Chapter 652: The Duel of Explosive Popularity
In the last round, Chuya's counter-pick Liepard failed to beat Elara's ace Serperior.
The final score of this singles match was fixed at 1-3!
Chuya, a genius rookie and star player, lost in an upset to Starlight and Frost's rotational player Elara, making commentators and viewers from all major alliances gasp in amazement.
This result was truly unexpected and caught many people off guard.
After the match, Elara was immediately greeted by enthusiastic cheers from her teammates as she stepped off the stage.
"Beautifully played!"
"So cool!"
"You're the hero today!"
In contrast, as soon as Chuya stepped down, all his teammates looked at him with helplessness in their eyes.
Bearing the name of a genius meant shouldering responsibilities different from ordinary team members.
Losing to Elara was an unbearable weight for him.
Even the head coach, who was usually gentle and had little say in their team, rarely scolded him this time.
"You played poorly in this match. Reflect on it later. Sit down first."
Sitting down in despair, Chuya had mixed feelings.
How could this happen?
Proud as he was, he had once considered Arthur as his imaginary enemy, but unexpectedly, when he actually faced that team, he couldn't even beat a rotational player...
The gap between imagination and reality had never been so huge!
However, facts were facts; what happened had happened!
This was the current Starlight and Frost!
A miraculous team where everyone was like a dragon, striving hard and constantly surpassing themselves!
Next, after a break, the doubles matches began.
Both sides still fought fiercely in this segment, exchanging blows without giving an inch!
They presented two extremely exciting high-quality matches to the audience.
The final result was a split, each side winning one match. The scores rose alternately, and the point difference remained unchanged.
Although the doubles ended in a tie, thanks to Elara's miraculous performance today, Starlight and Frost still maintained a two-point lead after the regular singles and doubles segment.
These two points were hard-earned!
Especially since most people were more optimistic about the regular singles and doubles combat power of the Nine-Tailed Fox lineup before the match. This was enough to prove the depth of Starlight and Frost now!
Today, they truly showed the overall style of a strong team!
And next came the final and most heart-wrenching segment!
A decisive segment full of infinite variables, where up to six points could be won at once—the Captain's Match!
"Go for it, Arthur!!"
"Go, Miss Future! Miss Future is the best!"
The cheers in the stadium for today's Captain's Match were particularly enthusiastic, even a little crazy!
In terms of the popularity of Captain's Match players alone, the two teams facing off today would probably rank in the top three of this year's Champions Cup!
Even though the schedule had only reached the losers' bracket's round of six, in terms of individual player appeal, the two on the field right now were probably the two unparalleled giants in the world, second only to the Big Demon King Steven!
Arthur was the undisputed flagship figure of Kubfu this year, while Future Yuzuru had two major popularity auras: a wealthy young lady and a genius beauty player, with many fans globally.
Both young, both geniuses, both appearing out of nowhere, both stunningly talented!
Even better, various video evidence proved: these two seemed to have been at odds since they met in the desert, with sharp conflicts between them!
Before the match, commentators everywhere were vividly introducing this past to the audience, fearing they would miss this once-in-a-millennium gossip opportunity!
Love and hate between a handsome man and a beautiful woman, interwoven with mysterious entanglements and misunderstandings—there was no gimmick more eye-catching than this!
It could be said that from the moment Arthur and Future Yuzuru stood on the battle stage together, the heat of this match was maxed out.
The number of viewers in the live broadcast rooms of major alliances hit record highs, and the popularity soared faster than a rocket!
As the protagonist of this grand performance, Future Yuzuru had also been looking forward to this battle for a long time.
"I won't lose again this time!"
Before the match, before the referee could confirm with the players, Future Yuzuru issued a declaration of victory to Arthur!
Arthur was noncommittal about this.
The encounter with Future Yuzuru was completely accidental. If not for some misunderstandings, they should have been comrades fighting side by side.
But those past events were over. Now, in the arena, they were opponents. To Arthur, that was all.
He also had no reason to lose!
Next, the referee confirmed, raised the flag, and dropped it!
Match start!
In the first round, Arthur habitually sent out Lina—without knowing the opponent's starter, Lina was the most stable choice.
On the opposite side, Future Yuzuru immediately brought out her tactical reserve very specifically.
She didn't send out an ace, but a counter-pick Pokémon—
Sableye!
Dark/Ghost type, shaped like a big-headed alien, Sableye with the Prankster ability.
Future Yuzuru's competitive attitude in this match was much more serious than Chuya's. Her data collection on Arthur was meticulous!
This Sableye represented more than ten sets of tactics she had prepared against Arthur's various ace Pokémon!
Although Arthur couldn't guess her specific plan, seeing Sableye made him instinctively realize: the opponent was up to something!
Because this Pokémon was just that notorious!
This really wasn't a proper Pokémon.
In one sentence: dirty as hell!
Its move pool was full of weird things, with few proper attack methods but endless disgusting moves.
Combined with the Prankster ability, it was simply the best candidate for dirty tricks.
"Lina, ascend first! Fly higher."
Arthur realized something was wrong at the start.
He didn't even follow habit to let Lina evolve at the start, already guarding against the opponent.
Unfortunately, Sableye's methods were beyond his imagination.
"Sableye, Fake Out!"
Even Arthur couldn't guarantee that his speed contest would create a miracle every time.
This time, Lina had no move faster than Fake Out.
Smack!
A pair of palms suddenly extending from the void stunned her, causing her to drop a few feet in height while dazed.
Immediately after, Sableye didn't even need Future Yuzuru's command. After using the move, it immediately sprinted with its short legs, using all its strength to run desperately towards Lina at the other end of the arena!
This was obviously a tactic designed before the match, so the Pokémon could act immediately by reflex without the trainer's specific order.
Sableye pedaled its short legs desperately, daring not to stop for a moment!
Finally, it reached the opponent's half before Lina recovered from the daze caused by Fake Out.
Then it stopped and cast—
Future Yuzuru ordered confidently.
"Use Trick!"
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