Elf: Start your slow-paced life after becoming a farmer.

"Mew! (How could you be so mean, but I like it!)" Mew jumped off Karl's shoulder, called out to him, then turned its head and looked eagerly at the Strange Tree on the other side of the battlefield.

Hehe, let this female human see the wickedness of the world!

On the other side, Qi Shu watched the barrage of comments scrolling wildly in the live stream, his gaze fixed on a paid comment from a long-time viewer.

"What? You're asking me if I'll win?" Kiju feigned surprise and read the comment aloud. Then, facing the camera, he confidently declared, "I'll win! I'm Kiju-sama, the Gym Leader of Brewlight Gym! If I lose, I'll eat this Rotom phone I'm using for this live stream right here and now!"

Shinji, who had been silently watching from the sidelines, watched Kijuku spouting nonsense and silently mourned for this "victim" in his heart.

'Sigh, I hope Master will go easy on me,' Shinji thought to himself.

Chapter 97 Strange Tree: No matter what, I will defeat your teeth!

As the Gym Leader of Nimbus City, Kiju believes she has a natural advantage in civil wars between Electric-type Pokémon.

However, as a trainer, Qishu did not believe that the random guy who volunteered would use an Electric-type Pokémon to battle him without preparation.

'Could this Pikachu have the Lightning Rod ability?' Qishu quickly considered the possible scenarios in the battle, his signature cute smile still on his face.

"Everyone, are you all ready? Then let me, Qishu, bring you a Pokémon battle that will be as exciting as Eelking!"

After reciting his carefully prepared opening remarks, Qishu pulled a Poké Ball from his wide sleeve and tossed it forward: "Go! Electric Pelican!"

As the Poké Ball opened and closed, a bird-like Pokémon with a yellow and black body and a pair of large wings appeared in the battle arena. It was none other than the Frigatebird Pokémon that first appeared in the Padina region - Electabuzz.

Watching the giant electric sea lion flapping its wings and circling in the air, Karl's lips curled into a playful smile. He had already anticipated what kind of Pokémon the Strange Tree would send out.

In Carl's memory, in addition to its signature wind power generation ability, Giant Electric-type Pokémon also has the powerful ability of energy storage, which is almost invincible in Electric-type Pokémon battles.

The Charge ability makes the user immune to Electric-type moves. When the user is hit by an Electric-type move, they will not take any damage, but will instead recover their HP.

However… Karl looked at the somewhat chubby “Dream Kachu” in the arena and almost couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Just then, a viewer who had been pulled in by Qishu to act as a temporary referee at the edge of the battlefield raised his hand and waved it downwards, shouting loudly, "The battle begins!"

The moment the battle began, Carl immediately commanded, "Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

"Great Electric Petal, Shock!" Qi Shu's voice rang out in sync with Karl's command.

In Qi Shu's opinion, the passerby in front of him probably guessed that the Electric Seagull she sent out might have the characteristic of storing electricity, which is why he had to use Lightning Flash to take the initiative.

But the next second, Qi Shu's smile froze. In the battle, "Dream Kachu" disappeared from its original spot the moment Carl issued the command, and in the blink of an eye, it directly crashed into Giant Electric Seagull, interrupting Giant Electric Seagull's rhythm of using the move.

'This terrifying speed...is this really not divine speed?' Qi Shu's heart skipped a beat. For some reason, she felt a chill down her spine, as if she were being watched by some extremely terrifying being.

But, Chairman Yeci shouldn't be coming to Niangguang City recently, right?

"Fly, Electivire!" Ignoring the chill rising behind him, Qishu commanded Electivire to soar into the sky. As a Pokémon specializing in special attacks, using air superiority to toy with its opponents was Electivire's preferred battle style.

"Pikachu, use Shoot Down!"

Including Shinji, all the trainers on the battlefield except Carl thought Carl had mispronounced the move, since Pikachu's known move pool did not include this Rock-type move.

But the next second, in full view of everyone, "Dream Pikachu" stretched out its two little hands and stuck them into the ground, casually picked up a few pieces of gravel, and threw them directly in the direction of the giant electric petrel.

A grayish-brown aura representing Rock-type abilities appeared on the surface of all the rubble. Although the Giant Electric Seagull dodged some of the rubble that was shot at it with its agile movements, it was eventually hit by a large piece of rubble.

As the special energy from the rubble seeped into the body of the Great Electric Petrified Seagull, it temporarily lost its ability to fly and landed on the ground.

"How is this possible?!" Qi Shu stared wide-eyed at the scene before him in disbelief. Was he hallucinating? When did Pikachu become able to use the Knock Down move?

Meanwhile, viewers in the live stream started spamming the chat with comments after witnessing this illogical scene on the battlefield.

But at this moment, Qishu couldn't care less about the comments in the live stream, because she finally realized that the question the random guy asked before going into battle wasn't a joke, but a real question about whether he could get the Brewmaster Gym badge after defeating her.

