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

My worst fears have come true.

The light vanished instantly, and the dark gem above Arceus's head revealed the answer: before Staraptor could unleash its desperate attack, Sylveon had used a Ghost-type move.

It's easy to tell from the giant ghostly claw that appeared the next second that this move was the Shadow Claw!

…………

Sylveon, who inherited Draco's Double Dragon Dance, unleashes moves that are both fast and powerful.

As soon as the Shadow Claw appeared, it slammed down squarely on the still-stunned M'K Eagle.

bang——

While the addition of the Crystal Flying-type move enhances the power output of Staraptor's Flying-type moves, it also removes its immunity to Normal-type Ghost-type moves.

The Shadow Claw, which had previously failed to hit it, gave Staraptor a fresh taste of Ghost-type energy.

"Star!"

Judging from its mournful roar and the pained expression on its face, it was clear that this new experience was not pleasant.

"Muk Eagle, retreat first!"

Plan Bomber failed, and Aoki made a decisive move, ordering the Starhawk to retreat in order to plan for the next step.

He wasn't a superhuman like Xia Chen; his mind couldn't calculate too many steps ahead.

The impromptu, desperate attack had nearly burned out his CPU; he needed to calm down, and so did the Starhawk.

If the desperate attack misses, the Starhawk itself won't suffer any backlash from it, but the energy consumed in the early stages is still real.

He could never beat Senbu in sustained close combat.

But how could Xia Chen let Muke Eagle escape so easily? He shouted, "Lightning Fist, pursue!"

In an instant, lightning flashed everywhere.

Mega Sylvanas's head gem turned golden, and its overly slender, unintimidatingly cute front paws rose up as it unleashed a lightning punch, a technique it had acquired from the wizard Zoroark, and slammed forward.

“Star—”

A scream even more piercing than before resounded through the sky, demonstrating the astonishing damage of this double-counter move.

"Keep using Thunder Fist, don't stop!"

Seizing the opportunity, Xia Chen gave Muke Eagle no chance to catch his breath, directing Xianbu to continue the attack.

"Buyi!"

Xianbu firmly agreed, and his internal energy suddenly erupted. Amidst flashes of lightning, he alternated between throwing punches with his left and right fists, the speed of which was so fast that it even left behind afterimages.

"Ora ora ora—"

This is not the voice of the narrator, but a sound effect added to the commentary.

"The Mega Evolved Sylveon completely overwhelmed Aoki's ace, Staraptor, not only in terms of the situation but also in terms of momentum. The aftereffects of the failed desperate attempt were obvious. Staraptor had no chance to fight back. If this trend continues, Aoki is in danger!"

Looking back at Aoki's choice now, I wonder if he'll regret it...

…………

It's really impossible to hit even a little bit...

Aoki sighed silently, feeling rather helpless but without any regrets.

He knew that even without fighting to the death, Starhawk would have a hard time being a match for Super Shamrock.

Its features are practically bug-like, and its skill pool is bottomless. This is combined with Xia Chen's superpowered command.

Such a spirit can only be described in two words—unsolvable!

Aoki's original strategy was to use a defensive Pokémon like Corviknight to wear down Sylveon's stats and HP before switching in his main attacker, Staraptor.

But plans can't keep up with changes, and the decision to replace Mega Kangaskhan just now made it impossible for him to implement this tactic.

Right now, there's only a tiny bit of hope left to turn things around.

"Fight for your life!"

Amidst the unexpected roar, the Hawk, who had been under attack the entire time, suddenly turned around, and the last bit of energy in its body instantly erupted, releasing its final ripples!

However, what responded to it was a sly smile on Xianbu's face that suggested he had everything under control.

The gemstone darkened instantly, and then a familiar ghostly claw appeared out of thin air and slammed down!

This shadow claw not only shattered Starhawk's desperate illusions, but also crushed Aoki's last hope of turning the tide.

Ten minutes later, the final whistle blew, and the score on the big screen above the field was fixed at 6:3.

The winner was naturally Xia Chen.

With both of Aoki's main damage dealers crippled, the only way he could turn the tide is if Xia Chen intentionally feeds the enemy.

Clearly, Xia Chen wouldn't do something so unethical. With the outcome already decided, the two of them worked together to deliver a truly exciting match for the audience.

But every competition has winners and losers. Xia Chen was the winner who successfully made it into the semi-finals, while Qingmu stood on the sidelines with his head down and sighed for a long time.

However, Xia Chen felt that given Aoki's personality, he was more likely sighing because he wanted to go back to work, rather than because he had lost a match that concerned the honor of the Padiya region.

