The four stood in a row, basking in the cheers of tens of thousands.
They deserved every bit of it.
Because they had conquered everyone present with sheer strength.
In the City of Fighting, and especially in the Fighting Tournament, strength was what everyone respected most.
"Aaron!"
"Fane!"
"Rocco!"
"Mystery Contestant!"
The countless deafening shouts from the stands said everything.
Today, they were without a doubt the four brightest stars in this arena.
"All right, everyone, quiet down!"
"The system will now randomly draw the matchups and divide the fighters into two groups. The winner of each group will advance to the Grand Final of the Fighting Tournament and compete for the title of King of Fighters!"
Host Kenny's face was flushed with excitement as he gripped the microphone and shouted from the announcer's platform.
"Begin the matchup draw!"
As Kenny's passionate voice fell, the giant screen suspended in midair lit up.
The portraits of the four fighters slowly began to spin.
At last, they froze in place.
Group 1: Aaron vs. Rocco!
Group 2: Fane vs. The Mystery Contestant!
...
"Heh, heh... the results are in!"
"The first match will be our young prodigy, Aaron, against Rocco, the ascetic fighter from Arcanis City."
"The second match will be Grit City's famous fighter, Fane, against the mysterious Mystery Contestant!"
"Now, Fane and the Mystery Contestant, please return to the rest area."
"Aaron and Rocco will remain for the first battle!"
Kenny was practically trembling with excitement. Holding the microphone, he broke into some unrecognizable dance on the announcer's platform while shouting at the top of his lungs.
Fane and the Mystery Contestant slowly stepped down from the stage.
Only Aaron and Rocco remained.
The monk stood there with his eyes closed, prayer beads in hand.
Aaron and Rocco faced each other.
Aaron looked at Rocco across from him and asked curiously,
"Why is an ascetic monk participating in the Fighting Tournament?"
"Aren't you supposed to be above worldly desires and focused on spiritual training?"
"How about... you just concede?"
Rocco opened his eyes and said,
"Amitabha... you jest, young man. Participating in the Fighting Tournament is also a form of discipline."
Then he closed his eyes again and said nothing more.
The corner of Aaron's mouth twitched slightly.
Fine.
If he would not concede, then they would settle it with strength.
"I hereby declare the first semifinal match officially open!"
At Kenny's command, the battle officially began.
Both of them released their Pokémon at the same time.
"Come out... Infernape!"
"Come out... Mienshao!"
The Pokémon Aaron released was, of course, Infernape.
Rocco's Pokémon was a weasel-like Pokémon standing upright, its fur a mix of purple and white.
It was none other than Mienshao.
A glint flashed through Aaron's eyes, and Mienshao's information panel instantly appeared before him.
[Name: Mienshao]
[Gender: Male]
[Nature: Playful]
[Type: Fighting]
[Ability: Inner Focus]
[Base Stats Total: 520]
[Level: Gym (Peak Stage)]
[Pokémon Potential: Champion-class]
[Known Moves: Drain Punch (Perfect), Aura Sphere (Perfect), High Jump Kick (Perfect), Fake Out (Mastery), Poison Jab (Mastery), Swift (Proficient), Force Palm (Proficient), U-turn (Proficient), Vital Throw (Proficient), Reversal (Proficient), Bounce (Proficient), Taunt (Proficient), Jump Kick (Proficient), Double Team (Proficient), Bulk Up (Proficient), Protect (Proficient), Aerial Ace (Proficient)...]
[Description: Mienshao, the Martial Arts Pokémon and the evolved form of Mienfoo. It uses the fur on its arms like whips, and its arm strikes are so fast the opponent often cannot see them coming.]
...
A Mienshao at Gym Peak.
On top of that, Mienshao's Speed and Attack were both excellent.
Its Speed Base Stat was 105, and its Attack Base Stat was 125.
It was an outstanding fast physical attacker.
This time, Infernape had truly met a worthy opponent.
He might actually have to show some real strength to win this match.
At that moment, Rocco opened his eyes slightly and said calmly,
"Mienshao... use Fake Out."
"Mien!"
Mienshao cried out as white light flashed from its palm, and it darted toward Infernape at high speed.
Aaron's expression did not change.
He said calmly,
"I knew you'd pull that annoying little trick."
In his previous life, whenever he played the Pokémon games, any Pokémon with Fake Out would almost always use it first.
The damage was low, but the humiliation was immense.
And it was the only move with +3 priority.
It was even faster than Extreme Speed.
In the real world, this move was as quick as lightning. There was no time to react before you had already been slapped across the face.
But it was not impossible to counter.
You just had to be faster than it.
For example, Frog Boss's Flying Thunder God Technique, combined with his terrifying reaction speed, could dodge Fake Out.
Fake Out could also interrupt an enemy's move while dealing free damage. No matter how you looked at it, it was a great trade.
Its whole purpose was to be irritating.
Aaron immediately said to Infernape,
"Infernape... take the hit, then use Mach Punch right away."
By then, Mienshao's Fake Out had already arrived, slapping Infernape hard across the face.
SMACK!
A loud slap rang out.
Infernape took the slap to the face.
Although it did not really injure him, it nearly made his eyes go red with rage.
"Infer... nape..."
Infernape let out a low growl.
Though anger surged inside him, he still obeyed Aaron's command.
A dazzling white light lit up around his right fist.
His fist moved like a blur.
Fast and sharp.
He drove it straight into Mienshao's body.
BANG!
A heavy impact rang out.
Mach Punch struck Mienshao directly, knocking it back several steps.
The power of Infernape's Perfect-tier Mach Punch was still impressive.
But Mienshao was, after all, a Gym Peak Pokémon.
The difference in strength was too large.
If Infernape were also at Gym Peak, that punch would have dealt Mienshao considerable damage.
Aaron pressed the advantage and continued commanding Infernape.
"Infernape... use Fire Spin!"
Fire Spin was a control move that created a vortex of flames to trap the enemy, dealing damage while preventing the opponent from switching out.
It was especially effective against fast Pokémon.
"Infer..."
Infernape nodded, drew in a sharp breath, then spat out a searing stream of flame that surged toward Mienshao.