You're not allowed to play Pokémon!

Chapter 353 Mewtwo: Why does the Masters Tournament feel less impressive than Gym Battles?
"wrong!"

In the stands, Gadria, who was watching Qingyu's match with Zhulan and scouting the enemy's situation before it was her turn to fight, suddenly let out a strange cry.

"Something's wrong with this Pokémon!"

"Miao?"

Her voice not only attracted the attention of Cynthia, who was focused on watching the game, but also made Sylveon, who was sitting on her lap, look curious.

"At first I didn't notice it, but after thinking about it carefully, I realized there was definitely a problem!"

As a psychic who is already skilled in using telekinesis, Cattleya clearly has a deeper understanding of psychic abilities than ordinary people.

Therefore, she keenly noticed a point that seemed to be overlooked by many people.

"Clefairy is a Pokémon with excellent resistance to energy moves, so even a wide-area move with the power-up from Psychic Terrain shouldn't be a problem for it to withstand."

"Moreover, it uses its continuous shrinking to make itself safer and its location unpredictable."

"At this time, Qingyu's attack is somewhat of a gamble; no one knows if it will hit."

"But just considering the burst of power and coverage when Mewtwo uses Wide Area Power, it's ridiculously strong..."

As she spoke, Cattleya frowned.

"Normally, wide-area combat power should not be able to cover the entire field without any blind spots."

"But superpowers are different from other elemental attacks. As long as the user's psychic power is strong enough, it is theoretically possible to achieve a saturation bombing effect by simply increasing the quantity..."

"That's why I said something was off about this Pokémon. Its psychic reserves and its use of psychic powers are both very unusual!"

After Cattleya finished her argument, two new questions suddenly arose.

"Where exactly did Qingyu find this unknown Pokémon that excels in psychic abilities?"

After watching the first four rounds, Gadria originally thought that Qingyu had just randomly picked two Pokémon to make up the numbers, and was planning to rely on one Pokémon to force his way into the top eight and get some points.

This approach is a bit strange, but it's reasonable from the perspective of the competition format, so she can't really say anything, at most she can mutter a few words behind her back...

But now, how come Qingyu suddenly pulled out a Pokémon that is as strong as a monster and just happens to fit the theme of the Psychic Masters Tournament?
Even before today, I had never heard of such a Pokémon!
I can't even find it in the encyclopedia!

Completely without any information, yet incredibly powerful...

It's easy to imagine that Mewtwo puts far more pressure on Qingyu's competitors than Lucario and Sylveon have already appeared.

Cattleya had to admit that she was now feeling a little pressure.

Damn it, how come Qingyu is hiding so many bad things!
It seems that defeating Qingyu head-on is not as simple as I initially thought...

"Mwah~"

Before Zhu Lan could speak, the "Sylveon" in her arms breathed a sigh of relief.

What's the big deal? It's nothing, why are you making such a fuss?

As for her question about whether Mewtwo's Wide-Area Combat technique was legal...

What are you babbling about? I taught Mewtwo and Indeedee this move. Do you think I don't know whether it's legal or not?
However, the surprised attitude shown by Cattleya did indeed make it feel somewhat pleased.

Human reactions are really interesting!

"Hmm...this Pokémon is indeed quite special."

Zhu Lan nodded.

She had heard some things about the origin of this Mewtwo from Qingyu, and she also knew that it had a special connection with the Mew she held in her arms.

Therefore, its potential must far exceed that of ordinary Pokémon, and perhaps even Pokémon that mature late in life will find it difficult to compare.

But because of this, she had no intention of telling any outsiders about the little secret between her and Qingyu.

Even Cattleya won't do.

However, compared to her best friend's sweat-drenched appearance, Zhu Lan quickly revealed a playful smile, glancing down at "Sylveon the Fairy" sitting on her lap, who had resumed watching the game intently.

Even Mewtwo, who hasn't fully grown yet, is like this. Just how strong must Mew, the original form, be...?

Perhaps this is the fundamental reason why Qingyu was unwilling to bring it to the competition?
A Pokémon that can instantly kill the match once it enters the field...

Despite being so cute and having a friendly personality, she's actually a terrifying little monster!
Zhu Lan quickly turned her attention back to the battlefield.

