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

The perfectly proportioned, long-haired, black-haired, yandere Nazja; the special episode's main villain, Liu Bo, whose wild boar and messenger bird attacks are almost god-slaying; and the stern, unsmiling Sakaki in a black suit...

Why single out these three? Because Xia Chen keenly noticed that they glanced at him at least ten times during the meal.

This time, Xia Chen brought along the invincible Gu Leton, so he wasn't worried at all. Instead, he openly returned the smile to the other party.

The three reacted differently: Natsume stared back expressionlessly, Uncle Liu, holding the little boar, smiled kindly, and Sakaki, stroking the cat boss, had a meaningful look in his eyes.

Xia Chen didn't know what they were going to do, but after their eyes met, they never crossed paths again.

Silent all night.

The following day, the highly anticipated World Gym Leader Tournament finally began.

Without any fancy opening ceremony, after a brief speech by the host region champion Dante, the first Group A match quickly began – Sakaki vs. Tetsuyuu.

Speaking of which, although Xia Chen had never met Tie Xuan, they had some dealings with each other—

Last year, while traveling in the Hoenn region, he encountered a small problem traveling from Mauville City to Sootopolis City. It was only thanks to his private plane that Xia Chen, Qianli, and Serena were able to reach Sootopolis City in time.

Although the grand celebration was still postponed due to the awakening of the two gods...

This somewhat short and chubby, optimistic old man is a true tycoon and a top-tier trainer specializing in Electric-type Pokémon. Unfortunately, he encountered [Gibbon of Earth] in this round.

Ground and Electric are almost the most unsolvable type matchup among the eighteen types, with Fairy and Dragon being the only other pair that can be compared to it.

However, Uncle Tiexuan obviously did not sit idly by and wait for death just because his attributes were completely countered and his opponent was strong.

In this battle, he fielded a Water/Electric type Pokémon, a Rotom-Wash Pokémon with the Levitate ability that grants immunity to Ground-type moves, a Mega Evolution Ampharos that can evolve into a Dragon/Ampharos, and a Grass/Magnemite.

Every detail clearly indicates a targeting of Giovanni, who specializes in ground-based combat.

But how could the defending champion of the tournament, Ōchi no Sakaki, be so easily targeted?

The Pokémon he sent out were Beedrill, Kangaskhan, and Rhyperior.

Without even using the Crystallization ability, Giovanni, with just one Super Kangaskhan as his "mother and child warriors," easily defeated Tetsuo and won 3-1.

The second match in Group B also did not produce any upsets. Aoki, who qualified first in the Padilla region qualifiers, defeated the Fighting-type Gym Leader, Ari, who was somewhat countered by him, with his "ordinary and unremarkable" Normal-type team.

Then, the first match in the afternoon, which is today's highlight match.

Xia Chen, a rising star from the Donghuang region and the world's first multi-attribute gym leader—Yuanling Gym Leader—who is not yet open for business, will battle Lulina, a world-famous model and gym leader of the Water Boat Arena!

…………

In the official Pixiv live stream of the World Gym Leader Tournament, the chat gradually became lively.

It's not that Xia Chen and Lu Lina are stronger than the previous two matches, but in terms of popularity, the top four combined can't match either of them.

Although Giovanni is a super big shot and the most famous villain in the Pokémon series, he is currently keeping a relatively low profile in this world.

As for Xia Chen and Lulina... to use entertainment industry terms, they are like traffic stars in the Pokémon battle circle. It can be said that they lack strength, but they are definitely less famous than they are skilled.

Right now, the comments section is filled with heated debate about which one is stronger.

Although the matter will soon be resolved in the next match, the onlookers continue to discuss it with great enthusiasm.

Sometimes the outcome isn't important; what matters is how you demonstrate your superiority in the argument.

Amidst the incessant arguing in the live chat, Xia Chen and Lu Lina walked to opposite sides of the battlefield.

The trainer was roughly in the position of the goalkeeper on the soccer field. Xia Chen tried to look at Lulina, but could only see a small figure.

In such a arena, forget about pre-match trash talk; trainers can't even hear each other's commands during the battle. They can only rely on experience and guesswork to interpret their opponent's commands.

The group stage battle format is a six-choose-three system, which is slightly different from the regular 3v3. Before the match, both sides know the six Pokémon that their opponents have submitted in advance, and then each side selects three Pokémon to bring to the battlefield.

In other words, the game actually begins before the game even starts.

Xia Chen gave six of them: Sylveon, Gardevoir, Milotic, Zoroark, Goodra, and Dragapult.

Aside from the unconventional Gullington, this is his strongest lineup.

Lulina's six Pokémon are Torterra, Inteleon, Pelipper, Slug, Golisopod, and Gyarados, all of which she has given her all.

With the referee's whistle, the match officially began.

Both sides throw their Poké Balls, and the first Pokémon chosen after a psychological battle appear on the battlefield.

The glutinous dragon, and the giant gull.

Seeing the seabird with an enormous beak, flapping its wings and creating a torrential downpour in the air, Xia Chen had a general idea of ​​Lu Lina's tactics for this match.

The Pelipper in the starting lineup is just a tool Pokémon to trigger the [Rain] ability and release [Tailwind]; the real main damage dealers are the two Pokémon in the back row.

Xia Chen thought it was most likely to be a Blink Dagger and a Gyarados—the former being a fast attacker with the ability [Swift Swim], and the latter being the only Mega Evolver in the lineup.

…………

Having understood, Xia Chen immediately commanded, "Nian Meilong, thunder!"

Although the best way to counter Tailwind is to use [Taunt], Nianmeilong doesn't know this move, and Xia Chen never intended to let her use it.

