After seeing that the S. Eevee (it means substitute Eevee in the fight) took the hit, Cynthia immediately changed her tactic. The S. Eevee immediately came near the original one and this time it was the original one that was going to charge.
This was quite a risky move and why would anyone do that? Normally it would be the original one not taking damage while the substitute would be taking damage. Yet, Axel felt that this was a brilliant move.
If the Substitute were to take enough damage, it would disappear. Now, while using the substitute, the stats of the original would already be divided a lot. Mostly 50% and when it recalls back its substitute it would recover some percentage of the lost stats like health and stamina. But if the substitute takes enough damage and then pops off, then it would not recover any of its divided stats. That means that Axel would definitely win the fight.
This time it was the original one that attacked with moves like 'Quick attack'. Meanwhile, S. Eevee used the move 'Wish'. The move would take some time to take effect as it was getting ready to attack with 'Flamethrower'.
Eevee was very fast. By the time Wartortle used the move 'Wave crash' to counter it, it was already near it to use the move 'Quick attack'.
BANG!!!
Wartortle could not even attack properly as it flung away. Meanwhile, S. Eevee fired off with the move 'Flamethrower'.
With the help of 'Sunny day', the power of this move was increased but due to 'Rain dance', the power also decreased.
Due to the help of 'Calm mind', the power of the attack was also increased. So, overall, it had become somewhat powerful. Eevee also didn't waste any time and then used the move 'Swift'. 'Swift' was easier and faster than 'Flamethrower'.
Both of the moves combined and attacked Wartortle. Cynthia expected that Wartortle would dodge the attack or defend it, but that didn't happen. Right before it was hit, Axel shouted,
"Activate the second form and then use it."
When Axel was talking about the second form, he was talking about the move 'Aqua ring'. 'Water gun' was not the only move that had been modified.
---
Aqua Ring (Wartortle) (Level 40): The ring that surrounds the user is thicker. This would not only increase the health of the user slowly but also defend against special and physical attacks. The defense increases by 20%
---
The defense of Wartortle increased by 20%. It also used the move 'Withdraw' to further increase its defense and then it used the move 'Mirror coat'.
Since it was defended with 'Withdraw', the resulting power of 'Mirror coat' was not so much but it increased its power by a lot.
BOOMM
There was a loud bang and dust and smoke covered the area where Wartortle was staying. Nobody knew what had happened but seeing that Axel was not so worried, Cynthia knew that the battle was not over.
She told her Pokemon to get ready for the second round. Just when the dust was settling, a sharp sound was heard by Cynthia. It was so sudden that she was not prepared.
That sharp sound went towards S. Eevee and hit it and pierced its stomach and went to the other side.
"Eevee, take back your substitute.", shouted Cynthia as soon as possible.
Eevee was fast and before S. Eevee disappeared, it was returned back by Eevee.
Now, this was a pickle. Even though it was successful in reversing it back, the amount of stats that it gets back would depend on the health and stamina of the substitute. So, it didn't receive a lot of its stats back.
When the dust completely settled, everyone could see that Wartortle was not hurt one bit. It was as if it was not even hit by the attack. What had happened to it? Nobody knew but Cynthia could clearly see the effect of the move 'Life dew'.
She could only see it clearly as one of her Pokemons also knew this move. 'Life dew' was a powerful and very rare move. When it was mastered properly to some extent, it could recover 25% of the health of itself and its teammates. That was a huge thing in tide battles.
Yet, not many Pokemons could learn. It was like the move 'Draco meteor'. Most could not learn it and only some could and those that could were called very talented.
Cynthia suddenly realized that she was not in a good position. It must be noted that till now, the original Eevee had not been hurt a single time. But its stamina and other stats were already very down and its health was also very down.
Meanwhile, Wartortle had just healed. Of course, its stamina was lower than before but that was it.
"Use 'Calm mind' again.", said Cynthia. It was surprising that Eevee could use this move 3 times. That means that it had trained in this move for quite some time.
" 'Chilling water' and then 'Ice spinner'.", said Axel.
Both of the Pokemons started to attack but it clearly showed that Eevee was getting tired by the second. Finally,
"Eevee come back.", said Cynthia and then looked at the referee to say,
"I surrender."
"Are you sure about it?", asked the referee again.
"Yes."
"Cynthia has surrendered. Axel and Wartortle win!!", declared the referee.
There were cheers from the stadiums. The loudest were the group of trainers from the Kanto region.
This was quite a big win but Axel didn't feel that way. This was just a battle between common-rank Pokemons and if Cynthia had played more defensively, then she might also have won.
"So, you won again huh? You are an interesting trainer Axel. I have never met anyone like you before.", commented Cynthia.
"Thanks. You are also very interesting. Your way to battle is very different than normal trainers."
"I will take that as a compliment. Do you want your Charizard to have a rematch with my Garchomp?", asked Cynthia.
