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

But this time was different; if it weren't for Guleton's reminder, he wouldn't have been able to react at all.

Those lurking in the shadows here are more cautious and more terrifying than Crimson Pine and Water Wutong!

Xia Chen pondered Gu Leton's words and suddenly thought of a possibility.

"You're saying they're suppressing... does that mean they want to delay that Pokémon's awakening until after the finals?"

Leighton curled his lip and said, "You humans are full of bad intentions, how would I know?"

Xia Chen ignored the giant lizard's sarcastic remarks and muttered to himself, "It's highly likely. If that being awakens, the top trainers here certainly won't stand idly by. It might even affect their plans. But why insist on implementing the plan after the tournament..."

…………

"Bu Yi? (Maybe it's not that they want it, but that they can't control that guy's awakening?)"

The appearance of a certain cute voice made Xia Chen realize something.

Looking down, I realized the voice was indeed coming from Senbu, who had somehow appeared out of nowhere.

Xia Chen knew that this mysterious partner, who had been acting mysteriously since they met, must know something, so he pressed him succinctly: "Tell me more."

Xianbu scratched his head with the silk, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Bu-i... (Well... I don't really know how to say it, I'm just guessing...)"

She didn't mean to be a riddle teller, but Butterfly's wings flapped too much, and the timeline had deviated too far from her previous life.

For example, the awakening of the Eternal Tana mentioned by Guleton, in her impression, would not happen for another five years.

Because Eternatus's power was so great, the consequences and impact of that incident were the greatest of all the legendary Pokémon awakenings.

Motostoke City, and indeed the entire central Galar region surrounding it, suffered devastating damage, with the death toll and number of Pokémon reaching five figures, and countless injuries and property losses.

This happened even though legendary Pokémon are frequently active and the major leagues around the world have taken sufficient precautions.

The terrifying power of Anuttara is evident.

It was only thanks to the timely arrival of Zacian, the Sword Hero, and her brother Kuramat, the Shield Hero, that they were able to barely defeat him and reseal him, thanks to the combined efforts of a group of top trainers.

The mastermind behind it all was the most powerful and wealthy man in the entire Galar region, the Alliance Chairman, Loz.

Because he observed that Galar's energy would be exhausted within a thousand years, he awakened Eterna, who had nearly destroyed the Galar region thousands of years ago. Only an extremely confident and ambitious person like Loth could do something like that.

But in the end, just like all the ambitious ones before him, all of Loth's preparations and all the black technology he invented were as laughable as toys in the face of Eterna's absolute power.

But the price to pay is that of countless innocent people and elves in the Galar region.

…………

Bringing his thoughts back, Xianbu decided to give Xia Chen a hint, "Buyi! (Have Rotom check the specific information about the energy plant!)"

Xia Chen nodded readily and then called out Rotom's phone to do as instructed.

Soon, information about this energy plant belonging to the Macolomon Group appeared on the Psyduck Encyclopedia.

"The Marco Lomon Energy Plant is the largest energy plant in the Galler region and the energy hub of Loto."

"The energy pipeline network is even denser than the railway lines, reaching all towns and villages in the Galilee region."

"The factory belongs to the Macolomon Group, and the president is Loz, the chairman of the Galar Alliance. The vice president, Olivia Loto, is in charge of the specific affairs of the energy factory."

"..."

Xia Chen became increasingly alarmed as he listened. Could the mastermind behind the villainous organization in the Galar region be none other than Chairman Loz himself?

If someone under him does something wrong, wouldn't he be able to cover it up for them at will?

No wonder the security situation in the entire Galar region is relatively good compared to other regions; the biggest protector of emotions is the Alliance Master!

Moreover, according to Guleton, a certain group is consciously and evenly releasing energy to delay the awakening time... Only Loz could do this so flawlessly in his own energy plant.

Xia Chen pondered for a long time before suddenly asking, "If someone is behind this, could taking them down prevent the spirit from awakening?"

Therefore, Leighton was speechless at Xia Chen's naive and childish idea. "They are suppressing the awakening now. Stopping it? Interrupting the energy release process will only accelerate the awakening process!"

Xia Chen rubbed his hair in frustration. Was the best option now to let Loz release his energy and awaken the mysterious Third God of Galar?

Just as he was feeling troubled, a piece of silk was gently draped over him.

“Buyi—(It’s okay, you don’t have to bear this alone, you still have us.)”

Xianbu's comforting words sparked a thought in Xia Chen's mind: Mikoli and Qianli... they shouldn't have left Galar yet, right?

------

April 2nd, Quanju Gymnasium.

The World Gym Leaders Tournament, which lasted for more than half a month, has finally entered its penultimate round of semifinals.

The first match this morning was the semifinals of the upper division, Sakaki vs. Xia Chen.

One is the reigning champion who has swept through the competition, and the other is a rising star with great potential. This highly anticipated match has attracted hundreds of millions of viewers even before it has started.

Judging from most of the comments, Xia Chen has an absolute advantage in terms of support.

However, if you look at the odds for the off-field elf battles, you'll find that the odds for Xia Chen to win are 1:3.5.

