Step by step… As Aggron stepped onto the field, Fubo rapidly commanded, "Use Earthquake followed by Ultimate Absorption!"
The Earthquake Technique could deal massive damage to Aggron, and the Grass-type Ultimate Absorption could siphon Aggron's physical strength for itself. This way, if all went smoothly, Fubo and the Earth Plate Turtle could get through the first stage with minimal expenditure.
But Aggron's battle ethic was not poor; sensing the threat, it countered with its own Earthquake.
Boom!!
Almost instantly, terrifying shockwaves emanated from the ground. Both Pokemon suffered the powerful impact from the Earth. However, amidst the cracked crevices of the field, two massive energy vines bound the teetering Aggron...
"Having a Pokemon that can master moves to absorb an opponent's physical strength is so valuable," Zhang Kaixin lamented.
Such moves were practically designed for this type of battle.
"This is just the first stage, the Pokemon coming out later will certainly be more resistant to this tactic," Li You said.
Fang Yuan sat to the side and nodded; if all ten Pokemon were of Aggron's level, it would be manageable, but with the difficulty increasing, the first phase of selection might very well thin the numbers significantly.
In the end, Fubo and the Earth Plate Turtle overcame Aggron with relative ease. As there were no injuries, Fubo didn't choose to recall the Earth Plate Turtle, allowing it to continue fighting. However, the second Pokemon to take the stage exerted far greater pressure on them.
"Roar!!" Amidst a roar of flames, a Charizard spewing fire swiftly emerged from Shi Men.
There were barely less than half a minute between the two battles, not giving Earth Plate Turtle much of a chance to catch a breath.
The rule of the challenge was that trainers were not allowed to switch Pokemon during a battle, but each time a trainer cleared a stage, they had the opportunity to change their Pokemon. However, this could only be requested before the next stage's Pokemon appeared.
Using this rule wisely could also give the battled Pokemon a short rest. But if a trainer's Pokemon completely lost consciousness in any stage, they would be thoroughly eliminated and could not appear again.
The second-stage Charizard seemed to possess an overall strength similar to Aggron's but its type was highly disadvantageous for the Earth Plate Turtle.
This time, Fubo was dragged into a tough battle.
However, in the end, Earth Plate Turtle triumphed with superior skills, though it also suffered not inconsiderable burn injuries as a result.
Before the third stage, Fubo chose to recall Earth Plate Turtle, sending out a Ludicolo instead...
And the third-stage boss he faced was a Master Level Bug King, Heracle Cros.
The battle was not easy for Fubo; Heracle Cros's Bug Type Moves and strength were formidable, but fortunately, Ludicolo managed to overcome it. Yet, as with previous battles, Ludicolo incurred significant exhaustion.
Left with no choice, Fubo once again recalled Ludicolo, allowing it a brief rest, and sent out a new Pokemon, Coconut Tree. Having confirmed all three Pokemon so early on, it seemed he had already given up on this challenge.
"If Master Level is divided into three tiers, then the first three Pokemon are of a weaker strength. The fourth Pokemon, though..."
Fang Yuan looked at the fourth Pokemon to appear, a Snow Demon Woman, whose strength was already mid-tier Master Domain; stronger than the first three Pokemon and with Fubo's Pokemon at a type disadvantage, his chances of continuing his winning streak were going to be very difficult...
Afterward, just as Fang Yuan expected, the first challenger Fubo exhausted all his power and barely managed to make it past the sixth stage.
In the seventh stage, a Sharpedo with upper-tier Master Domain strength appeared and easily reaped the harvest, defeating Fubo's last remaining Pokemon!
"Only six stages?"
On the chairman's stand, Master Ma Chenzong and Ms. Liuqin did not comment, while Dragon King Yun Kui simply shook his head dispassionately.
Falling in the eighth or ninth stage, there would still be a glimmer of hope, but falling in the seventh meant passing the first phase of the selection would be very difficult. Unless Fubo had hidden strengths, this was likely his limit.
"According to the pattern, the combined strength of the Pokemon in stages 1, 2, and 3 is one tier, and stages 4, 5, and 6 is another tier. From stage 7 onward, the Pokemon's strength jumps to a whole new tier."
"However, even if their overall strength is similar, as the number of stages increases, the Pokemon that appear will have types and abilities that are more challenging for the challengers' Pokemon."
Although only one person had challenged so far, many contenders had already deduced the difficulty of the stages.
"This is tough..." Fang Yuan frowned, and he was not the only one - the other three trainers from Mo Da also wore troubled expressions.
Fubo was already strong, but he still could not get past the seventh stage, and the selection process was proving to be quite brutal.
But while others found it difficult, they genuinely felt it was tough.
Fang Yuan found it difficult because attempting to succeed with just Milotic and Dragonite seemed challenging.
Considering the many trump cards at play, Milotic and Dragonite's strength could barely be classified as mid-tier in the Master Domain.
And the Self-detonating Magnetic Monster's overall strength was merely at the level of the upper-tier Master Domain, not far off from the seventh stage Pokemon.
Therefore, for Fang Yuan, who wanted to train his Dragonite, this challenge held significant difficulty.