Pokémon Court

Chapter 69: Decisive battle with Abby

Looking at Lopunny in the sky, Beautifly fluttered and rapidly flapped its wings, creating several blades of wind, directly aiming at Lopunny’s position.

“An opening!! Lopunny, use Jump Kick and accelerate your descent towards the thin gap in the Air Cutter!!”

Compared to the preparation time of “Bounce,” “Jump Kick” was faster, especially using the advantage of the high altitude, causing Lopunny’s speed to reach its peak!

Exploiting the opening in the Air Cutter, she targeted Beautifly’s location directly, causing Hibiki to catch a glimpse of the light of victory.

“… I have to say, you fell for it so easily.” Terrance.

Terrance was speechless; his opponent really is naive. This opening clearly looked like a trap, yet she jumped right in.

In the moment Lopunny made a move, Beautifly quickly wove an Electroweb. Hearing the crackling sound, Hibiki’s heart jumped.

“Not good… Lopunny, change direction quickly!!”

“Oh no!! Due to the inertia from Jump Kick’s acceleration, Lopunny can no longer control its descent!!” Marian explained.

On the stage, a large golden net formed and Lopunny looked like prey trapped in a snare. “Crackle,” the tingling sensation reached Lopunny’s nerves, making it pause.

The effect of Electroweb greatly slowed down Lopunny’s descent.

“Beautifly has successfully caught Lopunny’s attack, leading to a reversal of the situation. Lopunny has fallen into a trap due to Beautifly’s clever plan, and Miss Hibiki’s score is rapidly decreasing!!”

“It’s fine, Lopunny, find a way to break free quickly!!” Hibiki exclaimed anxiously.

“Checkmate!” Terrance said. Breaking free? Not a chance.

Leaving aside the toughness of Beautifly’s silk, the impact of Paralysis on Lopunny was also remarkably evident. Especially since Electroweb’s silk remains under Beautifly’s control, the outcome is already decided.

“Giga Drain!”

Several white silks hid within the golden web. When Terrance gave the command, Beautifly immediately controlled the silks and wrapped them around Lopunny’s body.

Under the Giga Drain, Lopunny weakly cried out, its energy continuously being drained, leaving its body in a state of fatigue.

“Lopunny—” Hibiki exclaimed in shock.

In the end, Lopunny couldn’t escape the double attack of Electroweb and Giga Drain, regrettably losing consciousness.

Thus, Terrance’s first Contest Battle ended in victory.

…

“Alright, then the winner of the first Contest Battle is—Contestant Terrance!”

With Miss Marian’s announcement, the audience burst into enthusiastic applause. On the stage, Hibiki withdrew Lopunny with a disappointed sigh.

Next, it was time for the closing ceremony for the victor and the defeated.

And for the judges’ comments.

“That was amazing, Air Cutter skillfully guided the Coordinator’s judgment.” Raoul Contesta said.

“Remarkable!” Mr. Sukizo added.

“Miss Hibiki used Lopunny’s ears to dispel the captivate state, which excellently showcased Lopunny’s uniqueness. But what I didn’t expect was that String Shot could also be hidden within Electroweb. It seems that Beautifly is very skilled in using String Shot, a splendid technique only seen in Contest Battles.” Nurse Joy of Hearthome City remarked.

…

Lobby.

“When battling, weren’t you nervous? Even I was really nervous watching the battle from the side!” Abby said.

“It was alright, but considering it was my first time in a Contest Battle… I must admit I felt a bit out of my element,” Terrance thought back on his battle and felt that it was a little difficult.

It wasn’t the difficulty of winning the battle, but the constant need to showcase the charm of the Pokémon through the moves. For any Coordinator, this was a challenging task.

“Anyway, congratulations on advancing to the next round of the competition.”

The second round of Pokémon Contest was still underway, Trainers who passed the first round were taking the stage one by one, showcasing their proudest abilities in these cute and charming duels.

“Who will be the one to gracefully advance to the final stage and obtain the prestigious Hearthome Ribbon representing glory!” Miss Marian’s enthusiastic commentary echoed in the venue.

…

Next, through layers of battles, eight participants who passed the first review advanced, and Terrance, with an absolute advantage, successfully reached the finals.       Next, after a series of battles among the eight contestants who passed the first round, Terrance, with an absolute advantage, successfully advanced to the finals.

In Terrance’s words, the standard of the Hearthome Conference left him quite disappointed.

The battles he went through were practically a breeze, with most of the Coordinators who cleared the first round either being all show with no substance, lacking the knowledge of how to battle effectively, or they had insufficient experience to handle intense situations.

“Perhaps one needs to attend the Grand Festival to truly test their limits.” Terrance stared at the big screen, speaking to himself.

“It’s finally here.” In the final match, Abby was facing another male Coordinator.

With its petite body, Skitty continuously dodged, using various different moves to showcase its unique charm. It consumed all the time and won the match with a high-score advantage.

“The final opponent has appeared.”

Terrance didn’t expect that Abby would make it all the way to the finals, becoming his opponent.

However, considering Skitty’s skill level, perhaps it wasn’t surprising.

“I’m really looking forward to this fight with you,” Abby excitedly spoke to Terrance before the final.

“Because, in my first Pokémon Contest here in the Sinnoh region, I had the chance to meet a skilled competitor like you, Terrance. I’m really pleased!”

“I feel the same way. I hope this battle can leave us with profound memories.” Terrance smiled.

…

“Alright, the exciting and nerve-wracking final match is finally here. What kind of showdown will Mr. Terrance and Miss Abby bring us in this final match?!”

“Everyone, let’s look forward to it!!”

In the VIP seats, James clenched his clothes, silently praying, “Terrance, you have to win.”

Seeing Terrance’s impressive performance all the way, James, as his “friend,” was genuinely delighted.

He had already decided to collect all the recordings of Terrance’s Pokémon Contests afterward as his most precious memories. Umm, as important as his bottle caps.

On the stage, Abby and Terrance locked eyes until the countdown sound began, and both simultaneously tossed out their Poké Balls.

“Skitty, Charm up!!”

“Beautifly, Charm up!!!”

The charm up was merely meant to better showcase Pokémon’s cute or beautiful appearances.

“Meow~”

“Chirp~”

“After the previous matches, it seems that Skitty and Beautifly are also brimming with enthusiasm,” Marian said, “In this round, Mr. Terrance seems to have taken the initiative, it’s Beautifly’s Gust move!!”

Gust, a commonly used opening move by Terrance’s Beautifly. It provides excellent control over air currents. Regardless of the wind speed, Beautifly can quickly adapt and utilize it to its advantage. Whether it’s for flying speed or agility in evading attacks, this skill offers significant benefits.

At the beginning, creating favorable conditions was crucial.

“Sure enough, you are using Gust. Then… Skitty, use Blizzard!!” Abby countered, not willing to be outdone.

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