Booth suddenly has a frown on his face. In the Team Competition there were some plays he just couldn't make sense of. Booth spent the whole day, Saturday trying to understand them, but he could only partially understand.
The play he didn't understand was why trainers would give up their advantage and back off to reset the situation. Despite having the necessary power to push forward.
He brought the issue to Ben yesterday and he got a funny answer.
'I'd say it's because they know people so well. I mean if they are giving up a favorable position they must have a good reason.
People like them can almost smell when others are panicking. I'd say they give up on a good situation, because they think they can get an even better one.'
Booth can understand the idea, but it doesn't quite click with him. After all, giving up a good situation can also just let the opponent recover.
'This isn't just reaction time anymore. I can read habits and make predictions, but until recently I had a minute to make each one. I still have trouble planning my current move, much less the one 5 seconds from now.'
Without really getting anywhere Booth decides to find Damon for advice.
Currently, Booth is at the entrance to Clanton Arena. The entrance is crowded with people who are excited to see the team battles. Booth enjoys the festive mood as he walks through the arena's entrance.
A few minutes later Booth finds the rest of his team and sits with them. When Booth gets a chance he asks for Damon's opinion.
Damon is usually pretty good when it comes to reading the opponent, which makes him the best person for Booth to ask.
"Hmm. I can see why this has you mixed up." Damon takes a second to sort out his thoughts and begins, "I think of it like this. If you push your opponent, how do they fall?"
"That depends on how much power I use, right?"
"That's right. Knowing how your moves impact the opponent is important to determine good and bad situations. And what happens if you don't push your opponent with enough power?"
"They would be able to push back."
"Exactly. These trainers know that others want to push back, and they let them. They let their opponents do the work. In this case, they let their opponent approach, then trap him. This is what we call a bait."
"Alright, I think I can figure out the rest on my own. Thanks, Damon."
"Happy I could help." Damon replies.
Booth thinks back on the battles he watched yesterday and thinks about their results.
'I think it's fair to say what they performed was a bait. Damon put it perfectly. These trainers used a small amount of power to bait their opponents in. Once their opponents approached them, the momentum was entirely in their favor.
It seems Tyler understood this as well. Only, instead of getting his opponent to approach, he waited for his opponent to make a risky play and punished him for it. It seems like a useful skill, but I'll need some time to adapt it for my own battle style.'
At 10:00 the first battle of the top 8 begins.
As Booth watches the battle, he starts to notice many of the concepts he's learned recently. Of course the battles in the top 8 are much more polished. The trainers here have a lot more confidence in their skill, which makes each battle such a thrilling experience.
Time flies and the second battle begins at 10:20. Booth's team and another from the top 8 are called down to the field.
The other team has some trainers that Booth recognizes from the day before. Booth asks Damon and is able to confirm their opponent's pokemon.
The opponents have a Croagunk, Bibarel, Houndour, and a Duskull. The Croagunk is a slippery close range fighter with poison and fighting moves, and the Bibarel is the opponent's bulky pokemon. It has Water Gun for ranged attacks, and Aqua Jet for quick movement.
Houndour is both fast and tenacious. It's a powerful attacker that is hard to pin down and even harder to escape from. Their last pokemon is a ghost pokemon, Duskull. Its favorite move, Shadow Sneak, lets it creep around the court making the opponent very anxious.
Booth's team discusses their strategy for the match and the basic countermeasures for each pokemon.
By the time Booth's team reaches the field, Booth is feeling great. He is well prepared and has confidence in his team. It's similar to the feeling Booth would get when he finished a good team in the other world. When the team looked solid from a glance. That's the feeling he gets when he looks at his current team.
"You ready Booth?" Damon asks.
"Yeah, I'm ready." Booth responds.
"Then let's get started." Damon gives the battle judge a thumbs up.
The audience quiets down momentarily as the judge starts the countdown.
"Start!"
Booth and Ben release their pokemon. Pansear reaches the ground softly. Booth activates his Integrator to share Pansear's senses.
Booth scans the field and finds the opponent's Bibarel and Houndour. According to the team's plan, Booth takes the Bibarel.
