Chapter 289: Scheming
"Then let's once again congratulate Arthur and his partner, Miss Monica, on their victory!"
With the host's passionate announcement, the first match of the round-robin finally came to a close.
The reason the host was so excited was likely due to the fact that Derek's Amoonguss had managed to stall for a full twenty minutes!
Under the exhibition match rules with no move slot limitations, a Grass-type Pokémon determined to stall could truly test the limits of the audience's bladder…
Thankfully, Derek was rational enough to pull back from the brink in the end. Knowing that if he dragged it out any longer, he'd be blacklisted by the organizers, he reluctantly sought a final showdown and was ultimately defeated.
Otherwise, it felt like his Amoonguss could have borrowed another five hundred years from the heavens!
Even so, by the time it was over, Derek was met with a chorus of boos.
At the All-Star Weekend, people want to see underdogs rise, not watch a funeral procession. The matches can be down-to-earth, but they shouldn't be six feet under…
After leaving the stage, Derek was also helpless.
He hadn't really done anything wrong. What's wrong with a competitive player trying to win? It wasn't a mistake to want to beat Arthur, was it?
Perhaps he could only blame his bad luck and unfortunate fate.
Soon, it was time for the second match of the round-robin.
Because the first match had dragged on for so long, the schedule was clearly being sped up.
After a break of less than five minutes, the next match began. Some parts of the arena floor hadn't even been properly smoothed out yet.
Fortunately, the two sides in the second match weren't too particular about such things.
Arthur was up again for the second match!
His opponents this time were a player from the Jinchan Team whom he had never faced before, and Kevin.
The Jinchan Team had two players selected for the All-Stars this year. One was Chen Lin, whom Arthur had faced before, but he was a player slated to challenge a main singles player later, just like Luna. By unspoken rule, he wouldn't be participating in the fan tournament.
The other was the person standing before him now. His name was Shirou. He had a very deep Pokémon roster, having used five different main Pokémon on the competitive stage this year, including Weezing, Slaking, Marowak, Delphox, and Mienshao.
Though he had a refined appearance, he was, in fact, a formidable opponent. Both Luna and Bella had lost to him during the regular season.
However, after taking the stage, this player showed a great deal of sportsmanship.
Before the match began, he raised a hand to signal the referee, then addressed Arthur directly. "Since this is an exhibition match, there's no need to be too serious. I would be bold enough to ask the Miracle Rookie for a lesson in martial arts. Would you honor me with a duel?"
Shirou was very polite.
Even though he was Arthur's senior in both age and experience, he spoke with an extremely humble posture.
So humble, in fact, that Arthur smelled a hint of deliberateness.
You had to say, this person had a masterful grasp of public relations. He knew that in terms of popularity, he couldn't compete with the currently soaring Arthur. If he acted arrogant and lost, it would only look worse. It was better to just play it cool.
And his opening lines also served as a subtle jab at Derek, who had just stalled for over twenty minutes.
To be honest, Arthur didn't really like this style.
Arthur was no brute, but as a pure combatant, he preferred a more direct, straightforward approach.
He'd rather someone be arrogant than be a senior who feigns humility for the sake of appearances.
Arthur didn't like this person's style.
But he wasn't so tactless as to show it openly.
"Of course. I look forward to learning from you."
Besides, the opponent had conveniently chosen the one area he excelled in, stepping right into his sweet spot. Why would he refuse?
Ever since his Greninja had knocked out the Ghost Dragon Team's Nidoking in thirty seconds, very few players in the second half of the regular season had been willing to challenge Arthur in close-quarters combat.
Facing slippery opponents or insidious poison-users all the time, Greninja's hands had been itching for a good fight for a long time.
Now that someone was willingly offering themselves up… ahem, offering a challenge, why not take it?
Shirou then sent out his Mienshao without consulting anyone.
Throughout this, he completely ignored his partner, Kevin, as if he had forgotten they were in a doubles match.
From this, you could see that Shirou wasn't as humble and gentle as he appeared on the surface.
He was polite to Arthur only because Arthur's current fame and popularity far surpassed his own.
And everything he was doing was just to use Arthur's reputation to boost his own!
Everyone had been hyping up the invincibility of Arthur's Greninja in close combat. If he won today, wouldn't he be able to step on Arthur's fame and instantly rise to the top!
As for his teammate's experience?
Hah!
An unknown, unrecognized fan who wasn't even from this league—who cared?
So, before the match began, Arthur took the initiative to apologize to Monica, asking if she would mind stepping aside for a bit. Monica readily agreed.
But on Shirou's side, there was no intention of consulting with Kevin at all.
It seemed he felt that his unilateral decision to turn a doubles match into a duel required no approval from a mere random fan.
In the end, it was Arthur who called out across the field to Kevin. "Sorry, Kevin. Would you mind letting me have a duel with this guy first? Could I ask you to stay out of it for now?"
Kevin maintained his deadpan expression and gave a cool nod.
"Fine. Make it quick."
"Thanks."
The host and the referee had no objections either.
As Shirou had said, it was just an exhibition match, after all.
Besides, this was actually more interesting, and the audience would enjoy it.
The referee confirmed with all four players again. Seeing no objections, he didn't hesitate and blew the whistle to start the match.
At the start, Monica's Indeedee and Kevin's Honchkrow both voluntarily retreated, clearing the field for the two who were actually going to fight.
And Greninja and Mienshao, without a word, accelerated at the same time, charging straight for each other!
Since it was agreed to be a contest of martial arts, Arthur wouldn't take advantage of his opponent, not even using Water Shuriken at the start.
However, the other side had no such scruples.
"Mienshao, use Close Combat!"
Not only did Shirou use a move right from the start, but he opened with an ultimate!
The Fighting-type ultimate move: Close Combat!
In reality, the effect of this move is similar to Outrage; it's a pseudo-buff state-changing skill. (Author's note: this is a custom interpretation.)
When activated, the Pokémon's defenses are lowered, but the power of its punches and kicks is massively increased! At the same time, each melee attack is imbued with Fighting-type energy, amplifying its power!
Although the damage of a single hit is less than that of a burst-type ultimate, if it lands multiple times during its duration, the accumulated power is enough to shatter mountains!
It is the most widely used ultimate move in the Fighting-type arsenal!
Arthur's eyebrow twitched.
Opening with an ultimate move? The opponent clearly came prepared!
But as a Fighting-type Pokémon, using this move could still, arguably, be considered part of its "martial arts."
From this, you could see that the opponent's scheming was not nearly as simple as it appeared on the surface…
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