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

After the sword dance, how will you deal with my close combat?

Because of the neutralization of the Water type, Emerald is not afraid of Fire, but it has one of its few weaknesses, Fighting type, which is controlled by Azure Blade Ghost.

As the two trainers battled it out, dark clouds gathered over the battlefield, and soon after, a torrential downpour began.

Under the rain, the Azure Flame Blade Demon, surrounded by orange light, slowly opened its eyes, its gaze revealing a sharp edge.

With his physique and sword dance, his attack power was now no weaker than that of a Champion-level Pokémon!

After the enhancement, it's time to hunt.

Spotting the conspicuous blue-black penguin on the ground, he planted his feet on the ground and used the powerful reaction force to propel himself into the air.

Jian Zhenyue calmly instructed, "Emperor Nabo, release the vortex with yourself as the center!"

It's another extremely conservative move. To be precise, it's not the move itself that's conservative, but rather the way it's used.

Tide Whirlwind was originally a move that could bind the opponent in a water tornado, but with the user as the center, it also became a defensive move, like the previous wild swing.

However, the continuous flow of water leaves no gaps, making it even more stable.

If the Azure Flame Blade Demon wants to attack at close range, it will inevitably be swept up by the swirling water.

…………

Gazing at the still-moving Emperor Naboo at the center of the vortex where the water flow was gradually accelerating, Azure Flame Blade Demon frowned and ultimately did not rush into it.

"Let's launch a surprise attack."

Xia Chen offered advice from behind.

The damage from the whirlwind isn't high, and the Shattered Armor only reduces physical defense, not special defense. The Azure Flame Blade Demon is perfectly capable of withstanding some of the water's impact.

With no better options available, Azure Flame Blade Demon heeded the advice and used the Spirit Stealth Assault.

In the blink of an eye, the figure of Azure Flame Blade Demon had already entered the whirlpool from outside the waterspout.

In the cramped space, the two Pokémon were almost pressed together, and the sword imbued with Ghost-type energy slashed at the thick layer of fat on Empoleon's chest.

Because there was no restraint, the effect was neither good nor bad.

Jian Zhenyue frowned. This guy really dared to come in!

She was about to command Empoleon to use Waterfall to instantly defeat this Pokémon whose physical defense was as fragile as paper, but then she remembered its terrifying speed and stopped herself from doing so. Instead, she called out another, safer move.

"Emperor Nabo, Surf!"

On rainy days, water flows together faster and more violently than usual.

The water flow that covered most of the rocky area almost turned it into an ocean. Under the influence of the tidal vortex, layers of waves surged and crashed against the Azure Flame Blade Demon at strange angles.

Azure Flame Blade Demon's response to this was—close combat!

Determined that a wave wouldn't kill him instantly, he ignored the wave and chose to trade injury for injury!

In the narrow waters, Azure Flame Blade Demon was like an indomitable warrior resisting natural disasters, using every part of its body to strike Emperor Nabo.

After a brutal Seven Wounds Fist attack, the injuries suffered by Emperor Nabo were even more severe than those inflicted by the Azure Flame Blade Demon by water-based energy!

However, the price for Azure Flame Blade Demon was equally heavy. The decrease in both defenses due to close combat, and the reduced status during the Whirlwind attack, made him a truly fragile character.

If you touch it even slightly, it will definitely fall over.

"Foam Ray!"

Sensing this, Jian Zhenyue understood immediately and commanded Emperor Nabo to use a quick and easy move.

The penguin reacted very quickly, almost instinctively spitting out a string of pale blue energy bubbles from its beak.

Its power wasn't particularly great, but it was enough to finish off the Azure Flame Blade Demon.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast Emperor Naboo's reaction is, he still cannot escape the constraint of needing to gather energy before he can unleash his moves.

As the string of bubble-like rays was released, the Azure Flame Blade Demon flapped its seemingly inextinguishable fiery wings and flew out of the vortex.

Jian Zhenyue remained calm and unperturbed, acting as if nothing had happened, and instead commanded, "Iron Wall!"

For the sake of final victory, Jian Zhenyue, who has always played an aggressive style, is now playing even more aggressively than the defensive team. If it weren't for the fact that Emperor Nabo doesn't know any moves like [Poison], she would definitely torture Azure Flame Blade Demon like this.

"We also perform a sword dance."

Unable to break through with a direct assault, Xia Chen calmly ordered the Azure Flame Blade Demon to perform another sword dance.

The idea was the same as the previous sword dance: to maintain sufficient pressure on Emperor Naboo at all times.

As for Jian Zhenyue, she wouldn't lose out by strengthening herself. If she continued to drag it out, the speed boost provided by the Shattered Armor to the Azure Flame Blade Demon would soon be worn away.

While Azure Blade Demon possesses [Cleansing Smoke], which can reduce all of a target's buffs and debuffs to zero, it is a poison-type move and cannot be used against noble steel-type Pokémon.

The use of the Iron Wall is almost impossible to solve.

…………

Ultimately, the Azure Flame Blade Demon, with its maximum speed, was faster. After the second sword dance ended, the Azure Flame Blade Demon's momentum had surged to a new high.

Then, he suddenly rushed into the whirlpool, wanting to catch his opponent off guard before Emperor Naboo's iron wall was completed.

It was still a close-quarters combat technique with extremely high power, but also with considerable side effects. The sword slashed at Emperor Naboo's steel-like body, producing a tooth-grinding metallic scraping sound.

