Elf: Release? Not possible.

"Huh? Where's the boss?" At this time Misa suddenly looked to the side and found that Xiaozhi, who was originally with Xiaoxia and others, was gone.

"Huh? Where's Xiaozhi?" Xiao Huang and Xiao Xia reacted and looked around, and found that Xiaozhi was missing.

"I think he should have gone to find Xiao Mao!"

Although Xiaogang only noticed it now, but when he thought about it carefully, Xiaozhi seemed to have been looking for something just now, and now it seems that it can only be Xiaomao.

"Then shall we go find him?" Xiao Huang couldn't help but ask after hearing the voice.

"Never mind, they probably don't want anyone else around either!"

Seeing this, Xiaogang shook his head slightly. After listening to Xiaogang's words, Xiaohuang and Xiaoxia looked at each other and tacitly didn't say anything more.

And just as Xiaogang guessed, Xiaozhi did go to find Xiaomao, but he saw him by chance and followed him.

Under the night

In front of the lake outside the competition venue, a figure was sitting alone on a stone by the river bank. This person was Xiao Mao.

Swish! ! ! !

The bushes next to him moved slightly. Xiao Mao paused for a moment, then turned around and looked behind him. He found that at this time, Xiao Zhi walked in with his hands in his pockets.

Pikapi!!

Pikachu jumped onto Ash's head for permission, then pulled Jigglypuff off Ash and stopped where they were.

Only Xiaozhi continued to move forward, while Xiaomao's face changed slightly when he saw Xiaozhi appear, and then he turned his head and looked forward again.

Xiaozhi didn't care and walked to Xiaomao's side. Xiaozhi didn't say anything. After a moment of calm, Xiaomao spoke first.

"Are you here to see my joke?"

"Do I need to do that?" Xiaozhi paused slightly after hearing the voice, then smiled and responded.

If you want to make a joke, then there is nothing to say now as it is the most heartbreaking thing. Xiaomao is the one who is most reluctant to lose to Xiaozhi, but now Xiaozhi has advanced.

But Xiao Mao was eliminated. If you want to make fun of someone, isn’t this the biggest joke?

"Tsk! I just had bad luck. If I had met you, I would never have lost!"

Seeing this, Xiao Mao stood up a little excitedly. He did make a big mistake in this last battle. He did not calculate the opponent's Pokémon well, and in the end Nidoking was facing Rhydon.

"Is it just luck? Have you never looked for problems within yourself? Would you have lost so badly if you were less spoiled? Would you have lost today's match if you had used Blastoise?"

Although Xiaomao lost, Xiaozhi did not speak to him in a comforting tone.

In fact, Xiaozhi knew that for someone as arrogant as Xiaomao, comforting him would only make him feel worse.

After hearing that, Xiao Mao gritted his teeth and clenched his fists unconsciously. He was indeed too confident. Just as Xiaozhi said, if he was the last Blastoise today, he would definitely not lose.

However, the proud and complacent character he had developed over a long period of time did make him a little too proud of himself after his consecutive victories.

"Everyone is working hard. How can you look down on your opponents just by looking at the cars running around like you do?"

"Shut up!" After hearing what Xiaozhi said, Xiaomao suddenly spoke, and shouted at Xiaozhi in a rare loss of composure.

"If you lose, you lose. Just win it back next time. Look at yourself now. Do you still look like Professor Oak's grandson?"

If someone is familiar with Xiaomao, he might be frightened by his current appearance.

However, Xiaozhi, who knew Xiaomao best, was not frightened by Xiaomao's current state and continued to speak.

"What do you know? You know nothing! It's because I'm Professor Oak's grandson that I can't lose!"

"Why can't the grandson of Professor Oak lose? Are you trying to save Professor Oak's face, or do you want others to see you as Xiao Mao instead of Professor Oak's grandson?"

Xiaozhi knows very well what kind of personality Xiaomao has from childhood to adulthood.

Growing up under the aura of Professor Oak is a natural advantage, but it also comes with a lot of pressure.

Because he is the grandson of Professor Oak, he has always been placed with high hopes. But because he is the grandson of Professor Oak, others will always refer to him as Professor Oak's grandson and not Xiao Mao.

"Do you know how many people are waiting to see you, the grandson of Professor Oak, make a fool of yourself?"