"This is too exaggerated..."

Sensing that his companion Piccolo had suffered a severe injury, Ichiki, who had covered his face with a black mask, clutched his chest as if he felt the same way and let out a sigh.

"As expected of Yu-sensei's Pokémon, this terrifying attack truly exceeded my expectations, but..."

Ichiki, who was stuck in his chuunibyou state, suddenly changed the subject, looked up and revealed his fighting spirit in his eyes, and then half-raised his right hand on the mask, revealing a hearty smile.

"That's right, that's exactly how it should be! This is how it should be in a battle against a powerful enemy. Every mistake is painfully costly and must be remembered forever!"

"Thank you for your gift, but please allow me to savor this suffocating sense of oppression a little longer, Teacher Yu!"

"Picosie, use Shadow Ball again!"

After being severely damaged, all of Yishu's plans for Piccolo were rendered in vain.

Faced with a wide-area combat power that covers the entire field, the effect of shrinking is negligible. After being caught off guard by an attack, Piccolo didn't even have the extra stamina to create a Stand.

It's like giving away a Pokémon for free.

Next, if Mewtwo on the other side uses the same move again, Clefairy will almost certainly not survive.

The first round of probing suffered a great loss due to the information gap. At this point, Yishu could only choose to let Clefairy make the most of her remaining strength, and finally use a Shadow Ball to reduce Mewtwo's stamina, making a final contribution for her teammates who would appear next.

Mewtwo, the one who foresees the future.

Instead of dealing with the Clefairy immediately, Qingyu gave some rather unusual commands.

"To foresee the future..."

In the commentary booth, Adu pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"Is it because they feel Clefairy is no longer a threat, so they're using this move to support the future and further suppress Ichiju's next Pokémon?"

"As one of the ultimate moves of the Psychic type, Foresight takes the use of psychic power to the extreme, thereby briefly seeing the location of the opponent's Pokémon at a certain moment, and unleashing a powerful psychic attack from the past to the future."

"But in return, Mewtwo will have to endure Clefairy's final counterattack, so it's a trade."

Adu's analysis actually makes a lot of sense.

But he certainly didn't expect what would happen next.

Both sides gave their commands in turn, and Mewtwo immediately unleashed another burst of incredibly violent psychic power.

However, this time its target was not Picoxi, and it suddenly disappeared a moment after flying into the sky.

Following closely behind, Piccolo's Shadow Ball was also unleashed with full force.

Under the sunlight, a sinister and terrifying black energy condensed between his hands and, under Pico's control, instantly flew out to attack his opponent.

With a loud bang, black smoke erupted from the battlefield, completely obscuring Mewtwo's figure.

When it reappeared, Mewtwo was still standing with its arms crossed and in a blocking stance, but it only had a few scratches on its body.

"This power... is too ordinary, isn't it?"

Caldelia in the audience looked surprised once again.

Generally speaking, with a few exceptionally high potentials, most Pokémon have limited abilities.

Trainers also find it difficult to train them into perfect all-rounders, which is why they need to develop training plans to specifically improve their abilities.

This is also a fundamental skill for trainers.

The two most common development paths are the offensive damage dealer route focused on extreme speed and the defensive counter-attacking shield dealer route focused on defense.

Judging from Mewtwo's performance in the battle just now, she thought it was an extreme Pokémon with maximum offensive capabilities and attack speed.

result……

The Pikachu on the field looks quite strong.

Yishu was already close to being able to advance to the knockout stage, and had a lot of experience in raising Pokémon. In addition, the Shadow Ball it just used had a good restraining effect on Mewtwo.

With all these factors combined, theoretically, it should have been able to severely damage the opponent, making Qingyu pay the price for his arrogance in planning the next battle before even defeating the opponent.

But Mewtwo survived Clefairy's Shadow Ball attack unscathed.

First, we can rule out the possibility that it possesses the Dark type, which is more difficult to deal with in Ghost-type combat, because Gadria didn't sense any Dark-type energy on Mewtwo at all.

So, there's only one answer—

It truly is a well-rounded fighter, boasting impressive damage output while also possessing excellent durability.

