As the first round of the eliminations was drawing to a close, a large number of scores had already been tallied.
What left everyone completely astonished was that a Cacturne managed to overpower all the other competitors, taking first place in the eliminations!
"Hey, hey! Could this ranking be wrong?"
"How is it possible that a Cacturne reached 325 points using Fighting-type moves?"
Some spectators who hadn't watched the eliminations and were planning to go straight to the main stage received the list of qualified contestants at that moment.
When they saw Cacturne's score, they all rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
"Honestly, this Cacturne seems quite interesting to me."
"Taking first place using a Pokémon that isn't a Fighting type..."
"Let me see, which match is this Ethan Black in...?"
Coming to their senses, these spectators quickly began heading toward the field where Cacturne would be fighting.
Before long, it was Ethan's turn to step into battle.
When he got onto the field, he was startled to see that the stands were completely full.
Evidently, all those spectators had been drawn here by Cacturne.
Ethan's opponent also stepped onto the stage, and when he saw that his rival was Ethan, his expression turned slightly gloomy.
Since the format was 1 versus 1, there was no advantage to attacking first; both trainers released their Pokémon at the same time.
Ethan naturally sent out Cacturne, while his opponent sent out a Primeape.
"Wow, it really is Cacturne!"
"This is the first time a Cacturne has appeared in the tournament!"
Seeing it appear, the spectators who had come specifically for it began cheering excitedly.
In previous editions, the matches were always between Fighting-type Pokémon, trading punch after punch. Although there were many techniques involved, most of the audience couldn't fully understand them.
Now, seeing a Pokémon that had never appeared in this tournament before, everyone felt excited and curious.
At the same time, they also wondered how Cacturne would perform in a tournament like this.
"It seems Cacturne is unexpectedly popular," Professor Sterling commented with a smile from the guest area.
"Hmph, it's nothing more than a flashy decoration to draw attention," replied the champion of the previous tournament, Kevin Brooks' father.
As a staunch defender of Fighting-type Pokémon, he deeply despised Pokémon of other types participating in the tournament.
In fact, he was one of the main supporters of eliminating the participation of Pokémon that were not Fighting type.
"A decoration? Take a good look at it first, then we'll talk," snorted Leader Henry Harper coldly, who happened to have been invited to the guest area due to Cacturne's outstanding performance.
"Come on, let's watch the match, it's about to start," another guest interjected upon noticing that the two were about to argue.
Immediately afterward, one of the guests took the microphone and began the official commentary.
On the stage, the referee announced the start of the match.
"Primeape, attack head-on!"
As soon as the match began, Primeape's trainer gave the order.
Primeape roared furiously and charged forward like a flash, displaying astonishing speed.
"Here it comes! Cacturne, stop it!"
Boom, boom, boom!
The two Pokémon collided head-on, wrapped in Fighting-type energy, exchanging blows at high speed.
"This Primeape has excellent speed and attack. But that Cacturne isn't losing ground in a direct confrontation either!"
The spectators' eyes shone as they followed every movement of the battle closely.
"Yes, it's good... but didn't it get 325 points with a single blow?"
"In the fight, its strength seems to be just on par with Primeape! There's nothing extraordinary about it!"
Some spectators who had come attracted by that terrifying score frowned.
If Cacturne was only at this level, it would be very difficult for it to advance further in the tournament.
"I think I can win!" Primeape's trainer thought, feeling a spark of hope rise within him.
Under his commands, Primeape's attacks became even more ferocious, as if it wanted to knock Cacturne down in one fell swoop.
"Hey... isn't Cacturne about to lose?" a spectator commented worriedly.
But before the sentence could finish, Cacturne suddenly threw a punch that sent Primeape flying.
Immediately after, it lunged forward and unleashed a series of consecutive blows, each heavier than the last, forcing Primeape to retreat nonstop.
"That's... Power-Up Punch!"
"This Cacturne has mastered the extremely rare move Power-Up Punch!"
Seeing the sudden turn of the battle, many spectators cried out in amazement.
Power-Up Punch was an extremely difficult move to master even for Fighting-type Pokémon, and this Cacturne was using it!
Boom, boom, boom!
In the subsequent exchanges, Cacturne, relying on the constant increase in power from Power-Up Punch, completely suppressed Primeape, until it finally blasted it out of the field with a single strike, securing its first victory.
In the matches that followed, Cacturne displayed outstanding fighting techniques, and thanks to the continuous increase in power from Power-Up Punch, it chained victory after victory, making all the spectators begin to look forward to its appearances.
Its tremendous physical endurance and recovery ability, combined with Power-Up Punch—which continuously hardened its fists and increased its strength—made both its body and power no inferior to any Fighting-type Pokémon.
However, in the round of sixteen, Ethan encountered an unexpectedly powerful opponent.
Even with Power-Up Punch pushed to its maximum, Cacturne was unable to damage the opposing Pokémon.
That Pokémon looked like a sumo wrestler, with an extremely bulky body: it was a Hariyama.
At the start of the battle, Cacturne used its speed and technique to attack continuously, gradually strengthening Power-Up Punch.
Only when the power increase reached its maximum limit did Ethan allow Cacturne to face Hariyama head-on.
But Hariyama's strength was simply terrifying. It was said that it could send a ten-ton truck flying with a single punch.
Facing it, even Cacturne's Power-Up Punch failed to gain the slightest advantage!
(End of chapter)