Elf: Start with small diamonds, then mutate into Diancie!

She and Su Hao are consistently ranked first or second in various rankings, and are widely considered the favorites to win the championship.

Compared to her, Su Hao's team's strength has been largely exposed to the outside world.

Based on their performance in the Sichuan Provincial Competition, the following Pokémon were identified: Diamondback (unknown initial strength), Incineroar (early professional level), Braviary (late elite level), Milotic (mid elite level), and Dragapult (early elite level).

In terms of lineup, the two are on par on the surface.

However... some of Su Hao's supporters have put forward a different idea.

It is known that Su Hao's mother is Su Qing, a PhD in elf evolution, and her mother recently announced the existence of two evolved forms, Luna and Diancie.

Could it be that his starter Pokémon has already evolved into Diancie, and he also has a powerful Ground/Normal type Pokémon like Ursaring as a hidden sixth Pokémon?

This conjecture received a lot of "wow" responses, with some people seemingly agreeing with it.

Besides these two, there are many other strong players.

Shen Lingyun from the Shanghai region specializes in Electric-type Pokémon, and all three of her Pokémon so far are elite-level late-game Pokémon.

Ace Electabuzz, Main Force Magneton, and Vikavolt.

Zhuo Yan from the Xingcheng division has an elite late-game Floating Bubble as her ace, and elite late-game Desert Dragonfly and Elite late-game Sticky Beauty as her main players.

His team is well-suited for doubles battles, but unfortunately, pseudo-legendary Pokémon generally require a professional level to evolve to their final stage.

Xushan Zhenxun from the Suzhou division, whose mother from the Sakura Kingdom Alliance married into the Shenzhou Alliance, specializes in fairy-type skills.

The ace is Gardevoir, an elite-level late-game unit, while the main force consists of Altaria and Sylveon, both elite-level late-game units.

It's worth mentioning that his Gardevoir is Shiny.

Dongfang Hao from the Fujian Province division also has three elite-level late-stage Primarina, Emperor Naboo, and Crimson Knight.

In addition, there are many other noteworthy players, making it a gathering of strong competitors.

Countless geniuses have emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and many people even feel that this year's College Cup may be no less impressive than the College Cup of more than ten years ago, when the current four champions gathered together.

.................

Shortly after the team assignments for the Sichuan region were submitted, the opponents for the preliminary rounds were determined.

The preliminary round will be allocated to 128 participants from 32 provincial competition areas.

Four players from each region are paired up into 64 teams for a 2vs2 doubles match. The winning team advances to the semi-finals.

Su Hao and Bai Ziyu's opponents were neither too strong nor too weak.

Tactical analyst Zhao Ci quickly retrieved the opponent's information and formulated a plan.

The competition was held as scheduled the following day.

One of the countless sub-arenas of the Imperial Capital Phoenix Arena, the fourteenth arena.

At this moment, the seats were packed.

In the internet age, information spreads extremely quickly, and anyone who does a little research can easily find out which contestants are the strongest.

Stronger capabilities mean greater attention.

The match between Su Hao and Bai Ziyu has undoubtedly attracted a lot of attention.

The audience, which was bustling with noise, was now abuzz with various opinions.

"The Sichuan region is really playing games. Putting two championship favorites in one team, aren't they afraid of accidentally crashing out and ending up with nothing?"

"Since none of us are skilled in doubles, wouldn't it be better to just play individually and overwhelm each other with sheer skill?"

On the battlefield, Su Hao and Bai Ziyu, completely undisturbed by the noisy environment and countless scorching gazes, looked at the other side.

The battle arena is a classic grassy field, with grass just above ankle height, and small ponds scattered around for water-type Pokémon to play in.

But their opponents were a man and a woman named He Qi and Xu Tingting.

Despite seeing a terrain that was advantageous to their Pokémon, He Qi and Xu Tingting were not only displeased, but their faces also turned slightly pale.

Why were they so unlucky in the first round, running into these two popular seeds whose Grass-type Pokémon are also very difficult to defeat?

The referee announced the start of the match, and both players simultaneously threw their Poké Balls.

With a flash of red light, both Pokémon appeared on the field.

Su Hao and Bai Ziyu's Pokémon are Milotic and Kingdra, respectively.

He Qi and Xu Tingting's Pokémon are Venusaur and Vileplume, respectively.

Su Hao and Bai Ziyu exchanged a glance, neither of them bothered by the unfavorable attribute.

The opponent's strength was roughly as shown in the data: a late-stage Elite-level Venusaur and a mid-stage Elite-level Vileplume.

Seeing that the opposing team had released two Water-type Pokémon, Xu Tingting's face lit up with joy: "They underestimated us and didn't send out their ace Pokémon, we have a chance!"

Doubles matches offer the best chance to upset these seeded teams. If the opponent underestimates you by not fielding their ace, your ace has a chance to win!

He Qi also looked delighted: "Leave Milotic to Venusaur, I'll take her down as soon as possible. Kingdra, have your Vileplume hold her off for a bit!"

