Chapter 172: CH41 (171), Prowess Revealed! Well, Mostly (2)
"Mikail Geo from the Aaron Aura Academy versus Bianca Bianchi from the Rota Knight Academy." The referee called the two of us to the field.
Bianca chose twin daggers as her weapons, while I once again only opted for arm guards. We both released our Pokemon and the crowd made a small commotion when that happened.
The reason for that was probably because I had finally decided to use Mothra/Butterfree. Well, looking at my opponent it was not only the crowd that was surprised by Mothra. Still, she shook off her amazement pretty fast.
I called out Mothra together with Horus/Xatu, but it was clear that the excitement was due to her. On the other side, Bianca had called out a (mid) silver-stage Mudsdale and a (low) silver-stage Pidgeot, which were pretty strong for our/her age group.
Still, compared to mine they came up short. Not to mention that Mothra and Xatu were currently the strongest of my Pokemon. Xatu put up our mind link as soon as he appeared on the field, and I gave them their orders.
'Mothra I want you to use Fast Asleep on the Pokemon as soon as the referee gives the starting signal. Horus you have to stop them from blocking her attack.
In case one manages to escape you have free reign to take the escapee down. Once the two are down, I want you to leave the trainer to me. Only help me if it looks like I am about to lose.'
There was no need to lose out of pride after all. They nodded and moments later the referee gave the starting signal. Mothra immediately used her Gust and Sleep Powder combo, creating a strong wind that carried a sleep-inducing cloud towards Mudsdale and Pidgeot.
Horus preemptively decided to use Psychic to keep the two targets from escaping or blocking the Mothra's attack. Mudsdale got caught and was struggling to break out of Horus's hold, and it probably would have successfully freed itself if not for Fast Asleep.
Mothra's combo used the 2-3 seconds Mudsdale was struggling against Horus to envelop it. Due to that, it fell asleep unwillingly. Pidgeot on the other hand managed to escape our starting assault.
It used Pursuit to escape Horus's psychic hold and moved to dodge the oncoming cloud. Thankfully, it had no time to blow the cloud away or it would have managed to save Mudsdale as well.
Nonetheless, Mothra and Horus had free reign to take down Pidgeot, so I was not worried about it and just as expected they took off after Pidgeot. We, two trainers, on the other hand, could only begin our bout now as well, since we had to wait for the Sleep Powder to settle down.
Rushing into the cloud and falling asleep would be a stupid way to lose. So, after Mothra's initial strike was gone we moved towards each other. Taking me out was more urgent for her than it was for me since it became apparent for everyone that my Pokemon had the advantage, so she was moving as fast as she could.
After all, as long as she managed to take me out before my Pokemon finished with hers she could still win. Just before we came close enough to clash, she used her momentum to change into a slide aiming to slash my feet, presumably my tendons, to take away my mobility.
While her wooden daggers wouldn't really do that, I would have to behave as if she did or the referee would declare her the winner. That was part of the rules of the tournament and such injuries nearly always decided the outcome of a fight anyway.
Nonetheless, while her idea was great and would have worked on nearly everyone else among the participants, my high physical specs and a quick aura boost allowed me to dodge to the right effectively evading her attack.
Still, she used one of her daggers and her right leg to stop herself from sliding any further than a few meters, as well as changed her position so that she was facing me, to prevent me from hitting her from behind.
That she did the maneuver so fluidly was a testament to how often she must have trained in performing it. we could hear the crowd exclaim in amazement but focused on each other.
However, our little staring contest was interrupted by Mothra and Horus who returned with the knocked-out body of Pidgeot levitating behind them.
It seemed like they had managed to knock it out and instead of letting it fall to the ground and get injured any further, they decided to be nice and return Pidgeot to the ground themselves.
They landed beside the sleeping Mudsdale and Xatu quickly proceeded to knock it out as well to prevent it from waking up and causing problems.
I saw Bianca slightly wince upon seeing both her Pokemon being knocked out, but she still steeled herself and did not give up. While this may be futile, it still raised my impression of her a few notches. At least it showed that she would not run away at the first sign of trouble. For more than that we would have to see her reaction in a truly dangerous situation.
Anyway, just as I had told them my buddies did not interfere and simply watched us. I was sure they would have already started eating popcorn if they had a way to take some out.
Mothra began cheering me on. All everyone else heard was "Free, free, Butterfree!" However, I knew that she was cheering "Go, Go, Mikail!". The only thing missing was a pair of pom-poms and at that mental picture, Horus started to laugh.
At least I could hear Horus mentally laughing at that through the mental link, outwardly he remained stoic. Bianca looked at Mothra in something like confusion, while keeping an eye on me in case I went on the offensive.
