Chapter 91: The Combo That Can't Synchronize
The competition continued.
On arena number 3, Rio, with one [Metal Claw], dealt super-effective damage to the opposing Geodude.
Rio was all too familiar with how to battle a Geodude.
He had also learned from the idle chat of the onlookers that in the Middel Region, besides its native Pokémon, there were also countless non-native Pokémon that had been propagated through the movement of people from different regions and the cultivation of various Pokémon nurseries.
This Rock-type Pokémon before him, a common sight in the Ist Region, was one such example.
With Geodude's fall, the referee once again declared the combination of Ming Rizhao and Rio the victors.
However, Rio, after celebrating with Ming Rizhao and Ralts, was still frowning in thought.
"Where exactly is the problem?"
Yes, although their combination had been victorious all the way in this Electric Town Pokémon Competition, having already reached the final four, this question had been lingering in Rio's mind.
That is, there seemed to be some problem between him and Ming Rizhao.
To cooperate with Ming Rizhao's commands, Rio had deliberately reined in his own offensive autonomy, leaving the use and combination of moves to his trainer, acting only as a tool-dog for battle.
But even so, the coordination between this person and Pokémon still had an indescribable awkwardness and strangeness to it.
Either Ming Rizhao's commands were slow, or Rio subconsciously failed to react. There were even times when Ming Rizhao gave offensive commands that even Rio couldn't find fault with, yet they still failed to achieve good results.
It should be known that this Electric Town Pokémon Battle Competition could be considered an extremely recreational tournament. The highest-level Pokémon among the many opponents he faced was only lv15, and they were basically all unevolved initial-form Pokémon.
And even so, Rio had won with extreme difficulty, even being hit multiple times by Pokémon with speed far inferior to his own. His originally shiny and beautiful fur was now messy, and he even had some minor injuries on his body.
"This shouldn't be happening. If my strength has decreased, then whether it's my physical fitness or the power of my moves, I don't feel the slightest bit of weakening."
To test if his strength had decreased, Rio even mercilessly used [Metal Claw] on his own arm. But the steel claws, as sharp and hard as ever, drew several bloody lines on his arm without any effort, showing that the problem was not with Rio himself.
"But if it's an issue with Xiao Zhao's commands, there's nothing wrong with her decisions or move usage, at most just some issues with fighting style."
Rio had also communicated with Ming Rizhao about this.
Taking the first battle against Electrike as an example, why didn't she choose a head-on fighting style but instead chose to first maneuver and then try to defeat the opponent with minimal physical damage and energy consumption? It was because Pokémon battles often consisted of successive rounds. A trainer could use up to 6 Pokémon in a battle, and if too much was consumed in the initial battles, they would lack the ability for sustained combat. Therefore, Ming Rizhao hoped Rio could cultivate the ability for sustained combat.
And whether it was commanding Rio to use the Ground-type move [Dig] to attack an Electric-type Pokémon, or the Steel-type move [Metal Claw] to attack a Rock-type Pokémon, it was enough to prove Ming Rizhao's solid foundation in the knowledge of type matchups.
Rio himself accepted Ming Rizhao's commands, but after experiencing more battles, there was always a feeling of unvented frustration suppressed in his heart, which made him feel stifled.
Fortunately, Rio's level was quite a bit higher than his opponents', and in the end, he still stumbled his way into the semi-finals.
"So where is the problem?"
The various awkward and frustrating feelings had already made Rio somewhat distraught.
And as the matches on the other arenas concluded, the list for the final four was out.
"Rio, are you okay?"
Ming Rizhao asked Rio standing by her feet, her face filled with concern.
"I'm fine. Let's do our best in a bit!"
Rio forced a smile.
Although Ming Rizhao was usually a bit carefree and careless, as a Pokémon trainer with keen instincts, she had also sensed that there seemed to be some kind of barrier between her and this newly captured Pokémon, which prevented her from commanding him as easily as she commanded Ralts.
Thinking of Ralts, Ming Rizhao only just realized that Ralts, who was usually always worrying and chattering, seemed to have not made a single sound until now.
For a moment, the three little ones were each lost in their own thoughts.
However, time did not wait for them to solve their internal problems. The semi-finals were about to begin.
The crowd gathered around the largest arena, number 1, looking at that professional car mechanic.
After thanking the sponsors of Electric Town, the semi-finals officially began.
First on stage were that pair of "deeply brotherly" middle-aged uncles. Different from the "if we're brothers, I'll go easy on you" attitude they had shown while queuing, standing on the arena, they mercilessly used various powerful moves to attack each other's Pokémon. In the end, it was the uncle whose wife had nagged him to win the variable frequency air conditioner who earned the qualification to enter the finals, while the uncle who wouldn't get dinner without a washing machine resentfully watched the former with a "you don't love me anymore, brother" heartbroken expression.
Leaving aside the various "love-hate relationships" of those two, next up was Ming Rizhao's match.
The girl's opponent was a punkish-looking youth. The Pokémon he used was also a Croagunk, whose temperament was exactly the same as its trainer's.
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[Pokédex]
Encounter Progress: 65/100
Battle Progress: 39/50
[Real-time Analysis]
Pokémon: Elite - Croagunk (Male)
Level: lv23
Type: Poison + Fighting
Trainer: Maji
Ability: Poison Touch (When a Pokémon with this ability makes direct contact with an attack, the target may sometimes become poisoned)
Special: Poison Affinity (Naturally sensitive to poison energy, has a higher chance of poisoning the opponent)
Moves: Venoshock (lv2), Poison Sting (lv2), Revenge (lv1), Thief (lv1), Astonish (lv0), Taunt (lv0)
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Croagunk's data flashed before Rio's eyes.
"It's actually the hidden ability 'Poison Touch', plus the 'Poison Affinity' special talent unique to Elite Pokémon..."
The thought of having to face such an opponent gave Rio a headache.
The ability "Poison Touch" already allowed Croagunk to poison opponents with a high probability using the poison-secreting finger on its hands (because a Pokémon's own constitution also has poison resistance, being hit by venom doesn't necessarily mean being poisoned). However, with the addition of this special talent that increased the chance of poisoning, it was almost certain that being hit would result in 100% poisoning.
And Rio, as a Fighting-type Pokémon, whether it was fisticuffs or his favored moves, needed to get close to Croagunk to execute them. If he acted rashly, the outcome would be being invaded by deadly poison.
And Croagunk's level was also the highest Rio had seen in this competition—lv23.
"A Poison and Fighting-type Pokémon... not easy to deal with."
Rio's heart sank.
If this were back in the forest, even fighting alone, Rio actually wouldn't be afraid of the Croagunk that countered Fighting-types. Because in the forest, besides a Pokémon's own strength, one could also use the abundant environmental resources to aid in battle. But on this empty, unobstructed battle arena, let alone using the environment to fight, he couldn't even perform basic concealment of his figure.
In addition, there was the inexplicably out-of-sync coordination with his trainer.
The usually confident Rio was a little unsure.
But since he had stepped onto the stage of competition, there was absolutely no reason to give up.
Rio collected himself and waited with concentration for the match to begin.
"Tweet—"
The whistle blew.