You're not allowed to play Pokémon!

Chapter 377 New Trainer Nemo Arrives with a Challenge!

If we consider the armored dragon that just appeared as the first appetizer served...

With the Foundation Stone Mask on, the Evil Spirit is undoubtedly the toughest opponent in this challenge, perhaps even a bit too tough for opponents who are skilled with the Sunny Day team.

It was originally one of the most powerful Pokémon in Yu's possession, a point that the students had largely reached after the Masters Tournament.

After all, when it gets serious, it seems that no matter who the opponent is, it only needs one thorny vine club to take down most of them.

As for those that can't be solved, then we'll just give you a few more thorny vine sticks.

And what's even more outrageous is...

It's one thing that the light stats are high and it's a complete annihilation, but the mechanics of the Calamity are also extremely absurd.

Based on current information, Egui Peng possesses four different types of masks, and gains power of the corresponding attribute when wearing them.

The four elements—grass, water, fire, and rock—theoretically have no weaknesses in attacking, and can be flexibly switched to suit different team compositions.

The stone mask among them is none other than the strictest father of the Sunny Team.

Not only is it extremely effective against Fire-type Pokémon, but even against Grass-type Pokémon used by Sunny Day teams for defense, Dire Pine can use Fighting moves to force its way through and quickly sweep the team.

The audience and the challengers were both stunned.

Even Mewtwo and the other challengers on the other side of the field stopped their battles and focused their attention entirely on Qingyu and Erguipeng.

"666, Teacher Yu, you're not even going to act anymore, are you? You've pulled out all the traps, which newcomer can pass your test now!"

"To be honest, Teacher Yu wouldn't have chosen to start with the Armored Dragon just to save face for us, would he...?"

"That's really true. If we give way to the rules of the game, then the Pokémon games that follow will reveal Teacher Yu's true skill level?"

"But this armored dragon doesn't seem very legitimate. What if it evolves later and becomes a monster that I can't beat at all!"

Several students who were watching had already taken out their notebooks and recorded all the performances of the armored dragon and the Evil Phantom.

As the vanguard of Team Celestial, their purpose in coming to Sunny Gym is not only to challenge "Master Elite Four member" but also to record his Pokémon habits and fighting style.

Unlike the ordinary challenges where you could earn the gym badge by giving your all to gain Master Yu's approval, there's only one way to advance further on the Champion's Path—

Defeat all the Heavenly Kings who stand in your way, and then defeat Chairman Yeci!

Therefore, compared to previous gym battles, the difficulty of each battle on the Road to Champions has increased by several levels.

However, the appearance of Qingyu, the X factor, actually gave them a relatively favorable opportunity.

While Teacher Tianwang Yu's assessment is difficult, the opportunity to start the challenge at the end of March is unprecedented, meaning they can adapt to the difficulty of the Tianwang Battle very early on.

There's still plenty of time, and they have a lot of room for improvement. Once they get used to Coach Yu's intensity, the road to the championship will become much easier.

But... can we really keep up with Teacher Yu's intensity?

After watching the first match, which was a complete rout, many students quickly lost their confidence.

After the first challenger was defeated in a flash, Qingyu looked at the slightly more mature student, smiled, and stepped forward to give a summary:

"For a newcomer, this level of skill is actually quite remarkable."

"If I were the Sunny Gym Leader right now, this battle would definitely be worth a gym badge."

"However... the requirements for the Champion's Path assessment will be much higher than before, after all, only the most promising newcomers in the entire Padia region can gain the approval of President Yeci."

"In other words, if you want to become the champion, you have to be the 'strongest' without a doubt."

"So in the time ahead, let's focus on improving the Pokémon's level, and also think about how to work together to unleash their full potential in battle."

"Looking forward to your next challenge."

This time, Qingyu did not give the newcomers specific advice on training direction and lineup selection after the battle, as she had done in previous assessments.

Since the challengers are all outstanding students who have already obtained multiple badges, they have basically already established their own direction and future plans on the path of becoming trainers, so Qingyu's advice is meaningless at this stage.

So it would be better to encourage them to trust their partners, become stronger, and then challenge themselves.

"I understand……"

The burly challenger lowered his head, looking quite dejected.