The odds weren't particularly outrageous, but they still demonstrated people's extreme optimism about Giovanni.

Offering financial support is far more convincing than offering verbal support.

But the odds before each of Xia Chen's matches have been almost the same, and many of Xia Chen's die-hard fans have already bet all in on him to win a villa by the sea.

At first, many people laughed at these people for not understanding Pokémon battles.

But the cooing pigeons responded, "You may know more about Pokémon battles than I do, but you definitely don't know as much about Xia Chen as I do!"

As it turns out, those who were mocked for not understanding Pokémon battles became the biggest winners among the spectators of this tournament.

This made many gamblers eager to place their bets on Xia Chen before the match.

However, these off-field factors ultimately have no effect on the two players on the battlefield.

Xia Chen didn't know if Giovanni would hold back, but he himself certainly wouldn't. For this reason, he even replaced one of his Pokémon with Guleton.

If there's anyone in the world most likely to capture a legendary Pokémon, Xia Chen believes it must be Giovanni.

Even if he pulls out a Pokémon of Moltres or even Mewtwo level during the battle, Xia Chen wouldn't be surprised at all.

Based on this perspective, Xia Chen brought Gu Leton with him.

He didn't want to miss the precious opportunity to fight the legendary elves.

If Sakaki hadn't brought him, or if he hadn't actually captured him, Xia Chen would have had no choice but to win this victory with tears in his eyes.

He had no aversion to using the power of Guleton. Being able to subdue the legendary elves and use them for his own purposes was also his own ability, wasn't it?

…………

The time arrived at exactly nine o'clock in the morning amidst the never-ending excited chatter of the audience.

Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the on-site host, Sakaki and Xia Chen emerged from the contestant tunnel.

Sakaki is forty-six years old, but he doesn't look like he's nearly fifty at all.

His well-built muscles, bulging beneath a well-fitting suit, and the subtle, almost imperceptible, cold and gloomy aura hidden beneath his composure, all made him look like an elite young man under forty.

No one could have imagined that such a man would be the powerful and influential dark emperor of the Kanto underworld.

Xia Chen didn't dare to reveal his surprise or anything else in his eyes, which was easy for a superpowered person to control.

Sakaki smiled at Xia Chen, looking quite friendly.

The two did not exchange any further words and waited for the match to begin.

Before long, the stands quieted down, and the referee, riding a Shielded Swordsman, blew his whistle to announce the start of the match.

Xia Chen and Sakaki acted simultaneously, throwing out the Poké Balls they had been holding for a while. A flash of white light appeared, and their starting Pokémon entered the arena.

One of them was Nidoking, which was nearly three meters tall, covered in bright purple toxins, and almost twice the size of an ordinary individual.

On the other side is Milotic, which sits coiled on the ground with its head held high, a sight that will amaze anyone no matter how many times you look at it.

Both players have almost the same role in Xia Chen's and Sakaki's respective lineups: not ace players, but absolute mainstays second only to ace players.

At least Xia Chen was like that; whether Sakaki was hiding his strength is unknown.

"Nidoking, Stealth Rock!"

The shrewd strategist Giovanni did not launch a strong attack at the start, but instead calmly and quietly commanded the release of the Stealth Rock first.

The reason for not using Nidoking's more proficient Toxic Spikes is simple: Goodra and Cyclops, both Steel-type Pokémon, are completely immune to Poison-type moves, so using them would be a waste of time.

Xia Chen raised an eyebrow. Wasn't this just letting Milotic get stronger?

Without standing on ceremony with Giovanni, he immediately commanded, "Milkyr, Whirlwind Dance!"

Although Nidoking has been playing a physical attack style based on previous matches, the boosts to Special Attack and Speed ​​alone make this Quiver Dance worth the price of admission.

"Nido—"

Nidoking, resembling a monster, roared wildly, and deep yellow rock-type energy gathered in his gaping maw. With a single breath, countless sharp stones were spewed out, evenly and densely distributed across the battlefield, before silently disappearing into the air.

…………

On the other side, Milotic followed suit and completed its butterfly dance, keeping pace with Nidoking.

A hint of surprise flashed in Sakaki's eyes.

This is not an easy thing to do, as the energy intensity of the two differs considerably, and theoretically, the energy flow rate is also different.

What he didn't know was that Milotic was able to barely keep up entirely thanks to the achievement talent that the system had given him a long time ago.

However, Xia Chen's special talent had been displayed more than once or twice, so Giovanni suppressed his initial surprise and calmly replied, "Nidoking, Drill Run!"

"Nido!"

Nidoking's feet sank, and the entire battlefield trembled instantly as if an earthquake had struck.

Boom——

The deafening sound was hard to believe, as it came from a Pokémon bursting into action. Nidoking's massive feet created two large craters beneath the ground, big enough for Magikarp to swim in.

He strode forward, and although his speed did not seem fast, his enormous size meant that with each step he closed the distance to Milotic with great efficiency.

At the same time, powerful earth-colored energy converged at the slender, sharp purple horn above, and countless ground-based energies spun rapidly around the horn.

Straight-through drill!