You're not allowed to play Pokémon!

Chapter 354 Qingyu: Why do I feel like milk is gushing out from behind me...?

"Played well."

After the battle, as is customary, the two trainers walked towards each other, shook hands, and made peace, leaving the outcome of the battle on the field.

After politely extending his hand to Ichiki, who had lowered his head and looked somewhat dejected, Aoba smiled and spoke softly.

Although the words sounded somewhat sarcastic, Qingyu genuinely meant them.

After all, Yishu's performance wasn't bad, and his shrinking tactic was indeed surprising. If he had faced a slightly weaker opponent, he wouldn't have had no chance of advancing to the quarterfinals.

Unfortunately, he ran into himself, as well as Mewtwo and Lucario when they got serious.

The shrinking tactic is more for entertainment purposes, and there are too many ways to limit it in high-level actual combat. Besides, this is the first one I've ever used. Even without Mewtwo's powerful brick-flying ability, there are other solutions such as Aura Sphere.

So it's normal to lose.

"Teacher Yu, thank you for your guidance!"

However, contrary to what Qingyu had expected, after being encouraged by Qingyu, Yishu immediately raised his head, his face beneath the mask revealing his excitement.

Even though he seemed to have recovered from the "chuunibyou" state of being immersed in the battle, his tone was still full of passion.

"Although I suffered a humiliating defeat this time, I also took this opportunity to realize the gap between my skill level and that of truly powerful trainers. I will strive to take you as my role model and continue to work hard!"

"Uh... Good luck."

Qingyu didn't know what to say, so she sighed inwardly and patted his shoulder.

You will definitely become very capable in the future.

How could they not be powerful? After all, they would become one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Johto.

However, it seems that the viewers at the "Four Heavenly Kings" level already know several of them...

After chatting with the excited Yishu for a few more minutes, Qingyu quickly waved goodbye to him as the next round of matches was about to begin, and entered the players' tunnel amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the audience.

Soon, he appeared in the audience and easily found Zhu Lan and Jia Deliya.

"Mwah~"

The first to notice Qingyu's arrival was "Sylveon" in Cynthia's arms, who immediately waved the ribbons fluttering in the air enthusiastically.

"Thanks to you, Dream... Fairy Cloth."

Qingyu squinted and took the little guy from Zhulan, who was smiling at her, and reached out to touch its belly.

As the best pilot of the Dream Gundam, how could he not know that Dream's little actions were a way of asking for credit?

After all, the Psychic Terrain and Wide Area of ​​Effect that Mewtwo used at the beginning of the battle and had a good effect were all taught to it by Mew, its "good teacher".

"After we finish fighting and return to Padiya, I'll have your steward treat you to a special meal as a reward. He'll make you light cod sashimi, crab roe rice, and your favorite extra spicy master-level cheese sandwich."

"Mwah!"

Qingyu, having precisely grasped the desires of the dreamlike creature, made only a slight move, causing the mischievous little guy to squint its eyes and let out a joyful cry.

"Qingyu, congratulations on advancing to the quarterfinals!"

Just as Qingyu and Meng Huan were interacting affectionately, Zhulan's gentle voice soon came over.

"Next, our goal is the championship!"

"Ah."

Qingyu nodded, her gaze filled with confidence as she looked up at Zhulan.

"Although the opponents will become stronger and stronger, and the matches may become more difficult, however..."

"With such a group of partners who completely trust me and are very reliable, I want to work harder to meet their expectations."

"So, I will keep going until the very last step."

"..."

Upon hearing Qingyu's words, Jiadeliya, who was sitting next to Zhulan, was speechless for a moment.

Looking at just Lucario and Mewtwo, it's no exaggeration to say that Aoba could win the championship.

But it was Zhu Lan who said those words, and she said them to Qing Yu right in front of her, a contestant!

"snort--!"

Cattleya immediately let out a soft snort of dissatisfaction.

"If you want to win the championship, then try your best to defeat me on the battlefield!"

"Winning a high-level golf tournament is not as easy as you think. The opponents you've faced before were just appetizers!"

After using the "threat words" technique, Gadriya quickly got up and left for the players' lounge to prepare for her upcoming match in the quarterfinals.

Although she knew very well that even if she encountered Qingyu, who still had many unknowns, her chances of winning would probably not exceed 5%.

Qingyu's main Pokémon are still not fully revealed. Judging from the fact that he just pulled out Mewtwo and caught Ichigo off guard, Qingyu will probably use the same trick again in the upcoming elimination rounds.

