"Skorupi, use Quick Attack and Bug Bite! Remember what I taught you before—the sniper technique!" Cain, upon seeing Gloom, lost all desire to fight.
However, this didn't affect Skorupi's enthusiasm for the battle in the slightest.
Skorupi kicked up another cloud of dust on the rocky field, speeding toward Gloom even faster than before.
Before Blue Peacock could issue a command, Skorupi, with lightning speed, bit Gloom's body.
This time, Skorupi targeted a weak spot on Gloom, hitting a critical point directly.
The Sniper ability activated; by hitting a critical point, the power increased to 2.25 times, taking down Gloom in a single blow, leaving it on the ground with no fighting capacity.
"Gloom has lost its fighting ability! Therefore, the winner is the challenger, competitor Joker!"
The referee raised the flag in his hand, announcing the outcome of the match.
Upon hearing the referee's voice, the previously silent stadium filled with cheers.
Many spectators continued to shout.
"Joker! Joker!"
"Joker!"
...
Meanwhile, Blue Peacock, withdrawing in disappointment, had already become a blurry background, slowly disappearing from the field.
Skorupi returned to Cain's side, bouncing with joy.
Cain knelt down, patted Skorupi's back encouragingly, and then discreetly took out a high-energy Pokéblock, feeding Skorupi.
Skorupi wasn't too tired; he had only spent some energy, and his overall state was even better than at the beginning—clearly, he was just warming up.
"Well done, Skorupi. Remember the feeling from just a moment ago. Before attacking, always observe the opponent's movements, find their weak spot, and strike hard."
"Always try for a deadly hit! If you can't bring the opponent down in one hit, retreat immediately and wait for the right moment," Cain whispered to Skorupi, giving him combat advice.
The main purpose of coming here was also to improve the Pokémon's combat skills, not to win money or level up.
Of course, earning a little extra money while training in combat techniques wasn't a bad thing either.
This battle's prize awarded Cain 20,000 Pokédollars, but this was only a small part. The majority of the prize came from the bets Cain had placed on himself: 150,000 Pokédollars, which tripled, resulting in 450,000 Pokédollars.
At that moment, the announcer appeared on the field.
"Hahaha, let's congratulate competitor Joker for becoming the new champion of this round! Right now, the accumulated prize amount is 20,000 Pokédollars! If he continues the challenge, the next time it will be 40,000 Pokédollars."
Hearing this, the audience began cheering again.
To Cain, 20,000 Pokédollars might seem like an insignificant amount, but for many in the audience, it was equivalent to one or even two months of salary. That amount had already sparked the festive spirit in their hearts.
Continue, keep fighting!
Let the prize accumulate more and more, only to lose it all in one go.
They enjoyed seeing each competitor lose all the prize money and showing that face full of regret; they loved seeing those who couldn't obtain such an amount.
If we can't have it, neither should you!
So, please, continue! Keep fighting!
"Then, competitor Joker, will you decide to end the competition now and take the prize, or will you continue competing, with the chance to win even more in the next match?" The announcer exaggerated his movements as he asked.
At the same time, uniform chants echoed from the stands.
"Continue! Continue!"
"Continue!"
...
"Continue!" Cain, undeterred by the spectators, gave the answer they most desired.
Cain only wanted to train his Pokémon; this was just the first battle, and he couldn't abandon it for such a small amount of money.
Besides, this was only the first stage; there was no way a competitor would appear who could make Cain withdraw.
Hearing Cain's decision to continue, the chants of "Joker" resounded once more from the stands.
"Very well! Competitor Joker has decided to continue. Let's welcome our next challenger: Ryu!"
A young man without a disguise and with his identity openly displayed slowly walked toward the opposite side of Cain.
This was a competitor who openly showed his identity.
However, this time the battle had no suspense; Cain defeated his opponent once more, and Skorupi once again achieved a streak of two consecutive victories.
But in this battle, Skorupi was hit by an opponent's attack for the first time. It was because he was overly confident that he could defeat the opponent in a single blow, but he failed to hit the critical point, and the Sniper ability didn't activate, so he couldn't dodge in time and took a hit.
Although the damage wasn't severe, Cain scolded Skorupi.
This type of battle, similar to a gamble, was never what Cain advocated.
Cain knew that Skorupi had the capacity to defeat the opponent in a single blow, but Skorupi still couldn't effectively identify the opponent's weak points.
His current battle strategy was to attack once and immediately retreat, whether or not the opponent was defeated. Unless Cain gave the order to continue attacking, he had to retreat immediately.
After being scolded by Cain, Skorupi understood that he had been arrogant. Defeating his opponents so easily repeatedly had slightly inflated his confidence.
Fortunately, this mistake provided Cain with an opportunity to teach.
It's better to correct mistakes now than to make them in the final trial.
His Pokémon spent a lot of time training, often fighting in groups against a single opponent or in group battles, and hadn't had much experience in one-on-one battles. This was also why Cain was determined to participate in these battles following League rules.
Quickly identifying his Pokémon's mistakes and correcting them is one of a trainer's responsibilities.
After this mistake and Cain's scolding, Skorupi became much more focused on each match.
Although he was still excited, he no longer underestimated his opponents. With each attack, unless Cain said otherwise, Skorupi would retreat immediately by instinct.
This combat tactic allowed him to avoid many attacks.
Thanks to the strength of a single Pokémon, Cain managed to defeat consecutive opponents, winning more matches and accumulating more and more prize money.
Soon, Cain had won nine consecutive matches, and the audience was going wild, chanting "Joker" frenetically.
Although it's not rare to see someone win ten consecutive matches, it remains a significant achievement, and many in the audience had never seen a ten-match winning streak.
Because many, upon reaching a certain number of battles, choose to pause temporarily.
That is, they can choose to continue on another occasion, but Cain wasn't stopping; he continued fighting without rest, using only one Pokémon, defeating nine consecutive opponents, achieving an astounding eighteen victories with just one Pokémon.
No wonder the audience was so frenzied.
Today might be a day they'll never forget.
(End of Chapter)