The battles continued.
As the referee announced the start of the next match, Jiang Han's opponent stepped onto the battlefield.
It was a youth who looked to be around the same age as him, his face beaming with a confident, sunny smile, followed by a lively and active Totodile.
"It's a Totodile! A starter pokémon from the Johto region!"
"That's a very rare pokémon. It looks like this Trainer has quite a background."
A low murmur of discussion immediately broke out in the audience; possessing a starter pokémon from another region was itself a symbol of status and resources.
Looking at the energetic and exceptionally well-bred Totodile, Jiang Han understood.
This guy, like him, was also a Core Lineage Trainer!
However, the opponent was a core lineage of the League, while he was a core lineage operated through Team Rockets' connections.
The yellow-haired boy below the stage found a new opportunity and began clamoring again:
"Hey! Your Sandile is a Ground-type, right? Totodile is a Water-type. With the type advantage, I want to see how you win! Just wait to be eliminated!"
His voice was loud, filled with schadenfreude.
Jiang Han didn't even bother giving him a glance; paying attention to such a clown would be giving him too much credit.
The youth opposite him was quite enthusiastic; he ignored the yellow-haired boy's noise and instead gave Jiang Han a hearty smile.
"Both our pokémon are crocodiles, what a coincidence! Let's have a hot-blooded battle!"
Jiang Han nodded slightly in response.
Hot-blooded? He had long since passed that stage.
"Let the match begin!"
With the referee's command, the youth opposite him was immediately filled with drive and launched the first attack.
"Totodile, use Water Gun!"
Totodile opened its large mouth, and a thick stream of water instantly jetted out, tracing a bright blue arc through the air, heading straight for Sandile.
The water flowed extremely fast, carrying powerful impact force.
"Evade, Sand Tomb." Jiang Han's voice was calm, without a ripple of emotion.
Sandile kicked off the ground hard with both feet, its body leaping nimbly to the side, narrowly dodging the impact of the Water Gun.
The water column hit the spot where it had been standing, smashing a shallow pit into the hard ground as water splashed everywhere.
Immediately after, Sandile opened its mouth, and sand, stones, and dust were instantly swirled up, rapidly spreading across the center of the field.
Dull yellow dust instantly filled half the field, blurring the vision, and the air was filled with the scent of dry grit.
"Trying to use Sand Tomb to block our vision? Naive! Totodile, rush in and use Ice Fang!"
The youth was high-spirited, not backing down at all because of the Sand Tomb.
Totodile gave a low growl, exerted force with its four limbs, and plunged headlong into the Sandstorm without hesitation.
A faint white chill rose from its body, and a layer of frost covered its sharp teeth.
Watching Totodile charge fearlessly into the Sandstorm, the corner of Jiang Han's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
Flowers grown in a greenhouse are indeed too tender.
For a Sandile that grew up fighting in the wild, the dust was not just cover, but its home field.
"Now." Jiang Han thought to himself.
The moment Totodile entered the Sandstorm and its vision was obstructed, a dark shadow suddenly burst out from the other side of the dust, its speed startlingly fast!
It was Sandile!
It hadn't stayed in the center of the Sandstorm; instead, it used the Sandstorm as cover to circle around to Totodile's flank!
"What?" The youth's expression changed; he hadn't expected the opponent's command to be so tricky.
"Bite it!"
A fierce glint flashed in Sandile's eyes as its massive jaws suddenly snapped open, biting down hard toward Totodile's neck!
"Crack!"
The crisp sound made everyone present feel a tightening in their hearts.
"Toto!"
Totodile let out a cry of pain; the chill of Ice Fang hadn't even had time to fully manifest before it was interrupted by this sudden strike. Sandile's Bite force was terrifying; even Totodile's tough skin couldn't fully withstand it.
"Break free quickly! Use Aqua Tail!" the youth hurriedly commanded.
Totodile endured the sharp pain as its tail was quickly covered by a layer of rushing water, swinging it forcefully toward Sandile.
A Water-type move—it was super effective!
However, Jiang Han seemed to have anticipated this move long ago.