"No, Charles is not here right now. It is in another place.", sighed Axel.
Cynthia then nodded her head and then went back.
It took some time for Joseph to come to the stage. His face showed that he was not happy. Axel could actually feel that from his aura. He had never felt like this before but since he had been training his aura for quite some time, this must be the result.
Yet, Joseph didn't show it on his face. He was a professional.
"That was quite an interesting battle. I must say that young trainers like Axel and Cynthia really make me remember when I was a young trainer.
After discussing with the higher-ups and the elders, we have decided that some of you would be able to attend the meeting. They would be
Axel. Cynthia Steven Krishna Susan Lance Wallace and Crasher.
The meeting will be held tomorrow. So, until then all of you can enjoy the view and the food. The reward for the champion would be announced in the evening.", said Joseph, concluding the speech.
###
"I just cannot believe that you defeated Cynthia, twice!!", shouted Lance as if he was the one that won against Cynthia.
"Well, this battle would not make her weaker. This was just the battle between common rank Pokemons."
"Yes I know but you still won. That is what matters.", said Lance patting his back.
"Sigh."
"Why are you sighing? Was Ryker right? Do you also want to have another girlfriend?", asked Lance.
"No, you idiot. I just don't understand why you guys have other trainers from other regions. You know, if you don't stop this tradition then very soon we may not be able to save the world.", said Axel.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I cannot tell you everything but the world is going to face a huge problem in the coming years. If we do nothing, then we can say our home goodbye. Why do you think that I am coming to a place like this? You know my nature. I don't like these kind of places. Why do you think that I created an organization? Do you think that I would need it if things were normal?"
"Dude, you are scaring me a little. Can't you tell me more about it?"
"No, I am sorry but I cannot. It is for your own good and also for mine. Maybe the meeting is for this same issue. Who knows."
###
"Damn it!! I just cannot believe that I lost.", shouted Wallace in annoyance. He still could not let go of the fact that he lost against Axel. The thing that infuriated him was that when he saw the battle between Axel and Cynthia, he came to realize that Axel was not even giving his all. That was a huge disrespect.
"For how long are you going to be angry? If you lost, then train harder and then beat him in the future.", said Steven.
"Don't you feel angry that you also lost to him?", asked Wallace.
"I didn't even fight against him. How could I possibly lose against him?"
"Come on man, connect the dots. You fight till draw against Cynthia and Cynthia lost to Axel. So, doesn't that mean that you also lost to Axel?"
"Even if I lost, what does it matter? I am not competing against him. I just want to make myself stronger. It is that simple. Plus the battle between a common rank Pokemon would not measure our strength."
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that but deep down you know that you are inferior to Axel and Cynthia. If it not killing you inside then my respect for you has gone down.", said Wallace.
Steven didn't have a comeback for that. Of course, he was not feeling so good knowing that he was inferior to Axel and Cynthia. He heard that Cynthia's Garchomp lost against Axel's Charizard and he had also heard that Charizard was not Axel's best Pokemon.
He knew that the information was true as Garchomp was permanently injured and it had become hot news a few months ago. This meant that Cynthia's Garchomp lost. Even though he could not imagine how that devil could lose, it did lose. He also had heard that Garchomp was back to its fighting condition and some rumors also said that it had reached pseudo-champion rank.
These might be just rumors but these rumors came from a very reliable source. Steven just didn't want to believe it cause the news was so outlandish.
So, of course, he was jealous. But what was he going to do about it? Mop like Wallace?
"Let's say that hypothetically I am jealous and filled with anger because of Axel and Cynthia. Let's just say that. So, what are we going to do about it? How are we going to reach and even surpass their level?", asked Steven.
"You don't have to say hypothetically. I know that you are mad.", commented Wallace.
"No, I said hypothetically."
"Why don't you be real this time.", said Wallace again.
"No, I am not angry. That is why I said hypothetically."
"Oh really?"
"Ok DAMN IT!!! I AM ANGRY AND FULL OF JEALOUSY. Now do you have an answer or I will have to find another person?", shouted Steven.
"While you were totally inside your monologue filled with anger, I was actually concentrating on their fight. And I found something similar in both of them.", said Wallace.
"Oh, what is it?"
"Both of them have focused on modifying and evolving their existing moves. Moves like 'Substitute', 'Quick attack', and 'Flamethrower' to Eevee were modified. The same was true for Axel's Wartortle. This gave them an unknown and competitive advantage."
"Hm.. That might be true but modifying and evolving the existing moves are not so simple. It would not be so easy."
"Of course, it would not be so easy. But since Cynthia and Axel could do it, why can't we do it too? Do they have more resources and opportunity than us?"
"No."
"Then, we have nothing to blame for their success just our inability to grasp things that we don't know. So, we must first concentrate on that."
"But how do we achieve it? You know that if we go to the normal route, we may not be able to accomplish it."
"Why don't we ask our seniors first ?"