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

It was waiting for the right opportunity to turn the tables on them.

Waiting for the last moment before the [predictive] energy cluster condenses!

That will be the moment when Gardevoir's vigilance is at its lowest!

Three seconds, two seconds, one second…

Right now.

A glint flashed in Beedrill's eyes, and its internal energy suddenly exploded. Its body, which was hovering in the air, launched itself out like a catapult!

A flash of lightning!

While Trick Space can reverse speed, it cannot stop preemptive moves like Quick Attack, which are energy-driven bursts of power!

Theoretically speaking, Beedrill should not be able to master this move. But for Giovanni's Beedrill, the finishing touch might be out of reach, but a flash of lightning... is that any big deal?

call out--

Without any warning, Beedrill suddenly disappeared from the audience's sight, and Gardevoir, who was keeping a close eye on Beedrill, felt a sinking feeling in her heart.

There's clearly a magic space... how could it be so fast?

Just as she was about to subconsciously stop gathering her power to foresee the future and instead use Protect, Xia Chen's voice appeared in Gardevoir's mind at the right moment.

"Don't panic, it's just Quick Attack. Use Protect when Beedrill gets here!"

The calm and reliable voice put Gardevoir at ease.

Ignoring the afterimages before her and the buzzing in her ears, she calmly condensed the energy ball. Only after feeling the intense stinging pain caused by the lightning attack did she calmly support herself and defend the barrier.

hum-

The frantic flapping of Beedrill's wings stopped just a few centimeters in front of Gardevoir, and it could no longer get any closer.

Hold the line, effective!

The giant bee, holding its crimson twin pistols horizontally and making a thrusting motion, looked on in astonishment.

I just saw panic in Gardevoir's eyes, but it was all blocked?

Only Beedrill itself knows just how difficult it was for Gardevoir to block that poison attack with Protect.

A moment too early, and you'd be fooled by the flash of lightning; a moment too late, and the venomous stinger would surely pierce Gardevoir's body.

This was a deadly trap with a slim chance of survival, and Gardevoir somehow managed to find the only way out!

The tide has turned...

"Wow, Gardevoir used Protect to block the Poison Attack after Quick Attack! That was crucial! Beedrill never expected that it could be blocked... The barrier disappeared, and it's still looking for an opportunity!"

"However, with Trick Room present, the chances of a comeback are slim... Without teleporting, Gardevoir easily dodged Beedrill's parting struggle simply by relying on the speed at which the two exchanged under Trick Room!"

"......"

"The pre-planted [Precognition] energy orb finally exploded, and Giovanni's ace, Mega Beedrill, fell!"

…………

Halfway through the match, Xia Chen realized something was wrong; it wasn't that the opponent was too disadvantaged, but rather that they were too dominant.

Judging from Giovanni's words... does he not want to fight anymore?

It's not that they didn't want to fight at all; it's more like they let their Pokémon fight freely, which felt a bit like an open battle.

This is evident from the fact that the following Pokémon completely lacked the fighting spirit of Nidoking and Beedrill at the beginning.

Based on this trend, it's highly likely that Giovanni will not use the legendary Pokémon.

It seems we won't need Gullerton to step in and keep things in order today.

Although it's unclear why Giovanni started in the semifinals, he didn't hold back and secured the crucial victory, becoming the first player to advance to the finals.

Although the final result was a hard-fought 6-4, in reality, Xia Chen won more easily than Aoki did.

This led many desperate gamblers to cry foul afterward, but the outcome was already decided: Xia Chen, as the final winner of the first half of the competition, advanced to the final of this year's World Hall Master Tournament.

The afternoon's semi-finals in the second half of the competition will determine who will face Xia Chen for the ultimate championship between Qibana and Liu Bo.

At midday, at the Marocomón Group's branch building.

Perhaps because the World Dojo Master Tournament in Motogaku City has reached its climax, the usually bustling building is unusually quiet today.

A cold, aloof figure stood before the elevator leading to the CEO's office on the top floor. It was none other than Sakaki, who had been eliminated in the semi-finals that morning.

The elevator doors opened, and Olive, dressed in a professional office lady outfit, bowed slightly to greet them.

"Dear Mr. Sakaki, on behalf of the Marocmont Group, I welcome you. Please come up with me; the chairman has been waiting for you for some time."

Sakaki nodded slightly and followed Olive into the elevator.

The elevator doors closed, and Olive pushed up her decorative glasses, saying softly, "Based on the current energy concentration readings, that person's awakening time... might be earlier than expected."

Giovanni remained expressionless and replied, "I know, Zapdos told me."

Olive frowned slightly: "So you threw the game this morning? If that being really awakens during the finals, Xia Chen will be the most uncontrollable factor."

