Chapter 374: Simple Verbal Sparring
The audience loved the tone and attitude of his words, but they were very worried whether Hikaru could actually back them up.
Because in the previous matches, the performance of the three Sakura Country contestants had been overwhelmingly strong.
Regarding their impression of Hikaru,
Most people only focused on that Latias.
They might believe that Latias could defeat two Master-level Pokémon.
But there was still one peak Master-level Pokémon, which wouldn't be easy to deal with...
Perhaps the opponent would even specifically counter Hikaru's Latias...
"Damn, those words felt so good! That's how it should be!"
"God Yu, show them your style!"
"Hikaru, ever since your debut in the Provincial League, I've been watching your matches, and you've never lost!"
"Brother Yu, winning or losing doesn't matter. If you can't win, please don't let my Latias get beaten too badly... sob sob sob..."
...
"Baka!"
At these words, another Sakura Country trainer over there who knew Chinese instantly flew into a rage.
At this moment, the screen materialized by Rotom also began to display the match lineup.
And what made everyone present raise an eyebrow was.
Hikaru's match against this trainer was coincidentally the third one!
Meaning,
They would get to see these two contestants battle today.
After all the contestants had taken their seats in the designated area, Sakura beside him gently tugged Hikaru's hand.
"Bro..."
The worry on her face had almost melted into water.
The opponent's strength had already been displayed a few days ago.
Hikaru pinched her cheek, "Don't worry. Since we were little, I've rarely done things I wasn't sure about."
"Mhm..."
Just after dealing with this child, the other contestants who knew Hikaru also came over one by one to cheer him on.
Among them were Ye Tian, Ye Huo, and several senior sisters.
Words of concern and encouragement, needless to say, were aplenty.
After Hikaru responded to them all, Ash, along with Wutong and Lilith, also came over.
This guy's head was truly filled with nothing but hot-blooded passion.
"Hikaru, what you just said was so incredibly cool."
"This Sakura Country trainer is too arrogant! Thrash him!"
Hikaru asked curiously, "Why do you think I can definitely win?"
Ash said with complete conviction, his face full of youthful spirit, "Bonds! I saw the bonds between you and your Pokémon, and your unwavering belief in victory! With such bonds and belief, you will definitely win..."
Hikaru: "..."
Hikaru really wanted to ask if Ash had seen any 'unwavering belief in victory' when he was battling against Hikaru himself...
However, Hikaru also thanked Ash for his congratulations.
Although compared to the first round, the excitement of the second round was undoubtedly on another level.
But due to what Hikaru had said earlier,
Everyone was clearly looking forward to this third match with great anticipation.
Time passed, drop by drop.
Watching the second match below conclude, Hikaru touched his Poké Ball, feeling slightly nervous.
This was the first time he had been so flamboyant in public.
Hikaru had always considered himself a cautious and meticulous person. When faced with a situation, he would always first consider whether his actions would have repercussions.
He had learned this after finishing the Mizuki City's City League.
At that time, Charmeleon's [Fairy Wings] had brought him a lot of trouble.
For example, it had attracted Team Rocket's Athena.
It made Team Rocket covet his Charizard.
In that incident, Charizard, Gardevoir, Latias... all fell into dire straits.
It was at that moment Hikaru realized,
He wasn't just by himself.
After Sakura left, he had gotten used to being alone, so he was quite casual when handling matters.
It was precisely because of that incident that Hikaru learned that behind him, there was a group of companions...
But this time,
These few Sakura Country trainers were simply too arrogant!
One can endure, but not forever.
Enduring constantly will only make others see you as weak and easy to bully.
Moreover, the current him was different from the past!
Latias was just one step away from Elite Four level, and after Mega Evolution, it would reach level 66.
Plus, with [Godly Stealth], [Fleeting Rainbow], and [Silence].
In this vast world, who could catch him?
Unless the opponent used a Legendary Pokémon...
"The third match is about to begin! Contestants Hikaru and Watanabe Aoki, please prepare to enter the field!"
Taking a deep breath,
Hikaru jumped down from the contestants' platform and walked onto the field.
Opposite him,
Watanabe Aoki looked at him with hatred, "So it was you who eliminated Yamamoto Nika in the preliminaries?"
The Rotom in the sky provided a timely translation.
Hearing this, Hikaru sneered, "You mean that man who wore no clothes, just a diaper, and was covered in green juice?"
"If it's him, then sorry, I was scared, so I accidentally eliminated him."
"Honestly, I never expected someone to not wear clothes in such a competition. I really don't know if he feels ashamed being seen by so many people... And he even painted his head green. What, was he allowed to compete in Huaxia because he has many sisters?"
Verbal sparring before a match was always allowed.
It was euphemistically called a friendly exchange between contestants.
But Hikaru felt there was nothing friendly to exchange with these guys.
He was very confident in his ability to verbally demolish people.
He usually didn't show it because he was normally dealing with acquaintances.
One could tell just by watching Charizard provoke those Gyarados in the secret realm.
A machine-gun-like output of words left Watanabe Aoki speechless, his face flushed red.
"Baka!"
"Baka!"
Just as he was about to retort, Sister Fei, the commentator and referee on the platform, spoke up.
"The match is about to begin. Contestants, please prepare to summon your Pokémon."
A stomach full of words was instantly suppressed.
And this round of verbal sparring left the audience above dumbfounded.
They hadn't expected that the usually serious-looking Hikaru actually had such a black-bellied side.
But strangely, it sounded very satisfying?
"Damn, I didn't hear a single swear word in the whole thing, but it felt so dirty?"
"Look at that Sakura Country contestant, I think smoke is coming out of his head from anger!?"
"No, I love it, I love it! After that verbal lashing, I feel like my tension is completely relieved!" (Translated "乳腺都通了" more generally as extreme satisfaction/relief).
"Hikaru has such a side to him? Sob sob sob... So cute..."
In the contestants' seating area.
Some people who knew Hikaru also looked at him as if seeing him for the first time.
When they interacted with Hikaru, they had always felt he was a very gentle person, very comfortable to be around.
But the Hikaru on stage now showed them another side...
Even Mu Wanqing, who was usually emotionally stable and didn't swear, silently thought to herself.
This is too f***ing satisfying!
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