At the critical moment, the Iron Wall was finally fully upgraded, helping Emperor Naboo withstand the most fatal sword strike.

"Let's surf again!"

Both sides were in a state of near collapse, and at this moment, it was only a contest of speed and willpower.

The towering waves surged and crashed against him once more, but the Azure Flame Blade Demon's eyes remained resolute, and the sword in his hand merged back into one.

He gripped the weapon, which resembled both a ruler and a sword, tightly in both hands. The aura emanating from it seemed to be boiling and pulsating restlessly, as if it were alive. At the most critical moment, he chose to trust the sword in his hands!

I, Azure Flame Blade Demon, possess a sword capable of moving mountains and overturning seas, splitting waves and cleaving rivers!

Sword, come!

The raging torrent surged forward unstoppably, and the giant sword wrapped in pale ghost flames in the Azure Flame Blade Demon's hand resolutely cleaved down.

The natural law of water overcoming fire seemed to break down under this sword strike. The giant waves parted in the middle as if trying to avoid it, and the Azure Flame Blade Demon grazed past him.

Behind the splitting giant wave was Emperor Naboo, who looked utterly shocked and dazed.

It stared wide-eyed, its already somewhat lifeless eyes wide open, and saw the giant sword magnify infinitely in its eyes without any warning, until a sharp pain shot through its head and its consciousness finally faded away.

As the waves subsided and the tide calmed, on the rocky ground where the torrential rain continued to pour, only the Azure Flame Blade Demon, supporting himself with his sword, was barely breathing.

Beneath the sword lay King Naboo, lying flat on the ground, his face still bearing that somewhat comical expression of shock.

The third whistle blew, signaling the final outcome of the match.

Emperor Naboo has lost his fighting ability and is unable to rise again!

Caught up in the tense atmosphere on the field, the audience suddenly erupted in thunderous cheers, a hymn to the Azure Flame Blade Demon.

The underdog triumphing over the strong has always been a favorite trope, and Azure Flame Blade Demon's fighting style is all about showing off, so it's no wonder it's so popular with audiences.

This is a fair battlefield, and people will always give you the applause you deserve for your performance.

…………

To be honest, this King Nabo's performance was equally brilliant, and could even be described as flawless.

However, in high-level matches, simply not making mistakes is not enough.

[Basic move] might help you win most matches, but in truly crucial moments, both it and its trainer lack a [Miracle move] to turn the tide.

Just like the final strike of Azure Flame Blade Demon's unwavering conviction.

The only pity was that Azure Blade Demon's foundation was still somewhat shallow, and it quickly fell to Steelix's spinning ball after it appeared.

If its energy intensity and reserves were at the level of Gardevoir or Milotic, with the support of Crystallization and Swords Dance, it might be able to achieve a six-in-a-row victory.

After all, his signature move, [Regret Sword], can restore half of the health and stamina dealt, just like Absorb Fist.

As long as it has enough energy, the Mega Steelix is ​​just a giant health pack.

The back row, with its four times weaker fire resistance, includes the Grass Steel Nut Dumbbell, or the likes of Corviknight and Bronze Elephant, not to mention...

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" on the battlefield.

Before collapsing, Azure Blade unleashed its final Flame Charge, dealing significant damage to Steelix.

It's only because this big guy has extremely high physical defense that he might have been able to replace it with another one.

Even so, Azure Flame Blade Demon's performance in its first battle was still quite amazing.

He fought against two Champion-level Pokémon at full strength, one of which was even the opponent's ace Pokémon. He also caused considerable trouble for Jian Zhenyue's other key Pokémon, Steelix, which was capable of Mega Evolution.

Then the elves who come out later will have a much easier task.

Xia Chen chose Zoroark as his next Pokémon, which had not yet appeared in this series before—to appear disguised as Sylveon.

This disguise easily fooled everyone, including Jian Zhenyue, whose Daoist heart had already begun to crumble.

After all, in this situation, having Sylveon, who can Mega Evolve, come out to defeat Mega Steelix and end the match is Xia Chen's optimal solution.

Unfortunately, Xia Chen played by his own whims.

After deceiving Steelix, Zoroark used the Special Attack boost from Nasty Plot to barely defeat Mega Steelix, but then fell to Corviknight's Brave Bird attack.

At this point, the score was tied at 3-3, but Xia Chen had already firmly grasped the victory.

Mega Sylveon, the absolute ace, has not yet appeared, nor have Milotic and Gardevoir, who are also in the first tier of the main lineup. Xia Chen, who is not in a hurry at all, sent out Sylveon Goodra to train.

The Steel-type internal battle was truly tedious and long, with Corviknight and Goodra going back and forth in a tug-of-war, neither of them having the ability to finish the match.

However, the audience on the sidelines and the chat room were not bored at all, because they were already discussing the Azure Flame Blade Demon that they still couldn't forget.

The most controversial and hottest topic is undoubtedly—what exactly is the phenomenon that covered the entire body of Azure Flame Blade Demon with a layer of crystal?

Many observant netizens reviewed the replays and studied Xia Chen's every move. Finally, in just a few frames, they captured a picture of the Taijing Pearl and the Azure Flame Blade Ghost echoing each other from afar.

This thing, which is completely different from the Keystone but seems to have a similar function, has sparked a more heated and in-depth discussion.

Despite the various opinions circulating outside, the only reliable voice still rests in Xia Chen's hands.

Finally, when the match ended with a score of 6-4, the real show was just beginning...

…………

At the press conference after the match.