Why is my Pokémon acting a little weird?

Nian Hongyu's understanding of Qiao Ran rose to a higher level once again, however - Qiao Ran, who was standing on the stage at this moment, was panicking.

With the combat power of his Pokémon, it is still a little bit inferior to the champion.

And the Pokémon he has that might be able to fight are probably only those few.

"This match is a one-on-one friendly match. Each team sends out a Pokémon. The last one to fall is the winner."

Standing in the middle of the field, Nancy announced the start of the game. As a Pokémon trainer, she was actually looking forward to this game.

"Both parties are ready! Please send out your Pokémon!"

The moment she finished speaking, a tense atmosphere spread throughout the venue. Whether it was the gym trainers watching the game or Lillie and the others who were very familiar with the two of them, they couldn't help but feel sweaty in their palms and were extremely nervous.

"I'll send out the Pokémon first."

Zhulan, standing in the arena, seemed like a different person, from the scholar full of bookish air, to the champion who was full of vigor and oppression.

As her hands moved, a dragon-type Pokémon with the appearance of a shark and purple skin appeared in the center of the field, emitting a deafening roar. The boiling fighting spirit spread from its body, even becoming a substantial airflow, causing Zhulan's golden hair and black coat to sway gently in the breeze.

.

“So… strong…!”

Just with one glance, one could feel the other person's strength, and his heart seemed to be tightened in an instant.

Even some gym trainers with weak psychological endurance took a step back, as if their bodies subconsciously wanted to escape from the area - perhaps even they themselves didn't know why their bodies automatically behaved like this.

Level: 72

Looking at the level displayed on the Rotom screen, Qiao Ran couldn't help swallowing.

Level 72.

Qiao Ran had never seen such a terrifying number. In this world, even if this number was divided by 2 and became level 36, it would still be a very powerful Pokémon in the eyes of ordinary people. Maybe it could even get the title of elite trainer in a weaker gym.

And what about twice 36?

——Although the number is twice as much, the gap in strength has exploded exponentially, to a degree that is impossible to estimate.

"This... really is... not holding back at all."

Qiao Ran's heart was beating fast. At this moment, besides fear, he was actually more excited and expectant.

What can he do when facing a champion?

"I can tell from your expression, you're looking forward to this too, right?"

Zhu Lan had already understood Qiao Ran's thoughts. She was also a trainer, and she knew exactly what Qiao Ran was thinking.

"No matter how many difficulties there are, we can overcome them together with Pokémon. I, Zhulan, will fight you with all my strength!"

"Ah."

The opponent has already sent out their strongest Pokémon, so of course he has to send out his strongest player as well.

"Come out!"

"Cang Xiang!"

As Qiao Ran threw the Poké Ball, a giant wolf with blue fur and numerous battle scars appeared in the field. A surging fighting spirit spread from her body. What was surprising was that even when facing the powerful Garchomp, she did not retreat a single step, and even - competed with the opponent's momentum.

Countless battles have made her what she is today. Even though her current strength has declined compared to before, Cang Xiang has never doubted that Qiao Ran can lead them to the top again.

Her sword was always at the ready.

In the arena, the battle is about to break out. The two Pokémon are staring at each other, waiting for their trainer's command. Just a short order and the situation in the field will definitely change in an instant.

Facing Garchomp, Sora has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that Sora's fairy attribute can restrain Garchomp, which has both dragon and ground attributes. But conversely, Garchomp's ground attribute skills can still hit Sora - if Sora enters the Sword King mode and becomes a dual attribute of fairy and steel.

"You have to be careful."

Qiao Ran chose a more cautious style of play. Although he could avoid the double restraint of the ground by not entering the Sword King mode, the situation in reality was different from that in the game - if Cang Xiang did not hold on to the holy sword, his own strength would be greatly reduced.

This double-edged sword depends on what choice Qiao Ran and Cang Xiang will make.

"Bite the land shark fiercely! Attack with sharp rocks!"

Qiao Ran didn't move, while Zhu Lan on the opposite side had already started attacking.

Her first skill is a rock-attribute skill with a power of 100. The most terrifying thing is that if you are hit by this skill, there is a very high probability that it will hit the vital point, increasing the damage to an even more terrifying level.

"Ho ho ho ho ho ho!!!!"