However, knowing it in one's mind is one thing, but being able to defend against his almost unsolvable information gap tactics is another.

But this doesn't stop Gadriya from boosting her morale before the match.

As long as we can find a way to deal with that troublesome Mewtwo, our chances of winning should be quite high!
……

After Cattleya left, Qingyu and Zhulan continued watching the remaining seven group matches.

Most of the players who advanced to the knockout stage did not surprise him.

Familiar faces include Sabrina, Cattleya, and Gossou, whom I've met online a few times. Gypsy, the Psychic Gym Leader of the Kalos region, and Lip, the true Psychic Gym Leader of Padia, have also officially advanced.

As for the other two spots, they were secured by Konan from the Hoenn twins and Dexio, Dr. Blatano's assistant from the Kalos region.

The Psychic Gym Leaders of Hoenn are twins who are said to have an incredibly powerful telepathic ability that allows them to think in sync, so they need to team up in doubles battles to unleash their full potential.

This tournament format is not favorable for them; it's already quite good that one of them made it to the quarterfinals.

As for Dexio, Aoba had a slight impression of him.

It is an important entity outside of the XY main characters, and it also made a cameo appearance in Sun and Moon, where it gifted the game's protagonist, Zygarde, a polyhedron.

In some ways, he can be considered a newcomer with some connection to mythical beasts and considerable strength.

If we include Qingyu himself, the overall average combat strength is above that of a gym leader, which is indeed in line with the level of advanced ball games.

"It seems that our opponents in this knockout stage are not to be underestimated."

After the final match, which Sabrina easily won, Zhu Lan sat in her seat, rested her chin on her hands, turned her head and smiled at Qing Yu.

"And... maybe it's because you performed so well before? It felt like everyone was obviously more serious in the last round, and you won 3-0 against your opponents much more often than in the previous rounds."

"Especially Cattleya, I can tell she's going all out!"

"So, do you have a good way to deal with her?"

Qingyu waved his hand helplessly at Zhulan's slightly teasing question.

"Let's see who we'll face in the upcoming matches first. It's much better to have a specific opponent than to just shoot at empty targets."

"Furthermore, Cattleya must have something up her sleeve. So far, her main force has been artificial cell eggs instead of Miss Gothia. Hopefully, she won't be hiding any strange tactics..."

At this point, Qingyu suddenly recalled his previous group stage experience, and his lips twitched violently.

From David's hypnotic technique of emptying the insurance to the shrinking tactic of the last tree, it seems that he taught both of these skill systems himself!
Furthermore, hypnosis and various other techniques seem to have been used much more frequently in this Masters Tournament than before...?
Not only those who had learned their own tactics, but even Lip, who wasn't very familiar with them, started using this method!
It seems... some viewers in the chat mentioned during the live stream that the competitive environment would eventually be assimilated by itself, and now it seems that this trend is already emerging. In response, Qingyu responded with a non-stick pan.

After all, the support moves of superpower attributes are inherently dirty, with all sorts of things that mess with people's mentality, so how could it be my problem!
As for whether Cattleya will watch her own live stream...

That's possible, but expecting her to watch every single one of her tactical tutorials as carefully as others is unlikely.

After all, I think I only noticed her once during a live stream.

So, compared to others, she might be the most normal and "simple" trainer?

Everyone's started using tactics now; if you can't keep up, you're falling behind the times!
Just as Qingyu was secretly complaining to herself, Zhulan whispered a reminder:
"Looks like they're about to announce their opponents for the next knockout stage?"

Qingyu then came to her senses and turned her gaze to the large screen on the other side of the stands.

At this point, A-Du, acting as the commentator, began drawing bamboo sticks that the staff had prepared in advance and announced the results one by one.

"Group 1, Natsie vs. Dexie."

"The second group, Ge Jihua vs. Xiao Nan."

"Group 3, Gossong vs. Lip."

"Finally... Qingyu vs. Gaderia."

After A-Du read out the order of the next eight matches with a complicated expression, Aoba quickly revealed a playful expression.

Who would have thought that I would be facing Gadriya in the quarterfinals?

Even Zhu Lan, who was standing next to him, was clearly surprised.

This is a very important match for both him and Cattleya.

Caldaria's journey to Unova was aimed at securing a spot as a top player, and a good ranking in the Attribute Master Tournament would obviously greatly help her in that challenge.

For Qingyu, this is his first time participating in an international competition. The higher his ranking, the more points he will receive. International points are also a bonus in the process of Padia's advancement to the top tier.

Therefore, both of them have reasons why they cannot afford to lose.

