"Alright, alright, stop crying, Airi. Tell me, who did you lose to?"
After bringing Airi back to her seat, Icarus comforted her for a while before finally starting to ask about the match.
"Wuwu My luck was awful. I ran into a family Trainer who specializes in Electric-types. His name was Endo Satoshi His Pikachu was way too strong! Wuwuwu~"
Airi's emotions finally calmed slightly as she began explaining what happened.
"What!? A super-strong Pikachu? And his name is Satoshi too!?"
Icarus was instantly alarmed.
"Damn it… could this world's Ash actually be from Aoki Town instead of Pallet Town!?"
"Should I start trying to get close to him now?"
All sorts of ridiculous thoughts immediately exploded in Icarus' mind.
"Originally, my Staryu used Psychic to defeat his Flaaffy, so I thought I was going to win…"
"But then his second Pokémon, Pikachu, came out, and its attack speed and Move power were unbelievably high!"
"My Staryu got instantly knocked out by Thunderbolt!"
"Even Poliwag got one-shot by Thunderbolt too! Wuwuwu~"
Airi didn't notice Icarus' strange expression and continued describing her tragic defeat. When she mentioned both Pokémon being instantly defeated, tears started flowing again.
"So he specializes in Electric-types, huh…"
"Then it's fine. Ah no—I mean, Airi, if I meet him, I'll definitely help you get revenge."
Once Icarus realized the guy wasn't some mysterious protagonist template but merely an Electric-type specialist, he relaxed considerably. But seeing Airi cry again, he quickly corrected himself and made a solemn promise.
"Mm! Brother Icarus, Brother Stone, if either of you meet him, you have to avenge me!"
"He seems to be a direct descendant of the Endo family, one of the Four Great Families. His Flaaffy was only Ordinary low-level, nothing special."
"But that Pikachu was terrifying! Even though it was only Ordinary mid-level like my Poliwag, its speed and Move power felt like an Ordinary high-level Pokémon!"
"And he even taught Pikachu Thunderbolt early. The power was way too strong…"
Airi quickly shared all the information she remembered.
"Don't worry, Airi. My Graveler and Sandslash aren't afraid of electricity at all. If I run into him, I'll definitely help you get revenge."
After listening, Stone confidently patted his chest.
After all, Ground-types completely countered Electric-types.
"That Pikachu was probably holding an item…"
"I remember Pikachu can use an Electirizer."
Icarus thought for a moment before suddenly bringing up another topic.
"Speaking of which, Airi, including you too, Stone—you should both consider buying held items."
"Ordinary-tier items usually cost under a million. You should be able to save enough eventually. There should definitely be some available at the auction."
"And honestly… you should both think carefully about your third Pokémon."
"Especially you, Stone. Your Rock/Ground combination gets countered by way too many types."
"That's true… I could buy held items for Poliwag and the others…"
Airi seriously considered the suggestion before nodding.
"As for my third Pokémon… I still want a Water-type. I just feel like Water-types suit me naturally."
"But I definitely want a dual-type this time."
"I absolutely refuse to get countered by Electric-types again!"
"As for held items, I'll check the New Year auction too."
Stone rubbed his muscles while speaking.
"But for my third Pokémon, I'll listen to Brother Icarus. It doesn't necessarily have to be Rock or Ground-type."
"I just want something strong."
"Mm. There's still plenty of time before your third Pokémon anyway. Think carefully before deciding."
Icarus nodded. He didn't object to either of their answers.
He wasn't their parent or nanny.
Giving advice was enough. The rest was their own path to walk.
"Oh right, I haven't congratulated you yet, Stone. Since you advanced too, tell me about your match."
After changing the topic and seeing Airi's mood stabilize, Icarus turned toward Stone.
"My situation was actually pretty lucky."
"I ran into that Voltorb we saw earlier. Its Electric-type attacks were useless against me, so I countered it pretty easily."
Stone scratched his head and gave a simple explanation.
"Mm."
Icarus nodded.
"Since our morning matches are over, let's go watch the others. Everyone who advanced could become our future opponent."
After that, the three of them spent the rest of the morning running between battlefields, watching match after match.
It had to be said that the experience was extremely valuable.
Especially techniques involving combo Moves and Move fusion.
Icarus continuously wrote down ideas in his notebook, inspiration appearing one after another.
After lunch and a short break, the three returned to the Gym for the afternoon matches.
"Contestant #442, please proceed to Battlefield #7!"
"Contestant #442, please proceed to Battlefield #7!"
The moment the broadcast sounded, Stone froze.
"Huh? I'm first?"
Even Icarus looked slightly surprised. He originally thought his own match would come earlier.
"Well, good luck, Stone."
After wishing him luck, Icarus remained seated in the lounge.
There were only seventy or eighty contestants left now.
With eight battlefields operating simultaneously, it would probably be his turn soon too, so there was no point running over personally.
Besides, the remaining contestants were all genuinely strong now.
The lounge televisions were already broadcasting all matches live anyway.
"Brother Stone, good luck! I'll cheer for you from here!"
Airi glanced at Icarus and saw he wasn't moving, so she also stayed behind.
"It's fine. You can watch from here anyway."
Stone waved casually before leaving.
Soon, the lounge televisions lit up.
"It's starting!"
