Chapter 397: It's Not That the Rookies Aren't Trying
After a short halftime break, the doubles matches began!
Right from the start, the lineups from both sides startled the commentators.
"My heavens! It seems both teams are looking for a change in this match! They've both broken up their usual pairings!"
Normally, the Sea Carp team would have Asher partner with the rookie Flora or the second-year quasi-rookie Elijah. The other pair, traded from Starlight and Frost, would be responsible for the other match.
But this time, they had broken up their fixed combinations.
They had taken one person from the traded pair and put him with Flora.
"We see that for the Sea Carp team, it's Hayden teaming up with the rookie player Flora. And on the other side, for Starlight and Frost, it's Ivy partnering with their substitute player, Kevin! Both combinations are completely beyond everyone's pre-match expectations!"
Faced with such unexpected opponents, both sides were slightly surprised.
But they quickly composed themselves.
At first glance, both sides felt that this matchup was acceptable.
The match began, and both sides revealed their Pokémon.
Starlight and Frost sent out a Ninetales and an Escavalier.
The Escavalier was a new Pokémon raised by Kevin.
Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to manage his Honedge and hadn't been able to follow Arthur's path of a man wielding a sword. To avoid being drained half to death every day, he had later been forced to part ways with his Honedge peacefully.
After that, while continuing to train his main, Honchkrow, he had also captured a new Pokémon: Escavalier!
The Bug/Steel-type Escavalier filled a nice gap in the Starlight and Frost doubles division's Bug and Steel-type coverage.
At the same time, with its Overcoat ability, Escavalier didn't have to worry about the cold damage from snowy weather and could move freely, allowing it to coordinate well with Ivy.
Of course, the most crucial point was that Escavalier wields two lances and is a Pokémon that excels at close-quarters weapon combat!
This perfectly fit the current team culture of Starlight and Frost!
Although, as the team's little boss, Ivy had once been very resistant, wondering how a team with such a poetic name could have turned into this?
It made her feel like a tomboy.
She was clearly a gentle (and cunning) young lady.
But later, seeing the steady progress her teammates were making every day, she had finally come around.
Now, she had even taken the initiative to choose the dual-wielding knight as her teammate—Kevin's Escavalier was female.
And on the Sea Carp side, the Pokémon they revealed were a Dragonite and a Volcarona!
The Dragonite was, without a doubt, Flora's Pokémon.
As a rookie making her debut today, Flora had also received a great deal of attention, mainly because her two main Pokémon were so luxurious—a Dragonite and an Arcanine!
A classic rich-kid combo!
Although Dragonite is an iconic pseudo-legendary of the Kubfu Alliance, the only one first discovered and registered in the Pokédex by a Kubfu native, and was once considered a symbol of the region, even in the Kubfu Alliance, Dragonite is one of the most expensive pseudo-legendaries!
Because their habitats are mainly at sea, and often in the deep ocean, they are extremely difficult to capture.
The only pseudo-legendary that can compete with Dragonite in price is Dragapult. This Ghost-type dragon is incredibly elusive, another extremely difficult Pokémon to catch.
Currently, no professional player in the Kubfu League uses a Dragapult.
So, Dragonite is the undisputed most expensive active Pokémon!
A beautiful player who debuted with a net worth in the tens of millions would naturally attract a lot of attention.
At that time, people joked that the Sea Carp's youth camp had been performing at a top-tier level in recent years, producing several stunning rookies in a row.
With Arthur as a shining example, the fans had placed high hopes on Flora, who had also graduated from the Sea Carp youth camp!
Now, halfway through the league, although Flora's performance hadn't been particularly embarrassing, it still couldn't compare to Arthur's last year.
If it weren't for Arthur, Flora might have become a shining new star this year as well.
But unfortunately, last year, Arthur had raised the audience's expectations for rookies by more than a dozen levels!
In the past, the expectation for a rookie was: getting a starting spot is a success.
But after last year, the standard had instantly become: Rookie? Can you guarantee fifteen wins in the regular season? Are you invincible in close combat? Can you refresh your intel every two weeks? No? Sigh, this year's rookies are no good!
Flora and the other rookies all felt like cursing…
Flora had spent two years in the youth camp and was no longer as scattered and arrogant as she had been when she first joined. She had reined in her princess-like temper, trained much harder, and had become much more mature.
Unfortunately, by the time she had graduated, the entire atmosphere of the Kubfu League had changed!
For one thing, if she wanted to compete for Best Rookie this year, she not only had to contend with competitive rookies like Justin and Kevin, who would have been top contenders in any other year, but she also had to fight against monster-level main players like Arthur and Zhuge Feng!
Because according to league regulations, any player within their second year can be considered for Best Rookie.
This was only Arthur's second year as a pro.
And the Blaze Team's Zhuge Feng was in his debut year.
So, when the online voting had opened, Flora had taken one quick glance and decisively closed the website.
As if I'd even try to compete for that!
It's not that the rookies aren't trying; there are just monsters in the league!
Flora's partner, Hayden, just like Juri, had also been traded from Starlight and Frost last year.
Before the match, as a senior, he gently reassured Flora, "Don't be nervous. Play your best. Follow the original plan. I'll cover you."
The coach's decision to regroup them like this naturally had a purpose; it wasn't a random move.
Their Pokémon could work together in this round.
At the start of the match, Hayden was the first to give a command: "Volcarona, fly to the front and use Rage Powder!"
Dragonite's weakness is Ice, and Volcarona's Fire type can counter Ice, providing cover for Dragonite.
At the same time, Volcarona's Rage Powder, like the god-tier doubles move Follow Me, is a taunt skill, which can create a very safe damage-dealing environment for Dragonite.
Unfortunately, in this match, they had miscalculated one thing—
"Ninetales, use your tails to wrap up Escavalier! Charge forward! Then throw her!"
Firstly, Kevin's Escavalier has the Overcoat ability. This ability not only makes it immune to sandstorms and snow but also to all powder-based moves, including Rage Powder!
Secondly—
"Escavalier, Razor Shell!"
They had underestimated the close-range burst power of the Starlight and Frost team after its transformation
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