Preparation room.
Contestant Baimu and the Altered-color Gengar returned to find Liuqia and the others were also there.
"Why did you have to run over here for just five minutes?"
He asked with a smile and thanked Mann Chong for handing him water, gulping down half the bottle before turning to feed some to the eagerly awaiting Gengar.
"Heh!"
Gengar contentedly licked its mouth.
Liuqia righteously said, "Of course, we came to cheer you on for the second half!"
She and Xiaoguang were dressed in pink cheerleader outfits, and the Altaria and Piplup by their sides were also similarly dressed, pulling Alice along to perform a cheerleading dance for him without hesitation.
"Why do I have to dance too?"
Alice asked, bewildered.
Xiaoguang laughed and said, "Didn't Alice also join in the rehearsals before? It's a shame not to show what you've practiced! Don't worry! It's no problem!"
Alice nodded, half understanding.
Baimu twitched the corners of his mouth; these little girls were more like playing among themselves than cheering for him.
Xiaogang and Mann Chong watched them dancing happily.
"Heh!"
Gengar watched with great excitement and jumped into the group to imitate their dance moves, twisting left and right with agility despite its short stature, making Liuqia and the others smile broadly.
But after a few moves, the fellow became a bit tired, panting and sticking out its tongue.
After all, it went all out against Elma's two extremely tough Pokémon, and suffered from attacks like Invisible Rock and Rush, plus the aftermath of explosions and mental exhaustion.
Its body was showing signs of fatigue.
Liuqia and the others stopped.
"Are you okay, Gengar?"
"Looks like the previous battles have left it quite fatigued."
"Just watch us dance, okay Gengar?"
Everyone looked at it with concern.
Gengar waved its chubby hand and grinned, "Kekekeke!"
No problem!
Absolutely no problem!
"Alright, don't push yourself too hard."
Baimu pressed down on Gengar's head and fed it a few Tree Fruits to restore its energy, he had fed it some on the way back previously and now again.
Though the animation's Tree Fruit doesn't have the dramatic effect as in the games, every little bit of recovery helps.
If it can't recover...
"Heh!"
Gengar seemed to notice something from Baimu's expression, quickly waved its claw in front of his face, with a serious demeanor.
It would do its best for victory, so it hoped the Trainer wouldn't casually switch it out in the second half.
Rather be defeated by the opponent than wait silently in the Pokeball, Gengar didn't know how other partners felt, but that was certainly its thought.
Battles require detailed strategies and tactics, and also the unyielding spirit and determination of the Pokémon.
A small setback and being switched out would really demoralize Ghost.
Baimu said nothing, just patted its head.
Five minutes later.
The second half of the championship tournament's first round continued.
——
"Welcome back to the match! Let's check out the venue for the second half!"
The commentator's voice made the audience put down their drinks and snacks, looking towards the giant screen.
The familiar roulette flashed with light.
Finally.
It stopped at a green pattern.
The commentator shouted, "It's decided! The venue for the second half is the Grass Field!"
Buzz——
Amidst the loud mechanisms, the broken Ice Field descended, and minutes later, the Grass Field with half-person-high grass rose up.
"How big is the underground space here? Third New Tokyo City?"
Baimu's imagination ran wild, creating a subterranean city like EVA with the Pokémon World's technological level shouldn't be hard.
He slowly ascended the platform, looking towards Elma who had a resolute expression.
Almost at the first glance, he noticed the openly worn Super Bracelet and Z Bracelet on the opponent's side and immediately became wary.
Super Evolution was manageable; Elma would definitely evolve Kangaskhan, as he didn't have other Pokémon for Super Evolution.
But the Z-Move was more unpredictable for Baimu.
Eevee exclusive Z-Move?
No, no.
That's something Elma got from Eevee Expert Shadow Tiger after returning to the Alola Region, he definitely doesn't have it now.
Regular Z-Move?
It's even harder to say, who knows if Elma participated in the Island Pilgrimage, usually those who did have more than just one or two Z Pure Crystals.
Baimu couldn't help but sigh, according to the setting, Z-Moves should only be usable in the Alola Region, yet the animation version went off track with no regional restrictions.
...It's not a big problem!
Animation Z-Moves and game Z-Moves are quite different, at least you can find ways to dodge the animation's Z-Moves.
While he pondered, the commentator continued, "Now Elma contestant has three usable Pokémon remaining, while Baimu contestant has six usable Pokémon remaining! Quite the gap! So which Pokémon will both sides start with in the second half of the match?"
The Referee signaled both sides to release their Pokémon.
Baimu naturally chose Gengar, who no longer acted as wildly as in the first half, just floated in the air gazing at Elma in the distance, waiting for its opponent.
After the venue changed, the Invisible Rock naturally disappeared, and the recognized state was lifted during the five minutes of rest.
Now Gengar's condition was restored to its peak of recovery.
On the other side.
Bam!
A flash of white light.
The Pokémon appearing, stomping on the grass, was dinosaur-like yet somewhat corpulent, with a prominent large yellow pouch on its abdomen, housing a tiny baby Kangaskhan inside.
"Glaroo!"
Kangaskhan's call was loud, staring at Gengar with burning eyes.
"Here it is! Elma contestant's fourth Pokémon is the parent-child Pokémon—Kangaskhan!"