"Go, Fujii!"
"Go, Qi!"
"Kingler is awesome!"
The previously quiet lounge instantly became noisy.
Most people here weren't contestants at all, but ordinary spectators.
For normal civilians, the Aoki Conference was one of the few major live tournaments they could watch all year.
The Gym was already packed full.
Anyone remaining in the lounge had simply arrived too late to get good seats.
"So many people… the ticket sales alone must have earned back the costs."
Airi looked around and sighed emotionally.
"Probably."
Icarus nodded.
"I heard tickets are 200 yuan for full-day access. That should at least cover the contestant rewards."
"Though the top three prizes alone probably aren't enough to break even."
"But even then, spending a few million to host a tournament like this doesn't seem like a loss."
Of course, what Icarus didn't know was that this tournament also served as a large-scale intelligence gathering operation for the major factions.
Otherwise, he definitely wouldn't think it was merely "not a loss."
For the three major powers, spending a few million to identify talented Trainers and collect information on nearly every Trainer in town was absolutely a massive profit.
"Brother Icarus, look! Brother Stone's match started!"
Airi suddenly pointed excitedly toward one of the television screens.
Icarus looked over immediately.
Both sides had already sent out Pokémon.
Stone still opened with Sandslash as usual.
But the moment Icarus saw the opponent's Pokémon, his expression darkened slightly.
"…This match is troublesome."
"Huh? Why?"
Airi looked confused.
"Even if Sandslash is countered by Gloom, Sandslash is still much faster. As long as he keeps moving and avoids attacks, he should still have a chance, right?"
"Sigh…"
Icarus rubbed his forehead.
"Airi, we're watching through a screen, so you can't smell it directly."
"But I guarantee the audience at that battlefield is already cursing nonstop."
As he spoke, the television camera happened to pan toward the audience.
People were gagging.
Some were loudly swearing.
Others desperately covered their noses with their clothes.
Everyone looked miserable.
"Is… is it really that bad?"
Airi still sounded doubtful.
"Absolutely."
"And look carefully at the flower on that Gloom's head. See how much darker it is compared to the Pokédex image?"
"That means this Gloom's stench is way beyond normal wild Gloom."
As someone who had personally cleared out entire Gloom populations before, Icarus spoke with complete confidence.
Honestly, he felt lucky he hadn't gone to watch in person.
Otherwise, he'd probably still be traumatized from the smell.
Even the Gloom leader from his earlier mission hadn't possessed a flower this dark.
"Then Brother Stone just needs to hold his breath and finish it quickly!"
Airi still stubbornly believed Stone had a chance.
"It depends on how he handles it."
Icarus didn't share her optimism.
In that environment, Sandslash would definitely be severely affected.
Still, he nodded and continued watching.
Back on the battlefield, both Stone and Sandslash already looked miserable.
The moment the referee announced the start—
Stone immediately ordered:
"Defense Curl, then Rollout!"
Since Sandslash had first-move advantage, the plan was obvious:
Move fast enough that the smell couldn't catch up.
At high speed, the airflow around the body would also dilute the stench somewhat.
"That's actually a decent idea…"
Watching this, Icarus nodded inwardly.
If he put himself in Stone's position, he honestly couldn't think of a better solution.
The only option was rushing the opponent immediately before the stench became unbearable.
But what puzzled him was that Gloom's Trainer still hadn't issued a single command.
They simply watched Sandslash approach.
"Now, Dà Shǔ! Use Slash!"
Stone finally committed fully to the attack.
As Sandslash closed the distance, however, its body began trembling uncontrollably.
That was the natural reaction of nausea.
If this continued much longer, Sandslash's condition would collapse on its own.
"Gloom, use Sweet Scent now."
Only then did Gloom's Trainer finally give an order.
"Hana~"
The dark flower that had been releasing unbearable stench suddenly emitted pink mist instead.
"Kuu…"
The moment Sandslash inhaled the fragrance, it abruptly froze in place.
Its entire body relaxed unconsciously.
After enduring overwhelming foul odor for so long, suddenly being exposed to an intensely sweet scent caused Sandslash to instinctively lower its guard and become entranced.
"Gloom, finish it."
"Razor Leaf and Mega Drain together."
Seeing Sandslash immobilized, the Trainer smiled confidently.
"Shoo shoo shoo—!"
Sharp leaves instantly slashed toward Sandslash while green energy particles simultaneously began draining its strength.
"Wake up, Dà Shǔ! Wake up!"
Stone shouted anxiously.
But by the time Sandslash finally snapped out of it—
It was already too late.
"Pfft! Pfft! Kuuuu—!"
A barrage of Razor Leaf combined with Mega Drain instantly overwhelmed Sandslash, knocking it unconscious.
"It lost just like that!?"
Airi stared in disbelief.
"Why did Dà Shǔ suddenly stop moving!?"
"Stone got completely played."
Icarus sighed.
"Sandslash has a strong sense of smell. That pink mist earlier was definitely Sweet Scent."
"After being overwhelmed by horrible stench the entire time, suddenly smelling something sweet would absolutely make anyone instinctively relax."
"…What a disgusting tactic."
"Seriously. I learned something new today."
Even Icarus couldn't help sighing emotionally.
The native Trainers of this world truly couldn't be underestimated.