The applause and cheers around him made Xia Chen, the winner of the match, somewhat lost in thought.

Next up is a match against the legendary Sakaki; I wonder whose applause will be for after the game...

…………

After the game.

As expected, the news of Xia Chen defeating Aoki and advancing to the semifinals of the World Tournament spread like wildfire online, sparking heated discussions among many onlookers, especially those in the Donghuang region.

Even among the many masters of the tournament, Aoki is a very special one.

Strictly speaking, his simultaneous role as one of the Four Heavenly Kings is somewhat extraordinary for others.

But what can you do when this is a "Dojo Master Tournament" and not a "Dojo-level Tournament"?

Therefore, it is reasonable and perfectly in accordance with the rules for Aoki to appear as one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

But no one expected that someone who was considered a favorite to win the championship before the competition would not even make it to the semi-finals!

But it was Xia Chen who defeated him!

Eighteen years old, dojo master, defeated the Elite Four.

These keywords shouldn't have been linked together, but everything changed after Xia Chen suddenly appeared.

"Thanks for the invitation. I'm currently in Galar, eighteen years old, a gym leader, and I just defeated the Elite Four of the Padia."

This sentence, which was uttered by someone of unknown origin and was full of youthful vigor, swept across the internet overnight.

The people of Donghuang praised Xia Chen to the skies, and many even fantasized about Xia Chen and Long Ye meeting in the finals, with Xia Chen and Long Ye in the upper and lower halves of the bracket respectively.

But when the results of the two matches were announced the following day, this beautiful illusion, which hadn't even lasted for twelve hours, was shattered like a bubble.

Last year's runner-up, Tatsuno, lost to Ryubo with a score of 4:6, stopping in the quarterfinals.

In another match, Cibana lived up to the expectations of all the fans who supported him, narrowly defeating Mikoli 6-5 to advance to the semifinals.

He will face his old rival, Liu Bo, who defeated him in the group stage.

Chapter 391 Why do divine beasts seem to awaken wherever I go? (5k views)

(Monday was a bit busy, I'll warm up for tomorrow's big push)

With this, the four finalists for this year's World Dojo Master Tournament have been determined.

With only two rounds left in the competition, the final champion will be contested between Sakaki and Xia Chen from the upper division, and Qibana and Liu Bo from the lower division.

Of the four finalists, two are from Kanto, one from Donghuang, and the last one comes from the host country, Galar.

As of now, Kanto is undoubtedly the strongest region.

In this light, Xia Chen's elimination journey, in which he defeated both Naz and Xiaochun, is quite impressive.

The semi-finals and finals are separated by a day, mainly to allow the players and their Pokémon who have fought their way through to get enough rest.

Reality isn't like a game, where you can just send your Pokémon to the center and "ding!" like heating food in a microwave...

Xia Chen's elves were alright, because he never fought a match to the point of exhaustion.

In addition, adhering to the principle of distributing resources equally, he consciously had the Pokémon take turns being the main force, so the Pokémon were in perfect condition the day before the semi-finals began.

However, Gu Leton's behavior these past two days has been somewhat unusual. He often leans on the windowsill, gazing thoughtfully outside, which makes Xia Chen inexplicably worried.

Are you still worried about that?

After dinner, Xia Chen thoughtfully paid attention to the physical and mental health of her pet.

"It's not a matter of whether I'm worried or not."

Therefore, Leighton's expression was unusually solemn.

"That aura is slowly starting to emanate, which means that being may be awakening, but something's strange..."

Waking up... Xia Chen, who had just grasped the key words, suddenly felt dizzy.

Why do mythical beasts seem to awaken wherever I go?

Could it be that I possess "Detective Conan" attributes?

"So, what's strange about it?"

Xia Chen decided to find out the whole story before deciding whether or not to run away.

Therefore, Leighton replied, "Generally speaking, waking up unconsciously would take only a few minutes, but that aura was too even, as if... someone was deliberately controlling the outflow of some kind of energy to suppress the time it took to wake up."

Xia Chen immediately understood what Gu Leton meant, and his brows furrowed.

"You mean... someone's up to something?"

Therefore, Leighton nodded noncommittally, "We cannot rule out the possibility of this happening."

Xia Chen couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Although this wasn't the first time he'd encountered a legendary spirit awakening event, it was the first time he'd experienced human intervention.

Team Magma and Team Aqua in Hoenn don't count; both of them would wake up regardless of whether he's there or not.