Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

A normal low kick won't be enough to trip a Poliwag; you need a specific kicking move to do so.

After all, although the Mighty Chicken is quite strong, the Poliwag is also known for its strength, and at most it can only slightly disrupt the center of gravity and reduce speed.

Unfortunately, Politoed took a Thunder Punch at this moment, and tried to use the force to lean back slightly to avoid the damage, while also charging up for a Megaton Punch.

Its center of gravity was already unstable, and when the strong chicken aimed at its foot and kicked it in the lower body, it completely lost its balance and fell to the ground behind it.

"boom."

The white light that had been accumulating on the mosquito coil frog's hand also dissipated, interrupting the use of the megaton punch.

"The final lightning punch."

Tetsuya, of course, chose to beat the frog that had fallen into the water.

Before Kajiyama could react, Roborock's Thunder Punch had already struck Poliwag.

The mosquito coil frog's eyes immediately changed to match the pattern on its belly, rendering it unable to fight.

"Come back, mosquito coil frog."

Kajiyama shook his head, knowing that this was purely his own mistake. Otherwise, although the result might not have changed, at least Riki-Chicken wouldn't have won so easily.

Post-match analysis is for after the match; let's think about our current opponent.

Kajiyama focused his attention and sent out his next Pokémon.

"Go on, gull."

Tetsuya looked at the second Pokémon released by Kajiyama with a strange expression.

Although I already knew, it was still very strange.

"Why did Blaine choose you, someone who mainly uses water magic?"

In the end, he couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked Kajiyama from afar.

Kajiyama shrugged and spread his hands, indicating that he didn't know why either.

"I was wondering about that too, but Blaine didn't tell me." "By the way, does Blaine really like riddles that much?" "Yeah, he does it every day..."

The two of them started talking back and forth across the battlefield.

"Please begin the duel, both players."

The referee noticed that the two were actually chatting and urged them to hurry up.

Even though some verbal interference isn't prohibited in official competitions, it's best to avoid chatting during these smaller matches, as we're pressed for time.

Tetsuya frowned, looking at the continuous rain falling on the field, which showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

"Rainfall characteristics, not sharp eyes, tsk, wasted time."

The Pokémon's abilities are not listed in the data. In previous matches, Kajiyama never used Pelipper; he always used another ordinary-level Pokémon and Poliwag to win.

So Tetsuya's initial purpose in communicating with Kajiyama stemmed from two factors: firstly, his curiosity about Blaine and his desire to wait until the Poliwag's rain-making time had passed; and secondly, his desire to confirm the characteristics of the Pelipper.

Based on the confirmed information, it seems the Mighty Chicken is in more danger.

“Water Ripple!” Kajiyama’s lips curled up. He knew, of course, that Tetsuya was testing the waters to buy time.

However, for someone who knows Pelipper's characteristics, the longer the time goes on, the more disadvantageous it becomes for the Fire-type Combusken.

The strong chickens aren't in such good spirits on rainy days, and Kajiyama could already tell that they were a bit tired.

The beaks gathered a large wave of water and roared as they charged toward the strong chicken.

Tetsuya's expression remained unchanged. "Come back, Mighty Chicken."

"Go, Pidgeot."

Just seconds before Water Pulse was about to hit Combusken, Tetsuya successfully recalled Combusken and sent out Pidgeot.

In a 3v3 match, each player has one chance to change their Pokémon.

"Tch." Kajiyama curled his lip in annoyance.

I knew the other side wouldn't let me win so easily, but I was still very unhappy.

There was nothing I could do; I had made a mistake in the first match and lost, and I couldn't possibly switch to a regular-level Pokémon.

"Beep!"

Pidgeot let out a long cry as soon as it appeared, showing off its power, and then its feathers got quite wet from the rain.

Pelipper stared blankly at Pidgeot, which was almost twice its size.

No, it did encounter a Pidgeot, but wasn't this Pidgeot a bit too big?

