"Ethan, your strength is becoming more and more terrifying."
Adrian sighed.
Now Ethan had three Pokémon whose overall strength had reached the Quasi-Elite level: Vibrava, Slowking, and Charizard.
And if the other Pokémon that were already close to that level were added, even he—despite having improved recently—was not sure he could face him.
"Maybe... Ethan really can fight Stefan."
That thought suddenly appeared in Adrian's mind, and even he himself was surprised.
Could it really... be possible?
...
The early rounds of the tournament were very intense.
In the afternoon, the group quarterfinals officially began.
While the giant screen spun the matchup roulette, the new list appeared.
"My opponent is... Susan?"
Seeing the name, Ethan's face darkened.
Susan was one of the five people favored to qualify, occupying second place.
And in the quarterfinals, Ethan once again ran into another favorite.
He could not help but deeply suspect whether there was some kind of arrangement in the draw.
Why were all of his opponents favorites?
Unlike Ethan's gloomy mood, the stands erupted in cheers.
Especially the students of Harvard Pokémon University, who immediately began cheering for Susan.
"Susan... a trainer specializing in flying-type Pokémon..."
At the same time, Lucas provided Ethan with information about her. Moreover, Susan was one of the few female trainers.
"Flying-type Pokémon..."
Ethan reflected for a moment and quickly made a decision before walking toward the battlefield.
"Please take care of me."
Susan had very good manners and, upon stepping onto the stage, bowed to Ethan.
Ethan also responded politely and then looked at the giant screen waiting for the start of the battle.
"I attack first?"
"Then my first Pokémon is you."
Ethan smiled and threw his Poké Ball.
"Rhyypperrior!"
With a roar, Rhyperior appeared on the field.
"What Pokémon is that?"
Just as expected, when Rhyperior appeared, the spectators were confused.
Even in the Daleron League few people still knew about Rhyperior, and the battle information from Harvard Pokémon University had been blocked, so no one in the Federal League knew of its existence.
"That Pokémon is called Rhyperior?"
"Although we don't know much about it... It must be a rock-type Pokémon."
Susan thought for a moment and released a Pokémon that looked like a swan.
It was Swanna, a water and flying-type Pokémon.
Using a water-type Swanna against a rock and ground-type Rhyperior was truly an excellent choice.
"I have the first turn. Rhyperior, Stone Edge!"
With Ethan's command, Rhyperior stomped the ground with force.
Numerous sharp rocks formed around it and shot toward Swanna in the air.
"Water Pulse!"
Instead of dodging, Swanna responded head-on.
The move Water Pulse shot forward and quickly descended from the sky.
During the fall, the sphere of water accelerated more and more, dragging a long tail behind it like a comet.
BOOM!
The two attacks collided in the air.
The rocks pierced the water sphere and caused it to explode, scattering countless droplets everywhere.
"Swanna, use Defog!" Susan gave an order at that moment.
As Swanna rapidly flapped its wings, a strong wind suddenly rose.
The water droplets and rock fragments that had been scattered by the explosion were swept up by the wind, shooting like bullets toward Rhyperior.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Continuous explosions could be heard.
Like a rain of bullets, the attacks struck the unprepared Rhyperior, pushing it backward again and again.
After seeing such an ingenious combination of techniques, the audience erupted into cheers.
"Amazing!"
"The move Defog is normally used to disperse moves like Reflect or Light Screen, and reduce the opponent's evasion. But Swanna used it to propel the water droplets and rocks, turning them into an attack with great power."
Ethan was also surprised internally.
It seemed that every trainer who had made it this far had their own special trick.
In previous battles they had simply been crushed by Ethan's absolute strength and had no chance to show it.
Now, facing an opponent of the same level like Rhyperior, Swanna immediately demonstrated its power.
"Moreover, the development path of this Swanna is also that of long-range artillery," Ethan thought.
In his memory, Swanna had balanced physical and special attack, so it could choose two paths. But thanks to its ability to fly, the long-distance combat style was the most suitable.
"Rhyperior, this time use Rock Blast."
After the test attack, Ethan made his decision.
"Rhyypperrior!"
With a roar, Rhyperior raised its arms and aimed toward Swanna in the air with the rocky openings in its palms.
Its muscles tensed, and two rocks shot out like projectiles, whistling through the air like cannon shells.
"Swanna, Tailwind!"
At the same time, Swanna also moved.
With a flap of its wings, it executed the move Tailwind. Its figure shot forward following the current, as if merging with the wind. Its speed increased astonishingly and it easily dodged Rhyperior's Rock Blast.
After dodging the attack, Swanna condensed Water Pulse in front of its beak once again and, with another flap of its wings, launched it.
At that moment, the Water Pulse move seemed to also be blessed by Tailwind, crossing the sky like a meteor.
"Rock Tomb!"
Just when the Water Pulse move was about to hit, a stone wall suddenly appeared and intercepted it.
"It's also extremely fast... It seems normal attacks won't be able to hit it. Well, I planned to save that move for later, but now there's no other choice."
Ethan slightly shook his head and gave the command: "Rhyperior, use Sandstorm!"
"Rhyypperrior!"
With a long roar, Rhyperior spread its arms and a sandstorm began forming on the field, quickly rising into the sky.
"Swanna, use Defog!"
Seeing it, Susan gave another command.
In Swanna's hands, the move Defog seemed to turn into an attack capable of sweeping everything away.
Even the sandstorm began to disperse under that pressure of wind, as if it were about to be completely eliminated.
"Is that... wind pressure?"
"I didn't expect Swanna to master the ability to concentrate atmospheric pressure!"
Ethan was surprised.
Soon, under the effect of Defog, the sandstorm was forcefully canceled. But just as the intense wind pressure disappeared, countless rock fragments were suddenly launched into the sky by Rhyperior.
"Dodge it!"
Susan's voice remained calm.
With the move Tailwind active, she trusted that Swanna would be able to dodge that level of attack.
And indeed it did.
(End of Chapter)