"You feel ashamed for losing the game. Have you ever thought that you are embarrassing Professor Oak? But you blame yourself for being Professor Oak's grandson. Will the professor blame you for embarrassing him by losing the game?"

Xiaozhi spoke in a serious tone, and Xiaomao fell silent at this time.

Seeing that he remained silent, Xiaozhi was silent for a while, then reached into his pocket, took out something and threw it over.

Seeing this, Xiaomao 1.5 subconsciously reached out to catch it, and when he opened his hand, he found it was a shabby semicircular object.

Seeing the thing in his hand, Xiao Mao's expression changed slightly, and he thought to himself... This is!!

"I'm not interested in playing childish games with you. I originally kept this to remind myself that there are many opponents on the road to becoming a trainer, to serve as a warning to myself."

"I won't play the game with you anymore. This half of the Poké Ball is yours! Pikachu is leaving!"

After giving the things to Xiaomao, Xiaozhi turned around and called Pikachu and Jigglypuff who were playing in the back and left together.

Xiao Mao stood there, looking at the half Poké Ball in his hand for a long time without saying a word. That was the Poké Ball he caught in Pallet Town before they triggered the journey. After it was split into two, each of them got half.

Chapter 654: Opponents in the Promotional Match (Subscription Request)

Xiao Mao remembered that it was the first time the two of them competed against each other, and it ended in a draw.

Although no one said it, Xiao Mao had already regarded that as a victory or defeat, and collected the other half of the Poké Ball.

He also told himself that one day he would defeat Xiaozhi and take the other half back.

But now that the other half has been taken back, it was not the method he wanted, but Xiaozhi has already walked far ahead of him and no longer regards him as an opponent.

Looking at Xiaozhi's departing back, Xiaomao unconsciously clenched the half Poké Ball in his hand. He was silent for a long time, thinking about Xiaozhi's words, and after a moment his eyes became firm again.

"Xiaozhi! I won't let you look down on me. The battle between you and me is not over yet!"

. . . .

After separating from Xiaomao, Xiaozhi went straight back to the Pokémon Center. They grew up together, so it was impossible for them to fall out over such a thing.

　04 Xiaozhi did this just to provoke Xiaomao. In fact, Xiaozhi knew in his heart that Xiaomao was not so easy to be defeated.

When they returned to the center, it was already very late. Xiaozhi returned to the dormitory. Xiaogang and the others had already returned. Xiaozhi didn't say much. He changed his clothes and went to bed.

"Xiaozhi, you... went to find Xiaomao?" The three of them looked at each other, and finally Xiaoxia couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah!" Xiaozhi lay on the bed, lying on his side facing the wall with his eyes closed, and just responded softly.

"So... How is Xiao Mao now? Is he okay?"

Several of them knew Xiaomao. Although Xiaomao was a little proud, he was not a bad person and they still cared about him.

"Why bother with him?" Xiaozhi responded angrily after hearing the voice.

"..." After listening to Xiaozhi's words, the three of them looked at each other again, then sighed helplessly and spread their hands.

In fact, they know that Xiaozhi should be the one who cares about Xiaomao the most, but the two of them are just like that, even though Xiaomao likes to mock Xiaozhi.

But if Xiaozhi lost, I'm afraid the one who cares about Xiaozhi the most now is Xiaomao. However, even if they care, neither of them will say it out loud.

The three of them stopped disturbing Xiaozhi, tidied up, and lay down on the bed to rest.

Nothing in the night

The next morning, Xiaozhi still got up early. Although there was no competition today, many trainers still got up early, and many of them went to the archives room to check the players' information.

Although the opponents have not yet been determined, many players are also identifying some noteworthy trainers.

In the morning, Xiaozhi took Hanako to visit the facilities. There are many places to visit in the entire Quartz Plateau, and there are also many popular souvenir shops.

At noon, after returning to the Pokémon Center and having lunch, it was almost time and the broadcast notified again.

After hearing the broadcast, all the trainers at the Pokémon Center gathered in the lobby, and the trainers outside also rushed back to the Pokémon Center.

This grouping area has been completely divided, but it is slightly different from the previous grouping mechanism.

This time, the entire area is filled with huge fish tanks filled with water, in which you can see some Magikarp swimming.

Behind each fish tank stands a Miss Joy and there is also a display screen behind her.

"What's going on?" It wasn't like this before, Xiaoxia and others asked in confusion.

"This is the grouping method for the promotion round!" Xiaozhi said as he looked at the scene in front of him.

