Pokémon Court C.207: Yuu Tachibana

Participants and spectators alike could sense Terrance’s strength. Among them were Coordinators and viewers who had seen the Verdanturf Conference, and upon recognizing Terrance early on, they had been closely following him.

By now, there was no need for him to prove his capabilities. He had already won four Ribbons and even eliminated a Coordinator who was only one step away from participating in the Grand Festival. There is no doubt that Terrance is very strong.

“He’s pretty amazing…” Blake scratched his head in the audience. He didn’t understand Pokémon Contests and was here just for fun, like many others, but Terrance’s performance and battles undoubtedly impressed them greatly.

Terrance had caught the attention of many Pokémon Contest supporters when he first participated in the Verdanturf Conference. His performance back then earned him a chance to be noticed, and now, with his strength and the hope of winning again, that attention had turned into support. Many even began to cheer for Terrance, rooting for him enthusiastically.

Yuu Tachibana was an avid Pokémon Contest supporter. She was from Lavaridge Town, where her grandparents had seized the opportunity during the town’s development to start a hot spring business. Today, their business is one of the best in Lavaridge Town, and many imitators followed suit after seeing the lucrative profits generated by their family’s hot spring business.

The earlier you establish something like this, the better it tends to fare. Plus, with the good reputation of the Tachibana family’s hot springs, they are subtly positioning themselves to become the number one in Lavaridge Town. They even seem to be moving towards acquiring other hot spring businesses, aiming to monopolize the hot spring industry in Lavaridge Town.

Although not as privileged as Steven, Yuu Tachibana could still be said to have grown up with a silver spoon in her mouth. She was expected to inherit the huge family business and never plan to become a Trainer. As such, she remained an ordinary person without a Trainer’s identity.

Yuu Tachibana didn’t need to prove herself through the Trainer’s path. After all, how many Trainers in the region could live as comfortably as she could?

The hot springs in Lavaridge Town were famous throughout Hoenn, and unless one became an Elite Four-level Trainer, not even a Gym’s revenue could compare to the hot spring industry.

Yuu Tachibana comes from a good background and doesn’t have many ambitions. However, she has one hobby: Pokémon Contests. She doesn’t participate herself, rather she enjoys watching different Coordinators perform their intricate, captivating performances or battles.

She admired strong Coordinators, especially Wallace. However, Wallace had already proven himself and was now a master-level figure in Pokémon Contests, elusive and rarely participating in Contests anymore.

This made it hard to see high-level Pokémon Contests, especially for Pokémon Contest supporters. Having become accustomed to the performances by Top Coordinators, it’s even more difficult to watch ordinary Pokémon Contests now.

Yuu Tachibana was one such supporter, whose fascination with Pokémon Contests, however, has made her a regular at Pokémon Contests in various cities, where she satisfied her passion with the few high-level battles and performances she could find.

“I’ve decided!” Yuu Tachibana grabbed her little companion’s arm and said: “I’m going to follow this Terrance. Wherever he participates in a Pokémon Contest, I’ll go there too!”

Yuu Tachibana’s little companion, Yui Lizzie, came from a similarly good background, being from a large supermarket family in Lavaridge Town.

“Yui, what do you think?” Yuu Tachibana stared at her friend with wide eyes and said resolutely, “I feel like this guy is going to be the Top Coordinator of Hoenn this year. I had this feeling during the Verdanturf Conference, and now I’m even more sure. By following him, I can definitely watch many exciting performances.”

Yui stared blankly at her friend. “Yuu, are you serious?”

“Have you become this Terrance’s fan?” Because of their status, both of them come from good backgrounds and hadn’t put down their reservations to cheer like the audience… Yuu Tachibana’s decision really surprised Yui.

“Fan…” Yuu Tachibana was taken aback and quickly shook her head. “To become my idol…he’s not there yet! At least, at least he has to reach Master Wallace’s level!”

“Alright then, if you’ve decided…” Yui said helplessly.

“Great! After the competition, we’ll go and block him to ask where he’s going to participate in the next Pokémon Contest!” Yuu Tachibana nodded.

Saying that, they turned their gaze towards the arena where Terrance’s battle with Reiko had intensified. Reiko’s Roselia was using Petal Dance and Petal Blizzard, causing a fierce flurry of petals to sweep into every corner like snowflakes. Weaving through this ocean of petals, Roselia carefully observed Altaria’s movements.

Especially the Dragon Rush…that move was too powerful. Given the current intensity of Petal Dance, it couldn’t block the Dragon Rush. Hence, Reiko and Roselia were nervously watching, trying to find an opportunity to break through.

“Look…Terrance’s opponent is clearly trying to use the Pokémon Contest rules to find a way to defeat him,” Yuu Tachibana said to Yui.

“Altaria’s Dragon Rush is too strong, and Roselia can’t confront it head-on. If they want to win, they can only indirectly reduce Altaria’s appeal points.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Yui nodded repeatedly.

In the arena, Vivian was also commenting, but in a way that stirred the audience’s emotions and made the meaning clear to everyone.

“Terrance’s opponent has already lost in mindset. Facing the powerful Altaria, Reiko doesn’t dare to face it head-on. Although it’s a Contest Battle, she kept dodging in a ‘flashy’ way, using the rules to reduce Altaria’s appeal points…” Yuu explained.

“But Roselia is not as strong as Altaria, and this is the stage of the Pokémon Contest, so doesn’t this approach comply with the rules?” Yui asked, puzzled.

“Indeed, this is within the Pokémon Contest rules, and if used well, the weaker opponent can definitely defeat the stronger opponent,” Yuu nodded. “But this also relies on both sides’ understanding of the Pokémon Contest rules and the fundamentals of a Coordinator! Look, Terrance hasn’t been at a disadvantage at all despite Reiko’s tactics. His Coordinator fundamentals are excellent. Contestant Reiko’s attempts to reduce Altaria’s appeal points have been thwarted from the start, and have been countered by Terrance at every turn. This can only mean that Terrance’s Coordinator fundamentals are far superior to Reiko’s.”

Yui nodded thoughtfully. “So, an excellent Coordinator can indeed defeat a stronger opponent, but only if their understanding of the Contest rules and coordination skills are higher than their opponent’s. If the opponent’s Pokémon not only has the upper hand in strength but also understands the Pokémon Contest stage better than oneself, then these so-called ‘techniques’ might backfire.”

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