The referee gave the whistle, and the match began.

The Queen of the Seas flower stood still and took the lead in using her move. A ball of light radiating intense fire energy was lifted up, lifted into the air, and exploded under the blazing sun.

After unleashing this move, the Queen of the Night was slightly out of breath, as if she had expended a lot of energy.

Weather-based attack, activate!

In an instant, the fire and grass-type energies in the air gained the upper hand, weakening the water-type Milotic and Kingdra to some extent!

------------

Milotic.

Chapter 272 Overwhelming Power (Third Update)

"Is it a sunny day... I pray for rain!"

Sunny Day doesn't significantly weaken Milotic and Kingdra, as they can easily use moves of other types, such as Dragon-type moves.

However, since the other party wanted to steal the weather, Su Hao wouldn't let them have their way.

The moment Su Hao gave the order, Venusaur's attack followed immediately, a huge ball of energy hurtling straight toward Milotic.

Milotic is temporarily unable to move during her Rain Dance, making this the perfect time to attack her.

The King Thorn Dragon's eyes narrowed, and it found the weak point in the energy ball.

This Kingdra's special ability is Sniper, which not only provides a damage bonus for hitting vital points, but also gives Kingdra an extremely strong ability to spot weaknesses.

The next moment, a slender ice arrow shot out from the mouth of the Dragon King, arriving first despite being launched later.

The energy ball was instantly shattered by this freezing beam, turning into specks of green fluorescence and dissipating.

He Qi frowned slightly; this was bad.

It was because Vileplume possessed the Sunny Day move that he teamed up with Xu Tingting, since their Pokémon both had the Chlorophyll ability.

In the competition between weather systems, only when the difference in strength is too great will one side prevail over the other.

Most of the time, it becomes a situation where each side keeps to itself, with the weather on both sides occupying its own territory.

The moment the energy ball dissipated, the sun was gradually obscured by gathering dark clouds, and in the blink of an eye, half of the sunlight was blocked.

A light drizzle began to fall, then grew heavier and heavier, bending the lush green grass under the pounding raindrops.

Even Milotic, who had unleashed her rainmaking spell, was somewhat surprised, her beautiful eyes fixed on the dark clouds above.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing and exclaimed in a panic, "How could it be so fast... before the bright sunshine is completely covered by the blazing sun!"

Xu Tingting, in a trembling voice, gave the command: "Overlord Flower, Sunfire!" (Note 1)

Her "Overlord Flower" technique, which she had studied extensively for a long time, was so easily overshadowed.

Is the gap in strength between them and the favorites to win the championship really that big? Thinking of this, Xu Tingting couldn't help but feel a sense of despair.

"Oh, I didn't know you had this trick up your sleeve. Let's press our advantage!"

"King Thorn Dragon, Blizzard!"

Bai Ziyu was delighted, not expecting Su Hao's Milotic to be so proficient in weather-related moves.

Su Hao frowned, a doubt creeping into his mind.

But the opponent's Solar Flare would be unleashed after the bright sunshine was completely covered, and he didn't have time to think: "Milkyr, use Blizzard!"

In just a few breaths, the bright sunshine was completely overshadowed by the rain, and Milotic's long body moved slenderly across the damp earth, arriving beside King Thorn Dragon.

The two Pokémon exchanged a glance, and an extremely dense chill suddenly rose up, freezing and shattering the raindrops falling near them before they could even fall.

The rain intensified, even reminding local residents of Beijing of the recent continuous light rain.

Venusaur and Vileplume were on the opposite side of the field, forming a pincer movement with Milotic and Kingdra on this side. A white orb radiating enormous energy formed the moment the bright sunlight completely obscured it, and in an instant, it was unleashed!

Two beams of green fluorescence pierced through the rain curtain, merging into one at the center, and an increasingly enormous pillar of light hurtled toward Milotic.

At that moment, a glint flashed in Milotic's and Kingdra's eyes, and a blizzard was unleashed!

Countless ice crystals, formed from raindrops, erupted with unstoppable force, accompanied by a biting wind!

The overwhelming blizzard froze everything around it—

Grass and ground were frozen into thick blocks of ice. Water and ice have been inseparable since ancient times, and the strong water energy and humid environment of rainy days further amplified the power of the blizzard.

In the instant that the overwhelming cold front met the blazing sun, the extremely hot sun, to some extent, could not even melt the snow and wind, and was instantly defeated.

The blazing sun crumbled far too quickly; before He Qi and Xu Tingting could react, a blizzard swept in.

Venusaur and Vileplume tried to defend themselves, but it was all in vain.

"Squeak-"

A sickening freezing sound rang out, and the distinct presence of Venusaur and Vileplume froze for a moment before gradually dissipating.

After the blizzard subsided, two immobile ice sculptures appeared before the public.

The outcome was decided in a few rounds; after just a few moves, the opponent was quickly suppressed and defeated.

The entire playing field was as silent as a basketball court at four in the morning.

Xu Tingting and He Qi were stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing.