Pursuit

After getting ready, Yuga, accompanied by Mayor Ishida and Liliana, headed to the competition venue, which was the Battle Company Building.

Upon arriving at the Battle Company Building, Yuga went to the contestants' rest area, while Mayor Ishida and Liliana took their seats in the audience, ready to watch today's matches in person.

Unlike the previous rounds where they watched battles on screens using cameras, today's matches allowed the audience to witness the battles face to face.

The rules for today's matches were similar to regular league battles, with random pairings for one-on-one battles.

Although the top 16 contestants had already been determined, the ultimate goal was to decide the champion and runner-up, making this an important showcase of talent from various regions.

Soon, the large screen above the competition venue displayed the results of the random pairings for all the spectators to see. Yuga was surprised to find himself placed in the first group to compete, and his opponent was a girl from the Kalos region who appeared to be older than him.

As their names were called over the stadium's loudspeakers, Yuga and the girl made their way to opposite ends of the battlefield, ready to face off.

The rules of the match were three-on-three battles, consistent throughout the tournament. There were no full-team six-on-six battles, as most gym battles were conducted as three-on-three matches.

The on-field referees at the Battle Company Building were highly advanced electronic referees, not humans. They hovered in the sky above the battlefield, able to observe both Pokémon and trainers from all angles.

As Yuga and the girl took the stage, the commentators introduced their backgrounds, including their performances in the previous rounds.

The girl's name was Tomoka, and she hailed from a place called Clearfield Town in the Kalos region.

"Little brother, I never expected you to be my opponent. It seems like my journey ends here today," Tomoka said, looking at Yuga with a cheerful smile. It was evident that she knew Yuga and understood the significance of facing the Pre-League Champion.

Contestants participating in the Pre-League were generally not too old, with most being under thirty years old, as per the league's explicit age requirements.

Tomoka was one of the older contestants in this group, making it quite normal for her to refer to Yuga as "little brother" since he was indeed younger.

Yuga responded with a smile but didn't say much. As the electronic referee above announced the start of the match, both Yuga and Tomoka released their Pokémon.

Yuga sent out his recently evolved Venusaur, while Tomoka's choice was a Kalos-native Fire and Flying-type, Talonflame.

Talonflame held a type advantage against Grass-type Venusaur, but as Venusaur stepped onto the battlefield, it firmly stamped its right front foot on the ground, letting out a resounding cry, displaying unwavering confidence, and showing no signs of fear.

"Talonflame, gather Flame Charge!"

Tomoka took the initiative and ordered her Talonflame to attack. Talonflame enveloped itself in flames, turning into a fiery projectile heading straight for Venusaur.

"Venusaur, use Sludge Bomb!"

Yuga, not concerned about the type disadvantage, believed that his specially selected Pokémon would not lose to this Talonflame. He commanded Venusaur to counter with Sludge Bomb.

"Venusaur!"

As Yuga gave the command, Venusaur opened its enormous mouth and launched clusters of deep purple mud bombs towards the charging Talonflame.

Venusaur's Sludge Bomb precisely hit the approaching Talonflame, forcing it to halt in mid-air and covering its eyes with the mud, causing it to panic and flutter in the air.

"Venusaur, now's your chance, bring out Sunny Day!"

Taking advantage of Talonflame's disarray, Yuga ordered Venusaur to use the weather move Sunny Day. In an instant, the temperature on the battlefield rose significantly.

Tomoka said, "Talonflame, calm down and shake off the mud from your head."

Hearing her trainer's voice, Talonflame finally regained its composure and vigorously shook its head to clear its vision.

"Venusaur, Power Whip."

Just as Talonflame was preparing to charge at Venusaur, dozens of green tendrils formed from Grass-type energy extended from Venusaur and rapidly entwined around the airborne Talonflame.

Under the influence of Sunny Day, Venusaur's Chlorophyll ability activated successfully. The Power Whip was incredibly fast and flexible, resembling Venusaur's own arms. Talonflame panicked as it tried to evade the energetic tendrils pursuing it.

The match continued with Venusaur's Power Whip and Talonflame's evasive maneuvers. As Tomoka saw her Talonflame being suppressed, her anxiety grew.

As time passed, Tomoka believed that maintaining a high-level move like Power Whip for an extended period would quickly drain Venusaur's energy. However, she was surprised to find that Venusaur remained lively and showed no signs of exhaustion.

Unknown to Tomoka, while using Power Whip, Venusaur simultaneously employed photosynthesis, using it to recover the energy expended by using the powerful move.

This ability to perform photosynthesis while using other techniques was gained by Venusaur during a unique evolution process.

Talonflame was a remarkably fast Pokémon, and catching it with Venusaur's Power Whip wasn't easy, but in the end, Talonflame succumbed to exhaustion.

It had been entirely worn out, and when it lost its battling capabilities, it was still panting with its mouth wide open.

While being closely pursued by the tendrils, Talonflame couldn't find a moment to counterattack against Venusaur. Even when it occasionally tried to retaliate, it was quickly subdued by the Power Whip, eventually succumbing to exhaustion, and Venusaur's Sludge Bomb ended the battle.

Talonflame's most frequently used move was Flame Charge. It didn't intend to use this move to attack Venusaur; instead, it aimed to use the speed-boosting property of Flame Charge to evade the pursuing tendrils of energy.

However, this strategy only accelerated its energy consumption, pushing it further into a dire situation.

Realizing that her Talonflame had lost its fighting capability, Tomoka's face turned pale, and she reluctantly recalled her Pokémon.

Not just Tomoka, but the spectators in the audience were also at a loss for words as they watched Yuga and Venusaur. Even the commentators forgot to provide commentary on the match.

In the end, Yuga managed to achieve a 1v3 victory with only Venusaur, successfully defeating all three of Tomoka's Pokémon.

Tomoka's second and third Pokémon, Pelipper and Yanmega, met the same fate as their "predecessor," Talonflame. Tomoka couldn't come up with a way to break through Venusaur's Power Whip.

Based on the Pokémon Tomoka used, it was clear she specialized in Flying-type Pokémon training. However, her Flying-type Pokémon couldn't counter Venusaur's tactics effectively. Losing was somewhat expected in this scenario.

As Tomoka exited the battlefield, her face was grim, a far cry from the smile she had when she first entered.

She knew her chances of winning were slim, but being defeated by a Venusaur that wasn't significantly stronger than her own Pokémon was beyond her expectations.

Even though Yuga won, the applause from the audience was sparse. The way he won was... unconventional, leaving the spectators unsure whether to applaud or not.