At the very least, he's an excellent partner on par with Metagross!

"Tsk..."

Gadriya had to admit that just watching the battle from an outsider's perspective had already made her a little sweaty.

This guy, who's so troublesome just by looking at the numbers, would be a difficult opponent for any superpowered individual!
If we prepare for the worst, we might have to confront it head-on to wear it down, and the losses would inevitably be substantial.

In the end, where did Qingyu get such an outrageous Pokémon from?

But that's okay. Every Pokémon has weaknesses and areas where it's not good.

We need to seriously consider how to deal with it!

Despite her helplessness, a burning fire quickly rose in Gadria's heart once again.

Blue Feather!

Even if a mythical beast comes, it can't stop me from settling this score with you once and for all!
I said!
……

Clearly, Piccolo's last struggle did not yield good results.

After blocking its Shadow Ball attack, Mewtwo unleashed another Wide-Range Power, easily taking down Clefairy.

Standing atop the psychic field, Mewtwo's oppressive aura suddenly intensified, causing Isshu opposite him to grit his teeth and show a troubled expression.

However, he quickly regained his composure. After putting the Clefairy back into its original size after it had fallen to the ground, he immediately took out a second Poké Ball from his pocket.

"The second one... I've decided on you!"

"Bronze bell!"

The red light flashed again, and the bronze bell, covered in weathered marks and seemingly from ancient times, floated on the ground.

"A bronze bell is a very safe choice."

After pondering for a moment, Adu gave a positive evaluation.

"With its steel and super-powered attributes, and its inherently defensive nature, it is arguably the best choice for facing predictable attacks that could come at any time on the field."

"At the same time, the moves that Mewtwo has used on Qingyu's side have been determined, so it can be concluded that it has no good way to deal with Bronze Bell."

It's not hard to guess why Yishu chose to use the bronze bell.

In the battle with Clefairy just now, Mewtwo used Instant Teleport to evade attacks, Psychic Terrain to create advantageous terrain, and the extremely threatening Wide Area Combat Power and Foresight.

Although Mewtwo did manage to defeat Clefairy at a very low cost thanks to Qingyu's decisive command, it had no advantage against Bronze Bell.

It has four times the resistance to Psychic-type moves, allowing it to hold its own against Mewtwo even if it tries to fight head-on.

However, Qingyu should also know such a simple truth. While pondering, Adu suddenly made a bold conjecture—

Did Qingyu do this on purpose?
In theory, almost any Psychic-type Pokémon could defeat Mewtwo's Foresight.

However, due to the terrifying suppressive power of the wide-area combat force, the Yishu team, which had suffered the first loss of personnel, had to deal with it cautiously, so they subconsciously made the decision to form a joint defense with the Bronze Bell.

What if this was also within Qingyu's expectations?
Judging from his terrifying ability to predict and calculate during online battles, it's quite possible!
Thinking of this, A-Du lowered his head again and looked at the black-haired youth on the field who still had a confident smile, becoming even more certain of his thoughts.

Knew it……

Although we don't know exactly what he's planning to do, this alone clearly shows that there is a terrifying gap in skill level between the two trainers.

Unbeknownst to them, Qingyu had even begun to guide Yishu's next move!
However, Yishu himself was completely unaware of this.

What a little monster!

Adu sighed inwardly.

Before this, apart from wild battles where trainers would also participate, few people had given him this amazing feeling.

At least at the time, these elite trainers shared the following consensus:
Trainers tend to focus on improving the average level of their Pokémon during normal times, but their impact on battles is relatively limited.

But Qingyu didn't think so.

On the battlefield, he is the key figure who decides the outcome!
And indeed, things turned out just as A-du had thought.

"Come back, Mewtwo."

After confirming Yishu's choice, Qingyu made a rotation adjustment without hesitation.

After all, Mewtwo had already used all four of its moves and managed to trick the opponent into revealing a Pokémon with a defensive focus. Mewtwo was already doomed.

This gave him a safe opportunity to rotate out.

Unlike his previous opponents, this time Kazuki was quite skilled, though still a bit inexperienced compared to him and unaware of his plans.

