Chapter 534: Pokemon master of tactics - 534

A few minutes later, Alex returned to the participants' waiting room.

Only a handful of participants were still there. Most had already been eliminated, watching the ongoing battles.

Alex sat down in front of one of the large TVs next to Steven und Flannery.

The quarterfinal between Amber and Nadia had already begun.

Alex immediately focused on the screen.this battle was far more evenly matched then even Alex match. Both trainers knew that a single mistake could decide the outcome, so neither was willing to take unnecessary risks.

In the end, however, Amber won the close match.

The first turning point came when Entei successfully used Calm Mind. Even though it was at a type disadvantage against Nadia's Water-types Pokemons, the boost allowed it to inflict tremendous damage before finally going down.

Alex was particularly impressed—and somewhat surprised—that Entei managed to withstand three powerful Surf attacks from Swampert and Kingdra before it was finally knocked out.

By the time Entei fell, it had single-handedly defeated Kingdra and reduced Swampert to roughly half of its HP.

After losing her ace Pokémon, Amber's remaining team struggled to maintain the advantage.

Her Blaziken entered against the already weakened Swampert. Despite the unfavorable type matchup, Blaziken barely managed to secure the knockout thanks to Swampert's earlier injuries.

The victory came at a steep cost.

Blaziken was left so badly injured that almost any attack—even something as weak as Quick Attack—would have been enough to knock it out.

Nadia immediately sent out Ludicolo.

The moment the battle resumed, Ludicolo used Fake Out, leaving Blaziken no opportunity to react before it collapsed.

The match came down to the final Pokémon on each side.

Amber's Salamence faced Nadia's Ludicolo in a tense final battle that had the audience watching in complete silence.

After several exchanges, Salamence narrowly emerged victorious, securing Amber's place in the semifinals.

Watching the battle, Alex slowly nodded.

It had been a much closer match than the previous quarterfinals and confirmed what he had already believed. Amber's Entei was truly a monster and incredibly difficult to defeat.

Alex watched as the TV displayed the semifinal matchups for the following day.

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Participant 1: Winona: 58.66

Pokémon: Noctowl LV 56, Tropius LV 58, Pelipper LV 58, Dragonite LV 59, Skarmory LV 60, Altaria LV 61

VS:

Participant 4: Amber: 56.66

Pokémon: Gardevoir LV 54, Dusclops LV 54, Walrein LV 55, Salamence LV 55, Blaziken LV 60, Entei LV 62

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Participant 2: Steven: 57.33

Pokémon: Claydol LV 56, Armaldo LV 56, Cradily LV 56, Aggron LV 57, Skarmory LV 59, Metagross LV 60

VS:

Participant 3: Alex: 57.33

Pokémon: Ditto LV 56, Umbreon LV 57, Blaziken LV 57, Gardevoir LV 58, Scizor LV 58, Crobat LV 58

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Alex, who had been expecting something like this, wasn't surprised when he saw his opponent.

He looked over at Steven, who happened to be looking back at him. The two stared at each other for a few moments without saying a word.

Finally, Alex broke the silence. "See you tomorrow."

Steven gave a slight nod. "Tomorrow."

Alex didn't say anything else. He turned around and began walking toward the exit of the waiting room.

Although he would have a slight level disadvantage in a 3-on-3 battle, that wasn't what worried him the most.

What concerned him far more was Steven's confidence.

Steven had repeatedly claimed that he had been preparing specifically for this battle for months, and Alex had no reason to believe he was bluffing.

That meant Steven had almost certainly spent a great deal of time studying his battles, searching for weaknesses, and preparing countermeasures against his usual strategies.

Alex knew that against an opponent like Steven, relying on his usual tactics would be a mistake.

If he underestimated Steven or simply repeated strategies Steven had already seen, there was a good chance he would be punished for it.

Flannery, who had been waiting patiently the whole time, watched Alex leave the waiting room.

She hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should follow him.

Steven, who was standing beside her, noticed the look on her face. With a small smile, he placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "I know it's not easy, but I don't think you have a chance."

Flannery's face reddened slightly, and she instinctively replied, "What are you talking about?"

Steven looked at her with a calm, knowing smile that seemed to say, "You can't fool me."

After a brief silence, Flannery sighed and quietly asked, "...Do you really think I don't have a chance?"

Steven answered honestly, "No chance."

Flannery frowned. "And why not?"

Steven replied matter-of-factly, "He already has a girlfriend, and you're not really his type."

Flannery crossed her arms. "Oh? And why can't I be his type?"

Steven thought for a moment before answering casually, "You're not crazy and bad (evil) enough."

Flannery stared at him for a few seconds before asking, "...Is that a joke?"

Steven met her gaze with a perfectly serious expression. "No."

Seeing that he wasn't laughing at all, Flannery became even more confused.

Steven said in a low voice, "Don't say I told you this, but the day I met Alex's girlfriend, I knew Alex was seeing someone like that. Even though she hadn't done anything particularly unusual during our encounters, her demeanor, and especially her eyes, were extremely creepy. She looked completely normal for a moment, and then she'd smile in a way that made me think, 'Something is seriously wrong with this woman.'"

Flankery stared at Steven for a moment before asking, "...You're serious?"

Steven nodded without the slightest hint of a joke. "Completely. I've always been pretty good at noticing things like that."

Flannery wore a worried expression as she asked, "Then why didn't you warn Alex when you realized she was crazy?"

For a brief moment, Steven was tempted to answer, What woman isn't crazy? Fortunately, he was smart enough to keep that thought to himself.

Instead, he said, "I did mention it once. But the moment he replied, 'I know,' I realized it wasn't my place to interfere."

Steven then added, "Besides, it's not like she'd ever done anything terrible. Even if she's a little crazy, that doesn't necessarily make her a evil person."

Flannery said nothing, but the worried look on her face only grew stronger.

The moment Steven saw her expression, he regretted saying anything. he thought. 'Damn... I messed up. I was just trying to help, and now...'

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