43 The Finals (Part 1)

The finals were up next, with only Robert, Yuga, and the trainer with the Shuppet remaining.

Following the rules, the finals changed from one-on-one to three-on-three battles. The three remaining participants would each face the other two to determine the champion, runner-up, and third place.

The draw results were quickly announced.

In the first match, Yuga faced off against Robert.

The second match would be between the loser of the first match and "Soku." If "Soku" won the second match, the loser would become third place, and "Soku" would face the winner of the first match. If "Soku" lost, they would be third place, and the loser would be the runner-up.

"Soku" was the trainer with the Shuppet and was very strong.

Once the match started, Yuga stood on the arena, looking at Robert on the opposite side. He had a feeling he had seen Robert somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.

Yuga first Pokémon was Murkrow.

While Yuga had three main Pokémon, his assistant, Chimecho, couldn't participate due to lacking attacking skills. So, Yuga reluctantly used Murkrow.

Robert first Pokémon was no longer Baltoy; instead, it was a Chimecho just like Yuga.

Unlike Yuga Chimecho with yellow aptitude and level 20, Robert Chimecho had both green aptitude and level 33.

Although Murkrow had a type advantage over Chimecho, the 9-level gap left Yuga with little chance of winning.

"Murkrow, use Peck!"

In order to gain an advantage, Yuga commanded Murkrow to attack.

Murkrow yellow beak emitted a white light, resembling a cannonball hurtling towards Chimecho.

Robert expression remained unchanged as Murkrow approached Chimecho. He didn't give any command to Chimecho.

However, just as Murkrow was about to hit Chimecho, the soft-bodied Chimecho twisted oddly, avoiding the attack completely. It then twisted again just as Murkrow was about to reach it, binding Murkrow tightly.

Seeing this, Yuga recognized that Chimecho had used the skill "Wrap."

Murkrow expression turned painful, and it was evident that Chimecho skill had taken its toll. Just when Murkrow seemed on the verge of collapsing, Chimecho suddenly swung its body downward, slamming Murkrow onto the arena.

In that moment, Murkrow was at a complete disadvantage. The fact that Robert hadn't even given a command showed Yuga the gap between himself, an inexperienced trainer, and those who had been trained from childhood.

Murkrow, flung onto the ground, struggled to get up and counterattack. Instead, due to the heavy impact, it writhed on the ground.

Chimecho didn't miss the opportunity to continue the offensive. It let out a screech and shot a beam of black light at the struggling Murkrow.

This was a Ghost-type skill, Astonish. While it didn't have a significant effect on Dark-type Pokémon, the vast level difference between the two caused Murkrow to lose its ability to battle when hit.

Expressionless, Yuga recalled the incapacitated Murkrow and sent out Absol.

"Absol!"

The first thing Absol did upon entering the arena was let out a resounding howl.

Its snowy white fur swayed gently in the breeze, and its sharp gaze locked onto Chimecho hovering in the air.

"Absol, use Psycho Cut!"

With Yuga command, a white blade of light shot towards Chimecho like lightning.

"Chimecho, dodge quickly!"

Robert, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

However, Absol Psycho Cut was too fast. In an instant, it reached Chimecho. Despite Chimecho efforts to evade, it was struck.

Hit by the Psycho Cut, Chimecho was sent flying, but Absol didn't give it a chance to recover. Immediately afterward, another Psycho Cut was launched.

Before Chimecho could even land from its previous launch, it was hit once again by Absol Psycho Cut.

"Chimecho, are you okay?"

Watching Chimecho being hit by consecutive Psycho Cuts, Robert face finally showed a rare expression of anxiety and worry.

Chimecho shook its small head to assure its trainer that it was alright.

Psycho Cut was a Psychic-type move, and since Chimecho was a Psychic-type Pokémon, it naturally had some resistance to it, preventing it from losing its battling capabilities.

Speaking of which, Yuga Absol was different from his Floette.

Having lived in the wild, Absol had rich battle experience and a fundamentally different combat awareness compared to Floette and other artificially bred Pokémon.

When Yuga first tamed Absol, he couldn't quite keep up with its pace in battles. However, as they spent time together, Yuga had learned to coordinate well with Absol.

"Chimecho, use Astonish!"

Following Robert command, a beam of black light shot straight towards Absol.

Astonish, a Ghost-type move, had relatively low power, even lower than Floette rarely used Vine Whip. Robert likely had Chimecho use this attack because its other moves might not be effective against Absol.

Both Chimecho and Absol were at level 33, with Chimecho aptitude even lower than Absol. In this scenario, Chimecho Psychic-type moves wouldn't affect the Dark-type Absol.

Facing Chimecho Astonish, Absol evaded with a quick speed.

Possibly angered by the previous continuous hits from Absol Psycho Cut, Chimecho launched Astonish attack after attack towards Absol.

Yet, Absol agile movements and quick speed allowed it to easily dodge Chimecho Astonish attacks.

After several rounds of attacks, Absol found an opening amidst Chimecho intensive assault. It swiftly launched a Psycho Cut, hitting Chimecho when it wasn't paying attention, rendering it unable to battle.

Unexpectedly, Robert second Pokémon was a Cinccino from Unova region.

With its gray fur, snow-white scarf, and petite body, this Cinccino was incredibly adorable and immediately earned cheers from the audience.

This marked the second appearance of non-native Pokémon in this competition and the second fully evolved Pokémon to appear.

"Cinccino, Bullet Seed!"

As soon as Cinccino entered the field, Robert commanded it to attack. Yuga barely had time to examine its stats.

Green seeds rained down like bullets toward Absol, traveling at an impressive speed.

Although Absol intended to dodge, the onslaught of seeds from Cinccino "bullet storm" made evading nearly impossible.