Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

Xia Chen, who was eating tree nut pancakes, quickly took out his phone to check the messages.

Opponent information: Yang Zengyan, ladder ranking: 24, battlefield: E area, battlefield number 3.

hiss...

A competitor ranked 24th...

Xia Chen clicked his tongue slightly. Facing such an opponent in the "advancement round" was a bit difficult.

Forget it, I'm probably just at the bottom of the school team anyway. If I can't even beat him, there's no chance I'll make it onto the school team.

Besides, beating someone with a higher ranking will also boost your own ranking. Winning this match might even raise your ranking by five or six places.

so...

I'm definitely going to take Yang Zengyan's point. Even Arceus can't hold onto him. I'm telling you!

After giving himself a pep talk, Xia Chen hurriedly finished the last bit of breakfast and then led the elves to the Beijing University Arena.

------

That said, we still need to investigate the necessary information about this opponent.

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."

Sitting in the shared tuk-tuk, Xia Chen held the reins with his left hand and used his phone in his right hand to search for information about Yang Zengyan on the forum.

After all, he is a top player on the school team. Although his fame is not as high as those top-ranked players, his information on his main Pokémon is still quite complete.

Relying on his current near-quantum reading speed, the swift-footed Duduli had already completely analyzed the opponent's information before even delivering Xia Chen to the arena.

Yang Zengyan, male, 21 years old, a third-year student in the Breeding Family, specializes in Steel-type Pokémon, supplemented by Ground-type Pokémon.

The initial Pokémon, also known as the ace Pokémon, is Excadrill, nicknamed the Rat-Headed Earth Dragon.

Other main Pokémon include Aggron (Steel/Rock type), Scizor (Bug/Steel type), Sagael (Ground/Rock type), Alakazam (Psychic type), and Crowbark (Flying type).

Among them, Excadrill, Aggron, and Scizor are three Pokémon with elite-level strength, and they are also the three Pokémon he uses most often in competitions.

Tsk, Steel-type mastery, even harder to beat now...

Xia Chen frowned. If he had to say what type of Pokémon his team was most afraid of, Steel-type would undoubtedly be number one.

Its excellent resistances make it weak to only three elemental attacks: Fighting, Fire, and Ground. It also has resistances to as many as ten different elements!

This doesn't even include poison-type moves that grant complete immunity.

Of the moves that Xia Chen's three main Pokémon are proficient in, Fairy, Psychic, and Dragon-type moves are all resisted by Steel-type moves.

The only STAB move that can actually be effective is Milotic's Water-type move.

As for moves that counter Steel-type moves, apart from Sylveon's Magical Flame, no other Pokémon knows them at all.

It's not that Xia Chen doesn't want to fill in the gaps in his skill pool, but that's just how it is.

We can't break through the genetic limitations of Pokémon and let Kirlia or Sylveon learn a Ground-type special attack move, can we?

In short, before Zoroa and Little Dragon grow up, Xia Chen really has no way to deal with teams that specialize in Steel-type attacks.

Xia Chen scratched his head in frustration, "How can there be such an annoying attribute as Steel..."

Despite the complaints, the battles still have to be fought.

After parking the Duduli, I stuffed two high-level energy cubes into each of its three heads as payment.

Amidst the cheerful farewell sounds, Xia Chen entered the arena of Beijing University.

…………

Xia Chen's "advancement match" has attracted a lot of attention.

When he received the message on his phone, the match information also appeared on the large screen in the arena lobby.

Xia Chen was already a hot topic on the forum recently, and there weren't many matches early in the morning.

Therefore, many students or citizens who came out for a morning stroll and wanted to watch a match focused on this highly anticipated game.

When Xia Chen entered the arena arranged by the system, there were already dozens of people scattered in the surrounding audience seats, most of whom were lively and lovely senior female students.

Although Xia Chen's reputation on the school forum is somewhat ambiguous, this does not affect the popularity of this junior who is rich, good-looking, famous, and capable.

It would be more accurate to say that the title of "Shanghai University's Most Affectionate Man" actually boosted his popularity.

After all, if Xia Chen were really a scumbag, he might have scumbed to them too.

Unfortunately, Xia Chen has absolutely no experience; in other words, he's a virgin...

In short, amidst fairly enthusiastic cheers, Xia Chen stepped onto the battlefield.

Yang Zengyan arrived before Xia Chen. He looked the rising star up and down and joked, "You're quite popular, junior. You can attract so many spectators to a regular ranking match."

