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

Under Cynthia's control, the final pre-tournament preview of this tournament officially began.

…………

"Welcome Ms. Cynthia to our Grand Finals live stream. I won't read out her titles and names, as I'm sure you're all more familiar with them than I am."

The commentator first cracked a small joke to lighten the mood, then looked at Cynthia with excitement in her eyes.

"Actually, like all of you viewers, I didn't expect to meet Ms. Cynthia herself here. In fact, I heard from the event organizers that they invited her on a whim, but they not only succeeded, but they even managed to invite her in person."

Cynthia replied with a smile, "Even champions get holidays. When they're on vacation, they think about going somewhere for a few days. Donghuang hasn't been here much, so I came over and took on this competition."

This answer perfectly reflects Cynthia's easygoing personality. The commentator nodded, and was about to say something when Cynthia added, "Of course, another reason is that a friend of mine is also participating in this tournament, so I came to visit him."

Undoubtedly, this friend refers to Xia Chen.

The comments section erupted into chaos.

"Xia Gou, I'm going to kill you!"

“Miss Cynthia, I hope you really are just doing this on the side.”

"I came to visit Xia Chen and also took the opportunity to travel around Donghuang. Is that alright?"

"Ma Xiu in the morning, Xilona in the afternoon, Xia Chen, you really deserve to die!"

"Everyone, please be rational. Xia Chen is just a junior that Cynthia has high hopes for. Please stop spreading rumors about my goddess."

"You can lie to your brothers, but don't lie to yourself. Would you let a younger woman you like stay at your house for a month?"

"Could it be... that I'm the only one who thinks they're actually a good match?"

People in the live chat are willing to say anything, but commentators certainly can't.

Although his gossip-loving soul was burning brightly, the commentator still asked in a serious tone, "You're talking about Xia Chen, right? But you accepted the invitation so early, are you really that confident he can make it to today's finals?"

Cynthia paused for a second, then suddenly laughed and said, "Of course, just like last year's Masters 8 tournament, he had the same confidence that I could win."

…………

Xia Chen was unaware that Cynthia had arrived in the studio. At that moment, he was making his final preparations before going on stage.

This is the final of the highest-level Pokémon battle tournament he has ever participated in.

But unusually, he was more relaxed than when he participated in the Bogaman Cup, his first time competing in front of so many spectators.

It wasn't so much confidence in his own abilities as Xia Chen thought it might be the composure that comes from being used to all sorts of things.

Having grown and traveled all along, this regional finals no longer held much weight for him.

Of course, the competition is still important, especially since the opponent in the final is Red.

Although this is not Silver Mountain, and Crimson is not currently at the peak of combat, this match is of great significance to Xia Chen.

A knock sounded on the door of the lounge, followed by a notification from event staff.

"Xia Chen, you may now come to the stage."

"OK, thanks."

Clearing his mind, Xia Chen retrieved the elves who had been resting with their eyes closed in the lounge and walked to the corridor leading to the arena.

The corridor was quiet, but the brightly lit end was filled with lively chatter.

Xia Chen gently stroked each of his Pokémon in their Poké Balls before striding forward.

Let this championship be my farewell to my second year in this world!

------

Outside the battlefield, the shouts of the audience were like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing.

On the battlefield, Xia Chen stood facing a boy dressed in red and white training uniforms.

The two did not speak, but the sparks that flew between them spoke louder than a thousand words.

Although the battle of the Eastern Glory Tournament they agreed upon is still far away, this battle is a review of their experiences and growth over the past year.

This significance, belonging only to the two of them, is perhaps even greater than the final itself.

Shortly after, the referee glanced at his watch and blew the whistle to start the match.

Xia Chen and Chi Hong simultaneously threw out their Poké Balls.

"It's up to you, Senbu!"

"I choose you, Pikachu!"

Two flashes of white light, and the starting Pokémon of both sides officially entered the arena!

"Amazing teamwork! Both trainers have simultaneously dispatched their ace Pokémon, Pikachu and Sylveon. Their outstanding performance at this tournament is undeniable. Let's see what kind of clash they'll have!"

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

"Xianbu, Shadow Clone!"

Two commands rang out almost simultaneously, one in front and one behind, and the two elves reacted swiftly.

Pikachu's four short legs pushed off lightly, and in an instant, he leaped away from the spot with extremely fast acceleration.

