Night.
In a luxurious private room of a hotel in Ironvale City.
"So you were gone all day... and it was because you were hiding here writing your thesis?" said Ethan Black as he took a drink and glanced at Alex Baxter, who was frantically writing at the table.
"Hahahaha! Boss, I really owe you one today. My thesis on the 'Principles of Power Evaluation of the Move Gyro Ball' is about to see the light of the world!" replied Alex Baxter, winking.
The gesture made Ethan Black's skin crawl.
Dignity? Where had Alex's dignity gone?
"You keep at that... I'm going to review the data on tomorrow's opponents," said Ethan Black, quickly distancing himself from the excited Alex Baxter and picking up the reports he had compiled on the semifinalists.
Among them, Lucas Silver was an old acquaintance. His Metang was one of the favorites to win the championship, but Ethan Black had already devised a strategy. The result would only be known in the moment.
Besides him, his other two possible rivals were Jasper Reid and Mark Carter.
Jasper Reid had a very well-trained Onix, with great offensive and defensive power. In battle, he had crushed his opponents with simple tail whips.
"The greatest weakness of Onix is its speed. In that aspect, Sandlash has a small advantage. If we add the defense-lowering effect of Crush Claw and the Steel-type Gyro Ball, which has an advantage against Onix, it should be a winnable battle," thought Ethan Black, as he wrote down a detailed strategy in his notebook.
Then he turned his gaze toward Mark Carter.
According to the report, Mark Carter was an outstanding student at the Pokémon University of Ironvale City, specializing in the training of Grass-type Pokémon. His signature Pokémon was a Shiftry, probably of advanced level power, and he was a prominent figure at the school.
However, for this tournament, he had decided not to use Shiftry. Instead, he sent into battle an intermediate-level Grovyle.
As one of Hoenn's starters, Grovyle was very strong, especially in speed, and had a type advantage over Sandlash. Without a doubt, he was a difficult opponent.
But he also had weaknesses, like low endurance. If they could exploit that, Sandlash would still have good chances.
...
A sleepless night.
The next morning, because of the shopping festival of 11/11, the streets were full of commercial promotions. The city was livelier than ever.
In the indoor stadium where the battles were held, the Devon Corporation had prepared several live events, rousing the crowd to the maximum.
Shortly after the opening activities, the main course began: the semifinals.
The organization officially announced the matchups:
Ethan Black vs Mark Carter
Lucas Silver vs Jasper Reid
As the battles began, Ethan Black and Mark Carter stepped onto the stage.
"Ethan Black, I hope you won't disappoint me," said Mark Carter with a provocative smile, throwing his Poké Ball. Grovyle appeared on the field.
"I'll give it my all," replied Ethan Black with a serious expression, also throwing his Poké Ball. Sandlash came out onto the field.
"Let the battle begin!" shouted the referee.
With the start, Grovyle darted forward like a flash of green light. In an instant, he was in front of Sandlash, both elbows condensing the move Leaf Blade, striking with force.
Sandlash reacted quickly, but there was no time to dodge. Instinctively, he used Crush Claw, clashing against Leaf Blade.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The field shook with the explosions of energy. Under Grovyle's fierce assault, Sandlash could only defend passively, falling into disadvantage.
"He's too fast!"
Ethan Black, though prepared, hadn't expected Grovyle to be this agile.
The two Pokémon were fighting at such speed that Ethan Black barely found the chance to give orders.
Boom!
Grovyle seized a gap in Sandlash's defense, slashing with Leaf Blade and sending him flying.
"Use Defense Curl!" shouted Ethan Black immediately.
But before Sandlash could execute the move, Grovyle was already in front of him again, landing another brutal blade that smashed him into the ground.
"Use Dig!" ordered Ethan Black hastily.
But before Sandlash could react, Grovyle shot a leaf from his head that bound him and lifted him into the air, finishing with another blade that clashed hard against his claws.
"Damn it! I can't even react in time to Grovyle's moves!" Ethan Black was frustrated as he watched Sandlash being completely overwhelmed.
In a normal battle, Pokémon need at least a minimum of preparation time to launch attacks, which allows trainers to intervene.
But Grovyle used a style of continuous pressure with extreme speed after charging Leaf Blade, nullifying any chance of counterattack.
Sandlash couldn't even gather energy for new moves and could only use the Crush Claw he already had charged.
The battle boiled down to a clash of moves: Leaf Blade vs. Crush Claw, and with Grovyle's speed advantage, he dominated the fight.
If this continued, Sandlash would be defeated without having been able to use a second move.
"I can't let this go on! We need to break Grovyle's rhythm!" thought Ethan Black.
Then he gave an unexpected order: "Sandlash, speed up your slashes, faster, faster!! Try to use that move."
Upon hearing this, Sandlash also focused his gaze. Suddenly, the Normal-type energy in his claws intensified, covering his arm in a trail of claw-like shadows that lunged straight at Grovyle.
(End of chapter)