Chapter 448: How Do You Know That Too?
The attendance for this year's finals has set a new record in recent years!
It's been many years! The Pokémon competitive audience of the Kubfu Alliance hasn't seen a playoff final without a "big three" team for many years.
The "big three," as veteran teams, have many fans, but because of their lackluster performance in the Champions Cup and World Cup in recent years, they also have many haters.
But before the last two years, even if these spectators hated them, there was nothing they could do.
But this year, finally! The times have changed!
By the time the playoffs reached the top four, there were no "big three" teams left. Today's final is the only final in the last decade without a "big three" team!
The moment the members of the Starlight and Frost and Blaze teams took the stage for their introductions, the cheers from the stadium were like a tsunami!
This feeling was truly exhilarating!
"I never thought you'd actually be right. We've really made it to the finals," Aaron said to Arthur with a great deal of emotion as they walked off the stage after the introductions.
To this day, he still remembered the encouragement Arthur had given him at the beginning of the season.
At the time, he had thought it was just boasting, but who would have thought it would actually come true!
At the same time, Elara was also feeling emotional. "I never thought I'd have the chance to play in the finals either."
This was the furthest she had ever gone in the league in her entire professional career, both in doubles and singles.
She was very grateful that Starlight and Frost had trusted her, bought her out, and given her this opportunity.
And so, for the first round, she took the stage!
This was a very risky move for Starlight and Frost. After all, it's very rare for a rotational player to be the first one to play.
But the headmistress had placed her full trust in Elara!
Her opponent in the first round was also quite a surprise to her.
The commentators were also amused at this point.
"I never thought that in the first round of the finals, we would see a civil war between former teammates. The two players, Elara and Quincy, who were both from the Tigris Team during the regular season, have met again in this round, wearing the jerseys of different teams! Old teammates become opponents! This round is also quite a spectacle!"
Quincy was the former captain of the Tigris Team and the biggest name to enter the transfer market after the team had been sold off.
He had expressed his intention to go to the Blaze Team before the transfer window had even opened, so Ivy hadn't even considered him at the time.
Now, he had successfully become a singles player for the Blaze Team, and his quiet, taciturn personality had somewhat neutralized the quirky atmosphere of the Blaze Team.
As a former captain, Quincy's individual skill was beyond doubt.
And he believed he knew Elara well enough.
Seeing this matchup in the first round, the Blaze Team all showed expressions of confidence.
"This one's in the bag! Is the other side trying to use their weakest substitute to bait out our main player? Haha! You fools! I'm not even playing in this round!" Simon, who bore the name of a pervert, was laughing the most happily at this moment.
But his best frenemy, Luke, immediately exposed him. "Even if they were planning a sacrificial play, they'd be trying to bait out Forrest, alright? Who do you think you are?"
"Hey! Am I not an All-Star too?!"
"Can you beat the other side's Arthur?"
In the two previous matches they had played against Starlight and Frost this season, the only singles player on their team with a perfect win record was Forrest.
Simon had been completely suppressed by Arthur in the regular season match, losing without a chance.
Luke's words left him speechless. He could only mutter under his breath.
"There aren't many people in the whole league who can beat him anyway."
Beside them, Forrest did not participate in the conversation.
Today, he seemed particularly quiet. His teammates couldn't guess what he was thinking.
While they were chatting and joking, the match on the field had already begun.
In the first round between Elara and Quincy, she, as usual, sent out her Scolipede.
On Quincy's side, he had made an adjustment. He hadn't chosen to use his ace, Incineroar. Instead, he had sent out an Araquanid.
Because as an old teammate, he was very familiar with Elara's old strategy—
Incineroar's Intimidate ability, in the first exchange of a battle, can cause the opponent to become stunned and their muscles to weaken. This is judged as a debuff.
And Elara's Serperior has the Contrary ability. It loves it when you give it a debuff.
So, Quincy had hidden his ace and had chosen to lead with his Araquanid.
But what he never would have expected was that Elara's opening command was not her old "Superpower" into "Baton Pass" strategy, but—
"Scolipede, charge forward with Take Down!"
"?!"
For a moment, Quincy didn't even react.
"Araquanid, use Headbutt to push it back! Then retreat and prepare for Trick Room!"
His Araquanid was designed for a Trick Room plus Power Split strategy.
Araquanid is also a type of Pokémon whose own attack and speed are relatively weak. Although not as extreme as Shuckle, it's definitely not outstanding. It's normally very difficult for it to compete at the professional level and above.
But the two moves, Trick Room and Power Split, could perfectly solve its weaknesses.
With Trick Room open, high-speed Pokémon would be met with double the resistance when moving. This would cover Araquanid's weakness of slow speed.
At the same time, Trick Room limits movement and evasion, allowing the Araquanid to calmly touch its opponent and complete a Power Split!
At that time, the buff from Scolipede's Baton Pass to Serperior would be greatly diminished by the split. Even if the Araquanid couldn't win, trading one for one with the Serperior would be a huge gain!
This idea was undoubtedly perfect.
Unfortunately, it had met with a variable right at the start.
Elara had suddenly stopped letting her Scolipede do a quick-switch!
And this Scolipede's close-range positioning and awareness were clearly a level above what they had been on the Tigris Team!
"Control your posture! Use the recoil to slide to the side! Don't be thrown off! Maintain close quarters! Cross Poison!"
Quincy had originally thought that his opponent's Take Down would clash with his own Headbutt, and both would be knocked back by the inertia, creating distance again.
But he had never expected the Scolipede to use its positioning and a series of detailed body twists to adjust its point of impact. After the collision, it hadn't been thrown back but had instead turned it into a slide to the side!
Then, a series of moves, positioning, and a quick counter-attack!
It hadn't been pushed back by the Araquanid at all. It had stuck to it like glue!
In this situation, the Araquanid had no chance to start casting Trick Room.
And after its cooldown was over, the Scolipede opened its dual blades, looking even more dominant!
Even the blood-red color of its shell seemed to have become more vibrant!
This left the opposing Quincy in a daze.
This isn't right?! Is this still the same teammate, Elara, that I'm familiar with? She's not doing her three-trick pony anymore? And more importantly—what's with this Scolipede's skilled positioning and close-combat techniques?! If the opponent was now Arthur's Greninja or Aaron's Milotic, Quincy would have accepted it. The Pokémon of those two were now famous in the league as close-combat experts. But, Elara, how do you know this too?!!
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