Spearow lay on the ground, barely retaining consciousness. Had it not been for burn reducing the attack power, she would have been knocked out.
"Hitmontop, attack while Spearow is still down. Triple Attack, again!"
"Spearow, protect then counter with peck!"
Spearow surrounded herself with a Protect barrier.
The first kick landed and left behind a few cracks.
The second kick widened the cracks.
The third kick shattered the barrier entirely, and came for Spearow!
But this brief delay was enough. Spearow recovered, dodged left, and struck Hitmontop with a fierce Peck, sending him flying.
Spearow, who was furious, didn't let up. While Hitmontop was still in mid air, she accelerated and hit him with a powerful Aerial Ace!
The attack hit him in a blind spot.
It was a critical hit!
Spearow watched the smoke, searching for signs of defeat. Suddenly, Hitmontop burst through the haze, closing the distance with Quick Attack.
"Triple Kick! End it, Hitmontop!"
"Spearow, steel wing, then peck!"
Spearow countered the first kick with Steel Wing but was knocked back. She tried to use Peck, but Hitmontop was faster, knocking her out with the next kick.
"Spearow is unable to battle, Hitmontop wins"
Hitmontop struck a victory pose, but he wasn't doing well either. He could take at most one more hit.
"You did well, Spearow. Rest now."
Eric recalled her and reached for his last Poké Ball.
"It's all up to you, Poliwag."
Poliwag was brimming with energy.
The moment he appeared, he used muddy water. Hitmontop jumped up to dodge it, and Poliwag attacked him with water Pulse while he was mid air. However, Hitmontop used triple kick to cut through the attack.
He then closed in using a quick attack, and hit Poliwag with a Mach punch!
Poliwag was blown away, but he used water gun to attack Hitmontop as well.
"Poliwag, use your tail to cushion the impact"
Hearing Eric's command, Poliwag used his tail to stop the momentum. In the meantime, Hitmontop also recovered from the water gun and struck back again with a mach punch.
"Protect, then bubble beam!"
Hitmontop broke the protect, and Poliwag used bubble beam, but was also hit by another mach punch, knocking them both back.
Hitmontop's mach punch was clearly on intermediate level.
Both Poliwag and Hitmontop lay on the ground, but Poliwag slowly pushed himself up through sheer willpower, taking the win.
"Hitmontop is unable to battle, the winner is Poliwag! Contestant Eric wins and moves on to the Quarter finals!"
Eric breathed a sigh of relief. This was too close for comfort. But with this, he managed to reach the top 8!
"Your name's Eric right? I'll make sure to remember it. Things won't go the same next time we meet, ya hear me?!"
"Alright."
"Also, give me your contact. I'll add you to my phone."
"…I don't have one."
"What? Who in this age doesn't have a phone? Are you messing with me?"
"I just don't. Whether you believe me or not is up to you."
Eric said as he started walking away.
"Fine! Get yourself a phone, and then contact me."
Leo took out a pocket notebook and tore a piece of paper from it. He then wrote his contact information and handed the piece to Eric.
Eric just took it and left. He went straight to the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy offered her congratulations as she healed his team. Afterward, he grabbed a meal and spent time watching other trainers' battles.
One trainer stood out the most. Belle, who had won every match so far using only a single Pokémon.
Pokémon: Pikachu
Gender: Male
Level: 29
Type: Electric
Ability: Lightning Rod
Held item: Light Ball (80% absorbed)
Potential: Deep Blue
Eric did not understand what the 80% absorbed written next to the light ball meant. In the games, the Light Ball doubled Pikachu's Attack and Special Attack, but it was a held item, not something a Pokémon consumes.
Eric was curious but he had no way to get any answers, so he forgot about it.
---
While Eric was watching the battles that would determine the top 8, someone came and sat next to him.
It was the middle aged man with the Scyther from before. He had completed his fight and was also promoted to the top 8 like Eric.
"Mind if I sit here?" The man asked with a polite smile.
"…you already did."
"Hahaha, that's true. The name's Ethan."
"…Eric."
"Don't be so wary. I just saw you sitting here and came to say hi as a fellow quarter finalist."
Eric gave Ethan a look that said, "don't bullshit me."
"…I didn't lie. I truly came just to talk to you after seeing your matches."
"Me specifically?"
"Yes. I was impressed by your battles so I looked you up. That's when I found out you didn't come from any influential background, just like me. I'm almost 40. I understand the difficulty of not having money as a trainer more than anyone. But seeing you have such strength at such a young age, despite no background…It got me curious. Of course, you don't have to tell me your secrets or anything like that."
"…I just took some risks."
"...You're brave, unlike me. I too took a few of those *risks* when I was young. But the wilderness isn't very kind to weak trainers. Those few experiences almost made me quit being a trainer. I did quit, in fact. It was only a few years ago that I re-entered the world of Pokemon trainers. Had I not met Scyther that day…"
Ethan stopped talking mid sentence as he reminisced about the past. He then got up.
"Well, like I said, I only came to say Hi. I'll leave you be now. We'll continue this conversation on the battlefield."
Ethan left this final comment as he walked away.
'What the hell was that about?'
Not understanding what Ethan wanted, Eric got back to viewing the matches.
---
"Did you see, Scyther? That kid had no interest in talking to me at all."
"Scy!"
"Hahaha. You're right. I'm glad I talked to him. The rest of the conversation can be had on the battlefield. After all…A Pokemon battle is the best form of communication for Pokemon trainers!"
"Scyther!"
Soon, the matches to determine the top 8 were finished, and the matchups for the Quarterfinals were revealed.
Iris Belmont Vs Lync Volan
Belle Williams Vs Alice Winters
Alister Nashville Vs Henry Winters
Eric Vs Ethan Hill
Looks like Eric and Ethan will be fighting in the quarterfinals. Who would have thought?