Chapter 285: Completely Wrecked
The All-Star Weekend's program continued.
After two rounds of elimination, only three of the original twelve teams remained.
Next up was a round-robin tournament, where the three teams would face each other.
Ideally, a clear winner would emerge. If there was a tie, there would be no tiebreaker match; instead, the champion would be decided by an audience vote.
After all, this was just an exhibition tournament. There was no need to be overly serious.
But the important thing was: from this point forward, the professional players on the three remaining teams were finally allowed to use their main Pokémon!
So, the upcoming round-robin was about to feature some truly high-caliber competitive battles!
Speaking of the three remaining teams, the other two also had some of Arthur's acquaintances—
One team was the pair of Justin and the Yankee Team's Derek.
The other team included Kevin.
For a moment, Arthur didn't know what to say.
At this point, the competition was starting to feel more like his personal reunion tour.
Justin had been trying to come over and chat with him, but he hadn't found a chance during the first two chaotic rounds.
Now, he would finally get his opportunity.
Because the next match was Justin and Derek versus Arthur and Monica.
Before the match, Derek was brimming with confidence.
He felt that the fan he had been paired with this year was very reliable. His command of strategy was solid, and his Pokémon was quite strong. In terms of partners alone, he was already one step ahead of Arthur!
His Plus and Minus combo had suffered a narrow defeat to Arthur at the end of the regular season, and today, at the All-Stars, he would finally avenge that loss!
Arthur, just you wait!
Filled with confidence, he was about to discuss strategy with his partner.
"For this match against Arthur, he's tough, but we're not without a chance. As long as we start by—"
But he was only halfway through his sentence when Justin replied with a cheerful smile.
"Oh, it's fine. We're definitely not going to beat Brother Arthur in this one. But that's okay! There's no shame in losing to him~"
He then flashed a grin at Derek.
His pearly white teeth seemed to glint under the lights, blinding Derek's eyes and piercing his heart.
"Wait, why are you saying we're definitely going to lose before the match has even started?! And what did you just call him? Brother Arthur? You know Arthur?!"
Justin nodded very honestly. "Yeah, Brother Arthur has always been my big bro."
"..."
At this moment, Derek's composure cracked a little.
What the hell!
Is it too late for me to back out? Can we just pretend I didn't say anything? Can I get a refund on this teammate…
Unfortunately, it was definitely too late.
A few minutes later, the match was about to begin.
Both teams' Pokémon lineups had changed for this matchup.
Arthur's side brought out one of his three aces, Little Lapras, while Derek sent out his main: Amoonguss.
Without a Minus Pokémon to partner with, he naturally wouldn't use Ampharos; that would be like banning his own ability.
The main Pokémon he had used during his rotational appearances in the first half of the season had always been this Amoonguss.
It was a mushroom-like Pokémon with a Grass/Poison typing. Its body was the stem of the mushroom, and its head was a hemispherical cap patterned exactly like a standard red-and-white Poké Ball.
The ends of its outstretched arms were also mushroom caps with the same Poké Ball pattern.
Because the caps on its hands resemble shields, it's often called the Shield Mushroom, Double-Shield Mushroom, or Poké Ball Mushroom.
As its nicknames suggest, this Pokémon excels at defense, not offense.
In doubles, Amoonguss is very versatile and works well with almost any partner. Its core strength lies in its own taunt move, called Rage Powder.
The Bug-type move Rage Powder, as its name implies, enrages the opponent, making them want to beat up the user on the spot.
This move, along with Follow Me and Spotlight, are the only three moves in all of Pokémon with a taunt effect.
Very few Pokémon can learn these three moves—fewer than twenty species in total (counting an entire evolutionary line as one).
These Pokémon are generally highly sought after in doubles battles.
However, if you had to compare them, Follow Me has the highest usage rate.
This is because, in a real battle, powder-based moves require the enemy to be coated in or inhale the powder to take effect, which limits the range of Rage Powder.
Furthermore, in reality, there's no "teammate immunity." If a teammate accidentally inhales the Rage Powder, they will also be uncontrollably driven to attack the user.
This can easily lead to awkward situations.
One wrong move, and you could end up helping your enemy by attacking your own teammate.
In comparison, Follow Me, which is cast in a forward direction and taunts all targets within the user's line of sight, is undoubtedly more practical.
That's why, for years, the two most mainstream doubles taunters in professional play have always been Togekiss and Clefable.
Bella would like to add that she's an expert on this.
However, Rage Powder is not without its merits. Its biggest advantage over Follow Me is its duration.
Follow Me's forced-gaze effect only lasts for two or three seconds, while Rage Powder, with a high enough concentration, can make the opponent unable to stop, as if they've been chewing on stimulating gum.
As for Spotlight, its effect is slightly inferior to the other two. Its main advantage is that it can be cast on other targets, not just oneself.
It's less of a taunt move and more of a "set-up" move.
Use it well, and your opponent is sent to the Shadow Realm. Use it poorly, and you're sacrificing your own teammate…
Its style was wildly unpredictable, and it was often jokingly called the "friendship-ender."
Fortunately, Arthur had yet to encounter or battle a Pokémon with this move, so he had yet to experience the feeling of thanking a teammate for not killing him…
For this match, Derek's partner, Justin, sent out a Pidgeot.
In the half-year since they'd last seen each other, Justin's Pidgeotto had finally completed its final evolution.
The evolved Pidgeot didn't look drastically different from Pidgeotto, but it was a full size larger, with a wider wingspan, bigger talons, and the three red-and-yellow crest feathers on its head were longer and more elegant.
In the wild, Pidgeotto are still medium-sized birds that prey on insects and small animals, often needing to flock together to fend off predators. But Pidgeot are true, large birds of prey, apex predators at the top of the food chain!
When food is scarce, they will even hunt Goldeen, Pikipek, and various Bug-type Pokémon.
As natural predators, their actual combat power and aggression are often far more impressive than their on-paper stats.
Amoonguss and Pidgeot—one offense, one defense. Derek had been very confident in this lineup. It was a combination that could hold its own even on the professional stage.
If only his own teammate hadn't started waving and shouting at the opponent before the match even began—
"Brother Arthur! Please teach me a lesson! Go easy on me!" Justin yelled excitedly across the field before the referee blew the whistle.
Normally, this action would be a violation, but since it was an exhibition match, the referee turned a blind eye.
The audience could also understand the sentiment, assuming it was just a fan getting overly excited about meeting their idol.
Only Derek, standing beside him, facepalmed with a loud smack.
Damn it! The match has barely started, and I already feel like I've been completely wrecked in the morale department!
This is so exhausting…
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