Realizing this, Kiki still maintained a business-like smile, but her eyes had become serious.

What a joke! If I were defeated by a random passerby, Lord Kiju, Yaji Badge would definitely subject me to inhumane training! No way!

Since that's the case, then I have no choice but to do it... Don't blame me, passerby, no matter what, I will defeat you!

After figuring everything out, Qi Shu decisively took out a semi-transparent black crystal ball, which was the exclusive item that granted Tai Crystallization—the Tai Crystal Bead.

"Random guy, I never expected you could force me to use Tai Crystallization. Even if you lose, you won't feel any regret, right?" Qi Shu said, showing off the Tai Crystal Bead she held in her hands. "Being able to use Tai Crystallization, my victory is only natural!"

Carl was surprised that Qi Shu would make such a champagne-popping remark halfway through the event. He smiled slightly and said, "If I also had a Taijingzhu, would you forgive me?"

"what?!"

Under Qi Shu's horrified gaze, Karl reached into his backpack and pulled out the Taijing Bead that President Ye Ci had previously used to pay his appearance fee.

Coincidentally, this seemed to be Karl's first time using the Crystal Bead. He had never imagined that he would use the enhancement system in his battle against the Strange Tree.

But seeing the tearful look on Qishu's face, Karl felt a sense of relief.

'What kind of pleasurable torture should I inflict next?' Karl laughed inwardly, but on his face he still wore a harmless smile.

Although Qi Shu already knew she was out of the game the moment Karl took out the Taijing Bead, she gritted her teeth and threw the Taijing Bead out of her hand in the end, in order to maintain her dignity and for the entertainment value of the live stream.

As two crystal-clear special effects rose up on the battlefield, the second round officially began.

After the Crystal's shell shattered, the spectators watching from the sidelines were able to clearly see that both Pokémon were Crystal-type.

While the giant electric sea lion naturally has a light bulb on its head representing the electric attribute, everyone noticed that the "Dream Pikachu" actually has an eye crown on its head representing the psychic attribute.

The onlookers started discussing it. Although there are indeed Pokémon with non-Syntactic Crystal types in the Padia region, detailed information about Crystallization has not yet been made public, and most trainers are not familiar with it.

"Huh? This Pikachu's Crystal type is Psychic?" Kishu was also surprised that "Dream Pikachu" was Psychic. In her memory, Pikachu shouldn't have many Psychic moves.

However, considering that this Pikachu was able to use Smash, Qishu wasn't surprised at all.

"Let's settle this once and for all, passerby!" Qi Shu looked at Karl. "I won't give up so easily because of a little setback!"

"Here we go, Electric Seagull!"

Chapter 98 The Strange Tree: So it was you!

The defeat came too suddenly, so suddenly that in the blink of an eye, the giant electric sea swallow that had just completed its crystallization was knocked to the ground by a crystal burst from "Dream Pikachu".

"?"

The moment the large electric seagull crystallized and disappeared, the air suddenly became quiet, as if a pause button had been pressed.

Even the chat in Qishu's live stream seemed to freeze suddenly, with large blank spaces appearing.

Once the people at the scene and those watching the battle in the live stream realized what was happening, the discussions and comments on the screen erupted like boiling water in a kettle.

"The Giant Electric Seagull of the Strange Tree Pavilion was instantly defeated in one move?"

"She just used the Crystallization technique and it failed already?"

"Hmm? Why does that guy across the street look so familiar?"

"Am I not the only one who feels this way?"

"I remember now, it was him! The trainer who defeated Elite Four member Shinri in the exhibition match!"

"So it was him!"

……

After recalling the Giant Electric Seagull to its Poké Ball, Qi Shu took a deep breath. Although the Pokémon she sent out was not her main force, being defeated by a trainer from who-knows-where in front of everyone was still a difficult feeling for her.

However, a loss is a loss, and Qishu wouldn't make excuses for herself. Just as she stepped forward, intending to hand over the "Brewing Light Badge" commemorative edition she had prepared to Karl, she caught a glimpse of the frantically scrolling comments in the live stream.

At this moment, the viewers in the live chat were discussing the origins of this young trainer who had defeated the Elite Four and the Gym Leader.

"Huh?! It was you!"

Qishu suddenly remembered that some time ago, when she was chatting in the internal work group of the Padia League, she had heard Afeng and Aoki mention that there was a young trainer from the Sinnoh region who was challenging gyms everywhere.

Qi Shu never expected that his first outdoor live stream tonight would end up with this guy.

However, since even Aoki-senpai was defeated by his opponent, Kiki felt that his own defeat wasn't so bad after all.

Rounding it off, Qishu is practically a trainer on par with Elite Four member Xinli.

"Your brilliance is like 1000 million volts, Lu Ren-kun!" Qi Shu walked briskly to Karl and said with a smile.

Before anyone knew it, the commemorative Brewlight Badge in Kiju's hand had been replaced with a real Brewlight Badge: "Although I'm very unwilling, a loss is a loss. This Brewlight Badge is yours. It's a real Brewlight Badge!"

