"Hey... you little..."
The middle-aged man heard David's impolite words and was initially startled. Then, as he was about to say something, he was interrupted by an electronic voice from the screen beside them.
"Waiting time has ended. Both Trainers, please begin the battle immediately! Repeat, both Trainers, please begin the battle immediately."
Hearing the prompt, David didn't bother with whatever the guy wanted to say and directly turned to stand on one side of the battle arena.
Seeing that David was already in position, the middle-aged man couldn't throw out any more harsh words. He just glared at David fiercely before standing on the other side of the battle arena.
"Both Trainers in position. Battle—start!"
"Crush them, Zorua!"
"Teach that little brat a lesson, Scrafty!"
As soon as the words fell, both sides immediately threw out their Poké Balls, and the battle was filled with tension from the start.
For this match, David didn't use Riolu but instead chose Zorua, who hadn't appeared once today. Since he intended to overwhelm his opponent, he naturally had to bring out his strongest partner.
He didn't become careless due to the opponent's behavior. After all, his father had once told him that some Trainers liked to play mind games, and the type of trash talk the opponent was using to affect his mentality was one of them.
Although he was confident in defeating the opponent with Riolu, ultimately, Riolu was still a bit lacking in level and had already battled all morning. It wouldn't be good if something went wrong or if Riolu got injured.
"Zorua~"
Name: Zorua (Hisuian Form)Type: Normal/GhostGender: ♀Energy Level: 25 (Veteran)Aptitude: RedAbility: IllusionHeld Item: Spell TagMoves: Detect, Extrasensory, Memento, Shadow Sneak, Double Team, Curse, Will-O-Wisp, Dig, Icy Wind, Agility, Shadow Claw, Calm Mind, Swift, Aerial Ace, Hidden Power (Psychic), Grudge, Protect, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis, Payback, Night Daze...
A week had passed, and by absorbing the residual negative energy in the Light Stone, Zorua's level had steadily reached twenty-five, which made David's hard work over the weekend worthwhile.
Then David glanced at his opponent's Pokémon. Good heavens! A Scrafty—the Hoodlum Pokémon. Truly a Pokémon that matched the opponent's temperament.
Name: ScraftyType: Dark/FightingGender: ♂Energy Level: 31 (Superior )Aptitude: BlueAbility: MoxieHeld Item: NoneMoves: Fire Punch, Power-Up Punch, Fake Out, Sand Attack, Low Kick, Leer, Headbutt, Protect, Rock Tomb, Bulk Up, Acid Spray...
No wonder this guy was so arrogant. An Superior-tier Scrafty was indeed not something an ordinary student could handle at this stage. And since he had an Superior -tier Pokémon, it wasn't surprising that he had once been promoted to Great Ball tier.
But what good was an Superior Scrafty against his Zorua?
After both sides released their Pokémon, seeing David's unusually conspicuous Hisuian Zorua, the middle-aged man finally reacted somewhat. The student across from him seemed to be the Champion of this year's Imperial City Rookie Tournament—probably not as easy to deal with as those ordinary students.
"So what if he's the Rookie Tournament Champion? He's still just a greenhorn. That Zorua, no matter how strong, is at most an Veteran-tier Pokémon. Hmph~ I refuse to believe an Superior Pokémon can't beat an Veteran one."
The guy had some knowledge, knowing that even the Rookie Tournament Champion would at most have an Veteran-tier Pokémon, and his Scrafty certainly had the level advantage.
There was no other way. Although he understood that David was definitely not as easy to deal with as the students he had encountered before, he was now in a difficult position. He couldn't back down—his earlier taunts had already been spoken, and he had been directly called out by David, leaving him seething inside.
Now he could only place all his hopes on Scrafty's level advantage. As long as he could win the battle, everything would be fine.
"Scrafty, use Rock Tomb!"
"Zorua, Double Team to dodge, then Hone Claws!"
"Scraf~"
Chunks of earthy yellow rocks fell from the sky, crashing down on Zorua's position. Although Zorua dodged them with Double Team—only a few illusions were shattered—the large rocks standing on the field still served to restrict movement.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief. It didn't matter if the attack didn't hit, as long as it could restrict the opponent's speed.
After looking at the move pool, David had already guessed his opponent's intention, so he directly commanded Zorua to use Double Team while taking advantage of a Hone Claws boost.
The opponent's choice was actually easy to predict. The opposing Scrafty was a rather slow Pokémon, and it had very few ranged moves. To hit Zorua, it could only choose moves that could limit its speed.
Therefore, Rock Tomb, which combined a ranged attack with speed-hindering effects, became the undisputed first choice for an opening move.
"Scrafty, charge forward and use Leer, then Fire Punch!"
Seeing that the speed-restricting strategy was working, the middle-aged man commanded Scrafty to press the attack.
Upon hearing the command, Scrafty comically held up its loose skin with both hands, put on a fierce expression, and with wide eyes, strode toward Zorua.
"Zorua~"
Seeing Scrafty's Leer in this comical posture, Zorua wasn't scared at all. Instead, after letting out a snicker, it made a funny face at the approaching Scrafty.
"Scraf~ Scraf!!!"
Because of its peculiar walking posture, Scrafty absolutely hated being mocked about it. Faced with Zorua's teasing—which wasn't quite a Taunt—it immediately became enraged, stumbling forward quickly, and threw a Fire Punch at Zorua.
"Aerial Ace!"
Facing the approaching Scrafty, David commanded concisely.
Hearing David's command, Zorua jumped backward from its spot, nimbly soaring into the air to dodge the incoming Fire Punch. Like a practiced performer, it used Aerial Ace at close range while midair, its white-glowing claws striking Scrafty's body.
"Scraf~ Scraf!"
Hit by a Flying-type move that was super effective against it, Scrafty couldn't help but cry out in pain, staggering back a few steps.
Actually, against Scrafty, Zorua's abilities were somewhat restricted. Its specialty Ghost-type and Dark-type moves were resisted by the opponent, and David's Zorua didn't know any Fairy-type or Fighting-type moves. The only move in its arsenal that was super effective against Scrafty was Aerial Ace.
This was also why David, when setting up, didn't have Zorua use Calm Mind as usual but instead chose Hone Claws, which it hadn't used in a long time.
"Are you okay, Scrafty?"
After retreating a few steps, Scrafty stopped, then turned its head and signaled to its Trainer that it was fine.
An Elite-tier Pokémon still had plenty of stamina, and Scrafty's defenses were both decent. It had only sustained minor injuries from Zorua's Aerial Ace.