"I didn't expect you two to run into each other so early."

As Zhu Lan shook her head helplessly, her indecisiveness flared up again.

"When the time comes, who should we cheer for..."

Qingyu simply smiled and did not say anything.

After all, stepping onto the battlefield of the Master Tournament meant that he was destined to face off against Gadria sooner or later, and he had long been mentally prepared for this.

Just as Qingyu was silently watching Zhulan, finding it amusing to see her slightly furrowed brow due to the difficulty of making a choice, the surrounding audience quickly began cheering for their favorite contestant, guided by the top host Hu Tao.

"Go for it, Teacher Yu! You must fight to the very end and win the championship, so that we fans can have some pride in the future!"

"What Masters Tournament? It doesn't even have the same prestige as Yu-laoshi's Road to Champions!"

"Teacher Yu, why don't you just stay in Patria and stick to playing matches outside? (Feeling guilty)"

"A mere Cattleya? Teacher Yu's Mewtwo can easily defeat it!"

"..."

Although he could only hear the gist of it, Qingyu found it hard to hold back when he noticed that these were comments from his own fans.

Dude, how come you're suddenly getting milk flowing from your back before the main competition even starts?!
"You seem to be quite popular with everyone?"

Zhu Lan also noticed the noise from the nearby audience, so she made a teasing remark.

Soon, she remembered a question that had been bothering her during the group stage and asked it again.

"By the way, there's a question I've been wanting to ask for a while now..."

"You and Lucario should have mastered the power of Mega Evolution by now, right? You won't have to use all your trump cards that you didn't use before in the tournament against Cattleya, will you?"

Thinking of this, Zhu Lan's expression became somewhat subtle.

While I really want to see Gadriya cry her eyes out after losing, what if Aoba goes too far and really traumatizes the child...?

"Probably not."

Qingyu shook her head.

"After all, the Type Master Tournament is a 3v3 competition, so besides Lucario and Mewtwo, there's another Pokémon that should be brought out as well."

Qingyu was referring to Ai Guanshi, her younger sister.

It wasn't used before, and was even ranked after Mewtwo, not because it was just a support character.

In fact, if Abbot had only been able to learn the same moves as before under Mew's guidance, Aoba would have sent it into battle much earlier.

After all, the earlier a support player enters the game, the greater the help they can provide to their teammates.

"Mwah~"

The dream that Qingyu was holding clearly understood his thoughts and immediately let out a mischievous laugh.

Under its tutelage, this loyal servant has become an extraordinary force. With Qingyu's command, its first appearance will surely amaze the audience!
All I can say is that Ai Guan Shi's younger sister and Qing Yu's compatibility might be ridiculously good...

"Yeah……"

Seeing Qingyu and Meng Huan grinning mischievously at the same time, Zhulan roughly understood their thoughts and stopped asking questions.

It seems that Gadria hasn't mastered any special mechanisms like Mega Evolution yet. If you defeat her using Mega Evolution, she'll definitely still feel somewhat resentful.

However, if Qingyu were to use the most straightforward method—to directly defeat Cattleya in terms of superpower attributes…

Perhaps this will help Gardner to clear up some of her negative opinions about Qingyu, and maybe the relationship between the two will even have a chance to break down?
As for whether Qingyu will lose?

Zhu Lan hadn't considered this point. As the champion and the person who knew them best, her judgment was quite convincing.

After all, one is her childhood sweetheart who grew up with her and is incredibly important to her, and the other is her best friend of many years. If they can get along well, it would be a good thing for Zhu Lan.

So, she quickly smiled.

"Well then, I'm really looking forward to seeing this mysterious Pokémon in your hand."

"You'll see soon."

Qingyu smiled slightly, and the topic ended there.

Meanwhile, Gadriya, who had just won a match and was sitting in the players' lounge, also received a message about an updated schedule.

Unlike Qingyu's composure, Gadriya was clearly in a state of agitation after learning that she would be facing Qingyu.

"Why did we run into Qingyu so early?!"

"I was hoping to see if anyone else had a way to deal with that Mewtwo, but now I've become the first guinea pig..."

"And we can't ignore Qingyu's third Pokémon that hasn't appeared yet!"

"This is so troublesome... I guess I'll just have to play it my own style!"

……

After a day of rest, the Pokémon Dome Psychic Masters Tournament has entered the main stage.

On the first day of the competition, the morning featured two matches in the upper bracket, while the afternoon included a head-to-head clash between Qingyu and Jiaderia.

(End of this chapter)