章節 1234: Finals Begins
After sending off Sasaki Shindou, Yuga took Druddigon to the Dragon Den Sub-Ecopark.
Upon arrival, Yuga gathered all the Dragon-type Pokémon and announced, "Starting today, whenever you need a sparring partner for training, go to Druddigon. It will not refuse a challenge from any of you."
The Dragon Den Pokémon were immediately eager to test their skills, especially Salamence, Hydreigon, and Kommo-o, who looked like they couldn't wait to spar with Druddigon.
Dragon-types are naturally combative, and having someone as skilled as Druddigon as a training partner was far more convenient and effective than challenging anyone else.
Yuga then turned to Druddigon and asked, "Druddigon, you won't refuse anyone's challenge, right?"
Faced with Yuga's "kind" smile, Druddigon shivered and nodded without hesitation, though internally, it was lamenting its fate: This is it. Goodbye to my peaceful life!
It had known Yuga wouldn't let it off the hook so easily.
"And one more thing," Yuga added. "Every day, there must be at least fifty challenges for it. You can have more, but not less. Team battles are allowed if you can't win one-on-one. Any objections?" Yuga asked the Dragon Pokémon.
Of course, the Dragon Pokémon had no objections. They roared with excitement, filling the Dragon Den Sub-Ecopark with thunderous dragon cries.
Yuga then turned back to Druddigon. "Do you have any objections?"
"Druddigon~"
No... no objections.
Druddigon silently endured its misery.
Seeing it behave so obediently, Yuga nodded in satisfaction and then sought out the Dragonite Mother, assigning her the task of supervising Druddigon's daily activities.
When the Dragonite Mother saw Druddigon, she nearly burst out laughing. She hadn't seen it in a while and never expected it to have ended up in such a predicament.
With the Dragonite Mother in charge, any sneaky ideas Druddigon had were immediately squashed. After all, the only one in the Dragon Den Sub-Ecopark who could truly keep it in check was the Dragonite Mother.
As soon as Yuga left, Salamence, the Hydreigon couple, and several Kommo-o approached Druddigon. Under the Dragonite Mother's watchful gaze, Druddigon could only brace itself for battle.
But its grueling life was just beginning!
After leaving the Dragon Den Sub-Ecopark, Yuga went to the Grassland Sub-Ecopark and met with Happiny, Blissey, and Miltank there. He asked them to notify the other Pokémon in the Ecopark that if they couldn't find sparring partners for training, they could head to the Dragon Den Sub-Ecopark to challenge Druddigon.
The afternoon flew by, and before long, it was the next day—the day of the finals for the Grass-Type Pokémon Duel Tournament.
On his way to the stadium that morning, Yuga saw many spectators and participants heading into the venue, their faces brimming with excitement for the finals.
At precisely 7:30 AM, the host, Vivian, appeared on stage.
"Good morning, everyone—spectators and competitors alike! The day we've all been waiting for is finally here: the finals of the Grass-Type Pokémon Duel Tournament! I'm sure many of you can't wait to see the matches, so without further ado, please look at the big screen. We'll now reveal the matchups and order of appearance."
As Vivian finished speaking, the big screen lit up, displaying photos of the competitors paired up two by two. The numbers below each photo indicated their order of appearance.
There were thirteen contestants who made it to the finals, with one receiving a bye to the next round. The lucky participant was a girl named Nobukata.
The competition officially started at 8:00 AM. The first match featured Anya against a young man named Aaron.
The finals adopted a three-on-three format, replacing the previous doubles matches.
Anya's first Pokémon was finally not the usual Cacturne or Cherrim but a Tropius.
As Yuga had speculated, Anya had been hiding her true strength. This Tropius was indeed a bona fide pseudo-Elite level Pokémon.
Aaron's first Pokémon was a Victreebel. As soon as it appeared, it attempted to use its vines to pull Tropius down from the air. However, Tropius was far stronger, lifting Victreebel into the sky before slamming it down hard. It finished the battle with a clean Air Slash.
Tropius's sequence of attacks was so fluid that Aaron barely had time to react.
Having reached the finals, Aaron's strength was certainly not weak. Watching his fallen Victreebel lying motionless, Aaron furrowed his brows, realizing that Anya was even stronger than the rumors suggested.
Aaron's second Pokémon was a Breloom, which was significantly stronger than his Victreebel. However, its Fighting/Grass typing was severely countered by Tropius's Flying-type Air Slash, leaving it utterly defenseless.