Bibarel digs its feet into the ground and builds up power for an attack. It sucks in air and releases a Water Gun at the Pansear. Booth responds in kind with his own Incinerate.
The two attacks meet in the middle and offset each other. After using their moves, both pokemon need a second to recharge. Booth takes this time to gain some ground.
Pansear runs in and Booth creates a weird power for his next move. The Bibarel doesn't slack either and begins a rollout. Bibarel makes a direct line towards Pansear. When it gets just a few feet from Pansear it changes its roll into a Headbutt. Booth puts up a guard and remains confident in his decision.
"Thud!"
Booth has Pansear release a Yawn right as the Bibarel is about to hit him with the Headbutt. The Heabutt strikes the Pansear, but in return Bibarel receives a full dose of Yawn.
Booth smiles as he pulls off the move successfully. When the Bibarel trainer realizes what happened, it starts to attack more desperately.
'He fell for it.' Booth thinks.
Booth begins to control the fight. The Bibarel takes claw after claw and returns fewer attacks with each interaction.
'It's about time.'
Booth gets ready for the Bibarel's last attack. Water covers the Bibarel and it shoots forward. The Aqua Jet locks on to the Pansear. Normally, Booth would have trouble reacting to such a move, but because he was looking for it he was able to prepare in time.
Booth unleashes his Flame Burst. Unlike a normal Incinerate, the Flame Burst totally swallows up the Aqua Jet with Bibarel inside. The fireball then explodes putting an immediate stop to the Bibarel's momentum.
The Bibarel groans in pain as the blast strikes it in the head. The water around Bibarel falls and Bibarel faints on the ground. Booth's team gets the first knockout.
A roar of cheering comes from the excited audience. The power of Flame Burst was astounding. It left nothing left of Bibarel's attack and even took out the Bibarel. Even Damon is impressed at Booth's display.
Booth takes a glance to the side to see how Ben is doing.
The Houndour has its jaw fixed to Buizel's side. It raises its head and flips the Buizel onto the ground. Houndour opens its mouth once more and launches an Ember.
Ben rolls out most of the attack and retreats in Booth's direction. Buizel is in rough shape, but Ben managed to conserve enough power to get away.
The Houndour attempts to catch Buizel, but Pansear gets in its way. The Houndour trainer looks annoyed from not being able to get the knockout, but quickly switches targets to Booth.
Croagunk appears as the opponent's next pokemon. The Croagunk opens its mouth and releases a strange move. The power isn't strong, but its speed is high. The attack hits Pansear and Buizel accurately all the way from the other side of the field. Booth checks the damage and realizes what hit him.
'Poison Sting!'
Multiple purple needles are stuck in his Pansear. The needles melt into Pansear's skin dealing secondary damage. Booth takes the damage from the poison, but doesn't panic like the Bibarel trainer.
Booth gathers his strength and fights the Houndour. The Houndour may have dodged the Poison Sting, but it was still stuck away from its teammate.
Booth closes in to the Houndour with Buizel, but chooses to back off at the last second.
Houndour throws a Sucker Punch at Booth. The punch hits nothing but air as Pansear avoids the attack.
'Hahaha, now this is the pokemon I remember. Make the opponent impatient then catch them with a Sucker Punch.'
Booth makes a funny grin as he has his Pansear dash back in to punish with Fury Swipes. Booth catches the Houndour off guard and lands multiple hits. Each hit being as painful as the last.
Ben follows Booth's lead and Aqua Jets into the Houndour. The Houndour gets pushed back by the hit. Suddenly, fire builds up in the Houndour, gray smoke leaks from the Houndour's mouth as it clamps down on the Buizel.
Booth attempts to help Ben, but it's too late. Croagunk stabs Pansear with a Poison Jab knocking Booth away.
Houndour finishes its Fire Fang and knocks out Ben's Buizel. Ben promptly returns his Buizel to its pokeball. The Houndour trainer's quick thinking surprises Booth, and has him thinking about what his next move should be.
'So this is a top 8 team.'