Pokémon: Starting with Lucario and Gardevoir

But that was enough for Safia.

Blaziken gripped Lucario's arm firmly.

"Kadora, use Iron Head!" Safia shouted immediately!

Kodora used its head to charge straight at Lucario.

"A good idea."

Hao Yan gave a thumbs up and then continued to instruct, "Xiao Ou, kick from the bottom."

Although Lucario's hand was firmly held by Blaziken, its legs could still move, and it kicked Cthulhu's steel head directly.

The collision of steel sparked a burst of flames.

Under the immense pressure of its superior level, Lucario defeated Cthulhu with a single kick.

Kodora's bulky body, like a kite with a broken string, flew out of bounds.

He lay on the ground, his eyes darting around.

"Little Lu, use Illusion Ray to end the battle."

Gardevoir acted once again, unleashing a multicolored beam that accurately struck Blaziken.

Safia's two Pokémon both collapsed.

Seeing this, the referee raised his flag and announced, "Contestant number 233, Haoyan wins!"

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

After the battle, Haoyan and Shafiya returned backstage.

"Safia, you've grown so fast. Your tactics really surprised me."

"Let Blaziken use High Speed ​​Boost, plus Quick Attack to increase its speed."

"Let Blaziken, which has a Fire-type, withstand Lucario's Fighting-type Drain Punch, and then use that to pull Lucario back."

"Don't let Lucario move, and finally let Adolphin use Iron Head to attack Lucario." Haoyan gave Safia a thumbs up.

Despite losing the match, Safia was happy to receive Haoyan's praise.

He said, "Actually, before we started, I guessed that you would use Lucario and Gardevoir, so I made this plan specifically."

"However, unfortunately, there's still a long way to go before the plan can be implemented!"

"Haoyan's Lucario and Gardevoir are too fast."

"But, did my Cadoram just now successfully hit Haoyan's Lucario?"

Safia looked at Haoyan expectantly.

"It was a lucky guess," Haoyan thought back for a moment.

Dora used Iron Head and indeed hit Lucario.

Lucario reacted quickly enough, and because Lucario was stronger, Lucario kicked him away.

Although the skill had little effect, it still hit.

"yeah!"

Safia became even happier, pulling Haoyan along as she jumped up and down, saying as she jumped.

"Brother Haoyan, when you challenged the Fuyan Dojo."

"Even Gym Leader Asha's main Pokémon couldn't hit Brother Haoyan's Lucario."

"But my slow-moving Cthulhu actually hit Lucario!"

"This also proves that I, the owner of the museum, am even more powerful!"

Safia was watching from the sidelines when she was fighting against Asha.

For Safia, being able to hit Lucario was already a huge achievement.

Hao Yan watched as Safia, who seemed to have won the match after hitting Lucario once, was somewhat speechless.

"Is hitting Lucario once something to be so happy about?"

... ...

Chapter 201 Lack of self-confidence leads to underhanded tactics

After the second round of elimination, only 28 contestants remained.

Among these 28 people, there are a few who have stood out.

The spirited Raiji, the classically elegant Xiaofeng, and finally, the Pokémon hunter Aaron.

As for the others, they didn't catch Haoyan's eye.

Of course, it's also possible that someone is hiding their strength, but that possibility is relatively small.

... ...

"After fierce competition, a total of 28 outstanding candidates have been selected to enter our third round of competition!"

"Next, I will explain the rules for this session."

Vivian, holding a microphone, introduced to the audience: "The third round of the competition will still be a 2V2 duel."

"The venue for the third round will be more spacious, and the difficulty will increase..."

1v1 matches are relatively monotonous.

If the trainers have similar tactical skills, and the Pokémon's qualities and fighting spirit are almost identical.

If one side has an attribute advantage over the other, then the latter is more likely to win.

After all, each Pokémon can only learn a limited number of skills; it doesn't create new skills out of thin air.

Just like Lucario, no matter how hard it tries, it can't learn Charizard's Air Slash.

Trainers who have reached a certain level all understand Pokémon skills.

In other words, the variables in a 1v1 battle are very small.

However, in 2v2 and even 3v3 battles, the number of Pokémon increases, leading to a wider variety of tactics and skills available.

Even if your attributes are suppressed, you can still turn the tide.

This makes teamwork even more crucial, and the competition even more exciting.

... ...

"Please pay attention to the big screen now. Next, we will show you the matchmaking results for your opponents."

On the screen, the names and photos of the 28 finalists were displayed.

“Brother Haoyan, your opponent this time is Xiaofeng!” Shafiya said to Haoyan, “This Xiaofeng and the twin siblings Feng, the curator of Green Ridge City, have names that differ by only one character.”

"But I heard she's a very famous person."

"I heard that this Xiao Feng has seven gym badges, making him a very strong trainer..."

Safia was reporting the information she knew to Haoyan.

You can't talk about people during the day, and you can't talk about ghosts at night.

As Safia was speaking, Xiao Feng walked up from behind her.

Hearing Safia praising her as a skilled trainer, she covered her mouth and chuckled, "Thank you for the compliment, little sister..."

A voice suddenly spoke behind her, startling Safia. She quickly patted her chest to calm herself.

Xiao Feng extended his hand to Hao Yan and said, "Hello, I am Xiao Feng. It is an honor to be your opponent in the next round."

“I’ve heard people mention you quite often lately.”

Haoyan politely extended his hand and gave the other person a brief handshake, replying simply, "Hello."

Xiao Feng sensed a hint of coldness from Hao Yan. Normally, she was pursued by many men because of her looks and talent.

Although Haoyan had a smile on his face, he didn't offer any extra courtesy; instead, he was filled with indifference.

Reaching out to greet her was merely a polite gesture.

He didn't even glance at her because of her appearance.

Especially when she met Hao Yan's eyes, they were clear yet held a wisdom beyond his years, as if he could see right through her.

"My best weapon is Scizor, and you also have a Steel-type Lucario. I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of sparks will fly when we clash," Xiaofeng said with a smile.

"Hehe, I'm also looking forward to the match later..." Hao Yan replied casually.

Xiao Feng chatted 'casually' for a few more minutes, and seeing that Hao Yan wasn't interested in her, she wisely turned and left.

"Brother Haoyan, I don't really like this Xiaofeng," Shafiya said with some dissatisfaction.

It's normal for a little girl to feel a little jealous.

Safia is still young, like a grape that has just sprouted.

In contrast, Xiaofeng is a plump, sweet, and juicy peach that bursts with juice when gently squeezed.

It's normal that Safia felt threatened and disliked it.

"I don't really like her either. I think you're much cuter than her, Safia," Hao Yan said casually.

"Really?" Safia asked, her eyes wide.

"real."

“Brother Haoyan…” Shafiya blushed and lowered her head.

Girls are easy to coax, what's wrong with that?

... ...

Haoyan wasn't surprised when Xiaofeng came to greet him.

Based on observation, Xiao Feng almost always greets his opponent before the start of each match.

Actively reveal the Pokémon you are good at, and then use words to probe the Pokémon your opponent is using.