Lin Fan murmured, in a few more matches, he would most likely face Liu Zhiruo, so it was a good thing to understand one of her trump cards in advance.
However, these people each possessed inheritances, which truly made him envious.
With Liu Zhiruo giving her all, the battle ended quickly, and not long after, it was Lin Fan's turn to battle.
His opponent was a young girl with long, bright yellow hair. Her Pokémon was a Flaaffy, which was quite strong and had mastered the extremely annoying moves Thunder Wave and Cotton Spore to perfection.
Moreover, after Lin Fan's observation, this Flaaffy's characteristic was most likely Static, meaning there was a chance of being paralyzed just by getting close to it.
"So dirty."
Lin Fan sighed, it wasn't just substitute-toxic strategies that could be called dirty. A Pokémon like Flaaffy, which could cause paralysis and speed reduction at any time, was undoubtedly the dirtiest for close-combat speed attackers.
The girl on the opposite side understood what her Flaaffy meant for Beedrill, so she covered her mouth and chuckled, openly admitting it.
Lin Fan smiled: "In that case... Beedrill, Focus Energy, Double Needle!"
"Hiss-pe!"
Beedrill raised its hands, revealing a ferocious smile, already showing the initial signs of a forest bully. With a flutter of its wings, it rapidly approached Flaaffy.
"Flaaffy, Cotton Spore, Thunder Wave!"
A clear voice rang out. Flaaffy let out a soft cry, scattering Cotton Spore in all directions and releasing a Thunder Wave directly at Beedrill from the front.
This was the annoying part of Flaaffy: Cotton Spore released from all angles drastically reduced the opponent's speed, thereby making Thunder Wave almost guaranteed to hit.
Unfortunately, Lin Fan never intended for Beedrill to avoid it from the start.
It was already the Top 16 elimination round; it was time to show some real skill.
Beedrill charged straight at Flaaffy without dodging, its body entangled in Cotton Spore, and occasionally flickering with strands of electricity. It nonchalantly gave Flaaffy a "friendly" smile, its gaze shifting as it locked onto Flaaffy's weak point.
Whoosh—
A sharp whistle cut through the air as Beedrill's right-hand spear plunged into Flaaffy's belly.
Critical hit!
Under the characteristic's boost, this attack's power surged. Coupled with Flaaffy's inherent weakness in physical defense, it was directly sent flying, landing with a "thump" at the girl's feet.
One-shot kill! Another one-shot kill!
The entire venue erupted in an uproar, countless people in the audience stood up and cheered, looking on in disbelief. Someone had actually one-shot an opponent in the Top 16 battle! Even Kirlia, who was considered a strong contender for the championship, only defeated her opponent within two minutes.
"This Beedrill's damage is actually that high?"
Even some people in the VIP section couldn't remain calm, exclaiming in surprise.
"Beedrill... Is there any Professional Trainer famous for Beedrill? Is this child from a Bug-type Gym?"
Someone guessed, but Wu Shuo shook his head, denying it.
"Gym Leader Zhou specializes in Bug-type Pokémon, but he isn't particularly skilled with Beedrill. He focuses more on Scyther, Scizor, and the like."
After a pause, Wu Shuo offered his opinion: "If I'm not mistaken, Beedrill's aura changed for a moment earlier, it should have used Focus Energy. The reason this attack was so powerful is because Beedrill hit Flaaffy's vital spot. However, even with a critical hit, the power of this attack is still somewhat astonishing, it's a bit like Kingdra's Sniper. But does the Beedrill species also have the Sniper?"
Facing Wu Shuo's question, the people around him looked at each other and shook their heads in unison, indicating they didn't know.
There was no other way; there weren't many Trainers for Beedrill, and none had made a name for themselves. Research on Pokémon like Beedrill was simply too scarce.
Wu Shuo's eyes flickered, and he carefully observed Lin Fan and Beedrill.
After a long while, he finally nodded: "This child is not simple. Wu Heng wants to win the championship; he has an opponent."
The people next to him were stunned. If anyone else had said that, they certainly wouldn't have believed it.
But it was Wu Shuo who said it, one of the strongest Trainers at the Gym level, a top expert who almost claimed the Elite title. His judgment was almost impossible to be wrong.
It seemed this Zero Moon Cup would be exciting to watch.
...
Lin Fan returned to the preparation area, and Su Ling looked at him as if he were an alien.
"Are you kidding me? This is the Top 16 elimination round, and you one-shot Flaaffy?"
Most of those who reached this stage had some background, just like her father being a Professional Trainer, or Wu Heng and Xu Yue coming from Gyms. This Flaaffy was so well-trained, it must have had guidance from a Professional Trainer behind it.
But Lin Fan was from a completely common background, yet he kept one-shotting opponents throughout the competition.
Are you kidding me? Are you cheating?
Who exactly is the one with the background?!
Lin Fan spread his hands and said with a chuckle, "I just maximized Beedrill's advantages. In fact, if other Pokémon were faster than Beedrill, then Beedrill would have already lost half the battle, because given its fragility, it also wouldn't be able to withstand other Pokémon's attacks. The only difference is that other Pokémon faster than Beedrill generally can't achieve Beedrill's high burst damage, so it's very difficult to get a one-shot kill."
Watching Su Ling's expression of sudden realization, Lin Fan touched his nose and sighed inwardly.
Silly child, do you believe everything I say? The real reason is that I have the Insect Plate to accelerate Beedrill's development. Otherwise, even if Beedrill's physical attack and speed were trained to the extreme, it would still be powerless in the face of a huge level gap.
Shaking his head, Lin Fan's gaze turned to the battle arena. The last battle of Group D had already ended, and the winner was a strong Exeggcute, which meant this would be Lin Fan's opponent tomorrow.
"Exeggcute, huh? Grass/Psychic-type, four times weak to Bug-type. Tsk, what an unlucky child."
Lin Fan sighed, not expecting that tomorrow's Top 8 battle would instead be the easiest of his recent matches.
Even if Exeggcute hadn't evolved, and even if it used a Leaf Stone on the spot to evolve into Exeggutor, it would still be one-shotted by Beedrill in the face of this overwhelmingly unfavorable type matchup.
"Such good luck."
Su Ling's pretty face was scrunched up in a frown beside him, glaring at Lin Fan, gritting her teeth and speaking sourly.
"Just a fluke," Lin Fan chuckled.
As the two talked, a figure suddenly walked over and greeted Lin Fan. It was Exeggcute's Trainer.
"Hello, I came to tell you that I've already spoken with the referee. I will forfeit tomorrow morning's match."
After speaking, the other person turned and left, as if having made some kind of decision.
Lin Fan was stunned, then turned to look at Su Ling, who was looking utterly bewildered, and added seriously:
"See? I told you, it really was just a fluke."