177: Semifinals, Arbok

Pokemon Academy, Komoda City.

"I understand. Please give me a moment to discuss with my daughter."

Richard nodded before he went to whisper something to his daughter.

Giselle looked a bit upset after hearing whatever her father said to her. She tried to persuade, but her father was adamant about it as the father and daughter pair got into a heated discussion. In the end, she could only nod reluctantly.

She then shot a glare at Hisoka as if she was saying all this was your fault. She stood still, not willing to take a step, that was until her father pushed her forward.

She put her eyes away and walked up to Hisoka.

"Sorry for accusing you just now."

She said through gritted teeth.

"I hope you will take care of Ralts for now. He was given to me as a gift from Cynthia. I will visit him often."

She looked at Ralts reluctantly; Ralts was hiding behind Gardevoir's legs when she came up. It seemed there would be a long way before they came together.

After that, she turned her face away from Hisoka with a huff.

At this time, her father, Richard, was all smiles as he came to them. He took out a bank card and handed it to him.

"This is for Ralts expenses. Please take care of him."

Hisoka accepted it gladly and reassured them that he would look after Ralts very well. He knew the man wouldn't accept no for any reason. Better to get this over with.

Besides, Gardevoir told him that Ralts was kidnapped from his family long before Cynthia found him. Presumably, Cynthia rescued Ralts from the poachers and decided to give it to Giselle as her birthday gift. Even with Gardevoir's company, it would take some time for him to come out of his ordeal.

Richard sighed in relief and thanked him generously before he took her sullen-looking daughter away. It seemed she was still dissatisfied with her father's decision. The other men also followed suit.

Soon, the park became quiet once again. Hisoka leisurely sat down and resumed his rest while watching Ralts playing around the lake under the careful watch of Gardevoir.

After the lunch break was over, he returned to the arena for the quarter-finals that would be held soon.

His next opponent was a trainer from Johto with a Gengar, and surprisingly he knew this person. The trainer was Morty, the future gym leader of Ecruteak City; at this time, he wasn't a gym leader yet.

Regardless of Morty's future achievement, he was not his opponent as Weavile swiftly defeated his Gengar with just a few moves.

"Gengar lost its ability to fight. The winner is Weavile! Let's congratulate Hisoka for being the first player to advance to the semifinals tomorrow."

Applause and cheers rang out with the referee's announcement. After winning against all of his opponents with an overwhelming advantage, Hisoka gained everyone's admiration. Many students in the academy were also attracted by his composure when commanding his Pokemon.

At the other arena, Brad, Koga's disciple, who had just about to enter the field, suddenly stopped when he heard the announcement from the next arena.

'So he entered the semifinals, huh? Just wait. I'll be meeting you soon.'

Thought Brad as he took his position in the ring.

At half past eight the next day, the students, staff and the eliminated contestants entered the main arena in droves. Even Lorelei came, for she was already sitting inside the VIP box.

The semifinals adopted the 3vs3 mode, and the first match was between Hisoka and Brad.

Well, Brad finally got his wish.

Fifteen minutes before the match started, Hisoka and Brad entered the ring together. Everyone close to them could see the invisible spark between their eyes.

It was a bright sunny day, and Hisoka and Brad took their position in the custom arena, a desert terrain. The referee stood in the ring, raising his flags high.

"The battle starts now!"

"Go, Gardevoir!"

Hisoka shouted, throwing his Pokeball without hesitation.

"Arbok!"

Shouted Brad vehemently.

Two red lights flickered, and in the sand, a Gardevoir and an Arbok appeared.

A purple aura surged out of Gardevoir as she readied herself for battle. Meanwhile, the pattern on its chest changed slightly as it was trying to intimidate her.

There was a reason why Arbok was feared by the masses. From afar, the pattern on its chest looked just like a face of a devil.

Gardevoir observed her opponent, and Arbok did the same too. Neither of them took the initiative to attack first; both were trying to probe each other weaknesses.

Arbok seemed to have the upper hand as its constant hissing made Gardevoir feel uncomfortable.

However, Gardevoir quickly pulled herself together; she had experienced many battles. This was nothing to her.

"Arbok! Glare!"

"Gardevoir! Psybeam!"

Hisoka and Brad's commands rang out almost at the same time.

"Ar-bok!"

With that, Arbok's hood opened up, and the pattern on it seemed to have come alive. Under everyone's eyes, the pattern turned into two large pairs of eyes that were frighteningly glowing red.

Glare, a status-effecting attack that can paralyze the target.

The experienced Gardevoir quickly shut her eyes so she wouldn't be affected by the Glare. Her psychic power then spread out, allowing her to locate Arbok's position without opening her eyes.

Then, she fired the Psybeam that she had built up before at Arbok, which it dodged easily.

"Arbok! Use Dig!"

Brad yelled. He decided to not confront his opponent head-on.

However, before Arbok could sneak under the ground, Hisoka ordered Gardevoir to lock Arbok's position with a Mean Look. Thus, making Brad's plan useless.

"Damn!"

Brad cursed.

While Brad was quickly thinking of another plan, Hisoka secretly let out a sigh of relief. A snake hiding under the sand was dangerous. Even Gardevoir's psychic couldn't track Arbok's position under the ground, not to mention it could use decoys to trick her; as Koga's disciple, all of Brad's Pokemon knew his two signature skills. Substitute and Double Team.

"Go and rush, Arbok! Poison Fang!"

After his plan failed, he knew he had to fight his opponent at close range, or they'll face Gardevoir's long-distance bombardment.

However, would Hisoka let him do that?

In the end, Arbok couldn't even come close to Gardevoir before being brought down by her two successive Psybeam.