"Dig."
Before the Aqua Tail could hit, Sandile released its Bite and its massive body instantly tunneled into the ground, leaving only a deep hole, causing Totodile's attack to miss completely.
"Dammit!" The youth bit his teeth, warily staring at the ground, "Totodile, watch your feet!"
The field was silent, except for the whistling Sandstorm.
The audience held their breath, watching the field tensely.
No one expected that a match that seemed like a type-disadvantage stomp would develop this way.
Jiang Han's commands were calm and precise; every step was like a calculation, firmly holding the rhythm of the battle in his hands.
And that Sandile—its eyes, its movements—all carried a beast-like ferocity, an instinct that could only be honed through repeated life-and-death struggles.
In contrast, that exceptionally talented Totodile was like a child holding a divine weapon—possessing power but not knowing how to use it.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Totodile's feet arched up violently!
"Now, come out!" Jiang Han's voice rang out.
Sandile burst out of the earth, its massive head slamming hard into Totodile's belly!
"Bang!"
Totodile was sent flying into mid-air by the immense force, exposing its soft underbelly and losing its balance for a moment.
"It's over."
Jiang Han gave the final command.
"Use Crunch on it!"
Sandile adjusted its posture in mid-air and opened its bloody maw; Dark-type energy gathered between its teeth, forming an ominous dark glow.
It bit down on Totodile!
"Awooo!"
With a shrill scream, Totodile fell heavily to the ground like a broken kite, its eyes having turned into spirals, completely losing its ability to fight.
"Totodile is unable to battle! The winner is contestant Jiang Han!"
The referee loudly announced the result.
The entire arena was silent for a few seconds before erupting into thunderous applause and cheers.
A counterattack across type disadvantages is always the most exciting scene in a Trainer battle!
The youth opposite ran forward and distressedly picked up his Totodile; though he lost, the look in his eyes when he looked at Jiang Han was full of admiration.
"You and your Sandile are both very strong! I accept my defeat wholeheartedly."
Jiang Han nodded and recalled Sandile.
His gaze swept below the stage; that yellow-haired boy was currently standing there with his mouth open, his face pale as if he had seen a ghost, unable to say a single word.
This Sandile could even counter-kill through a type disadvantage; if his Manectric went up, what chance would it have?
For the first time, he felt a fear that came from the bottom of his heart.
Jiang Han then looked toward the other side of the audience, only to find that Iron Xuan, the Electric-type Gym Leader who had been watching him with a smile, had left at some point.
"Why did this guy suddenly leave?"
A trace of doubt rose in Jiang Han's mind. Did he think the match no longer had any suspense, or... did he have something else to do?
Thinking of the Team Rocket HQ beneath Mauville City, Jiang Han's gaze couldn't help but deepen slightly.
The subsequent battles were without further incident.
Whether facing agile Fighting-type pokémon or Grass-type pokémon that could release Sleep Powder, Jiang Han handled them with ease.
He even let Sneasel and Inkay take the stage, showcasing their formidable strength.
Sneasel's speed was like a ghost, and its newly learned Ice Shard was impossible to guard against; often before the opponent could react, the battle was already over.
Inkay's Dark Pulse was even more domineering; the dark light waves were destructive, and almost no pokémon could take a direct hit.
Jiang Han won all the way, entering the finals without any suspense.
When the host announced the match-up for the finals, the atmosphere of the entire venue became somewhat strange.
"The contestants for the finals are—"
"The one who has advanced triumphantly, showing overwhelming strength, contestant Jiang Han!"
"And—"
"The one who broke through from the Losers' bracket to finally obtain a spot in the finals, contestant Fumino Huang!"
That's right, Jiang Han's opponent in the finals was exactly that yellow-haired boy who had been defeated by him before and had been clamoring below the stage!
Jiang Han was also stunned for a moment upon hearing this result, then felt it was somewhat funny.
This guy actually managed to crawl up from the Losers' bracket?
He looked toward the other end of the battlefield; the yellow-haired boy was standing there, his face turning various shades of blue and white, his hand tightly clutching a Poké Ball.
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