Chapter 42: Advancing Smoothly
Battlefield #8, Preliminaries, Second Round, Second Match.
After a clash of Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, and Poison Powder where it failed to gain any advantage, the Bellsprout was ultimately defeated by the Bulbasaur. The starter Pokémon truly lived up to their reputation; against ordinary Pokémon, especially without a type disadvantage, their advantage was obvious.
However, this only applied to ordinary Pokémon.
When the Bulbasaur faced the diligently training Drilbur, even with a type advantage, it stood no chance of winning.
After the match began, Drilbur first used Rapid Spin to defend against its opponent's Razor Leaf, then a Mud-Slap to the face, followed by a Sand Tomb to control the opponent, thereby sealing its victory.
"Bulbasaur is unable to battle. The winner is… contestant number 3, Basalt!"
With the referee's ruling, Basalt had won three consecutive matches, finally breaking out of the preliminaries and successfully advancing to the main tournament.
"Drilbur, you did a great job!"
Seeing Drilbur run over to celebrate, Basalt squatted down and held out his palm, giving his little mole a high-five.
Click!
Suddenly, a camera flash went off, startling both Basalt and Drilbur.
Turning his head, Basalt saw a young woman with a bob haircut, holding a camera pointed in his direction. She seemed to have just captured the moment of him celebrating with Drilbur.
"Sorry, I seem to have startled you."
The young woman walked over with an apologetic look on her face and smiled. "I'm a reporter from Seaside County TV. My name is Joy Bai, and I'm preparing a special feature on this competition."
"I just saw you and your Drilbur celebrating. The joy after a victory, the scene was just so perfect, I couldn't help but take a picture. I hope you don't mind."
With that, Joy Bai also showed her press pass to prove her identity.
Basalt didn't doubt her. Because the skill level of the contestants was uneven, there were no spectators for the preliminaries; only contestants and staff were allowed in. Since she was able to get in, she must be staff.
"Umm… will it be broadcast on TV?"
Basalt shamelessly went over to look at the photo. After confirming that he looked handsome, he scratched his head and chuckled.
"It might not make it onto TV, but I have the final say on the pictures for the news articles, so it should be included. Your photo is my favorite one from today. The visual composition is excellent."
Joy Bai wasn't tall, but her professionalism seemed very high, and she spoke very clearly, as expected of a reporter. Seeing that Basalt was handsome and seemed to be quite strong, she took a mental note and smiled. "Congratulations on successfully advancing to the main tournament. What's your name, and which school are you from?"
Good-looking contestants always attract more attention. As a media professional, Joy Bai knew this well.
"Thank you! My name is Basalt, and I'm a student at Seaside County Second High."
"How about we add each other as friends? I might want to invite you for an interview later on, the kind that goes on TV," Joy Bai said with a smile.
"Later on" meant when the main tournament began. If Basalt could advance smoothly, he would be in the top sixteen. Paired with his exceptional looks, that would be barely enough for an interview. If his results were even better, a solo feature wouldn't be out of the question. Who could blame him for being handsome?
"An interview? On TV?"
Basalt was quite interested. In his two lifetimes, he had never been on TV. It would be interesting to let his parents see him on television, wouldn't it? This was truly an offer he couldn't refuse.
Basalt obediently took out his Pokédex and exchanged contact information with Joy Bai.
After the preliminaries ended, Basalt met up with the class president and the others at the entrance of the gymnasium. Some were happy, some were sad, but overall, there were more sad faces. Besides Basalt, the class president Leo, and Frank, everyone else had been eliminated.
"How did you feel after three matches?" Basalt asked the class president.
She shook her head with a wry smile. "Even with the dirty tactics, I barely advanced. When I get to the main tournament, I estimate I'll be in deep trouble in the first round."
"Making it to the main tournament means you've at least secured your trip to the sunny beach. You're not losing out, even if you lose," Basalt said.
"That's true!"
Speaking of sunny beaches, the class president couldn't help but start daydreaming.
As the group was walking, Basalt noticed that everyone had suddenly stopped. Not only that, but the people around them also seemed to have fallen silent, everyone shutting their mouths.
In front of them, three people—two boys and a girl—were walking side by side.
The first boy was tall and slender, wearing loose-fitting clothes that resembled a martial arts uniform. He had a white belt tied around his waist, and following behind him was a humanoid Pokémon with a pink body and head.
The second boy was dressed in trendy clothes, clearly the child of a wealthy family. His face was full of arrogance, and perched on his neck was a Pokémon with a mouth full of sharp teeth and features of both a scorpion and a bat.
As for the third person, a girl, she was wearing a JK-style uniform and small leather shoes. In her arms, she held a small Pokémon with golden hair, pink skin, and thick lips.
"It's them!"
Basalt's gaze sharpened. The three people in front of him were the three contestants with the highest buzz to win from the forum, and also the top students from the three honors classes of Seaside County First High.
Although they were being stared at by nearly a hundred people, the three of them acted as if they didn't see anyone, as if everyone else was just air. They walked straight out of the gymnasium gates and disappeared from everyone's sight.
"Hey! You guys who made it to the main tournament need to be careful. That Wade guy is really strong. I was in the same group as him. No matter who his opponent was, they were basically taken out by his combo of Fake Out, Vacuum Wave, and Force Palm."
"In three consecutive matches, I didn't see anyone last more than three moves against him."
Someone from Basalt's group started to vent, but also to provide firsthand information to those who had advanced so they could prepare in advance.
The class president's Pidgey was a Flying-type, so it might fare a little better. But a Pokémon like Munchlax, which was a Normal-type, would be as good as dead if it ran into Wade and his Tyrogue. Munchlax might not even get a chance to use its Rollout. Even Basalt's Drilbur would probably be in for a tough fight against Tyrogue.
"You don't even know, that Luna girl is even more terrifying, okay? That Icy Wind of hers is so strong, it can completely freeze an opponent in one hit."
"During the mid-match break, I even overheard the referee and staff whispering that her Smoochum must have consumed a 'Never-Melt Ice,' otherwise its Ice-type moves could never be that powerful."
Another person spoke up, describing the terror of Luna, whose all-freezing Icy Wind sent shivers down their spines.
Unfortunately, no one from Basalt's class had faced Felix, so they didn't know the specific tactics he and his Gligar used.
At this moment, Basalt once again felt the pressure. As it turned out, he wasn't the only one in this world with a cheat-like advantage.
"Dig, Dig, I have to master Dig before I run into these monsters, or I'll be in big trouble!"
Basalt rubbed his hair and, after saying goodbye to the others, immediately dialed Ms. Anya's number.
For skill development, he had Coach Miles, but to learn a new move, he had to find his beautiful Ms. Anya.