This isn't meant to be sarcastic; unless it's one of the top ten players who get matched up, this kind of competition really doesn't get much attention.

He usually gets a dozen or so viewers when he plays ranked matches; he rarely gets this kind of attention.

Xia Chen was slightly speechless. "Just play it safe. What else can we do but surrender?"

He cannot control whether the audience stays or leaves, and having audience support will not enhance his abilities.

Yang Zengyan smiled, refrained from making sarcastic remarks or uttering any harsh words, and waited quietly for the match to begin.

His main profession is nurturing, so he certainly understands the value of Xia Chen's achievements in this field.

His final assignment for the Pokémon Evolution course last semester was an extension of Xia Chen's research paper on Sylveon evolution.

Incidentally, nearly half of their class's final assignments were related to Sylveon, and of the remaining assignments, a small portion were related to Xia Chen's research on Milotic's evolution...

It's no exaggeration to say that if Xia Chen had entered the training system, he would definitely be the kind of big shot that even teachers would consult.

Therefore, Yang Zengyan still harbors some subtle feelings towards Xia Chen.

You crush me in my main field, so it's not unreasonable for me to defeat you in yours, right?

Xia Chen's idea was quite simple.

Winning this match and getting into the top 50 on the ladder, that's all.

With both players harboring their own thoughts, the battle officially began with the electronic whistle of the spinning Rotom.

…………

"Come out, Dragon Head Mole!"

"It's up to you, Milotic!"

Calling out the Pokémon's name when throwing the ball is a well-established rule on the battlefield.

With two shouts and two flashes of white light, the starting Pokémon of both sides entered the arena.

Yang Zengyan was not surprised that Xia Chen chose Minas as the starting lineup.

Both Excadrill and Aggron are twice as weak to water, so there's no reason for Xia Chen to send out Sylveon or Kirlia, which are countered by Sylveon.

Xia Chen was somewhat surprised by Yang Zengyan's choice; was it the ace Pokémon, Excadrill?

It seems the opponent isn't going to hold back at all.

Although Scizor seems to be the only Pokémon that is not weak to water, it is the best choice for starting a Pokémon.

However, if the goal is to attack, a stronger, more powerful, faster, and burrowing-capable Excadrill would be a better option.

Once Xia Chen's Milotic is broken through, Sylveon and Kirlia in the back row will no longer be able to stop the onslaught of these Steel-type Pokémon.

Therefore, for Xia Chen, who has little room for error, the first battle is the decisive battle!

After quickly analyzing these factors, Xia Chen swiftly formulated the main strategy for this match: defense and counter-attack.

"Dragon Gopher, use Dig!"

While Xia Chen was pondering, Yang Zengyan had already issued the first instruction.

He wanted to use a tunneling technique to get close to Milotic!

Xia Chen instantly realized the significance of digging the hole.

Milotic cannot create earthquakes and therefore cannot threaten Excadrill, which is digging. Once Excadrill gets close to Milotic, Milotic will not be able to find a good angle to use its Water Cannon.

At that point, Milotic will be in danger.

After a quick thought, Xia Chen decisively commanded, "Milanos, summon rain!"

Chapter 196 A Textbook Example of Defense and Counter-Attack

Praying for rain?

Upon hearing Xia Chen's command, both Yang Zengyan and the spectators on the sidelines were somewhat stunned.

In this critical situation, why would Minas dare to pray for rain?

Increasing the power of water-type moves, reducing the damage of fire-type moves, or other miscellaneous things like guaranteed hits from storms and thunderbolts—how would that help in the current battlefield?

No one understood Xia Chen's thoughts, except for Milotic, with whom he shared an almost telepathic bond.

"Fuwoo!"

With a long, drawn-out cry, Milotic stretched its long body and roared to the sky.

This melodious chant seemed to awaken the water element floating between heaven and earth.

In an instant, dark clouds gathered, and torrential rain poured down, covering the entire area.

At this moment, the dragon-headed groundhog had just burrowed into the ground beneath its feet.

Such a quick prayer for rain!

Gasps of amazement rippled through the stands.

Even as an opponent, Yang Zengyan couldn't help but marvel at Milas's ridiculously fast rainmaking speed.

It's important to understand that weather-related moves are different from ordinary water cannons or hot water moves; they require an impact on the surrounding environment.

Therefore, the release speed of moves like Rain Dance or Sunny Day is usually almost twice as long as that of normal moves.

If the attribute affinity is insufficient, the time will only be longer.

But Milotic's rainmaking was as light and natural as breathing, as if... the water element in the air was obeying him.