The Path of a Genius to Becoming a Pokémon Champion

Chapter 235: Making Mischief

The interval between regular season matches was normally four to six days, but this time, Sea Carp was unlucky, getting the minimum interval between their matches.

And to play two league-leading powerhouses in a row, one could only say the pressure was truly maxed out.

The upcoming match against the Demon King Team was not on a weekend, so the relative attention and on-site attendance were not as high.

Sea Carp was playing at home, still in that familiar Golden Autumn Cup stadium.

Upon arriving at the venue, before the match even began, Arthur could feel the difference between the Demon King Team and the teams he had faced previously—

Their team staff was truly massive!

Beyond the necessary positions like starting players and the head coach, they also had a large number of substitutes, reserve trainees, an analyst team, and logistical staff.

Matching this was the fact that the sponsor logos on their players' uniforms were more than double the number on Sea Carp's!

More sponsors, more fans, large investments, a huge team—this was the air of a veteran league powerhouse.

An imposing aura of a nouveau riche that could swallow mountains and rivers.

Before the match began, both sides' analysis teams were helping the coaches and players with final tactical guidance.

Although the number of people on Sea Carp's side was much more modest compared to the opponent, the staff were still working diligently.

Arthur had proposed whether he needed to switch to Mismagius for this match.

But in the end, it was vetoed by the coach and the analysis team.

"Asher is banned due to his foul in the last match. You'll be partnering with Elijah this time. His Gallade's current offensive power against tough defenses is average, and neither of your Pokémon has an ultimate move. The opposing doubles pair's main Pokémon happen to include highly defensive types like Snorlax and Venusaur. If you use Mismagius, it's very likely you'll run into the problem of being unable to break the stalemate."

Arthur was silent and did not object.

Ever since returning from Star Brilliance, Mismagius had indeed been actively practicing direct attack moves and had made some progress, but it had only been a short time, and the improvement was not yet obvious.

There was some truth to what the analysts were saying.

For the moment, Arthur could only accept it.

But deep in his heart, a faint sense of unease lingered.

He couldn't find the reason for it at the time and could only classify it as a warning from his intuition.

He couldn't use something so metaphysical to persuade others, let alone directly convince the analysis team, so he had to give it up.

"I hope it's just my imagination," he thought.

He didn't voice this groundless worry, afraid of affecting the soon-to-compete Greninja.

No matter what, he was always willing to believe in his Pokémon!

Soon, the on-site commentators completed their task for the sponsor daddies and finally finished reading the more-than-two-minute-long ad script.

Next, the players entered the field, and Arthur quickly emptied his mind of all distracting thoughts.

He had always treated battles and missions with extreme reverence. Whether it was intuition or an illusion, the moment the battle began, it had to be put aside.

Win this match first!

Of course, as per convention, the 1v1 singles portion began first.

The Sea Carp side was at a disadvantage, as always.

The three 1v1 matches ended quickly. They still only managed to secure one win through strategic lineup planning, losing the other two.

However, this time they weren't shut out in two rounds, so they had at least saved some face.

With the singles phase over, Sea Carp was trailing 2 to 4, but this score still left many possibilities.

The match still had suspense; it was not yet time for a foregone conclusion.

During the mid-game break, after deep thought, the coach finally decided, "For the upcoming doubles, Arthur and Elijah, you two go first. Luna and Bella will be the finisher."

Arthur nodded, his expression barely changing.

But Elijah next to him swallowed hard, his face grave.

Although not having to play the final, decisive match could alleviate some pressure for a rookie, in reality, the team was currently behind on points. If they wanted to win, they couldn't lose either of these last two doubles matches.

No matter how it was arranged, the pressure was unavoidable.

The starting position he had longed for had finally fallen to him. This should have been a joyous occasion worth celebrating, but only when truly shouldering this burden did Elijah realize how immense the pressure was!

He couldn't help but frequently glance sideways at Arthur beside him, wondering how, as a fellow league rookie, his partner could manage to not look nervous at all.

Soon, the mid-game break ended, and the doubles match began!

Arthur and Elijah walked onto the field side by side.

The referee blew the whistle, and both sides summoned their Pokémon at the same time.

On the Sea Carp side, it was, as expected, the Greninja and Gallade combination.

And the other side, the moment they appeared, gave Arthur and Elijah a surprise!

The Pokémon they sent out were Magnezone and Whimsicott.

"How could this be? Doesn't that player have a Kommo-o? They're not even using a pseudo-legendary?"

The Demon King Team was rich, and many of their players were also very rich.

One of the doubles players standing opposite Arthur and his partner was such a case.

One of his signature Pokémon was Kommo-o, colloquially known as the Fighting Dragon, a pseudo-legendary Pokémon on par with Dragonite and Tyranitar, the pinnacle of potential for regular Pokémon!

Originally, during the pre-match analysis, the Sea Carp coaching staff had unanimously believed that this player's choice of Pokémon would be the least likely to have any surprises.

After all, with proper training, the lower limit of a pseudo-legendary's combat power was never too low.

And Dragon-type Pokémon had always had long lifespans. This player's Kommo-o was either raised from a young age or inherited from an elder in his family. Relatively speaking, the bond should be deeper than with his other Pokémon.

However, no one had expected the Demon King Team to actually make such a counter-intuitive move, to be willing to give up a pseudo-legendary for the sake of tactical execution.

Before the referee announced the start, Arthur observed intently, then quickly said to Elijah beside him, "Focus fire on that Whimsicott first. Take it down quickly at all costs!"

For the opponent to be willing to give up a pseudo-legendary, they must be plotting something!

And between these two opposing Pokémon, the probability of Whimsicott making mischief was clearly greater!

Whimsicott was a Grass/Fairy-type Pokémon. Its appearance was just like its name suggested: a brown, humanoid, two-heads-tall little fairy. The hair on its back was particularly fluffy and large, like a big ball of white cotton carried on its back, making its overall appearance fluffy, like a ball of cottonwood.

This type of Pokémon was generally not strong in the wild. They had mischievous personalities and, like the fairies and flower sprites of legend, drifted with the wind, loving to play tricks and pranks, and were generally not skilled in battle.

In Arthur's past experience, such a Pokémon rarely appeared in the military. Their discipline, obedience, and combat power were all lacking. For the opponent to bring it out at this time, their purpose, besides making mischief, was almost unthinkable!

So, trying to take down this fairy first would not be a wrong move!

(End of Chapter)

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