Additionally, Tropius's ability to fly put Breloom at a severe disadvantage, as it relied on close combat to fight.
It wasn't that Aaron didn't want to use a different Pokémon, but the rest of his team lacked the strength to stand a chance. If they were sent out, they might perform even worse than Breloom.
Aaron's final Pokémon was a Vileplume, his strongest. While its Poison-type moves gave Tropius some trouble, the level gap was too significant, and it ultimately lost.
In the first finals match, Anya swept Aaron's team with just her Tropius, significantly boosting her chances of becoming the champion.
The second match featured an elderly man against a young trainer named Yūrei.
The elderly man was among the weakest of the thirteen contestants, but he got lucky by facing a competitor even weaker than himself.
The elderly man's first Pokémon was his previously seen Exeggutor, while Yūrei's first Pokémon was a Jumpluff.
Jumpluff, a Pokémon skilled in control strategies, was unable to effectively use its arsenal of status moves against the similarly Grass-type Exeggutor and was ultimately defeated.
However, Exeggutor did not emerge unscathed. It had been poisoned by Jumpluff's Poison Powder. When it faced Yūrei's second Pokémon, Amoonguss, it was struck by another dose of venom, succumbing to the cumulative effects midway through the battle.
The elderly man's second Pokémon was a Victreebel. In the ensuing battle between two Poison-types, the match became a "poison fest," and both Pokémon ended up taking each other out.
The elderly man's final Pokémon was a Ludicolo, which appeared to be his strongest. When he released its Poké Ball, his face was filled with determination.
The final showdown between Ludicolo and Yūrei's Bellossom turned into a fierce weather war. Ludicolo used Rain Dance while Bellossom countered with Sunny Day. Ultimately, Ludicolo gained the upper hand, securing victory for the elderly man.
The third match featured Erika, the Gym Leader with the highest odds of winning, finally revealing her strength in the finals.
Erika's opponent was a middle-aged female trainer named Minori, who was among the strongest contestants. Unfortunately for her, she faced Erika, the worst possible draw.
Upon learning her opponent was Erika, Minori became extremely anxious and tried to disturb Erika's focus with provocative remarks during the match.
However, Erika, calm and composed, only smiled more brightly in response to Minori's taunts, while her Vileplume unleashed increasingly ferocious attacks on the field.
This Vileplume was the same Elite-level Pokémon Erika had used when battling Yuga. Facing such a powerful adversary, Minori could hardly put up a fight and was swept completely, stunned into disbelief.
The fourth match featured Ash. What made his match interesting was that his opponent, like Erika and Anya, was also a Grass-type Gym Leader.
However, this Gym Leader, named Tougen, hailed from a small, remote town in Johto, and naturally couldn't compare to Gym Leaders from major cities like Celadon City or Crown City.
Ash's first Pokémon was Sceptile, while Tougen's first Pokémon was Tangrowth. Unlike Erika's formidable Tangrowth, this one couldn't withstand Sceptile's Leaf Blade attacks and was quickly defeated.
Tougen's second Pokémon was Bellossom. It was not much stronger than Tangrowth, and Sceptile, with its remarkable agility, easily overpowered it.
That said, everyone has a trump card or two, and as a Gym Leader, Tougen was no exception.
His final Pokémon was a pseudo-Elite level Exeggutor. Even with Sceptile's incredible speed, Exeggutor used its Psychic abilities to restrain it. In the end, Sceptile narrowly lost to Exeggutor.
This Exeggutor, however, was eventually defeated by Torterra. Torterra first used Rock Tomb to limit Exeggutor's movements, then followed up with an Earthquake that buried it into the ground. As Exeggutor struggled to climb back out, Torterra landed a Crunch to finish the battle.
The match concluded with Ash securing victory.
The fifth match featured a plump girl named Hana against a boy named Take. They were about the same age and matched in strength.
Hana's first Pokémon was a Lurantis, while Take's was a Breloom. Both close-combat specialists, the two Pokémon immediately engaged in an intense melee.
Though Hana's Lurantis looked graceful and colorful, it fought with ruthless precision. Swinging its oversized scythes with lethal intent, it eventually defeated Breloom with a well-timed Leech Life.
Despite healing itself slightly, Lurantis was still significantly injured and was ultimately taken down by Take's Abomasnow.
Hana's second Pokémon was her trusty Tangrowth, known for its exceptional vine-handling skills.
