Chapter 240

When Altaria fell, Kujaku couldn't hold back her emotions any longer. Despite her pride, the little girl was still just a child.

The other trainers at the club didn't ridicule Kujaku after she chose to surrender once Altaria was defeated.

Firstly, Kujaku was a cute little girl, and no one wanted to be the one to make her cry. If she did cry, who would comfort her? Would you do it? Or would someone else?

Secondly, the sheer strength of Law and his Magnezone put a lot of pressure on all the other participating trainers.

After all, this could very well be an opponent they'd face in the tournament.

To win the championship, one would need to defeat this formidable Magnezone.

Many trainers had already bowed their heads in thought, planning to study strategies for countering Magnezone.

In reality, defeating Magnezone was straightforward for some Pokémon, as long as they had a combination of Ground and one of the following: Steel, Fire, Water, or Electric. These could effectively cripple Magnezone.

As previously mentioned, Magnezone's strength lies in its types, but its weaknesses are also tied to its types.

Magnezone's move pool is quite limited, with its skills primarily revolving around Electric, Steel, and Normal types. Therefore, having defenses tailored to these three types would suffice.

Ground-type moves naturally make Electric-type moves ineffective.

Steel, Fire, Water, and Electric moves can reduce the effectiveness of Steel-type moves.

In such cases, Magnezone would find itself in a situation similar to that of Altaria.

If these Pokémon could also learn some Fighting or Fire-type moves, it would make dealing with Magnezone even easier.

As for Ground-type moves… While they could deal four times the damage to Magnezone, Magnezone could use Magnet Rise to gain Levitate status, rendering Ground-type moves useless.

Even without using Magnet Rise, Magnezone hovers in the air, making it difficult for Ground-type moves to hit it.

This illustrates just how strong Magnezone's typing advantage can be.

On paper, three types might seem effective against Magnezone, but in practice, only two types can really exploit its weaknesses.

As time went on, more and more trainers discovered this hidden gem of a club.

Three of the eight champions, known as the Torchbearers, had already arrived here.

Besides Law, who had been the first to arrive, the other two were Sabo and Morty.

Morty's arrival sparked a wave of cheers.

Not only was Morty stunningly beautiful, but she was also known as a social butterfly in the Pokémon world, a master at networking.

However, Morty wasn't interested in just any trainer. To date, she hadn't shown interest in any of them.

Simply put, Morty wasn't impressed by this crowd.

Morty had a great deal of confidence in her abilities as a trainer. If other trainers weren't stronger than her, she had no interest in mingling.

However, she had networked with several breeders.

Since she knew little about breeding herself, she sought to surpass other trainers by improving her Pokémon's growth, so she befriended those who specialized in breeding.

Among her acquaintances was Sachi, a member of the Whitebeard Pirates and a dedicated breeder. (Sachi is Thatch nickname)

Unfortunately for Morty, Sachi had no interest in women like her.

Within the club, there was an unspoken rule among a few people: well-known trainers avoided battling each other or only engaged in 1v1 matches.

The reason was simple: to keep their strategies hidden.

When strong trainers fought, it was hard to win without going all out. Therefore, even if they did battle, they wouldn't show all their Pokémon in a full 6v6 elimination battle.

No one wanted to reveal all their cards in front of so many onlookers.

Of course, a few trainers didn't care about this, but they just hadn't discovered the club yet.

"This city changes every day," remarked the tall Newgate, walking down the main street of Alliance City, flanked by a few of his sons.

"That's right, the development is astonishing. I remember when this place was just a plain, and now it's a bustling city," replied Marco, one of Newgate's sons.

Only those who had earned the eight badges and qualified for the tournament accompanied Newgate, and Marco was one of them.

"It's a pity Sasuke couldn't come along. I would have liked to show him around," Newgate said, clearly fond of his newly adopted son.

He felt a certain joy akin to having a son in his old age.

Nowadays, Newgate's desire to adopt more sons had dwindled, primarily because the number of his Pokémon children kept growing. Taking care of them was far more demanding than looking after his human sons, and Newgate's energy was nearly exhausted by his Pokémon offspring.

Sasuke could be considered lucky.

If not for his unique past and tragic experiences, he might never have been accepted into the Whitebeard Pirates.

"That's no big deal. He can come over next month. Besides, Sasuke is so obsessed with his training that he wouldn't be interested in watching the tournament anyway," Sachi said. He was also one of the participants who had earned eight badges.

