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"Mr. Sato, who do you think will win the championship? The remaining four trainers are all so strong," Eileen asked curiously, her eyes glued to the large screen in the temporary medical room.
The St. Louis Pokémon Tournament had reached the semifinals. Most people had gone to watch the battles live at the edge of the arena.
The temporary medical room, now devoid of patients, was left with only Sato and Eileen—both Pokémon medical trainers—while the other auxiliary staff had joined the spectators.
Eileen had wanted to watch the battles live too, but her deep-seated sense of responsibility as a Pokémon medical trainer stopped her.
She couldn't bear the thought of someone needing medical attention while she was away.
What surprised her, however, was that Sato—one of the top seven trainers—had also chosen to stay behind and watch the matches on the screen.
Though she wasn't sure if he shared her sense of duty, Eileen was delighted by his choice and innocently categorized Sato as a responsible person in her mind.
"I'm not too sure," Sato replied, glancing briefly at the young woman beside him.
"The skill levels among them are pretty close. The one who can best utilize their Pokémon's strengths will likely emerge as the champion."
The four remaining semi-finalists included Shuuji Ikeda, Mike, Jiro Miyamoto, and Shu Yamato—all young trainers.
Among them, Sato believed Shuuji Ikeda to be the strongest.
So far, Ikeda had revealed four Pokémon: Ursaring, Charizard, Vaporeon, and Sneasel.
All of them were at Level 35, with Charizard standing out at Level 38.
However, if the trainers were ranked purely by their Pokémon's levels, Shuuji Ikeda would only place second.
Mike, a Western trainer, had a Level 40 Blastoise, the highest-level Pokémon among the semifinalists.
Ikeda's real strength lay in his exceptional battle strategies and the meticulous training of his Pokémon. Whether it was Ursaring, Charizard, Vaporeon, or Sneasel, each had been trained to fight in a style tailored to its strengths.
Under Ikeda's command, their tactics were dynamic and adaptable.
Remarkably, even without direct orders, his Pokémon could make effective combat decisions independently—a testament to Ikeda's rigorous private training.
Aside from Ikeda's versatility with multi-type Pokémon, the other three semifinalists each specialized in a single type.
Mike focused on Water-types, showcasing Blastoise, Tentacruel, Quagsire, and Starmie—all at Level 35 or above.
Jiro Miyamoto specialized in Poison-types and was, without a doubt, the most cunning and ruthless among the four.
His tactics often revolved around poisoning opponents' Pokémon and using various stalling techniques to force their trainers to surrender.
So far, Jiro had revealed Weezing, Arbok, Tentacruel, Beedrill, and Vileplume. While Weezing and Arbok were above Level 35, the rest were in the Level 30-34 range.
Lastly, there was Shu Yamato, a Psychic-type specialist.
Interestingly, Shu was also a rare psychic himself, although his abilities were nowhere near the level of Sabrina, whom Sato had encountered before.
However, as a psychic, Shu Yamato had the unique ability to use telepathy to communicate with his Pokémon.
This allowed him to command his Pokémon in battle without ever speaking. Updates are released by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦•𝘯𝘦𝘵
Shu's silent command style was undoubtedly impressive, giving him a significant advantage.
Opponents often struggled to predict his Pokémon's next moves, granting him a tactical edge in battle.
The Pokémon Shu Yamato had showcased thus far included Alakazam, Hypno, and Mr. Mime.
Among them, Alakazam was the strongest, standing at Level 39, while Hypno and Mr. Mime lagged at Level 30.
Shu's battles had been overwhelmingly one-sided, with Alakazam frequently sweeping through two or even three of his opponent's Pokémon.
Even when using Hypno or Mr. Mime, his opponents found it incredibly challenging to defeat a single one of his Pokémon.
Now, however, Shu Yamato, who had cruised through the St. Louis Pokémon Tournament with ease, was facing an unprecedented challenge—his opponent in the semifinals was none other than Shuuji Ikeda, the competitor Sato considered the strongest.
At present, Shu's strongest Pokémon, Alakazam, had already fallen to Ikeda's Sneasel. Mr. Mime was now struggling against Sneasel's cunning attacks, and unless Shu devised a counterstrategy, Mr. Mime's defeat was only a matter of time.
In contrast to Shu and Ikeda's one-sided battle, the match between Mike and Jiro Miyamoto had reached an intense stalemate.
The two trainers were evenly matched, with neither able to gain a definitive upper hand.
However, Mike's Tentacruel had an ace up its sleeve—Mystical Veil.
This move effectively nullified most of Jiro's poison-inducing tactics, putting him at a significant disadvantage.
Unless Jiro could break through Mystical Veil's protection, his most potent weapon—poison—would remain unusable in the battle.
After more than half an hour of fierce combat, Shu Yamato and Shuuji Ikeda's match concluded first, shocking the audience.
All three of Shu's Psychic-type Pokémon were defeated by Ikeda's Sneasel in a devastating sweep, handing Shu his most crushing loss yet.
Meanwhile, Mike and Jiro's battle raged on for nearly an hour before it finally ended, with Jiro emerging victorious.
The turning point came when Jiro sacrificed his Arbok to endure Tentacruel's Mystical Veil duration.
Prepared for this strategy, Jiro's Weezing used Taunt to prevent Tentacruel from recasting Mystical Veil.
Finally, Weezing overcame Tentacruel, defeating Mike's most troublesome Pokémon.
From there, the tide shifted in Jiro's favor. Mike's remaining two Pokémon fell quickly to Jiro's signature poison tactics, leaving him unable to recover.
At last, the tournament's two strongest contenders were decided, and the final match was about to begin.
Just then, the long-silent captain's quarters opened its doors.
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