After the battle just now, he had basically estimated Mewtwo's current level. Although continuing to stay in the arena would probably allow it to overpower its opponent with its sheer strength and wide-area attack, it would inevitably consume a lot of Mewtwo's stamina, which was not worthwhile.

Therefore, Qingyu decided to act quickly to avoid any mishaps.

Mewtwo understood and didn't say much.

But in its heart, it still silently complained:
Why does the Psychic Masters Tournament, an international competition, seem less appealing than the Gym Battles where students from Padia engage in cutthroat competition?

Is it my imagination?

A flash of red light appeared, and Mewtwo's figure quickly disappeared.

"Bronze Bell, Magic Space!"

At this moment, Yishu belatedly realized the serious mistake he had made.

The bronze bell had almost no suppressive power; it seemed that it could only stare helplessly at Qingyu's rotation.

In an attempt to stem the tide, Yishu quickly instructed the bronze bell to reverse its speed.

Because no matter what Qingyu chooses next, it's almost impossible for her to be slower than her own bulky bronze bell.

"Luca!"

As Lucario appeared, Mewtwo's precognitive attack reappeared, striking Bronze Bell, who was strengthening itself and trying to form an impenetrable wall.

Unfortunately, even with Mewtwo's fighting power, it was still no match for it.

Having withstood the powerful psychic attack, the Trick Space had already fully charged up, transforming into a mental field that covered the entire arena.

In this magical space, speed is reversed, and Lucario clearly feels his steps become heavier.

but……

"Luca!"

Lucario frowned, then subconsciously reached out and grabbed the weight ring on his other wrist.

If I remove the weights now, will my speed increase or decrease?
Qingyu couldn't help but nod in approval at Yishu's on-the-spot adjustments.

At the same time, he had a general idea of ​​what he should do next.

So Qingyu didn't rush to command Lucario to attack, but remained calmly standing in the back of the field, watching his opponent with a smile.

"Bronze bell, attack!"

Seeing this, Yishu decisively chose to give chase.

Although it's unclear why Qingyu would choose to give himself an obvious opening, perhaps he was just giving himself, a viewer, a chance to shine?
But at this moment, he couldn't care less about all that.

Tackle is one of the few moves that can effectively damage Lucario, and because its power is related to the Pokémon's body toughness, it can exert even greater pressure on Lucario.

If one attack isn't enough, then try a second one.

In any case, within the Trick Room, the speed of the Bronze Bell is absolutely superior, so there's no fear of missing Lucario.

"Knew it……"

Seeing the bronze bell suddenly charging wildly towards Lucario, Qingyu immediately confirmed his guess.

So he decisively came up with the countermeasure he had already thought of.

"Lucario, I'll pay you back double."

As Qingyu smiled and spoke, Lucario already understood and assumed a defensive stance.

This move was already used by Riolu in its battle against Eevee.

Because Lucario is overly cautious, his focus during battle is exaggerated. He even once used an exaggerated fighting style where Eevee's move missed, but Lucario returned the favor with double the attack.

Qingyu hadn't really let it use this move before, partly because she was worried that its small body before evolution wouldn't be able to withstand it, and partly because she wanted it to be more proactive and less cautious.

Now, influenced by the magic space, it has finally gotten its wish and used the "squatting and fighting style" that it learned from childhood and is highly proficient in.

I didn't build all those muscles for nothing!

The bronze bell resembles a ferocious beast moving at high speed, and its overwhelming force when it pounces is astonishing.

However, as the distance between the two sides rapidly closed, Lucario, as the opponent, did not dodge. Instead, he assumed a sumo-like defensive stance, seemingly intending to use his hands to deflect the initial force.

The bronze bell's violent impact quickly brought the two Pokémon into a head-on confrontation.

However, even with its weight advantage, the bronze bell did not seem to gain any advantage.

Lucario's arm muscles instantly exploded, using terrifying strength to quickly neutralize its momentum, and then he immediately revealed a somewhat cruel smile.

"Luka luka luka!"

A barrage of punches rained down on the bronze bell's surface. With its attack blocked head-on and no room to move, the bell could only endure the devastating combination of blows.

The entire audience was stunned.

