Chapter 617: A Loss, But Not an Injustice
Little Eevee had done well enough.
This wasn't just a comforting remark, but a genuine assessment!
Even the White Eagle commentator didn't dare to hold out much hope at this point, remaining downcast even if they won this round.
"Tyrantrum is crippled and has no combat power left. The other ace, Scizor, is doubly weak to Fire, and Arthur can bring out that mutated Charizard at any time to set up Sunny Day again.
"It's really over. The Hornet Team is finished."
In the players' rest area, hearing such a blunt comment, the White Eagle players glared angrily.
However, their glares changed nothing.
Not to mention, a group of even more provocative comedians soon attracted everyone's attention.
The idiots from the Atago Team had started popping confetti poppers.
Judging by their excitement, one would think they had won the championship...
"Sigh, a bunch of idiots, embarrassing," Future Yuzuru commented, instantly receiving agreement from those around her.
Even fellow Sakura players unconsciously distanced themselves from this group.
But there was actually a reason for this.
The Atago Team wasn't new to the Champions Cup, but this year was their first time advancing to the knockout stage!
For them, this was a historic year.
They finally proved to the world: The Atago Team is good at more than just drawing doujinshi; they can play well in the Champions Cup too!
Meanwhile, the Hornet Team captain on the field was still making his last stand.
After winning the third round, it was his turn to send out a Pokémon first for the fourth round.
At this time, he didn't dare send out Scizor.
Arthur's roster blatantly listed two Charizards!
And Tyrantrum was already exhausted to the limit.
Helplessly, he had to send out a main player-level Pokémon he was currently cultivating as a reserve ace: Seismitoad.
Seismitoad, like Swampert, was Water/Ground type, with only one weakness: Grass.
And in Arthur's lineup, apart from Little Eevee who evolved into Leafeon, there were no other Grass-type Pokémon.
This was why the Hornet captain chose Seismitoad for this round!
Maybe there was still a chance?
In a life-and-death battle, he really didn't want to give up!
But unfortunately, with Arthur's current resources, even without a type advantage, a mere peak main player-level Pokémon was not enough to pose a problem.
He sent out Greninja.
Since Little Eevee had stalled for a long time in the previous round, the sunlight brought by Lina's Drought had dissipated.
Greninja's performance was unimpeded.
Bond Phenomenon!
Three-Sword Style, engage!
Arthur had seen the data and knew the Hornet captain's Seismitoad didn't have the Water Absorb ability.
Then there was nothing to fear!
Greninja was least afraid of fighting humanoid Pokémon similar in size to himself.
Shuriken in hand, three blades slashing away!
Close-range suppression, kidney strike, Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist, Acrobatics!
A smooth combo left Seismitoad, encountering this fighting style for the first time, completely bewildered.
We have similar types and color schemes, why does it feel like you're from a completely different genre?
With this question, Seismitoad collapsed helplessly, looking up at the sky, pondering its frog life.
The referee raised the flag—
"Seismitoad is unable to battle!"
Arthur took another round!
It was already 3-1!
The Hornet captain felt pressure like a giant rock on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
He only had three Pokémon left to send out.
Including the heavily injured Tyrantrum.
And then, Arthur threw out that mutated Charizard again, making him want to flip the table on the spot.
Fck!*
Are you just bullying my aces because they can't handle Charizard?!
I swear—
But he really had no solution.
After the score passed three points, Arthur was the first to obtain the second mid-battle switch authority.
Which meant he was destined not to deal with this Charizard in this round either!
His head was about to explode...
Everything started from that missed Solar Beam.
The professional player in the rest area was right: from that moment, from the end of that round, the entire match was over.
The Hornet captain sighed helplessly.
The Charizard he failed to shoot down in the first round, he still couldn't handle in the fifth round.
This was truly powerless!
Several rounds passed in a flash, and until the end, Lina still hadn't been defeated. She remained active until the last round.
The final score of the Captain's Match was fixed at 6-2!
Arthur scored a full four points from the differential, a big victory.
Starlight and Frost lived up to the audience's expectations, successfully overtaking and turning defeat into victory through the Captain's Match, continuing their undefeated record in the group stage.
Six wins in six matches!
First place in the group!
At least so far this year, the answer sheet they handed in was perfect.
During the post-match handshake, the Hornet captain couldn't suppress the palpitation in his heart and finally asked that question.
"Eggscuse me, in ze furst round, wen I used Solar Beam, how did you react?"
His Kubfu was very poor, stumbling. If not for an obsession, the Hornet captain really didn't want to torture himself.
He had thought about this sentence for a long time, racking his brains to remember many words.
Arthur was stunned, then smiled.
"I noticed you pre-burying the vines. I knew then that you planned to use the cooldown discrepancy to create an opportunity for an ultimate move. You didn't use Grass Knot then, right? I saw through it, so I decisively used Substitute."
"??"
The opponent looked confused. "Speak, slower."
"..."
Arthur simply released the little dragonfly, who hadn't participated in this match, and signaled the opponent to summon a Pokémon too, letting the two Pokémon communicate directly.
Pokémon pass messages without translation.
The camera caught this scene perfectly, and many commentators were guessing what the two players were discussing after the match.
Unfortunately, there were no post-match interviews in the Champions Cup group stage, so it remained unknown for now.
Only the Hornet captain alone learned Arthur's answer through the telepathic link with his Pokémon after leaving the stage.
"So it wasn't a guess..."
Although he had suspected it on the field, hearing the opponent clearly expose his deceptive design finally shattered his last bit of luck.
The opponent really saw through everything!
In such an intense duel, a fleeting small movement he thought he had done very covertly was fully captured by the opponent's eyes!
That Kubfu captain's battlefield insight was simply astounding!
The Hornet captain couldn't help but let out a long sigh after leaving the stage.
"Sigh, it wasn't an unjust loss..."
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