"How to group them?"

Since they had never participated in the competition, Xiaoxia and the others didn't know much about it. Although Xiaozhi had never participated in it, he had already learned about it in advance.

"Yes! Each group is written on the Magikarp in the water. After you catch the Magikarp using fishing, the number on the Magikarp will be the group!"

Xiaozhi pointed at the water tanks and explained the situation to Xiaoxia and the others. Xiaohuang and Xiaoxia's eyes lit up when they saw this. They came forward to take a look. This method was indeed very novel.

If you look closely, you can see that the Magikarp do have numbers on them, and they are completely random, because you have no idea which Magikarp will be caught.

"So that's how it is! It's true that all Magikarp have numbers on their bodies!" The two girls came to the side of the water tank and spoke.

"Hello, I'm Xiaozhi from Pallet Town!" Xiaozhi walked up to Miss Joy and spoke.

"Okay, Xiaozhi from Pallet Town, please wait!"

After hearing the voice, Miss Joy operated the computer and quickly retrieved Xiaozhi's information, then took out a special small fishing rod.

"Okay Xiaozhi, you can start now!"

Xiaozhi listened and nodded slightly, then threw the fishhook into the water tank. Because it was a special fishing rod and it had Magikarp's favorite bait on it, it was easy to attract Magikarp so he didn't need to wait too long.

Soon Xiaozhi's fishing rod was hooked. Seeing this, Xiaozhi pulled the fishing rod up, and a Magikarp also escaped from the fish tank.

The Magikarp bit the fishing rod and swung its body. Xiaoxia and others couldn't wait to come forward to check it out.

"Let me see, Xiaozhi, you are in group A3!" Miss Joy took a look and then spoke.

There are four groups in the promotion round, A, B, C, and D. Number 3 represents the third group in Group A.

"Then enter the information immediately!"

Miss Joy said as she input Xiaozhi's number. Then, in other places, as long as someone drew a Magikarp with the same number, they would naturally become Xiaozhi's opponent.

"Just wait a moment now!" Miss Joy spoke at the same time after entering the information.

Soon, a sound was heard from the big screen. Xiaozhi's avatar was displayed on one side, and another avatar gradually emerged on the other side.

When they saw the figure on the screen clearly, Xiaoxia and others immediately showed surprised expressions.

"Hiro?!"

Xiaozhi also noticed that someone was looking at them. When he turned around, he saw Ahong in front of the fish tank on the other side, holding a fishing rod and looking at them.

PS: In the anime, there are 5 preliminary matches, which are 3V3. Xiaozhi was eliminated by Hiro in the last match. In other words, Xiaozhi did not reach 6V6 for the first time. We made some changes here to make the 6V6 plot more.

Chapter 655: On the Eve of the Promotional Tournament (Subscription Request)

Ever since they met at the opening ceremony, and then later when they had a conflict with the people from the Pokémon Academy and Hiro came to their rescue, they have become good friends.

Everyone has had good luck from the start of the competition until now. So far, except for Xiaozhi defeating Sundae, there are no familiar faces.

Although Xiaomao was eliminated, he did not meet any familiar people. This was the first time that Xiaozhi and Ahong encountered an acquaintance!

However, this situation is not surprising. After all, as people are eliminated, the probability of meeting acquaintances will definitely increase.

But no matter what, meeting here means that one of Satoshi and Hiro will definitely be eliminated.

The two looked at each other for a while, then Ahong put down the fishing rod in his hand and walked towards Xiaozhi. Seeing this, Xiaozhi also put down the fishing rod.

Hiro took a deep breath and then looked at Xiaozhi and spoke.

"Xiaozhi, I didn't expect that the first match of the promotion tournament would be between you and me, but... precisely because it's you, Xiaozhi will definitely go all out in this match."

Hiro faced Satoshi and put away his initial surprise, but at the same time he was not as panicked as those who were worried that Satoshi would take out Moltres.

"Me too! Regardless of the outcome, I hope tomorrow will be an unforgettable game." Xiaozhi responded after hearing the voice.

As the two talked, their eyes revealed a strong fighting spirit.

Soon, Ahong said goodbye to everyone and left, but Xiaoxia and the others felt a little sad.

"I didn't expect that right after entering the promotion round, my first opponent would be Hiro!"

We all know each other and hope to go further, but now that we meet here again, someone is destined to stop in the top 32.