"Irregular water gun bursts!"

It was stunned, but its trainer was very clear-headed. Kajiyama was used to Tetsuya's well-developed Pidgeot.

He realized that the other side probably also had a very high talent in breeding, so each Pokémon was being bred to perfection at this stage.

Unlike them, they are somewhat lacking, but the gap between them will not be as large as it is now in the future.

After all, when you reach the King level or above, everyone's training is pretty much the same. It all comes down to who has the better command. Even champions only have a slight advantage at this stage.

That's what he thought, after all, he was very talented, otherwise Blaine wouldn't have thought much of him, but it's just that he was overthinking it.

As for why they didn't continue using Water Pulse, even a normal Pidgeot could dodge Water Pulse attacks in the air at its normal speed, let alone this Pidgeot, which was obviously not slow.

Kajiyama wasn't foolish enough to think that this guy's increased size would make him slower.

Even the strongest chicken could probably dodge it in bad weather, but the other side just didn't think it was necessary to recall it.

Back on the battlefield, Pelipper, upon hearing the command, instinctively spat out several powerful jets of water and swiftly flew towards Pidgeot.

"A flash of lightning dodges the attack, followed by a shadow clone's wing-like attack."

Tetsuya casually gave instructions, as Pidgeot's strength was arguably unmatched in this competition, and he wasn't worried at all.

Sure enough, even though the water gun was already quite fast, it was still faster than the eagle.

A flash of white light appeared on its body as the eagle nimbly dodged the water guns coming at it in the air.

As it rapidly approached the Pelipper, Pidgeot created numerous shadow clones, giving the impression that its speed was so fast that it left afterimages.

A dozen or so Pied Eagles in the air emitted a white light that seemed to gather energy, and they rushed toward the Bighead Gull one after another.

"Hold on!"

That's faster than an eagle!

Kajiyama gritted his teeth, not having time to use any other skills to defend himself. He could only command and pray that Pelipper would quickly use Protect after using Water Gun.

Moreover, this defense must be successful, otherwise Pidgeot will likely unleash a series of light-speed attacks.

Chapter 57 The Semifinal Battle

Fortunately, although the success rate of consecutive use of protective skills is not high, the probability of successfully using them on the first attempt in a battle is still quite high.

Just as Pidgeot was about to attack Pelipper, a green aura appeared around its body, and its protective skill was successfully used.

The shadows that the eagle created passed through one after another.

But it's not over yet.

"The swallows return in response to the trend."

Tetsuya's relentless attacks clearly caught Kajiyama somewhat off guard.

He couldn't even pinpoint Pidgeot's exact location, let alone determine which direction Pelipper should defend.

As for the claim that rainwater would pass through the shadow clone, Kajiyama said that he couldn't see very clearly in such heavy rain.

"Never mind that then," he gritted his teeth and said, "Use the Whirlpool Technique to envelop myself."

If you don't know where the other side is, then attack yourself too.

Since Pelipper is a Water-type Pokémon, it takes far less damage than Pidgeot.

The giant toucan was surrounded by a Piedea and its clone.

Pidgeot calmly attacked from below with its wings, along with several phantom clones, slightly touching Pelipper's protective ability and causing the protective shield to disappear from Pelipper.

As Tetsuya issued the command to return to the Swallow, a rather spectacular scene unfolded.

All the Pidgey figures around the Pelipper were enveloped in the white light of the Aerial Return skill.

Centered on the Great Peacock, a dozen enormous Pied Eagles scattered at lightning speed and attacked it in various postures.

Some Pied Eagles fly in the opposite direction for a distance, then trace an arc-like path in the air before turning 180 degrees and heading towards the Bighead Gull.

Some Pied Eagles, after taking off into the sky, will swoop down rapidly, while others will even cross over each other and fly sideways to attack the Bighead Gull from both sides.

