Hani and Gayle were in the same preparation room, watching as one person advanced to the finals. The two exchanged glances. It was clear that the winner between them would face Terrance for the final honor.
"He's so young...My all these years of effort... sigh," Gayle said, patting his head. In truth, very few people knew that he had missed out on the Top Coordinator honor twice in a row, each time stopping at the finals.
...
...
"The next match, Gayle versus Hani!"
In the stands, many were watching the match closely, buzzing with excitement.
"Can Hani's Grassy Terrain be countered by a Fire-type Pokémon?"
"Even if there are lots of vines, they can't withstand a single Flamethrower, right?"
"That's not certain. Hani may not have shown her full strength yet."
"I'm really looking forward to it! Honestly, I kind of want both of them to advance and each take on Terrance. I haven't had enough yet."
Of the six first tier people being talked about online, only three remained.
Hani and Gayle stepped onto the stage, looking at the still-enthusiastic audience. As the command to start the battle was given, they both threw their Poké Balls.
Tangrowth stood steady on one side, while Flareon's supple body radiated heat. It was clear that the two were polar opposites.
Boom!
Flames rose into the air, forming a large symbol that shot forward like a wall of fire, instantly tearing through Tangrowth's vine defenses, burning them to ashes.
"The advantage is quite huge!" One spectator remarked, seeing the fire's devastating effect on the vines.
As the battle began, Flareon unleashed a series of fire moves, successfully suppressing Tangrowth.
However, Terrance, watching from the sidelines, vaguely sensed something off.
Gayle's offense was too aggressive. Just like the saying, "the fighting spirit aroused by the first roll of drums is depleted by the second and exhausted by the third," the same principle applies in the Battle Stage. Flareon's attacks were relentless, but the rapid frequency suggested it wasn't holding anything back. While Flareon might be a good counter to Tangrowth, this is a Pokémon Contest, and Hani's strength is no less than Gayle's—perhaps even more experienced. Trying to win in one go is clearly impossible. Gayle's desire for victory seems overly intense right now. Once Flareon's momentum wanes, Tangrowth's setup will be complete. When Grassy Terrain appears, Hani might still have some trump card up her sleeve.
This was evident even from the outside. Perhaps Gayle had his own plans, but even the judges noticed the same thing.
"Gayle is being too hasty in his attacks."
"Although it seems like Tangrowth is being forced to retreat, it hasn't taken significant damage. It looks like Flareon has the upper hand, but Hani is already controlling the pace."
If Terrance was in Gayle's shoes, he would immediately change the battle style. A type advantage like Flareon's shouldn't be used this way.
But Gayle didn't change his approach. Instead, he unveiled Flareon's trump card—a combo move of Lava Plume and Smog.
"Gayle has great confidence in this combo, thinking it can deal serious damage to Tangrowth, which is why he's been pressing so hard to build momentum..."
"Or maybe he thinks that, apart from this method, there aren't many other ways to counter Hani's Tangrowth."
A purplish-red mist spewed from Flareon, and in an instant, the high temperature turned the vines to ashes. Simultaneously, the purplish-red energy followed the vines and quickly invaded Tangrowth's body.
"It has been poisoned—"
"Tangrowth has been affected by the poisonous gas!"
A gleam appeared in the eyes of the audience. They hadn't expected the poisonous gas to be so potent. Simply coming into contact with the vines allowed it to spread straight into Tangrowth's body.
Seeing this scene, Gayle was overjoyed and quickly commanded Flareon to press the attack. However, at that moment, countless wriggling vines erupted from the ground—Grassy Terrain was complete.
"It's fine, Tangrowth has already been invaded by the poisonous smoke. It won't last long," Gayle thought to himself.
But in the next moment, Tangrowth suddenly rooted itself into the ground, connecting with the Grassy Terrain. Meanwhile, its body rapidly expanded, and a surge of purplish-red energy was immediately forced out by a wave of green energy, concentrated into a single vine, which Tangrowth severed and discarded!
Rooting itself, growing, and using Giga Drain!
Standing in Grassy Terrain, Tangrowth merged with the terrain, tapping into the rich vitality of the Grassy Terrain. Using "Growing" as a base and "Giga Drain" as a technique, it rapidly absorbed powerful energy to strengthen itself, expelling the excess energy in an instant. Seeing Hani effortlessly nullify the poison, Gayle's expression shifted from joy to despair, and he couldn't help but feel an urge to curse.
"That combo of moves is quite clever," Terrance remarked.
"If utilized properly, it's like an endless source that can recover stamina. In a forest environment, it could probably fight without ever growing tired."
Seeing this scene, Terrance's mood became a little heavier. He also discovered a new combo technique of Tangrowth. Looking at it, it's hard to say who will win between them.
Bang!
With a Power Whip and the interference of countless vines, Flareon's flames could no longer hold out. After struggling for another minute, the battle concluded in less than three minutes. Hani won.
"I lost!" Gayle recalled his Pokémon with a bitter smile.
"I didn't expect to not even make it to the finals this time...I'm really becoming more and more disappointing."
Hani remained silent. Her victory was purely because she had concealed the various ways to utilize Grassy Terrain until now, catching her opponent off guard. Now that all her trump cards were exposed, it was unclear how well she would fare against Terrance in the finals.
From Terrance's performance in the previous battles, Hani had some confidence, but she also worried about unexpected developments.
At last, the two finalists were decided, leaving many people speechless. It would be a battle between the rookie Terrance and Sinnoh's Top Coordinator, Sinnoh's Enchantress, Hani.
"If I lose here, I won't be able to forgive myself," Terrance murmured, watching his opponent appear.
Now that he had reached the finals, the next step would be the most critical and important of all!
At this stage, most of the audience watching from home had started rooting for Terrance.
After all, Terrance was from Fallarbor Town, while Hani hailed from the Sinnoh region. In terms of affiliation, this naturally made Terrance the center of more attention.
"Everyone at the Old Green House must have seen how far I've come by now. They're probably thrilled at this moment. If that's the case, then I definitely can't afford to lose," Terrance thought as he packed up his things. There was still some time before the finals began, and Beautifly had already recovered its stamina and was full of energy. Coupled with the fact that the finals were about to begin, Beautifly was in exceptionally good condition.
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