It is enough to break it by force.

The combination of water and flight attributes is actually not bad, but the four times weakness to electricity is a major drawback.

The only way to avoid this is to change the attribute through crystallization. Xia Chen doesn't believe that Lulina would waste this precious mechanism, which can only be used once per battle, on Pelipper, a mere utility Pokémon.

And that was indeed the case. Over there, Lulina ignored Xia Chen's commands and didn't even bother to look at the opponent's starting Pokémon. She simply commanded, "Pelipper, Tailwind!"

Now that the tactics have been determined, there is no room for hesitation during the battle, even if one is about to face a barrage of thunder.

The giant gull's energy level is just a hair's breadth away from reaching the Elite Four level, so the rain it causes is naturally quite powerful.

Thick, dark clouds loomed over the battlefield, and torrential rain, heavy enough to blind anyone, blanketed the entire area.

However, before Lulina's back row of the Hudoujian Shuttle could enjoy the benefits of the rain, Niumilong had already enjoyed them.

Isn't this also a form of NTR...?

The rolling thunder, like the roar of a dragon, came clearly from the dark clouds. In an instant, a blinding purple-gold flash pierced the darkness, illuminating the entire battlefield that had become gloomy due to the rainstorm!

Then, Thunder's loud roar shook the entire arena.

boom--

A bolt of lightning, as thick as the massive body of a dragon, pierced through the dark clouds and plummeted straight down. This size was only observed from the audience's perspective; its actual size would be even more exaggerated.

Under the pinpoint of the torrential rain, the deep purple, ferocious thunder dragon accurately spotted the Great Beak Gull, which was still flapping its wings and stirring up strange winds. With a terrifying sound, lightning crashed down.

Lulina remained calm and did not give any orders such as "Get out of the way quickly." In the rain, thunder is sure to strike!

Instead of wasting time on futile tasks, it's better to lay the groundwork for the real main players to appear later.

Despite the ridiculously powerful thunder that was four times stronger than normal, Pelipper managed to unleash Tailwind with great difficulty.

The price was that its body, which was originally predominantly blue and white, was now charred black, and its not-so-wide wings were flapping laboriously, looking like it might die at any moment.

Pelipper is a Pokémon with limited durability, so the fact that it survived the thunderstorm shows its strength.

It is foreseeable that the next thunderclap, even if it is only 100,000 volts, will surely bring down the Pelipper.

However, for Lulina, whether Pelipper falls or not is not important; she just needs to finish what she needs to do before leaving the field.

Chapter 378 The Game Between Top Trainers

"Puffin, Frozen Wind!"

Upon hearing the trainer's command, the Pelipper's eyes hardened, and it resolutely flew towards Goodra.

Although the gull is not naturally agile, it can still move very fast with the help of a tailwind.

With just a few flaps of their charred wings from the lightning strike, the two elves were within the range of the freezing wind.

Instead of rushing forward, ice energy condensed in the giant beak of the Great Peacock, while at the same time, thunder surged again in the dark clouds hanging high overhead!

Clearly, to be on the safe side, Xia Chen wanted to use a second thunderclap to send the Bigmouth Gull away.

Despite the deafening thunder, the Big-Headed Gull remained fearless, its ice energy gathering even faster as it focused solely on unleashing the freezing winds before the lightning struck.

This was not difficult to do. In the blink of an eye, an ice-blue energy ball containing an aura of extreme cold condensed in front of the Bighead Carrion, and then the Bighead Carrion flapped its wings.

call--

The ice ball transformed into a frigid storm that swept towards the direction of the Nume Dragon. Wherever it passed, raindrops were frozen into ice beads by the biting cold air in the icy blue wind.

At the same time, the second lightning dragon fell silently, and only when the charred body of the Great Peacock fell helplessly to the ground did the thunderous roar, slower than the lightning itself, resound throughout the entire arena.

boom!

The audience covered their ears and looked towards the battlefield, where the giant gull lay silently on the ground.

And just as the Pelipper wished, the freezing wind condensed a layer of unusual frost on the gleaming metallic shell of the Golem.

The referee's whistle pronounced Pelipper's inability to fight, and on the battlefield screen, on the side where Lulina's image was displayed, Pelipper's image went dark.

The atmosphere in the stands wasn't exactly enthusiastic, after all, Lulina represented the Galar region, and most of the audience were Galar people, so the unusual atmosphere was understandable.

The score on the big screen has changed to 1-0, and the match continues.

On the battlefield, two red lights, representing the recall of the spirits, appeared.

Wait... why are there two paths?

The audience was puzzled.

It's understandable that Pelipper would be unable to battle and would be recalled to its Poké Ball, but what about Goodra?

It was just a minor, insignificant gust of freezing wind; at most, it slowed us down a bit more, but we weren't fast to begin with anyway.

Then, two white lights flashed, and the next Pokémon to enter the field were Gardevoir and Houndoom!

…………

"I understand."

At this moment, in the commentary booth of the live broadcast room, Cai Dou nodded thoughtfully.

Although the gym leader of the Traverse Arena always had a cold and aloof demeanor, she was unexpectedly popular. Since she failed to qualify for the main tournament, she was naturally brought in by the organizers to be a commentator.

Another commentator, less well-known, chimed in, "Oh? What does Ms. Cai Dou understand?"

"The significance of Xia Chen replacing Goodra with Gardevoir."

Cai Dou succinctly stated: "He had already understood Lulina's intentions, using the Swift Swim ability of the Boomerang as the main damage dealer in this match. The Boomerang's two main characteristics are high speed and high physical attack. With rain and Tailwind, its high speed can be maximized."