Chapter 81: Heracross

At 1:40 p.m., at venue 5, Julian really went to watch Will's match.

"Okay, I'm here! Now you can hurry to the player room," Julian said, noticing Will standing stubbornly beside him, refusing to leave.

Will had dragged him all the way from their hotel room just so Julian could watch his match.

"You guys need to keep an eye on him," Will instructed Han, Zosh, and Shen, who were standing nearby.

"Don't let him run away! Just wait until I show off my power with a string of three victories!"

Obviously he didn't really believe what Julian said

"Come on, let's go! Julian said he's not going anywhere" Shen said, a bit impatiently.

Among the five of them, Julian was the strongest, while Will was considered the weakest.

Yet, somehow, Will was still in the tournament while the others had been eliminated earlier.

Will often jokingly referred to himself as the "Emperor of Luck" and now Shen couldn't help but feel that Will might actually embody that "Luck".

As the clock struck two o'clock, the atmosphere became electric with anticipation.

"Let's go, Charizard!"

Will shouted, sending out his strongest Pokémon.

In open events like this one, the Pokémon used by trainers had to be registered with the event organizers beforehand. For this particular match, Will had registered Charizard, Pidgeot, and Camerupt. That meant he was limited to using just those Pokémon during the match, though he could choose the order in which to send them out.

Charizard emerged from its Poké Ball with a loud roar, spreading its magnificent wings wide. It let out a brilliant flame into the air before landing confidently on the ground, exuding an impressive fighting spirit.

"Heracross!" The opponent called out.

Heracross was a rare and powerful Bug-type Pokémon, boasting a secondary Fighting type, which made it quite formidable. Notably, Heracross could also Mega Evolve, adding to its strength.

Facing Charizard's flames, Heracross didn't seem intimidated at all. Instead, it appeared full of fighting spirit and ready to battle. 

Heracross: If I win this match, I'll get a treat of ten jars of honey.

"HERA~"

Heracross's momentum rose sharply, it was obviously a mild-mannered and even a little timid kind of Pokemon, but the aura it showed at this time was close to that of a steroid induced bodybuilder.

"What's up with this guy? Where's Beedrill?" Will murmured to himself, concern creeping into his voice.

He had done his homework on the opponent's team and watched videos of their past matches through the conference organizers.

The opponent had played twice, once with Beedrill, once with Butterfree, and in an individual match, he also used Beedrill And Butterfree, using these two Pokémon to defeat Rival's three Pokémon, in Will's opinion, it was just two rookie trainers pecking at each other

In his mind, Will had thought it would be easy to defeat them with Charizard.

Will believed Bug-type trainers were generally synonymous with weakness, mainly because most Bug Pokémon, even at their final forms, tended to be less powerful compared to others.

There were strong Bug Pokémon out there, but they were quite rare. Most trainers, like the one in front of Will, chose Bug types simply because they were easy to feed and evolve.

He had expected an average trainer, but now he was up against a fierce Heracross instead.

Charizard level 42.

Heracross level 46.

The level difference was clear, and under the Probing Eyes, their stats were laid bare for Julian to see.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Will commanded.

"Heracross, go for a Horn Attack!" the opponent shouted back.

Heracross boldly charged forward, its thick horn glowing with white energy. It collided directly with Charizard's Flamethrower, splitting the flames in two while rapidly maneuvering around the fire.

"Charizard, don't hold back! Let's see how long Heracross can last against you!"

Will was realizing that the opponent had been hiding their strength during the team competition. They clearly wanted to secure a better result in the individual matches.

Charizard unleashed a continuous stream of flames, intensifying its output.

'Ten jars of honey!'

Heracross bellowed, swinging its horn powerfully, smashing through the flames. It flapped its wings and aimed a fierce Horn Attack at Charizard's soft underbelly.

The hit sent Charizard spiraling through the air.

"Use Aerial Ace, Heracross!"

The opponent shouted confidently.

As Charizard finally regained control in the air, it felt the sting of pain in its stomach, as if its insides were twisting together.

"Charizard, dodge!"

Will yelled, urgency evident in his voice.

In that split second, Charizard noticed a flash of white light racing toward it. Then, before it could react, Heracross struck again, landing another blow to its belly.

"Seismic Toss!"

Will commanded, desperation creeping into his tone.

Charizard, feeling intense pain from its stomach, let out a frustrated roar. The red light surrounding its body activated its Fire abilities, allowing it to gather some strength. Charizard's arms wrapped around Heracross, lifting it high into the air. 

"Naive fool! Heracross break free!" the opponent taunted, smirking as they watched the struggle unfold.

With its powerful Fighting type, Heracross was naturally strong.

Charizard, despite its size and strength, found it challenging to hold on to its opponent.

"Charizard, use Inferno!" Will ordered fiercely.

As Charizard began to descend rapidly, it opened its mouth to create a swirling vortex of flames that engulfed both itself and Heracross.

Heracross let out a series of pained roars, its strength waning under the searing heat.

"Heracross twenty jars of honey, Bug Bite!" the opponent suddenly shouted, a look of determination crossing their face.

In that moment, the pain from the flames seemed to vanish for Heracross, replaced by the tantalizing thought of twenty jars of honey awaiting it.

For a foodie, nothing was more motivating than food and if there was, it's more food.

"F***, That's cheating!"

Will exclaimed in shock. He hadn't expected his opponent to use food as motivation for their Pokémon.

Under the onslaught of Bug Bite, Charizard's resolve finally crumbled, and its fiery flames extinguished.

Its grip on Heracross loosened.

"Charizard, wake up!"

Will shouted desperately, hoping to rouse his Pokémon as it began to plummet toward the ground.

"Charizard loses the ability to fight, Heracross wins!" The referee's voice rang out, confirming the result.

Charizard crashed heavily to the ground, while Heracross stood tall, covered in burns but with shining eyes that reflected pure determination.

The trainer beside Heracross beamed with anticipation.

"Win the next match, and you'll be rewarded with fifty jars of honey!" the trainer encouraged Heracross.

"Hera~"

Heracross: It's on, hurry up and send your next Pokémon, I'm going to dry it.

*****

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