Sakaki turned his head and looked calmly at Olive, his eyes showing no anger or threat whatsoever, but the latter felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

The air was almost still. Olive subconsciously slowed her breathing, as if she were standing in the elevator with a ferocious elf, not a human.

Finally, the elevator reached the top floor, and the doors opened.

The incoming air seemed to ease the eerie atmosphere in the enclosed space, and the air returned to calm.

Sakaki turned his head away.

"I really hope that Zhenniao can get to know you; she's a bit too reserved sometimes."

Olive knew the meaning behind the extremely dangerous man's words, and immediately bowed her head in apology, "I'm sorry, I misspoke..."

With the crisp, rhythmic clatter of his leather shoes, Sakaki walked away. Olive breathed a sigh of relief, her palms already soaked with cold sweat.

Chapter 395 Signs of Awakening

In the afternoon, at the Quanju Gymnasium.

The semi-final between the host nation Cibana and the Kanto dark horse Lyubo took place as scheduled amidst great anticipation.

The two had already faced off in the group stage, where Liu Bo narrowly won by a slight advantage of one Pokémon.

This was also the only time the two faced off in history.

Therefore, based purely on data, Lyubo's win rate against Cibana is 100%.

Of course, those who cite historical battle records are most likely just casual trainers.

Every game is a new beginning. Even if you've won 99 times before, it doesn't mean you'll win the 100th time.

From the very beginning of the match, Cibana seemed to exemplify this principle.

Having learned from his previous defeat, he sent out his ace general, Aluminum Steel Dragon, early on to turn the tide and successfully defeated Liu Bo's first Pokémon, Blizzard King.

Although the Froslass who appeared later struggled to control the speed of the attack with the [Snow Cloak] ability and Ice Wind, she finally managed to switch places with a Cannon before falling down.

Facing two opponents alone, Cibana's start was nothing short of perfect.

But then things started to go wrong.

Glalie seems to have cheated, using its ability [Mood Change] to continuously and significantly increase its Special Attack and Speed, while decreasing its Physical Attack, with an accuracy that is outrageous.

Then, Liu Bocai performed a super evolution on Ice Ghost Guard.

The [Unstable Mood] trait is thus transformed into [Frozen Skin].

However, the abilities that were previously enhanced by mood swings will not be lost, and the already powerful Super Ice Ghost Guardian will be even more formidable.

After defeating the Crystal Steel-type Desert Dragonfly, it was completely free of natural enemies and practically entered Musou mode.

Only the intervention of the Blazing Turtlemon, which brought down the rampaging Mega Ice Oni-Ghost, slightly salvaged the situation.

However, it is clear to anyone with eyes that Liu Bo still has the advantage, not only because his elf is in better condition, but also because of the type advantage, and also because he still has the card "Tai Jinghua" that he has not used.

As the host nation fell into a disadvantageous position, the cheers at the Quanju Gyota arena gradually subsided.

Just as Qibana's last Pokémon, Goodra, was about to be defeated by the Long-haired Boar, a sudden change occurred.

It wasn't that the disadvantage against Qibana on the battlefield was reversed, but rather that the sky above the entire arena, which was originally clear and cloudless, suddenly became overcast with dark clouds, and lightning flashed and thunder roared.

If it's just ordinary thunder and rain, there's nothing unusual about it, after all, it rains for a third of the year in Galar.

But strangely, the color of these dark clouds and lightning was an eerie dark red!

…………

Inside the hotel, Xia Chen, who hadn't gone to watch the game, immediately noticed the strange scene in the sky.

His expression remained calm, showing no surprise or worry.

All of this was in Gardevoir's prophecy the day before. Since Yveltal's awakening, Gardevoir's prophecies have never been wrong.

As for the aftermath of the prophecy... this time the anomaly was all talk and no action; Mugentana did not actually awaken.

That's why Xia Chen is so calm right now.

However, this was not good news for Xia Chen. He hoped that Gardevoir could "see" Eternatus awaken.

Having a specific time and place in mind is essential to minimizing the damage caused by a disaster.

However, Gardevoir's Great Prophecy only allows her to see the scene one day in advance, so Xia Chen has no way of knowing which day the awakening will actually be.

The only positive aspect was that this unexpected change made Mikoli and Qianli even more convinced of Xia Chen's previous statement.

Meanwhile, Cynthia, who was far away in the Sinnoh region, sent an inquiry message immediately.

"Has something happened where you are again?"

The use of the word "again" is very clever.

Xia Chen said helplessly, "This really has nothing to do with me..."

He didn't know whether it was related or not, but he just wanted to shift the blame first.

Cynthia took a deep breath and asked, "Tell me, how much do you know about the situation right now?"

Xia Chen didn't hide anything and told her all the information he had obtained from Guleton, as well as from Sylvanas and Gardevoir.