Then, the energy from the flash of lightning had time to envelop its body, giving it the power to continue accelerating.

Extreme speed and agility are key to Pikachu's dominance in races, and this flash of lightning is his most powerful weapon for launching attacks.

Red Pikachu has its own unique understanding of Quick Attack, and it tends to use the energy in the latter part of the attack.

It's not necessarily used for acceleration; it could also be used for speed regulation.

Once the speed reaches a certain range, being a little faster or slower isn't that important. The key to breaking through the defense is to make it impossible for the opponent to predict your position.

Clearly, Pikachu understands this principle well.

The changes in rhythm and the control of speed make his whole body like an unpredictable ball of lightning; you can never predict where he will appear in the next microsecond.

Xia Chen and Xianbu understood this as well; in a speed contest, Xianbu was no match for Pikachu.

Why use their weaknesses to attack their strengths?

Therefore, Xia Chen needs to disrupt the rhythm of Crimson and Pikachu.

…………

As Pikachu accelerates, Sylveon also unleashes a move that hasn't been used in actual battles for a long time: Shadow Clone.

The reason for not using this move is not because it is weak, but because it is unnecessary in ordinary battles.

Why use shadow clones when you can dodge moves by moving around?

However, Xia Chen and Xianbu both knew that this Pikachu was special and could not be judged by ordinary standards, so they cautiously decided to start with this move.

To make the clones more realistic and indistinguishable, Sylvanas poured a lot of energy into them, which made her create shadow clones very slowly.

When Pikachu used Quick Attack to rush over, there were only three of them, including the main body.

However, the focus should be on quality, not quantity, when creating multiple clones.

The clones created by Senbu using a special method are incredibly realistic.

After being jostled during their high-speed movement, Red and Pikachu couldn't tell which was real and which was fake for a moment.

Originally intending to use Quick Attack to directly cleave Iron Tail, Akane had to abandon his plan. He said in a deep voice, "Charge over there and use Quick Attack to destroy all the fake ones!"

"Pickup!"

Pikachu responded and, without stopping, charged straight at the nearest Sylveon.

But how could Xianbu let him so easily defeat the clone he had painstakingly created?

She controlled several clones to act simultaneously, dodging Pikachu's pursuit while charging up a wide-range attack, Magic Flash.

Given the speed difference between the two Pokémon, no matter how much they try to dodge, the clones will still be quickly caught up by Pikachu.

A flash of white light, and Pikachu in its lightning-fast state charged forward.

The first crack.

Now, there are only two options left.

But Cinnabar's evasion was merely a means to an end; the real goal was magical flashes.

Just as Pikachu was rushing toward the second Sylveon, its attack was already fully charged!

A dazzling ball of pinkish-purple energy appeared in front of the second Fairy Cloth.

This is a real fairy cloth!

Pikachu's eyes narrowed, and it charged forward without fear—

He was prepared to be beaten when he charged forward, using Iron Tail and Magic Dazzling to counter Sylveon's Iron Tail and trade blows, which was the strategy he and Crimson had devised beforehand!

Pikachu's lightning-shaped bright yellow tail condensed energy and quickly took on a metallic sheen.

With everything ready, Pikachu charged forward at full speed, leaping high into the air and resolutely slashing down at Sylveon's head with its metallic tail raised high.

At the same time, the dazzling ball of light suddenly expanded and exploded.

But why doesn't it hurt as much as I imagined?

Pikachu, who was at the epicenter of the explosion, was on high alert, bracing itself for the instinctive pain, when it suddenly discovered what had happened...

It's as if all the energy was used to emit light, without causing any harm.

Something was amiss, and Pikachu's alarm bells went off as a possibility suddenly occurred to it.

He looked down at the spot where the true form of the immortal had originally been.

Sure enough, Xianbu disappeared!

…………

"What's going on?! Xianbu suddenly disappeared?!"

In the studio, the commentator asked in astonishment, even from God's perspective, she still didn't understand what had happened.

Cynthia calmly explained, "This Sylveon that released 'Magical Dazzle' is also a clone. That dazzling light just now was the final warm-up of the clone forged with energy. This clone... is the bait to lure Pikachu."

Before Cynthia could finish speaking, the situation on the field unfolded exactly as she had predicted. The last Sylveon then unleashed the move she had truly prepared.

A yellowish-brown light shone beneath Pikachu, and the ground trembled unusually.