'So you were originally planning to give me a fake one, right?' Carl thought to himself, but smiled slightly and said, 'Miss Qishu is also quite strong. If my Pokémon weren't a bit special, I might have lost to you.'

Shinji, who was quietly watching the battle from the sidelines, gained a new understanding of Karl's character after hearing his master utter such nonsense without batting an eye.

'Hehe, do I look like an idiot to you?' Qi Shu never expected that this seemingly harmless guy in front of him would actually be full of bad intentions.

However, as a future top streamer in the Pokémon world, Qishu's improvisation skills are almost maxed out. Her eyes lit up and an idea immediately came to her mind.

Then, Qi Shu smiled sweetly at Karl and said, "This passerby, since you are the only trainer who has defeated me in a live stream, I will give you an extra special reward."

"Oh? What reward?"

Seeing the strange tree reveal her signature shark teeth, Karl was surprised to find that there was an unexpected delight.

However, when Karl saw the ill intent in Qishu's eyes, he immediately realized that Qishu had most likely recognized him, so he immediately became wary.

“That is—” Qi Shu deliberately dragged out the last syllable, as if giving Karl some kind of hint.

However, Karl noticed the cunning look in Qishu's eyes, which gave him a vague idea of ​​what Qishu was thinking.

Originally, Kiki thought that a young man like Karl would have some subtle thoughts because of her hints. After all, as a well-known beauty in the Padiya region, Kiki was very confident in her appearance.

To Qi Shu's surprise, after hearing those words, the young man looked her up and down and then curled his lip in disdain.

Although Karl didn't say anything, Qishu felt even worse than when he had just lost to Karl.

What does that mean? What does that mean?

"It's a group photo, a solo photo with the museum owner!" Qi Shu said angrily, then quickly walked over to Karl and struck the classic peace sign.

With a flash of white light, the Rotom phone took photos from seven or eight different angles in just a few breaths before flying back to the Qishu.

"Hey, where's your Rotom phone?" Qi Shu turned to look at Karl. "I'll use the Rotom phone's Link function to send you the photos now."

“Uh, um…” Carl thought for a moment, and finally said the absolute truth: “Sorry, I don’t have a Rotom phone right now.”

"what?"

After hearing Karl's words, Qishu looked at Karl as if he were looking at a caveman.

Qishu never expected that the trainer in front of him, who looked very young, would be so... well, old-fashioned. That was the least offensive word Qishu could think of.

"If you don't have a Rotom phone, you should at least have the Navigator app on your phone, right?" Qi Shu continued to ask.

“Yes.” Carl said, taking his phone out of his pocket, opening the Navigator app, and placing the QR code for adding friends in front of Qishu.

After adding each other as friends, Qi Shu did not immediately send the photos he had just taken to Karl. Instead, he whispered to him, "I will send you the photos after I finish editing them. Remember to check your inbox then."

Meanwhile, when the viewers in the live stream heard that Qi Shu had actually added this stranger's navigator, they all accused her of "privately contacting" fans in the live stream.

After adding Kiju's contact information with a bewildered expression, Karl returned to the crowd and, under the envious gazes of the onlookers, drove off with Shinji.

"Master, why can your Pikachu use Smash?"

As the crowd around him gradually thinned out, Shinji finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been troubling him for so long.

“Well,” Karl paused, “is it possible that it’s not Pikachu at all?”

"...?"

Upon hearing Carl's words, Shinji turned to look at "DreamChu" perched on Carl's shoulder.

At this moment, Shinji finally realized that the "Dream Pikachu" tail did not match the knowledge in his mind, so he turned his head and looked at Carl with burning eyes: "Could it be that this is some kind of Pikachu subspecies that you discovered, Master?"

"Huh?" Karl didn't expect Shinji to be able to imagine such a thing, so he said to Mew, who was perched on his shoulder, "Mew, can you restore Shinji's lost memories?"

"Mew! (A piece of cake!)" Mew said as it floated in front of Shinji, and in Shinji's incredulous gaze, it reached out its little hand and tapped his forehead.

Shinji froze on the spot, and it took him about ten seconds to come to his senses.

"I see." Shinji, having regained his memories, finally understood everything. He said to Karl with a hint of helplessness, "Master, you..."

"Hey, we have to treat everyone the same way back then. I've restored your memories, haven't I?" Karl casually put his arm around Shinji's shoulder. "Come on, I'll treat you to a nice meal, okay?"

"...I don't eat seafood."

"no problem!"

Chapter 99 A Day Trip to Nijigasaki City (Part 1)

At eight o'clock in the morning, Carl woke up to find that his phone had received more than a dozen messages.

"Huh? Who would send me so many messages so early in the morning?" Carl opened his phone, looking bewildered, and found that most of the messages were from Pipa and Nimo.

"Karl, you've gone back to Parthia?"

"I saw the video of your battle against Master Qishu yesterday."