After all, after graduating from Teacher Yu's class in the first stage, he won six gym badges in a row, which clearly makes him a "prodigy".

If Gym Leader Lip hadn't also participated in the Psychic Masters Tournament, I might have already collected all seven badges, only missing Gym Leader Glussa on Mount Frostbite.

His string of victories made him a little arrogant, and he felt that the gym leader was nothing special, and that he could probably beat the king and champion if he worked hard.

But when he actually faced off against Master Yu, he finally realized that his skill level was probably still far from sufficient.

To truly conquer the path to victory, Teacher Yu is only facing the first hurdle...

It seems I need to work even harder.

……

As expected, Qingyu's team won easily in the following matches.

For challengers, Yu's team has a clear tiered structure, with the difficulty increasing sharply after each Pokémon defeated.

The first enemy, the Armored Dragon, is on beginner difficulty. Although it looks intimidating at first glance, it only has a limited number of moves. As long as you are prepared and dodge its headbutt counterattack and dragon breath, you can easily defeat it.

As for the second stage's maid, the difficulty level clearly increases.

It's not that its combat power is particularly strong; apart from its rather troublesome wide-area combat power, the power of its other moves is quite average.

But this seemingly cute and adorable creature is actually a dark and wicked guy who is a perfect match for Teacher Yu's tactics!

It's not only adept at using various tactics to manipulate people's mentality, but it also seems to secretly use its own negative emotions to unleash a powerful, one-time attack that instantly eliminates the opponent on the field.

In other words, this challenge tests the mindset of the challengers.

While there are theoretical possibilities of using Dark-type Pokémon to directly negate wide-area battle power and defeating it through aggressive strategies, no student has yet succeeded in doing so.

After several matches, Qingyu's team didn't actually lose much of their strength; on the contrary, the students' mentality was a bit broken.

Among these challengers, one managed to break through Aisinji's defenses by trading injuries for injuries.

However, when faced with the next challenge, Sylveon, he quickly fell into despair.

By this point, the students had roughly guessed Qingyu's lineup.

Shellder Dragon, Espeon, Sylveon, Lucario, and Ursaring.

The Elite Four members of the Paradis Champion Road usually bring five Pokémon. Even if it's not a full team, five Elite Four level mainstays are already enough to make newcomers very difficult to deal with.

What's more, the Pokémon that followed were increasingly outrageous...

Putting aside the strange and unpredictable Pokémon, Sylveon has not only learned many strange moves, but also has a special move called "Blood Moon" that can change the aura around it, making it far more powerful than Esperanza.

Lucario hasn't appeared yet, but it's said that some students saw Qingyu and Lucario training for Mega Evolution outside the gym, so maybe they'll get a big one for them.

The only saving grace is that Mewtwo isn't on the list, which at least gives the students a theoretical chance of winning. "Anything else to challenge?"

After easily defeating his opponent once again under Ai-kun's command, Aoba looked at the students who had gathered around him and smiled.

However, at this moment, his smile was incredibly creepy in the eyes of the students.

Quack! I don't want to challenge Teacher Yu!
Most of the students simultaneously took a step back, demonstrating their determination through their actions.

Qingyu was clearly a little troubled by this.

I should have already used up enough water... If I can't even get past Ai-kun, what will I do with my main force later on?
Moreover, I am just one of the examiners on the road to the championship. The real difficulty is never the one Heavenly King, but the five consecutive battles including the Four Heavenly Kings and the champion.

When challenging a gym, they can give it their all to overcome themselves, but on the road to the championship, they should try to conserve their strength and be in good condition to face subsequent challenges, so that they will have a chance to pass.

It seems we need to give them more encouragement.

Just as Qingyu looked around, preparing to randomly select a lucky audience member as her opponent, an arm suddenly rose from outside the crowd.

"I! Teacher Yu! I want to take the challenge!"

The girl's voice, as clear and energetic as a silver bell, sounded strangely familiar to Qingyu, who froze on the spot for two seconds before subconsciously turning her head to look.

Among the crowd of students watching, a girl dressed in casual sportswear with a healthy tan quickly squeezed in.

When she met Qingyu's gaze, a bright smile immediately appeared on her face, and she excitedly waved in Qingyu's direction.

"Teacher Qingyu, it's been a long time!"

"Nemo?"