Tyrannosaurus roared, raised his right foot covered with spikes and stomped on the ground. The ground began to shake as if there was an earthquake. Then, several glowing stone spikes shot out from the arena and rushed towards Cang Xiang's position at a terrifying speed.

So strong!

It is worthy of the championship level strength.

Qiao Ran had never seen such a fast release of skills and such terrible destructive power. When he used the sharp stone attack, he actually created an earthquake-like aftermath. Under such shaking, the opponent's movement was seriously interfered with.

Qiao Ran, on the field, was facing a formidable enemy, his mind racing with ideas for a response. Meanwhile, Nazi, standing by the field as the referee, used her superpowers to float slightly in the air.

She looked up at the slightly shaking ceiling, lost in thought, and frowned deeply.

These two guys... really don't give her, the gym leader, any face at all?

Chapter 482 [Dragon God Dive]

Stone Attack is not Garchomp's original skill, but it is still very powerful. At present, Cang Xiang has not yet bitten the legendary sword and entered the state of Sword King, and Qiao Ran cannot let her use her physical body to withstand this skill.

The most important thing is that the hit rate of the Stone Attack skill is actually not very high. If compared with Cang Xiang's terrifying speed, using speed to dodge may be the best choice.

"Cang Xiang! Run!"

Even without a sword, the sword dancer still has extremely high speed. Facing the surging attack of sharp stones, Cang Xiang's body leaped high to the side, skillfully avoiding the distance from the attack.

Not only Qiao Ran was observing the battlefield, Cang Xiang also had other treasures in the battlefield.

Pokémon has incomparable combat experience. She has participated in battlefields besieged by multiple Pokémon countless times, and even shuttled between giant Pokémon. Her body has experienced how to dodge a skill countless times.

"Oh?"

Cang Xiang's action made Zhu Lan let out a soft sigh. In her opinion, Qiao Ran's command was very unclear, while Cang Xiang was not only able to make predictions in advance, but also achieved the best results with the least physical effort.

The reason why this was possible, in addition to Qiao Ran using a special method to give commands, was probably also due to the Pokémon's own judgment.

"As expected of a Pokémon from Galar's legend."

Cang Xiang's fighting ability also made Zhulan feel the extraordinaryness of this Pokémon, although she did not understand why the other party's fighting ability was not as good as hers. Logically speaking, in the legend, those Pokémon standing at the top should be stronger than hers.

But even so, in front of Cang Xiang, she still had the feeling that she would be defeated at any time. Even though Garchomp had defeated countless opponents, the spirit brought by this brave warrior in front of her still forced Zhulan to use all her energy to deal with it.

"Bite the land shark!"

The opponent would dodge the long-range attack, so this time Zhulan chose direct close combat - Tyrannosaurus raised the blades in both hands and rushed into the sky - then, blue energy began to spread from its head, and quickly wrapped around its whole body, gathering into the shape of a giant dragon.

"Dragon's Dive!!"

Powerful dragon-attribute energy flowed around Tyrannosaurus Rex. As the opponent moved, the shark-like dragon rushed towards Cang Xiang's position like a jet.

In Qiao Ran's ears, he could even hear the sound of air exploding. The speed of the Land Shark at this moment was so terrifying.

"Amazing……"

The trainers watching on the sidelines were all stunned. If they were hit by this move - what kind of Pokémon could withstand it?

Nian Hongyu, who was watching the fight, pursed her lips and said nothing with a serious expression. This Tyrannosaurus Rex actually made her feel desperate and unwilling to resist. It was not that her pride was not enough to support her to move forward, but the pure strength in front of her made it impossible for her to think of challenging.

"Cang Xiang!"

At this moment, Qiao Ran was facing a 100% sense of oppression. The sound of the explosion rushed directly into his ears. The blue dragon fell from the sky like a natural disaster. At this time, Cang Xiang had no room to hide.

"Crack!"

There is only one final choice -

Even though he was unwilling in his heart, Qiao Ran still made that choice with her.

The mane behind her spread out slightly, and Cang Xiang bit the broken and rusty sword blade tightly. As the light shone again, Cang Xiang's figure also changed. The originally scarred body became dazzling again, and behind her, the golden mane spread out like wings.

In her mouth, she held the golden holy sword and stared at the giant dragon falling from the sky.

"Frolic!"

There aren't many fairy skills with physical attributes, but Playfulness is one of them. Although the name of the skill doesn't quite match Cang Xiang, the essence of the skill is still pretty much the same.

