Pokémon: Above the Top

"The Young Elite Tournament, Top 8, Sato, representative of Goldenrod Gym, versus Flint, representative of Jubilife Gym!"

Sato froze, glancing at the "1A" lot in his hand before shifting his gaze toward Flint, who had already stood up not far away.

This luck… is unbelievably bad!

Seated in the spectator stands, Court and Koga couldn't help but shake their heads.

Last round, Sato had drawn Koga, barely securing a narrow victory thanks to luck; now, he had drawn Flint, except Flint wouldn't hold back. Even if his flames burned a little too hot, they wouldn't kill the opponent.

"Both Trainers, send out your Pokémon!"

"Sharpedo!"

"Flareon!"

Sato exhaled slightly in relief.

Flint was one of the rare specialists entirely devoted to Fire-types.

In the future, though he would become famous as a Fire-type expert, he would still train powerful Pokémon of other types, such as Steelix.

Yet, even now, despite knowing Sato had Sharpedo, he still chose Flareon. This meant that the little strategy Sato had in mind could now be fully executed.

"Battle begin!"

"Flareon, Flare Blitz!"

"Sharpedo, Protect!"

Once again, Sato started with Protect.

Flint's battle style was as explosive as a volcanic eruption, his Pokémon often opened with their strongest moves!

As long as Flareon's attack power didn't surpass a Pseudo-Elite Four level, Protect would always block it!

The blazing red flames from Flare Blitz turned blue from the sheer heat, before colliding against Sharpedo's shimmering green barrier, triggering a violent explosion!

Despite its small and adorable appearance, Flareon possessed a raw offensive power that most Pokémon couldn't match.

Unfortunately, it was useless here!

"Flareon, Scary Face!"

"Sharpedo, Swagger!"

Sato had predicted this.

Though Flint didn't understand why Sharpedo kept getting faster, he at least knew it took time to reach full speed.

For Flareon, landing a hit meant securing victory!

Scary Face took effect. Sharpedo's recently boosted speed was instantly negated, making it even slower than before!

Swagger, however, also succeeded. Flareon's once bright eyes turned blood-red, its aura surging with a terrifying increase in aggression!

Its gaze locked onto Sharpedo like it wanted to devour it whole!

"Flaaar!"

Suddenly, Flareon charged toward Sharpedo with terrifying ferocity! Only to slam itself into the ground mid-sprint!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It was as if its body no longer belonged to itself... Each self-inflicted blow looked incredibly painful!

Meanwhile, Sharpedo had already activated Agility, perfectly balancing out the effects of Scary Face!

Sato steadied his mind: Sharpedo had regained its speed.

Step one of his strategy had been a success.

"Sharpedo, Aqua Jet! Be cautious!"

The deep blue blur reappeared, sending a wave of excitement through the spectators who had seen Sharpedo battle before!

Boom!

Though Flareon had incredible attack power, its defensive capabilities were much weaker. With a Water-type advantage, even a basic Aqua Jet dealt massive damage!

"Flar…"

Midair, Flareon's eyes suddenly snapped open, its glistening black pupils filled with determination!

Flareon had recovered from confusion in an unbelievably short amount of time! And Swagger's attack boost still remained!

"Flareon, Flare Blitz!"

"Sharpedo, dodge!"

"Flareon, Flare Blitz again!"

Sato's eyes remained locked onto the battlefield.

Sharpedo dodged Flareon's first attack with ease, but before it could retreat, Flareon didn't even cancel the move. It simply turned and launched a second Flare Blitz!

Thankfully, Sharpedo dodged once again; but it was starting to feel unnaturally exhausted.

Sato instinctively wiped the sweat off his forehead. The moment he realized what he had just done, it hit him immediately. Flint's strategy!

Field control!

On the battlefield, due to Flareon's continuous attacks, the temperature had skyrocketed, reaching nearly 40 degrees Celsius (104 °F).

For Sharpedo, a Pokémon made for water, maintaining levitation in such extreme heat was draining far more stamina than Sato had anticipated!

It hadn't taken a single hit, yet it wouldn't be able to hold out much longer; it might collapse at any second!

There was no time to wait! And more importantly...The setup was complete!

"Sharpedo, Baton Pass!"

In an instant, Sharpedo transformed into a streak of red light and returned to its Poké Ball-and before the audience could react, Sato had already sent out his next Pokémon!

A gleaming silver Pokémon landed on the battlefield, standing completely unfazed by the scorching heat.

"Sandstorm!"

The very next second, howling winds and raging sand erupted from the center of the arena, creating a massive sand vortex that engulfed the entire field!

"Rock Slide!"

Flareon, now trapped inside the storm, could barely move!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, countless fist-sized rocks began forming within the sandstorm, carried along by the powerful winds, relentlessly pelting Flareon!

"Rrgh!"

Flareon let out a pained cry, completely blown out of the Sandstorm, collapsing onto the ground! Unable to continue battling!

The crowd fell silent... this was nothing like what they expected!

Even though they acknowledged Sato's exceptional talent, being able to qualify for the Young Elite Tournament in under a year of being a Trainer. Flint had already been a Trainer for five years.

He had countless battles under his belt.

This was supposed to be a match where a veteran taught a rookie a lesson, yet the first Pokémon to fall was Flint's Flareon!

"That's a Pseudo-Legendary second stage: Pupitar!"

Someone in the audience suddenly shouted, triggering a wave of gasps and murmurs.

The power of Tyranitar was already legendary. But, how was this just a Pupitar, yet already this strong?!

Sato wasn't just a "darkhorse", he was a supernova!

"Come back, Flareon… That was my mistake."

Flint recalled his fainted Pokémon, then turned to Sato with a serious expression.

Most people might have missed the significance of Sato's switch, but... Flint had heard it clearly: "Baton Pass."

Flareon wasn't exactly slow, and compared to a cocoon-like Pupitar, it should've had a massive speed advantage.

However, due to Baton Pass's special effect, Sharpedo's speed boost had been fully transferred to Pupitar!

Before Flint could even react, Pupitar had already rushed in and eliminated Flareon in a single strike!

"Infernape, full power! Fire Pledge!"

"Pupitar, Dragon Dance!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Columns of fire erupted all across the battlefield, their intensity so overwhelming that they completely shattered the Sandstorm!

Luckily, Pupitar's mobility wasn't slow.

While boosting itself with Dragon Dance, it barely dodged the incoming Fire Pledge!

But the cost was... the Sandstorm that had just started raging was completely dispersed!

Seeing Pupitar use Dragon Dance, however, Flint suddenly felt a sinking sense of unease.