Meanwhile, the big-billed gulls were not idle either. Taking advantage of the brief time when the eagles and swallows were gathering strength, they also began to gather strength to create whirlpools.

The fountain in its mouth started as a small jet of water, but in an instant it began to grow wildly and kept rotating clockwise.

The gull only stopped charging up its energy when the water column became a whirlpool, nearly five or six times larger than the gull's body.

Because at that moment, the first Pidgeot had already crashed into it with the white light of the Swallow Return.

Fortunately, it was just a shadow clone, not a physical entity, so the whirlpool wasn't interrupted, and Kajiyama breathed a sigh of relief.

The Pelipper controlled the whirlpool to envelop itself, but inevitably suffered damage from its own skill.

After all, a vortex is not a tornado. In the very center, the vortex is still spinning very violently, and the only small safe space is not enough for the gull to escape.

The only problem is that the Pelipper, which is wrapped up, cannot observe the opponent's movements, and can even hear its own trainer's commands somewhat vaguely.

But the Pelipper could only hold on and wait for the Pidgeot's attack.

Outside the vortex, Kajiyama watched the situation on the field with a grim expression. The match was not proceeding as he had imagined.

He figured that this method would largely eliminate Pidgeot's shadow clones, forcing Pidgeot's main body to rush in in order to attack Pelipper.

During this period, even if Pidgeot travels through the vortex at supersonic speed while carrying energy, it will inevitably suffer considerable damage.

Moreover, the power of the whirlpool would cause Pidgeot to lose some of its balance, making it difficult for it to get to the center and attack Pelipper.

Unfortunately, while the former was correct, one after another, the eagles rushed towards the Whirlpool skill, only to vanish into nothingness.

However, Pidgeot's main body did not rush in to attack Pelipper as he expected. Instead, after using Aerial Ace, it flashed past the edge of the whirlpool.

Pidgey used the energy from Aerial Return to dissipate some of the vortex's power, then broke free from its influence at the very edge and flew out again.

It hovered quietly in the distance, gazing at the beaked gulls in the whirlpool.

Before long, the whirlpool gradually dissipated, vaguely revealing the exhausted figure of the Great Peacock.

"Air Slash!"

Tetsuya's eyes flashed, and he seized the opportunity to command Pidgeot to attack.

"Destroy the Death Ray!"

Kajiyama knew, of course, that the other side would not let this opportunity pass at this time, and he also gave instructions at the same time.

However, the situation on the field was completely unfavorable for Pelipper, whose stamina had been severely depleted by the Whirlpool he had used.

In terms of speed, it is no match for Pidgeot; they can only wear each other down from a distance, which is very disadvantageous for it.

So he decided to take a gamble. Considering the distance between the two Pokémon, Hyper Beam's charging time was enough to complete before the opponent could use a move to attack him.

Given the speed of the Hyper Beam, even Pidgeot wouldn't be able to dodge it.

However, if Pidgeot is not rendered unable to battle, then at this level, the stun time after using Hyper Beam is enough for the opponent to take down Pelipper four or five times.

"Damn it, the outcome is decided by luck."

Kajiyama knew, of course, that such a gamble in a Pokémon battle was tantamount to suicide, but given the current situation on the field, this was the only option he could take.

Fortunately, the opponent used an air slash, so my plan will most likely succeed this time.

Tetsuya heard Kajiyama's command and realized something was wrong. He never expected that a Pelipper of this level would be able to use Hyper Beam.

He was thinking of using an air slash to decide the outcome, but he made a mistake.

But it was already too late. With nothing to lose, he ordered, "Use the substitute immediately!"

Pidgeo would certainly defend, but Tetsuya was unwilling to gamble on the probability. Even if using a Stand required a lot of stamina, it was still better than losing the ability to fight if the Stand failed to defend.

The moment Pidgeot heard the word "Air Slash," it suspended itself in mid-air, folded its wings to gather power, and with a flap of its wings, unleashed a series of air blades.