Alex rushed into the arena when he saw Scizor's unconscious body sinking deep into the pool.
He ran to the edge of the arena and immediately used Telekinesis to lift Scizor out of the water.
Scizor, weighing well over 100 kilograms, was lifted up and brought out of the water by Alex with relative ease.
Telekinesis was a skill Alex had learned back when he was only a Level 3 Psychic; along with his Poison Syringe, it was his only truly offensive ability.
Covering could also be used offensively, but it was a much more balanced ability that wasn't designed purely for damage.
However, now that Alex was a quasi Level 5 Psychic, all of his psychic abilities had naturally improved significantly.
Telekinesis—which previously could only move relatively light objects, such as syringes, with any real effectiveness—could now manipulate heavy objects without much difficulty.
That said, the main reason Alex could influence Scizor's body at all wasn't just his Level 5 Psychic power; it was also because Scizor was unconscious and his life energy had been severely depleted.
Alex healed Scizor with a Hyper Potion before recalling him to his Poké Ball with a smile.
He knew that victory was now almost certain; there was practically no way he could lose the match anymore.
With Blaziken capable of using Rock Slide at the Master Rank and Dragonite reduced to less than 25% of his HP, winning was practically guaranteed.
That was exactly why he had ordered Scizor to get so close to Dragonite, even knowing that such a move would most likely result in Scizor being defeated by Earthquake.
The referee gave Alex thirty seconds to send out his next Pokémon, but he didn't wait even a moment and immediately called out his final Pokémon.
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Pokémon: Blaziken
LV: 57
Type: Fire/Fighting
Abilities: Speed Boost (Hidden Ability)
Gender: Female
Potential: Shallow Diamond (5%)
Moves:
- Growl, Scratch, Ember, Sand Attack, Peck, Double Kick, Flame Charge, Quick Attack, Bulk Up, Blaze Kick, Focus Energy, Sunny Day [M], High Jump Kick [M], Slash, Brave Bird
- (Perfect Talent) Attract [M], (Perfect Talent) Overheat [M]
- (TM) Protect [E], (TM) Flamethrower [E], (TM) Rock slide [M], (TM) Will-O-Wisp [M], (TM) Poison Jab [E], (TM) Solar Beam [M], (TM) Dig, (TM) Facade, (TM) Helping Hand, (TM) Brick Break, (TM) Acrobatics, (TM) Shadow Claw, (TM) Low Sweep, (TM) U-turn, (TM) Swift, (TM) Substitute
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Blaziken appeared in the arena, striking a cool pose with one leg raised while adopting a fighting stance.
Alex smiled when he saw this.
Winona knew she was in a desperate situation and realized she would have to take risks if she wanted any chance of winning.
The referee raised his hand and shouted, "Three... two... one... Go!"
Alex said nothing, knowing Blaziken already understood exactly what she needed to do without any further instructions.
Winona loudly called out, "Move 4!"
Alex remained indifferent to whatever plan Winona might have prepared.
The only realistic way he could lose the match was if Blaziken's Rock Slide missed.
Unless Rock Slide missed twice—an incredibly unlikely and unfortunate scenario—victory was all but guaranteed.
Alex could see only one realistic path to defeat.
Dragonite could use his slight speed advantage to stay directly on top of Blaziken. Then, when Rock Slide was used, Dragonite would need incredible luck to dodge the attack, causing Blaziken to suffer alone the consequences of using the move at such close range.
Dragonite could then immediately follow up with a full-power Earthquake to defeat Blaziken.
Turning an opponent's Rock Slide against them was a tactic Alex had used himself; it was the very strategy he had employed to defeat Maria during their rematch.
Alex pushed that slim possibility out of his mind and focused entirely on the battle unfolding before him.
Dragonite and Blaziken possessed similar speeds, although Dragonite was still slightly faster.
However, that small advantage would disappear after only a few seconds thanks to Blaziken's Speed Boost ability.
Dragonite used those precious few seconds to fly as close to Blaziken as possible, but it couldn't quite catch her, as Blaziken immediately started running away the moment she saw Dragonite approaching.
That hadn't been an order from Alex; it was simply an instinct he had drilled into his Pokémon through countless hours of training.
"Unless it's part of a plan, always stay within the ideal range of the move you're preparing—no closer and no farther away. And if your opponent tries to change that distance, move so it stays the same distance."
Dragonite finished preparing first and used Extreme Speed, striking Blaziken and dealing relatively good damage.
Alex knew that Extreme Speed was an incredibly powerful move in this world, because despite requiring only the same preparation time as fast move lik Quick Attack, it could inflict good damage.
However, because it shared the same weakness as Quick Attack, he also knew the move itself wouldn't fundamentally change the flow of the battle.
Blaziken ignored the pain entirely and continued preparing her own move. At the same time, she sprinted away from Dragonite, who was now only two meters behind her.
Alex sent a telepathic message. "Don't use Rock Slide the moment it's ready. Wait until you're outside Earthquake's effective range first."
Blaziken replied through their telepathic link. "I know that. You don't need to state the obvious. Don't you trust your daughter?"
Alex wanted to explain that he was already fairly certain she knew this—after all, it was one of the tactics he himself relied on most often—but he had said it anyway, just to be safe.
Blaziken continued accelerating, and she didn't take long before she had opened up a comfortable gap between herself and Dragonite.
Once she had created enough distance, she unleashed Rock Slide.
Dragonite reacted instantly, using Protect to block the attack completely.
Alex, who had fully expected such a response, knew the battle was already over.
Blaziken and Dragonite immediately began preparing their next moves at the same time.
Alex watched as Dragonite desperately tried to close the distance, but he simply wasn't fast enough anymore.
Blaziken effortlessly maintained a distance of roughly twenty-five meters.
Winona knew that only the power of a full-force Earthquake still offered any chance of defeating Blaziken.
Without a miracle, she knew the battle was lost. Even so, she refused to give up and shouted, "Dragonite, don't give up! Try to dodge the Rock Slide and we can still win this!"
Alex knew she wasn't wrong. At this point, all he could do was hope that his luck wouldn't fail him.
Blaziken unleashed Rock Slide and although Dragonite tried his best to dodge, no miracle occurred.
The moves struck him directly, and he fell unconscious to the ground.
The referee quickly checked Dragonite's condition before raising a flag and loudly announcing, "Contestant 1's Pokémon, Dragonite, is unable to battle. Since Contestant 1 Winona has no remaining Pokémon, the winner of the match—and of the tournament—is Contestant 3, Alex!"
Having won not only the match but the entire tournament, Alex smiled with satisfaction as he thought to himself, "Is my bad luck finally gone?"
Author's thoughts:
and with that, the main part of this tournament comes to an end. Although there are still one or two chapters to come describing the immediate aftermath, the main section itself is finished.
This tournament arc turned out a bit longer than I had originally planned—especially the final fight, which I hadn't intended to be quite so long.
Even though I'm pretty happy with how the fight turned out, writing it was really exhausting.
Writing so many consecutive battles—and ensuring each one showcased at least one new, logical tactic—was a real challenge.
I even rewrote chapters several times because I wasn't satisfied with the fight.
But in the end, I'm happy with the result.
The next arc—or whatever you want to call it—is already partially planned out, and I hope you'll like it.
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