Battle Against Spheal

After Yuga match ended, it wasn't long before the first round of all matches concluded.

Battles between low-level Pokémon were straightforward, often straightforward affairs.

Due to their limited skills and trainers' fewer tactics and strategies, combined with their low stamina and defense, matches involving them ended quickly.

By the time the second round of matches began, only 20 participants remained, making this competition quite small. The pre-competition publicity was likely limited to that poster at the Pokémon Center.

The remaining 20 participants were randomly divided into 10 groups for the second round, competing in sequence, with Yuga in the third group.

The first group featured the previously sensational Robert.

As usual, he dominated the match, a stark contrast to his mild-mannered appearance offstage.

He continued to use his Baltoy, and his opponent employed a Beautifly.

This Beautifly was the only fully evolved Pokémon in this competition.

The Beautifly line was among the easiest to evolve in the Pokémon world. Similar types included Beedrill, Butterfree, and Vivilion.

These Pokémon were widely distributed in the Pokémon world and, under normal circumstances, would evolve into their final forms without issues.

However, anything with advantages also had disadvantages. The consequence of being more prone to evolution than other types was that they were weaker than other Pokémon of the same level and aptitude.

Nonetheless, the aptitude of this Beautifly was notable in this competition under Yuga discerning gaze. Even among Pokémon with green aptitudes, it was exceptional.

However, no matter how exceptional its aptitude was, this Beautifly couldn't hold out for long against Robert Baltoy.

Yuga match followed the second round.

His opponent this time was a pretty young girl with bright purple short hair, big eyes, and fair skin. She looked adorable and was undoubtedly younger than Yuga.

But don't misunderstand – Yuga, a near-thirty-year-old soul, didn't have any inappropriate thoughts about the girl named Chris across from him!!

Although he was pushing thirty, Yuga reassured himself that he wasn't weird.

Chris Pokémon was a relatively rare Spheal, a species that typically lived in glacial waters. While not scarce, they were uncommon.

The climate of Hoenn Region was warm and humid, with mostly forested areas and deserts. While there were plenty of bodies of water, glaciers were scarce. Hence, even though the Spheal was unique to Hoenn Region, it wasn't commonly seen.

This Spheal had decent aptitude, though not as high as Robert Baltoy or Yuga Floette, and even less than the Beautifly. Nevertheless, it still reached the green level.

Yuga still used his Floette.

The Spheal level was higher than Floette, but its water attacks were countered by Floette Magical Leaves. While there was a difference in aptitude, both being green, the aptitude discrepancy could essentially be disregarded.

At the start, Spheal used Powder Snow on Chris command.

Although Floette could fly and was adept at dodging, Chris intention was to use Powder Snow to restrict Floette movement. If she could also trigger the freezing effect of Powder Snow, it would be even better.

Powder Snow power was limited, but its attack range was broad. Despite Floette ability to fly, it couldn't dodge this attack. However, it didn't trigger the freezing effect either.

Floette, which typically resided in flower beds and gardens, wasn't well-suited for cold environments. Thus, Spheal Powder Snow attack truly infuriated Floette.

"Floette, use Magical Leaves!"

With Chris having the upper hand, Yuga immediately ordered Floette to counterattack Spheal.

Angrily, Floette flung four emerald-green leaves with unstoppable momentum straight toward Spheal.

"Spheal, use Water Gun to counter Magical Leaves!"

Chris clearly knew that Magical Leaves couldn't be evaded, so she immediately commanded Spheal to use its skill to intercept the attack.

Immediately, a blue pillar of water surged from Spheal mouth toward the Magical Leaves. However, each Water Gun attack could only hit one leaf at a time. Despite Spheal efforts, it managed to intercept only three leaves, ultimately being struck by the final one.

The water-type Spheal being hit by the grass-type Magical Leaves was evidently uncomfortable. A pained cry rang out, and the momentum of Spheal noticeably diminished.

"Spheal, use Powder Snow!"

Clearly, Chris intended to use the same strategy, continuing to employ the ranged skill Powder Snow to attack Floette.

However, Yuga, having learned from his earlier mistake, wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

"Floette, use Fairy Wind!"

Similarly a ranged skill, although Fairy Wind was less potent than Powder Snow, its speed gave it an edge, resulting in a fairly even contest with Powder Snow.

Pink winds and white snow intertwined continuously, colliding violently before dissipating into thin air.

Both sides exchanged blows, causing mutual damage.

"Floette, use Magical Leaves again!"

After the cancellation of Fairy Wind and Powder Snow, Yuga immediately ordered Floette to use Magical Leaves once more.

Chris response, however, was prompt.

"Spheal, use Powder Snow."

Since the previous Water Gun didn't completely halt the attack of Magical Leaves, Chris aimed to use Powder Snow broad range to block all four Magical Leaves at once.

This line of thinking was correct, but the effect was not pronounced.

While the white snow did weaken the assault of the Magical Leaves, it still allowed them to successfully strike Spheal.

If she had used Blizzard instead of Powder Snow, maybe this idea would have worked, Yuga thought.

Clearly, even Spheal, which hadn't evolved into its second form, couldn't withstand two hits of Magical Leaves that countered it. It lost its battling capability outright.

Upon stepping down from the stage, Yuga noticed that Rand was looking at him strangely.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Did my dashing appearance sweep you off your feet?"

Rand rolled his eyes at Yuga.

"You're nuts!"

"Hey, don't be so impolite!"

Yuga couldn't quite fathom how someone like Kent, who appeared so well-mannered, managed to shape Rand character. He looked tough on the outside, but inside, he was probably quite shady.

What was more important was that Rand always treated him so unfriendly.

Rand lukewarm attitude toward him didn't actually bother Yuga.

While Rand rarely spoke to his original self, they had known each other for many years. Yuga had even watched Rand grow up (although Rand was only six years old now and hadn't really grown up yet). Even though Rand didn't seem to like his original self, there was an underlying sense of reluctant affection.

Moreover, it wasn't respectable for an adult to hold a grudge against a child.