute moves like "Knock Off," "Slam," or "Power Whip," the effects of which would be better than using them directly.

However, Luna was not afraid at all.

"Beedrill, U-turn!"

She surprisingly initiated the attack at the start, her commands not at all resembling someone fighting with a backup Pokémon!

Beedrill was also exceptionally brave. It charged straight towards the wildly growing and dancing vines in front of it, like a bomber plane diving towards a dense barrage of anti-aircraft fire!

With exquisite positioning, Beedrill carved a dazzling trajectory in the air. In the blink of an eye, it had thrown all the pursuing vines behind it!

This stunning performance was completely unlike that of a backup Pokémon that hadn't seen battle in a long time.

For a moment, even the commentator was shocked.

"It looks like this Beedrill is about to be caught by the vines. Er, no, it dodged past, it dodged again! Holy crap! It landed a hit!!"

After landing a hit, Beedrill was quickly enveloped in energy and disappeared, as if teleporting!

The effect of "U-turn" was the same as the "Volt Switch" Bella's Luxray had used before. Both involved rapidly swapping places with a pre-marked friendly unit after an attack was completed, and then entering a cooldown period.

There was no speed boost before the hit, so it could be dodged, but once the hit landed, the rapid retreat was unstoppable.

Tangrowth had thought it could catch Beedrill with its vines before it could land a sting, but it never expected that a mere backup Beedrill could have such agile movements!

By the time the stinger hit its body, it was already impossible to hold onto Beedrill.

In the blink of an eye, the enemy before it had been replaced by the swapped-in Togekiss.

The opponent didn't want to deal with Togekiss for the moment.

One definitely picks the soft persimmon first. That Beedrill, making its first appearance, looked much easier to bully. Besides, a Pokémon like Beedrill had inherently weak species potential; the probability of producing a strong individual was extremely small.

However, the arriving Togekiss had different ideas.

"Follow Me!"

This wasn't a coquettish plea, but Bella's command—the name of the move!

The Normal-type skill: Follow Me. At the moment of casting, it forces surrounding enemies to look at oneself, and at the same time, any projectile-based moves within a certain range will be forcibly drawn towards it.

Simply put, it was a taunt.

You must attack the minion with taunt!

This move was useless in singles, but in doubles, it was extremely annoying.

The only fortunate thing was that very few Pokémon could learn this move, only a few specific kinds.

But very unfortunately: Togekiss was one of them!

Tangrowth's "Vine Whip" was forcibly drawn towards Togekiss, and the Excadrill on the side, which was about to pursue Beedrill, was also forced to turn its head and shift its gaze.

"Excadrill, use Metal Claw!"

Since its line of sight was forcibly attracted for two or three seconds, the opponent had no choice but to have Excadrill target Togekiss first.

And at the same time, the retreated Beedrill, as soon as its cooldown period was over, immediately began to rub its two stingers together.

"Use Hone Claws!"

The Normal-type skill: Hone Claws. It was one of the fastest buff skills to cast and had the shortest cooldown, because its effect only enhanced one attack.

Its function was to make the next attack more powerful, but the status would be consumed after one successful hit.

It could be said to be the cheapest buff.

But for Beedrill, it was enough.

Soon after, after its taunt ended, Togekiss glided back, and Beedrill charged forward again.

"Use U-turn!"

Again, it used slick positioning to dodge the vine blockade, and this time it also dodged Excadrill's claw swipe, once more landing a sting on Tangrowth, and then hitting and running!

Just as the opponent wanted to give chase, the retreated Togekiss was back in front of them.

Beedrill took the opportunity to retreat, looking for a chance to sharpen its stingers again and accumulate its next "Hone Claws."

And the swapped-back Togekiss happily flapped its wings and let out a cry.

"Follow me~"

Tangrowth, who had just been stung and was in agony, looked like its balls were hurting, but it could only be forced to turn its head and stare at the Togekiss in front of it with a murderous gaze.

Who the hell wants to look at you!

Right now, I just want to smack that little bee in the distance!

But it was useless. The skill said look at me, so you have to look at me. Here, Togekiss called the shots.

And Bella's Togekiss was a main in its prime; the opponent couldn't solve her in a short time.

Not to mention they knew early on that focusing fire on Togekiss was useless. This thing's "Life Dew" was masterfully proficient!

And at this moment, in the distance, Beedrill had already begun its second round of "Hone Claws."

One could imagine that before long, that sting would be coming again.

The sting had not yet arrived, but Tangrowth's expression was already contorting in premature pain…

(End of Chapter)

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