However, Take's Abomasnow was much stronger than the one Anya faced earlier in the competition. Initially, Tangrowth overwhelmed Abomasnow with a barrage of vines, leaving it in disarray. But Take seized an opportunity and unleashed a Sheer Cold, successfully countering Tangrowth in a surprising reversal.
Sheer Cold is a rare and difficult-to-master Ice-type move, and Hana likely hadn't anticipated that Take's Abomasnow could perform it so effectively.
Facing imminent defeat, Hana was forced to reveal her trump card: a Trevenant far stronger than her previous two Pokémon.
Aside from Nobu, Hana was the only contestant specializing in Ghost-types.
Despite Abomasnow's imposing and powerful appearance, it lost the strength contest to Hana's Trevenant. When Abomasnow struck Trevenant with an Ice Punch, Trevenant countered with a Horn Leech that sent Abomasnow flying. To make matters worse, Abomasnow was burned by Trevenant's Will-O-Wisp.
Realizing that Abomasnow could not match Trevenant, Take gambled on one final attempt and tried using Sheer Cold on Trevenant.
But unlike Yuga's Lapras, Take's Abomasnow lacked refined control over the move. The attempt failed, leaving Abomasnow vulnerable to a sneaky Phantom Force from Trevenant that knocked it out completely.
Take's final Pokémon was a Carnivine. Though it was strong, it was at best equal in power to the earlier Abomasnow. There was no way it could defeat the Trevenant that had easily bested Abomasnow.
So, in the end, Take lost the match.
The sixth round naturally featured Bill.
As the competition reached the finals, everyone grew serious, and Bill was no exception. He no longer used the two Sunfloras he had deployed earlier.
Bill's opponent was a girl named Yoshiko. Both Bill and Yoshiko were from the Battle Frontier, making this match a sort of "battle between comrades."
However, Bill wasn't good at communicating and wasn't familiar with most people in the Battle Frontier, including Yoshiko, despite both being brought there by Scott.
After spending some time observing Bill, Yoshiko had long realized that she couldn't be his match. But her pride as a Trainer wouldn't allow her to give up so easily.
Bill's first Pokémon was Sceptile, the very first Pokémon Scott gifted him upon recognizing his talent. Its potential was far superior to the two Sunfloras Bill had raised himself, and significant resources had been invested in its training.
Yoshiko's first Pokémon was a Whimsicott. While Whimsicott often excelled in doubles or group battles, it stood no chance against Sceptile in a one-on-one match, especially with its level being significantly lower.
Yoshiko's second Pokémon was Roserade. While Poison-types do have an advantage over Grass-types, Sceptile's agility was too overwhelming. Roserade's toxic attacks couldn't land, and it was ultimately defeated by a single Dragon Pulse.
Yoshiko's final Pokémon was a Ferrothorn, her strongest one.
Ferrothorn was known for its numerous resistances and high defensive stats. Combined with its level being higher than her previous two Pokémon, Sceptile did find it tricky to handle.
Ferrothorn's ability, Iron Barbs, allowed it to deal damage to opponents that made physical contact with it. It relentlessly used Gyro Ball to chase Sceptile around, leaving ugly craters all over the battlefield.
Sceptile's agility was indeed remarkable, but Yoshiko wasn't without countermeasures. She commanded Ferrothorn to use Spikes, covering the field with sharp hazards, which naturally limited Sceptile's mobility.
Sceptile's attacks barely fazed Ferrothorn, and it was repeatedly struck by Gyro Ball. After taking several hits, Sceptile, with its relatively low defense, was knocked out.
Ultimately, Bill's second Pokémon, Chesnaught, took down Ferrothorn.
Chesnaught first used Vine Whip to pull the flying Ferrothorn to the ground, then pinned it down and pounded it relentlessly with Hammer Arm.
Although Ferrothorn was covered in spikes, Chesnaught endured the damage. Its sturdy shell made it highly resilient, so the injuries it sustained were not as severe as expected.
Being weak to Fighting-type moves, Ferrothorn couldn't withstand Chesnaught's barrage for long and quickly fell.
With that, the top seven contenders in the duel tournament were decided: Anya, the old man, Erika, Ash, Hana, Bill, and Nobukata, who had advanced due to a bye.
As for the competitors who lost this round, they would compete in the afternoon matches to determine their rankings from 13th to 8th place. After all, the top ten contestants would receive rewards.
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