"Sis! He dared to underestimate us! Let's teach him a lesson!"
"Yeah! Let's give them what they deserve! Go, Poliwag!"
"Come out, Oddish!"
The rival team's girls looked like sisters. Hearing Alex Baxter's arrogant words, they became enraged and sent out their Pokémon.
"Water and Grass as a combo?" murmured Ethan Black.
"Then, go, Charmeleon, teach them a good lesson!"
Alex Baxter let out a laugh and threw his Pokéball. His Charmeleon appeared, imposing and muscular, roaring fiercely.
"Graaaah!"
The girls and their adorable Pokémon were startled by Charmeleon's intimidating entrance and took a synchronized step back.
Ethan Black shook his head and sent Sandshrew into the battlefield.
"Don't be afraid! Charmeleon is Fire type, Poliwag has the type advantage."
"And Sandshrew is Ground type, my Oddish also has the advantage. This battle is ours!" the older sister said confidently, with a spark of intelligence in her eyes.
"Wow, they know the type chart well," Alex Baxter smiled. He found them adorable. He even thought about asking for their number after the battle.
"Poliwag, use Water Gun on Charmeleon!"
"Oddish, run up and use Absorb on Sandshrew!"
The sisters gave their commands with energy.
"Your opponent is me! Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!"
BOOM!
Charmeleon unleashed an intense stream of flames that clashed directly with Poliwag's Water Gun. In an instant, before the little Water Pokémon's disbelieving eyes, the fire completely crushed the stream of water, advanced unhindered, and blasted it into the air with an explosion.
"Hahahaha! Charmeleon, keep going! Get Oddish and use Scratch!"
Charmeleon's claws glowed with white light. He dashed at Oddish, and with a squeal from the latter, sent it flying with a swipe.
A crushing victory! Charmeleon had won the battle decisively.
"Ha! We won!"
"Ethan, wait for me a moment. I'll be right back!"
Excited, Alex Baxter pulled out his phone and ran after the sisters, who were leaving after their defeat.
A few minutes later, he returned dejected, with two clear slap marks on his face.
"Uh... looks like that tactic didn't work."
Ethan Black shook his head, pulled out his notebook, and crossed out a freshly written strategy.
The morning battles came to an end.
According to the rules, the winning team within each group was decided first before moving on to inter-group matches.
On field 7, where Ethan Black and Alex Baxter were, the winners were teams 71, 72, 74, 77 (themselves), and 79.
The next battles would be:
71 vs 72
74 vs 77
79 vs team 69 from group 6
After finishing the match, Ethan Black and Alex Baxter left the field and took Sandshrew and Charmeleon out for a good feast.
Sandshrew: ≧ω≦
In the afternoon, both returned early to the battlefield. Since it wasn't their turn yet, they took the chance to watch other battles, especially from group 6, since they knew that if they won their group, they would face the winner of that group.
And while watching, they saw something shocking! One of the teams from group 6 had sent two Scyther onto the field.
Thanks to their speed, they annihilated their opponents in the blink of an eye. They didn't even give them time to react.
"Those two aren't real novice trainers!" Alex Baxter exclaimed, jumping up. "Those two Scyther are at an intermediate level! A rookie could never train that!"
"You're not really a rookie either," Ethan Black retorted, giving him a sideways glance.
Alex Baxter laughed awkwardly. He had completely forgotten that he himself was also a "fake rookie." They were both in the same boat.
The real question was: who was the noob, and who was the scrub?
"By type advantage, my Charmeleon should be able to handle a Scyther," Alex Baxter reflected.
"But those two Scyther fight with great synchronization. They definitely have a special bond. If we face them, we'll need to be very careful," Ethan Black said seriously.
"A special bond?" Alex Baxter squinted, watching them suspiciously.
Ethan Black nodded and checked the time. It was already 3 PM and their match was about to begin, so they headed to field 7.
When they arrived, the previous match had already ended, and it was the intermission. Soon it would be their turn to enter the field.
From the preparation area, Ethan Black saw their new opponents: a couple who were laughing together, clearly very close.
"Tch! Flaunting their love like that... how annoying!" Alex Baxter huffed with jealousy. "Leave this battle to me. You stay back, don't reveal your strength yet."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you," Ethan Black said with a shrug.
He had already seen that couple battle, and they weren't especially strong. Even though a 2 vs 1 would be tough for Charmeleon, it wasn't impossible.
And if Charmeleon lost, Sandshrew could take care of the rest.
"Trainers, send out your Pokémon and prepare for battle!"
"Double battle, 2 vs 2! Each trainer will use one Pokémon. When both Pokémon of a team fall, the battle ends!"
The four trainers stepped onto the stage. At the referee's signal, they threw their Pokéballs.
Charmeleon and Sandshrew came out for Ethan Black and Alex Baxter.
Their opponents sent out a male Nidoran and a female Nidoran—a Pokémon couple as well!
"Seriously?! Even their Pokémon are a couple! This is the last straw!" Alex Baxter exclaimed furiously.
"Be careful, they're Poison type. Don't get poisoned," Ethan Black warned.
"Relax. I'll show them the power of angry singleness!"
(End of chapter)