"They won't interfere in our fight for now. So, you can focus on our fight." I straight up told her, but as any smart person would do she did not take my words at face value.
She moved her focus back on me but it was obvious by her body language that she was still ready to react to any attack coming from my Pokemon.
I moved towards her and we resumed our fight. She no longer performed any moves that would leave her open to an attack from other places, so she was dodging my fists while occasionally forcing me to change my punching trajectory through her daggers.
Otherwise, it would count as damaging my fists, which made me make a note to wear gloves for my next fight. I was forced to either block her attacks with my arm guards or to dodge a lot as well.
She chained and changed her attacks between her twin daggers fluidly, which made counterattacking pretty hard once she got started unless one managed to break her flow by interrupting her chain by either force or dodging.
In her latest attack, she aimed her left dagger at my throat, which I blocked with my arm guard by raising my left arm. Her follow-up stab at my side from the right was something I anticipated as well, so I had no problem blocking that one as well.
What I had not expected was her using the moment both my arms were occupied to deliver a headbutt. I could hear Horus snicker over the link at me getting some head.
Still, despite being surprised by her move, I dodged her follow-up swipes. However, her last attack told me it was time to become a bit more active. I had been using the opportunity to experience fighting against skillful armed opponents since I had nearly no experience in fighting those.
The only fighting experience I had was in hand-to-hand gained through sparring battles against Tyson/Machoke, and all-out combat against wild Pokemon.
So, to gain fighting experience against armed foes, I had been prolonging the fight without making it too obvious. That had resulted in me getting headbutted, so I decided to go all out. It wouldn't do to lose due to that after all.
I deliver a punch with my right fist, which she blocked with her dagger, but since my fist was clad in aura that was no problem. I followed that up with a low kick with my left leg, which forced her to take a step back to dodge.
I used the momentum of my left leg to twirl my body around and deliver a backhand-fist with my right hand. That forced her to lean back, which I used to deliver a kick straight at her midsection, which sent her flying.
I immediately went after her and caught up while she was still in the air, which would have been unbelievable if I was not juiced up with aura and managed to reach her in a second or so.
I saw that she was disoriented but she still tried to swing her dagger at me. I deflected her desperate attack and delivered a soft chop at her throat, which signaled the end of the fight.
'Horus catch her, there's no need to let her crash onto the ground.' I told him over the link and he stopped her midair through Psychic. Afterward, he slowly lowered her to the ground.
The referee declared me the winner and Mothra rushed at me slamming into me while excitedly chattering. I patted her head and told her to calm down.
After calming my excited partner, I held out a hand at Bianca to help her up. She took my offered hand, I pulled her up, and we both recalled our Pokemon.
"You're pretty strong, and your mastery with daggers is impressive." I genuinely praised her which made her chuckle, and I got slightly confused by her reaction.
"Are you praising me or yourself for beating me?" She responded, which explained why she had chuckled.
"That actually doesn't matter. You proved to be better, so I simply have to get stronger. Not only me but my Pokemon as well. If there is a next time, know that I will win." She said before walking back to the stands.
"Sure, but I'll be stronger by then as well, so you have to train a lot if you want that to happen," I answered loud enough for her to hear.
It wasn't like I could say something like "This isn't even my final form!" without sounding ridiculous or admitting that was still holding back.
Anyway, after we both returned to the stands, the last battle of the round began. It was between Erza Scarlet from the other side and Pierre Durand from our academy.
Pierre wielded a wooden Falchion, while Erza chose a wooden bastard sword, which was the fourth sword type she used during the tournament, showcasing her mastery over all types of swords.
Pierre's partners were his (mid) silver-stage Gallade, and his (low) silver-stage Pidgeot. Erza called out her Rapidash and Corviknight. Their Pokemon were roughly even, but the same was not true for the two trainers.
While it seemed like Erza and Pierre had roughly the same strength, it quickly became apparent that Erza was more skilled with her weapon. Her moves were more fluid and she performed better than Pierre.
So, it was no surprise when she disarmed Pierre after trading blows for a minute or so. I was sure that she could have done so before that point, but it seemed to me that she was getting a read on his fighting style first.
Anyway, she held her sword at his throat and was declared the winner. The Pokemon that were still fighting stopped as soon as that happened, and were recalled.
After the winner was announced the candidates for the last round were clear. Yu Tianjin, and Erza Scarlet from the Knight Academy, as well as my humble self, would battle for first place.
While Eric Ericson, and Bianca Bianchi from the Knight Academy, as well as Pierre Durant from our academy, would battle for fourth place.
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