"This... didn't Teacher Yu say it was 'double payback'? I seem to remember 'double payback' means returning double the opponent's attack?"

"That's so many punches already, and they're still calling it 'double payback'? I think it should be renamed 'hundredfold payback'!"

"I'm really scared to tears this time. In close combat, Lucario blocks my attacks and then launches a crazy counterattack. I can't beat it in ranged beam battles. If the distance gets close, it will attack on its own. And its moves have an absurdly wide range. Teacher Yu, please teach me how to fight this Lucario..."

After an unknown amount of time, Lucario, having finally completed his "Double Up" combo, suddenly unleashed a powerful uppercut with his right hand as a finishing move. He then turned his back, leaving his opponent with only a resolute silhouette.

boom--

The bronze bell fell backward to the ground with a thud, and its eyes quickly filled with multiple circles.

Logically speaking, Bronze Bell shouldn't be that afraid of Fighting-type moves, but thinking about how Lucario might have thrown hundreds of punches in an instant, even Kazuki himself felt that it was somewhat reasonable...?
This Lucario easily defeated its Bronze Bell in one hit, so why...?

I even think it's kind of cool!
"..."

In the commentary booth, A-Du also fell silent.

Don't think I don't know...

That Lucario's attack just now definitely used the martial arts concept of "Water Flow Combo," another secret technique passed down in the Isle of Armor Dojo!
Even if Master Ma personally trained a Lucario from scratch, its strength in just six months might not be stronger than Qingyu's...

He's a complete monster.

On the big screen, another Poké Ball lamp went out under the tree icon, bringing the score to 2-0.

Having reached a dead end, Ichiju had no other choice but to send out his most prized initial partner, Naraku, hoping to at least salvage some face through their bond.

however……

Bonds might be useful, but they're unlikely to be useful in this particular match.

Because the Psychic + Flying type has a significant weakness, which Lucario has already demonstrated before—

"Lucario, use Extreme Speed ​​to close the distance, then finish this battle with Dark Strike!"

Faced with a naturally flying bird, Qingyu decisively chose Dark Nether Strike as the finishing move.

Although ranged attacks are also Lucario's comfort zone compared to melee combat, and for Flying-type Natu, simply flying away and creating distance can easily get them out of Lucario's attack range.

However, the bronze bell, which was a natural teammate of the birds, unwittingly became a black sheep at this time.

The effects of the magic space continue, with natural birds flying on the field at a snail's pace, almost like crawling.

The psychic field left behind by Mewtwo has gradually dissipated over time.

In other words, both sides can now use initiative moves normally!
Lucario, of course, wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by.

"Luca!"

Lucario immediately gathered a dark attribute energy in his right hand that was very familiar to the audience. After taking a step, he ignored the effects of Trick Room and was already close to Nargacuga, which was trying to take off.

Once Lucario got close, the outcome was obvious.

With a powerful fist that seemed to be wrapped in black smoke, the image of a tree on the big screen quickly turned completely gray.

"The victor has been chosen!"

As the referee blew his whistle, Ms. Hu Tao's passionate voice rang out simultaneously.

"With a terrifying record of five consecutive 3-0 victories, Qingyu, a player with no prior major tournament experience and frighteningly young, has become the first seeded player to reach the quarterfinals of this year's Superpower Masters Tournament!!!"

"Hopefully, he can continue to deliver such a delightful and exciting performance in the upcoming main competition. Let's wait and see!"

The audience, who already knew the outcome, began to celebrate, with cheers and shouts rising and falling, and even a few wails could be faintly heard among them.

"That's incredible! Is this Teacher Yu's true strength?"

"No, so even though they're already in the top eight, Teacher Yu hasn't revealed his other psychic Pokémon yet? That's outrageous!"

"I've completely given up hope for this year's championship. If Teacher Yu is the first Heavenly King, I doubt we'll see any newcomers coming this year..."

In the audience, watching Qingyu display a confident smile and an excited expression, Zhulan also smiled.

"Qingyu seems to have truly become the dark horse of this Masters Tournament..."

"..."

Caldelia remained silent, but inwardly she was on the verge of collapse.

What should I do? I don't think I really can beat this guy...

(End of this chapter)