Adventures Beyond!

Chapter 89: Quarterfinals II- Glass Canon

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Ionic Stadium, Sinnoh

Oliver watched with an agape mouth as both Logan and Chomps were wheeled off to the Pokémon Center on stretchers. While Chomps had been knocked out due to Logan's final attack on him, Logan had fainted following his emotions reaching their boiling point. The battle had finally reached its conclusion, yet there seemed to be a lot more that needed to be done moving forward. That was something Logan had to deal with when he woke up. For the time being, he and Jacob still had their fights to get through.

The Oshawott turned his attention to Dennis, who had remained completely and utterly silent throughout the entirety of the final stage. Despite fighting to make it as far as everyone else in the quarterfinals did, he seemed a lot more calm than Oliver was leading up to their fight.

"That was definitely... An unexpected ending..." Finn spoke through the loudspeakers, "...But the quarterfinals aren't over just yet! We still have two more fights left to go! First up, Dennis versus Oliver!"

Both Pokémon stepped forward, heading toward the battlefield. Oliver racked his brain, thinking about what strategies he could employ in order to defeat Dennis. He didn't have many notes on the Croagunk, seeing as his attention was always somewhere else when he battled. All he knew was that Dennis was at least adept enough to go head to head with Richard, seeing as they fought during the second stage.

Frankly, Dennis was unreadable. He never spoke a word, and he always seemed to be in a constant state of being spaced out. Regardless, he would have to figure something out. A way to push him out of bounds seemed to be the most viable option. Seeing as he was a Poison-Type, he would have to consider the possibility that he could be poisoned, like how Miles was during his fight. If he did end up getting poisoned, he would have to worry about the constant damage he would be taking.

Eventually, he stepped on one side of the battlefield, looking at Dennis, who was on the other.

"This is the quarterfinals match between participant ten, Dennis, and participant eighty-five, Oliver!" The referee declared, "The point system is abolished! The battle will conclude when an opponent surrenders, is knocked out of the ring, faints, or is incapacitated! Understood?"

Oliver nodded, drawing his scalchop from the fur on his stomach. Dennis nodded as well, standing completely still.

"Battle, begin!"

Oliver began to charge forward, channeling his focus on finding a way to defeat Dennis. He first considered ways to knock Dennis out of bounds. Water Pulse? No, not while Dennis was on defense. Aqua Jet? With how unpredictable it was during his previous fight? He couldn't rely on it to be his last resort. That left him with Razor Shell and Aerial Ace. But what to use?

"Dennis is out of bounds!"

Huh?

The Oshawott stopped in his tracks. He brought himself back to reality after thinking so hard about how he would beat Dennis. While he was in his head about trying his best to figure out a winning strategy, Dennis had taken a few steps back, ultimately rendering himself just outside of the battlefield. Oliver found himself stunned, arms falling to his sides. His scalchop hit the ground.

"Did he just—?"

"Oliver wins!" The Froslass declared, "He advances to the semifinals!"

Oliver silently watched as Dennis walked from the battlefield and toward the doors leading to the outside of the stadium. The Toxic Mouth Pokémon didn't hesitate, he didn't stop and look around. He simply walked away from him and out of the stadium, leaving everyone anticipating the battle confused and unsatisfied.