Chapter 661: If There Was a Yu, Why Did There Have to be a Liang?
After securing the match point, Arthur's offensive was unstoppable!
In the sixth round, he continued to send out Specter.
Future Yuzuru had no way to break the deadlock.
She dared not send out Rotom to fight, so she could only use the Sableye she had locked early on.
However, Sableye wasn't suitable for head-on combat. Its base stats were even worse than beginner-friendly Pokémon like Beedrill and Butterfree.
Even with the type advantage of Dark over Ghost, it couldn't make any waves in front of Specter.
When Sableye was defeated, according to the rules, Lina's Mega Stone had to be returned.
This meant the final round had absolutely no suspense!
Lina, restored to her full form, took the field and physically dismantled the robotic cat possessed by Rotom into a pile of parts!
The artificial skin made to imitate Persian's Fur Coat ability had excellent cushioning against physical impact, but it couldn't withstand high temperatures and flames!
Plus, after being educated by Specter's Night Shade, Rotom's reaction speed was noticeably slower when it returned to the field. There were obvious delays in responding to the trainer's commands, allowing Arthur to seize opportunities for strong attacks repeatedly!
Unfortunately, Pokémon battling isn't esports. High latency is purely your own problem; you can't ask for a rematch.
Thus, after painstakingly tying the score at 3-3 and seeing hope for a comeback, Future Yuzuru lost three consecutive rounds in an instant, with Arthur killing the suspense completely!
Just as Arthur had said before the match: he really did checkmate her!
For Future Yuzuru, this train ride from heaven to hell was too fast, catching her off guard.
One moment she had just tied the score and saw hope, and the next she was checkmated cleanly. Everything came too suddenly like a tornado, leaving her defenseless and unable to escape.
However, for competitive fans outside of Sakura, the final scene of Lina domineeringly melting the robotic cat into a pile of scrap metal and roaring at the sky the moment the referee raised the flag was undoubtedly extremely cool and shocking.
"Well done!! This is Pokémon battling!"
"What kind of trainer relies on machines?"
"Arthur is awesome!!"
Standing in the center of this sea of cheers, Future Yuzuru, still on the arena, looked somewhat lost.
She lost...
She lost before even reaching the semifinals...
This result was something she had never imagined before the match.
Since her debut, she had always been proud. Except for losing once to Gwyneth in her first year, her journey had been extremely smooth, and a series of achievements had rewarded her pride.
She was Sakura's most dazzling rookie this year, the shining star of the Nine-Tailed Fox Team!
However, the Champions Cup undoubtedly taught her a harsh lesson!
First Roman in the group stage, then Leo in the winner's bracket, and finally Arthur who eliminated them completely today.
A series of failures thoroughly shattered her pride, making her finally understand that the world was actually very big.
She hadn't suffered a single defeat in two years of playing professionally in Sakura, but in the Champions Cup, she had her fill all at once.
Coincidentally, all the Captain's Match players who defeated her along the way were from Kubfu.
It could be considered a kind of ill-fated relationship.
After the match, she came to the center of the field to shake hands with Arthur.
This scene was captured by cameras and quickly spread across social platforms worldwide.
Because—
The winner and loser between the two youngest genius rookies in the world this year were finally clearly distinguished!
Both were geniuses who appeared out of nowhere in the past two years, both were extremely young Captain's Match players, both were rookies who climbed to the top of their respective alliances with dazzling halos!
Before this, comparative analyses surrounding Arthur and Future Yuzuru had been endless!
Both could be said to be once-in-a-century genius players. Coincidentally, they happened to clash in the same era.
And at this moment, the comparison between this pair of geniuses finally had a clear result.
For Future Yuzuru's fans, they felt a regret akin to "If there was a Yu, why did there have to be a Liang?" (referring to Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang from Romance of the Three Kingdoms).
Countless people thought: "If only this Kubfu guy wasn't in this Champions Cup!"
Without Arthur, even if Nine-Tailed Fox lost, at least Future Yuzuru would still be the most eye-catching rookie captain.
Unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in this world.
The moment they shook hands, Arthur praised his opponent as per custom, "Good game."
This was really just a custom, a social pleasantry.
Most of the time, opponents didn't reply because many players from other alliances didn't understand Kubfu.
However, this time, he unexpectedly heard a reply.
"Thank you, you were better."
The perfectly accented Kubfu surprised Arthur slightly.
Not only surprised by the response but also by how—peaceful—it was.
In his impression, shouldn't this girl hate him very much?
Arthur was puzzled for a moment.
After returning offstage, teammates gathered around to comfort Future Yuzuru. However, to their surprise, the usually proud and unyielding captain smiled relievedly at them first.
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
"Future, you..."
"I'm really fine. Everyone has worked hard to get here this year. Go back and summarize well, and we'll fight again in two years!"
Everyone looked at the girl in front of them in amazement.
Is this still the willful little princess they remembered?
However, growth often comes after setbacks.
Moreover, before leaving, Future Yuzuru whispered something that revealed her true feelings.
"Besides, isn't this more interesting? If I cleared the game in my first Champions Cup, wouldn't this game called Pokémon battling be too boring?"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief: Well, the style is much more normal now.
Looking back, the large screen in the stadium was still playing the footage of Arthur leaving the field.
In this moment, Future Yuzuru deeply remembered this figure.
Although she hadn't let go of her suspicion about Arthur's Gengar, her doubts about Arthur's character had mostly dissipated over time.
Because no matter from which angle the information was gathered, the young Kubfu boy on the screen was an extremely pure trainer.
His purity and self-discipline always silently infected those around him, and he almost single-handedly changed the stagnant competitive atmosphere of Kubfu.
The more she understood his deeds, the more she felt his persistence and belief in battle, the more Future Yuzuru had to admit: this was a true trainer, a great trainer who combined gentleness and sharpness, much like a conquering knight of the pioneering era!
She couldn't bring herself to hate Arthur against her conscience.
But she still couldn't let go of her defeat.
There's plenty of time. Next time, I will beat you—she silently vowed in her heart.
However, it was foreseeable that Arthur's battle was destined to leave an indelible mark on her heart.
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