Pokémon: Above the Top-Chapter 304: Unstoppable Machamp

Manectric immediately used Odor Sleuth + Thunder with great proficiency, seemingly ignoring Sharpedo's speed advantage.

But soon, the nearby spectators noticed something strange...

After the lightning cleared, why was Sharpedo's silhouette still nowhere to be seen?

Had it been fried to dust?

No.

It was an afterimage!

"SHAAA!"

Suddenly, a piercing cry came from Manectric in the arena. Everyone turned their gaze to see Manectric already flying through the air, rolling hard across the ground several times.

"Sharpedo, Crunch!"

At some unknown point, Sharpedo had already taken Manectric's place on the field, and it had given the crowd only a blink of reaction time before closing in on Manectric again.

"Manectric, use Discharge to defend!"

The man's half-smoked cigarette had already fallen to the ground. Now he could only desperately use a Trainer Skill: Roar of Revival.

Unfortunately, Sharpedo was simply too fast. Before Manectric could even react to the Aqua Jet, it was struck again by Crunch.

From the start, the scruffy man had underestimated just how terrifying Sharpedo's speed was.

"Manectric is unable to battle. Contestant No. 33, please send your next Pokémon!" The referee's voice rang out, finally snapping the audience back to attention.

Manectric had just been taken down despite the type advantage?

Mark waved his betting slip excitedly, making sure everyone knew he had put his money on Sato.

Meanwhile, the wealthy lady was now bent over, rummaging under the dim seats trying to find the bet slip she had thrown away a second time.

Too bad. Impulse is the devil.

It was gone!

Back in the arena, the scruffy man silently recalled Manectric. After thinking for a moment, he tossed out a somewhat worn Poké Ball.

"Machamp, it's your turn!"

A humanoid Pokémon with bulging muscles appeared on the field. Although a Fighting-type Pokémon, Machamp remained extremely calm.

Peak Elite!

This was the kind of strength earned through accumulated experience. At the elite level, progress was slow and steady, so most Pokémon who reached its peak had done so through sheer grind.

Sato recalled Machamp's data and began evaluating the threat it posed.

The opponent clearly knew how fast and strong Sharpedo was, yet still chose to send out Machamp. Sato began to get a bad feeling. free𝑤ebnovel.com

"Machamp, Dynamic Punch!"

"Sharpedo, if you can't dodge, use Protect."

The arena wasn't small, there were more than ten meters between Sharpedo and Machamp. Machamp was slow, and Dynamic Punch was notoriously inaccurate.

But no matter how Sharpedo dodged, it mysteriously ended up getting closer to Machamp.

Duang!

The terrifying power of Dynamic Punch slammed into the Protect energy barrier. Known as one of the strongest defensive moves, Protect now trembled violently under the force of the impact, even showing faint cracks.

Fortunately, Protect ultimately withstood Dynamic Punch. Otherwise, Sharpedo might've been knocked out in one hit.

Gasps erupted throughout the audience.

This Machamp was suspicious. Many even suspected cheating... how could a slow Machamp land a hit on a speed demon like Sharpedo?

'No Guard...'

Sato repeated it silently in his mind. This Machamp clearly possessed the rare No Guard Ability, both its own attacks and its opponents' would hit 100% of the time.

In other words, a Pokémon with No Guard forced direct confrontation, with no room for tricks or evasion.

Thankfully, real life wasn't a turn-based game, and Sato had his own ways to deal with Machamp.

"Sharpedo, Hydro Pump!"

"Machamp, Dynamic Punch!"

Hydro Pump struck first and forced Machamp back a good distance, but once Dynamic Punch activated, Sharpedo mysteriously followed the stream and closed in on Machamp again.

"Substitute!"

Pop~

A deep-blue Sharpedo doll appeared in front of Machamp, blocking its terrifying attack.

The next second, Sato gave another command. "Hydro Pump!"

BOOM!

Machamp didn't have high special defense, so Hydro Pump dealt considerable damage. After getting pushed back again, it refused to give in and launched another Dynamic Punch.

"Sharpedo, another Substitute. Then Hydro Pump!"

"Machamp, use Dynamic Punch again!"

"Sharpedo, Substitute, then Hydro Pump."

"..."

Unfortunately, Machamp never got to launch that fourth Dynamic Punch before it collapsed on the field.

Sharpedo's Hydro Pump was no joke; four consecutive hits were what it took to finally bring down Machamp. It left Sato genuinely impressed.

Still, Sharpedo had used Substitute three times and already spent its Protect. If Machamp had managed to land that fourth Dynamic Punch, Sharpedo might've been the one to go down.

After the referee declared Machamp unable to battle, there were no cheers or jeers from the audience. Instead, they looked stunned because they didn't understand what had just happened.

'No clue what that was... but it looked amazing.'

So they clapped.

Clap clap clap clap...!

In the midst of the scattered applause, the scruffy man wiped the sweat from his brow and recalled Machamp.

Machamp had been his strongest ace... and yet it had been whittled down until it collapsed.

'That brat definitely knew Machamp's secret!'

There was a hint of despair in the scruffy man's eyes, but under pressure from the referee, he still released his third Pokémon. A fairly unimpressive one.

To maintain both fairness and entertainment value, this kind of tournament didn't allow forfeiting. The loser had to be fully defeated with all three Pokémon down.

Next, a Mid Elite Ludicolo stepped onto the field.

Seeing that his opponent had sent out a Water/Grass-type Ludicolo, Sato recalled his heavily damaged Sharpedo and sent out Ariados instead.

The scruffy man, having lost his will to fight, was already reacting sluggishly.

Eager to finally get some spotlight, Ariados leapt onto the stage, but its demeanor remained somewhat gloomy.

Although Sato won the match, Ariados left almost no impression on the audience compared to the mighty Sharpedo.

After all, true strength often needs a worthy opponent to make it stand out.

And for Ariados, Ludicolo clearly wasn't up to the task.

It was just too weak!

"Ludicolo is unable to battle. Ariados wins. The winner is Contestant No. 66."

'66...' Sato was rather satisfied with this contestant number. Ignoring the fangirls frantically waving at him from the audience, Sato turned and walked straight off the field.

"Trainer No. 66, will you be participating again tomorrow? If you keep winning, the reward doubles."

Just as he stepped off the stage, a staff member from the organizing committee stopped Sato, respectfully handing him a box of betting "tokens". These could be exchanged for cash or bank transfers when disembarking.

Since this was Sato's first time competing, his reward amounted to around 20,000 Pokédollars. If he kept winning or advanced to the advanced bracket, the prize would be even greater.

"I'll participate," Sato replied, accepting the box without saying much else, and walked away.

----

After a short loop around, Sato found Joseph and Mark in the stands. They watched a few more matches together before heading back to their room.

"Joseph, my big bro Joseph, I'M BEGGING YOU! Let me borrow your Gogoat... Madame Florges is fine too... if not, I'll even take Kirlia!"

The moment they got back, Mark -having learned that entry required three Elite-level Pokémon- went straight to the more "soft-hearted" Joseph to plead.