Sachi was aware of his own strength. He wasn't one of the strongest but joined to share the experience with his family.

Getting involved in the excitement was a hobby of the Whitebeard Pirates. No one could resist the thrill of being the center of attention.

"Hey, isn't that 'Vacant-Eyes' over there?"

"Shush! It's not 'Vacant-Eyes,' it's 'Hawk-Eyes,' the former Warlord of the Sea."

"But everyone calls him Vacant-Eyes behind his back."

"Shut up, don't say that out loud!"

Suddenly, the chatter of passersby caught the attention of the Whitebeard Pirates, who instinctively turned to look.

"Well, if it isn't the 'Hawk-Eyes' kid. Fallen on hard times, eh? Even some random trainers dare to disrespect you now?" Newgate said, not caring about appearances as he addressed Mihawk, who was approaching.

"…"

Mihawk had intended to ignore the Whitebeard Pirates, but since they spoke to him, he couldn't just walk away without replying. "Yes."

"...?"

The members of the Whitebeard Pirates tilted their heads in confusion, frowning.

All you say is yes?

Isn't that a bit too dismissive?

"Gurararara, what's this? A change of heart? I don't remember you being so easygoing," Newgate chuckled, finding Mihawk's nonchalant demeanor amusing.

Still, those onlookers had a point.

How did the once fierce-eyed 'Hawk-Eyes' become so vacant?

Could he have developed early-onset dementia?

"Hey, doesn't Mihawk's gaze look a lot like Sachi's now?" Marco observed.

Newgate glanced down at Sachi beside him. Sachi, noticing Newgate's gaze, looked up to meet his eyes.

As their eyes met, Newgate's face darkened.

'Why do my sons look so vacant-eyed?! I don't remember Sachi being like this before.'

No matter how hard he thought, Newgate couldn't understand how Sachi had ended up this way.

Sachi used to handle all the complex and brainy stuff, but now that Sachi had changed, no one in the Whitebeard Pirates could figure things out.

"What do you want?" Mihawk asked, noticing the Whitebeard Pirates chatting among themselves and interrupting them.

If they had nothing else to say, he would leave. After all, he still had to get back and prepare Lombre's milk.

"Hawk-Eyes, kid, I heard you're participating in the tournament. I don't know how you got those eight badges, but if we meet on the battlefield, we'll give you a good thrashing," Newgate said, not wasting any time in throwing out some taunting words.

To be honest, it had been a long time since Newgate had the chance to enjoy the pre-battle trash-talking.

Ever since he became a Yonko, no one dared to talk big in front of him, and he'd lost interest in chatting with small fry before a fight.

But now, he was relishing this feeling again.

The reason was simple: he wasn't that strong anymore!

Indeed, as a trainer, Newgate wasn't invincible in this Pokémon Battle Tournament. There was a real chance he could be defeated.

This was what excited Newgate so much.

He craved defeat.

"Okay."

Mihawk nodded and then walked away.

"…"

Newgate felt like he was performing a one-man show.

In the past, would anyone have dared to treat him like this? It was like a tiger being bullied by dogs after falling from grace.

"By the way, I'm really curious about what kind of Pokémon Mihawk has registered," Marco said, watching Mihawk's retreating figure, unable to contain his curiosity. "He doesn't really plan to use those dopey-looking Pokémon in the tournament, does he?"

"Those Pokémon may look dopey, but no one really knows how strong they are. Who knows, they might be quite powerful," Sachi offered a different perspective.

He had never underestimated Mihawk's Pokémon, which had remained in their initial stages.

Combining the knowledge from elective courses in Pokémon Medicine, Evolution, and Genetics at the Pokémon Academy, Sachi had formed a preliminary theory about Mihawk's Pokémon.

Those Pokémon might have genetic defects that prevented them from evolving, or their chances of evolving were extremely low, which was why they remained in their basic forms.

However, that didn't mean these Pokémon couldn't grow stronger.

Sachi still remembered Dak's words.

If you give your Pokémon genuine care, they will respond with their full effort. Whether a Pokémon has limits depends on the bond between it and its trainer.

"Perhaps Mihawk and his little 'dopey' Pokémon will surprise all of us in the tournament," Sachi speculated.

(End of Chapter)

====

[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! For Only $5!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum] 

[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]

[Thank You For Your Support!]