Simply put, it's about wrapping your body in fairy energy, rushing to your opponent, and then—beating them randomly as if they were playing.

If it were an ordinary Pokémon, maybe you would just randomly beat it, but for Sora Aoi, it would be better to translate it as playing seriously.

Pink light enveloped the blade in her mouth, and as her body moved, she faced the giant dragon wrapped in blue energy.

"Zheng!!!"

The harsh and violent sound of collision spread throughout the venue. The agitation of energy even caused strong wind pressure. The glass in the aisle next to the arena was cracked. Even at such a long distance, it was still affected.

But inside the venue, a completely different scene took place.

The giant wolf biting the huge sword blade was entangled fiercely with the sickle blades in Garchomp's hands. Both sides stared at each other as if neither of them would give in.

“It’s happening…!”

The audience outside the venue opened their eyes wide, unable to comprehend this unimaginable scene. They had seen the giant wolf fighting the old gym leader before, but what they did not expect was that what was shown in that battle did not seem to be the peak of this Pokémon at all, nor was it all the strength of this Pokémon.

"Well done."

Zhulan praised Qiao Ran and asked Lu Shark to withdraw and prepare for the next attack.

Qiao Ran opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He just watched Tyrannosaurus leave the attack range.

To other spectators, the two sides seemed to have had several evenly matched clashes, but Qiao Ran could clearly feel that the gap between them was still very obvious.

The feeling of Pokémon can be transmitted to Qiao Ran's body.

At that moment, a strong sense of numbness began to spread from Qiao Ran's lips, and even his body felt the powerful force.

It's not that he wants to waste

Opportunity, but... this is not an opportunity at all.

Cang Xiang still stood proudly in the venue, his gorgeous fur covering the scars on his body, and his eyes were still full of fighting spirit.

But only Qiao Ran knew what she had endured in that collision just now that allowed her to continue standing here.

This battle is not over yet.

He won't give up until the last moment.

Chapter 483 [Control]

"As expected of Miss Zhulan."

"Yes."

"Being able to train Pokémon to this level and having such chemistry, is this what a champion is?"

“I don’t know when we will be able to achieve this level.”

Ordinary trainers may not be able to see the clues on the battlefield, but Meiyi and Miyue, who are very familiar with Qiao Ran, still see a little bit of the trick. Qiao Ran's style in battle is not to give up any opportunity, even - as long as he sees a little possibility, he will execute it without hesitation.

This has always been his characteristic and his unique style.

Just now, when Cang Xiang and Tyrannosaurus were fighting at close range, it would obviously be a good opportunity for Cang Xiang, who is good at close combat, but Qiao Ran did not make any move.

Apart from the fact that he had given this possibility additional thought, in Qiao Ran's judgment, Cang Xiang's melee combat ability was likely to be slightly inferior to that of the Tyrannosaurus in front of him.

Even Mei and the others rarely saw Qiao Ran being so cautious in battle.

"What's wrong? Don't you feel well anymore?"

Zhulan stretched out her hand and attacked again.

"Greco, Earthquake!"

This time she used Garchomp's signature ground move, which is also Garchomp's signature skill as a ground dragon, a full-court attack with a power of 100 - Earthquake!

As Garchomp stomped his feet, a dazzling light flashed across the ground, and the ground in the arena began to shake rapidly. The vibration quickly spread to Cang Xiang's feet, and surging energy swept over.

In many cases, this skill isn't allowed to be used. Typically, in Pokémon battles, it's only allowed outdoors, in open areas. This rule isn't because the skill is inherently dangerous, but rather because when used indoors, it not only damages the opponent but also causes massive damage to surrounding structures—a situation even the League struggles to handle. No one wants to have to completely repair the arena every time a Pokémon stomps its foot; the cost is simply too high.

But the earthquake used by Zhulan was like a precise scalpel. The vibration energy only spread to an area around Cang Xiang. Even Qiao Ran who was standing on the sidelines did not feel any strong vibration.

"Is this the proficiency and control of skills..."

The confrontation with the champion, even in some details, can make people feel terrible and terrifying. Only when standing in front of her can you feel that clear sense of oppression.

However, what frightened Qiao Ran the most was actually the tactics Zhu Lan had used from the beginning until now - or rather, the complete lack of tactics. Her attacks were all pure force oppression, without any fancy features.