Qingyu blurted out the girl's name without thinking, his expression showing surprise.

It seems like it's been a long time since I last saw Nemo after running into her and the others in Beishang Township.

As Nemo's first apprentice at the Sunny Gym, before the start of the school term, Qingyu taught Nemo many interesting tactics against the Pokémon she had caught.

However, they haven't seen each other since the new semester started at Orange Academy and Nemo officially enrolled.

A look of obvious surprise quickly appeared on Qingyu's face, and the students began to talk about this unfamiliar classmate named Nemo.

"Who is she? I feel like I've never seen her at school before."

"I have a vague recollection of it. I think I used to be an apprentice at the Sunshine Dojo, but after the start of the semester, I just vanished into thin air."

"I encountered this Nemo when I challenged the Jin Hui Dojo. She's practically a superhero! Even Mr. Aoki was no match for her and was easily defeated!"

"So, she's really good? Then why isn't she on the Tianxing team?"

"I guess true powerhouses don't need to team up. While we were looking for strategy guides, she had already cleared the gym..."

The students quickly began to whisper about Nemo's identity, and their chatter reached Qingyu's ears.

It seems Nemo's growth will exceed my expectations.

After a moment of reflection, Qingyu quickly smiled.

"Welcome back, Nemo."

"Yes! I'm back!"

Nemo nodded repeatedly, her excitement evident, and continued speaking.

"Teacher Qingyu, I've been getting stronger all this time! I've already defeated the other seven gym leaders, and now only our Sunny Gym is left to collect all the badges!"

"So, having returned from my trials, I'm here to challenge you again!"

As soon as she said this, the students immediately grasped the key point of her statement.

He defeated seven gym leaders?

In the dojo exam, defeating the dojo master is a very difficult task.

Because of the vast difference in skill levels among trainers, even if the gym leader sends out a trainer of similar strength to go easy on them, it is still very difficult for a newcomer.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, as long as they perform well and prove themselves to be qualified trainers, the gym leader will recognize them and issue the corresponding gym badge.

In the entire Padia region, only Gym Leader Gurusha stands out from the crowd. It seems that the only way to obtain the badge is by defeating him. Even Teacher Yu will occasionally go easy on the students and give them a glimmer of hope.

Defeating even one Gym Leader is difficult enough, let alone Nemo claiming she defeated the other seven...

It's terrifying to even think about!

Could it be that, without our knowledge, a demon child has been secretly born in our Orange Academy?
If the information is true, it seems not impossible for her to defeat Teacher Yu!
After quickly realizing what was happening, the students watching around them began to look forward to this high-level match.

"Wow, Nemo, that's amazing."

Qingyu smiled and praised her as well.

"Hehe~"

Nemo scratched her head, revealing a goofy smile, but she didn't forget the real reason she came to the Sunshine Gym.

"Teacher Qingyu, do you still remember our promise back in Beishang Township?"

"Having gone through the trials of seven dojos, I should now be qualified to meet Master Qingyu at his full strength!"

As she spoke, Nemo's pupils shone brightly, as if her conviction had overflowed from her body.

"..."

Qingyu shook her head helplessly.

The other students were hoping he would go easy on them, but Nemo, that blockhead, was determined to fight him at full strength.

Back in Kitakami Village, his team only consisted of Sylveon and Riolu. Now, his strength is vastly different from what it was back then.

However, if it's Nemo, then perhaps her progress during this period has been equally outrageous.
After all, Nemo is the champion designated by the game's storyline, and her ability to win the championship in one year is indeed worth taking seriously.

I wonder if, under my influence, Nemo will still be able to follow the original path, clear the Champion's Road again, and become the honorary champion of the Padia region?

Thinking of this, Qingyu looked at Nemo again and nodded gently.

"of course can."

"Although Nemo, you haven't challenged the Sunny Gym this year, I believe that with your strength, getting the badge won't be difficult."

"So... I'll just skip the gym leader step and directly test whether you have the qualifications to become a champion."

"If my opponent is Nemo, I'd really be looking forward to that match too."

Upon hearing this, Qingyu and Nemo's eyes immediately met.

According to the unwritten rules of Pokémon...

The moment the trainers' eyes meet, it's the signal that the battle is about to begin!

(End of this chapter)