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

"Wow, Goodra doesn't seem to be hurt at all! Through the close-up of the camera, you can see that the special mucus on its body surface has played a significant role in buffering and defense. No wonder it's known as the Wailing Wall Pokémon, a special attacker! Ms. Karune, what do you think of Lu Weiyu's Goodra?"

The commentator looked at Karune, who is also one of the world's most famous Goodra trainers.

Karuni pursed her lips and nodded in affirmation, "For this age group, it is truly outstanding. Whether it is the overall size, the strength of the tentacles, or the maintenance of the slime on the surface of its body, it is all very professional. If Sylveon wants to defeat this Goomy, it will need a long period of exhaustion. Once the slime secretion on its body surface has decreased, the damage it can deal will naturally be higher."

"I see. In other words, the key now is whether Sylveon can withstand Goodra's offensive pressure during this period. Oh! Goodra's attack is coming again! This time it's Irontail!"

On the battlefield.

Goodra's thick tail suddenly flashed with a strong metallic luster, then it turned and slammed into the rock where Sylveon was.

With his attention fully focused, Senbu lightly leaped backward on all fours, narrowly avoiding a tail that was almost as big as his own body.

Goodra, however, was relentless, wielding its Iron Tail, which was enveloped in Steel-type energy, in pursuit.

Fortunately, Goodra wasn't very fast, and Sylveon, with her evasive abilities maxed out, wasn't hit by Iron Tail once. However, the obstacles she sought to dodge were unjustly destroyed, each swing crushing the rocks into dust.

After chasing for nearly two minutes, Xianbu was shocked to find that there was nowhere left to hide!

She suddenly realized that the real purpose of Nyanko-sensei using the Iron Tail was to clear away her cover!

Then, its attack began.

"Sticky Dragon, Mud Wave!"

Xianbu felt a chill run down his spine; his guess was indeed correct. After clearing away the cover, what followed was a ranged attack like Mud Wave, which was almost impossible to dodge.

Next, should we fight or flee?

Xianbu's expression hardened slightly as he awaited the command from behind him.

"Xianbu, stop dodging, use the power of the moon!"

Xia Chen's steady command reassured Xianbu. Although the appearance of the sticky dragon was unexpected and troublesome, as long as he had the firm support behind him, Xianbu was not afraid of any challenge.

Even if Goodra is strong, it's still just a dragon. How many dragons have I, Sylvanas, slain?

…………

"With their retreat cut off, Sylveon is finally going to face Goodra head-on! And this confrontation will determine the outcome of the entire match. If Sylveon can defeat Lu Weiyu's trump card, Goodra, then the severely weakened Swampert and the Poliwag, lacking offensive power, will be no threat. But if Goodra has the last laugh, then Lu Weiyu's rain army will be unstoppable!"

"Both Sludge Wave and Moonblast hit their opponents precisely. It's clear that although both moves are effective against their opponent, the two Pokémon, due to their superior Special Defense and bulk, didn't actually take much damage. This is destined to be a tough and arduous battle!"

"Again! Goodra unleashed Sludge Wave once more, and Sylveon responded with Light Screen! Ha! Xia Chen is up to his old tricks again. First, he engaged in a direct clash with his opponent, making them believe he was going all out. Then, he erected a Light Screen that reduces special damage, leaving Goodra dumbfounded. Poison-type moves aren't its STAB move, so even though it's doubly super effective, with Light Screen, it's no different from a regular move."

"However, while its special attack is hampered, Goodra's physical attack power is just as strong, and it also has Iron Tail. So how will Sylveon dodge this time, without the cover of obstacles?"

Hide? Why hide?

Seeing the powerful iron tail swinging towards him, Sylveon's eyes narrowed slightly, and four flexible ribbons flew out, precisely controlling Goodra's tail.

The moment he caught the iron tail, the immense weight almost sent his slender body flying, but the power he had gained from years of using various abilities and items ultimately allowed him to grit his teeth and stay steady.

Iron Tail's immense power caused Senbu's limbs to tremble slightly.

While controlling the silk, Fairy Cloth's mouth was not idle either. Energy surged to the throat, and her delicate and cute appearance suddenly emitted a huge, contrasting sound, like rolling thunder.

Loud sound!

Under the influence of the fairy skin's properties, terrifying sound waves imbued with fairy energy surged towards the Goomy Dragon, whose body was controlled by silk.

"sticky--"

With the continuous energy erosion, the special mucus on the body of the sticky dragon gradually thinned. The sticky dragon, who had maintained a calm expression since the beginning, let out a soft cry of pain for the first time.

In gaming terms, it broke through.

The pain made Nianmeilong struggle even more fiercely.

Its power was already greater than that of the Fairy Cloth. Previously, it was because the Fairy Cloth's silk caught the dragon off guard and it was locked in place for a moment.

If it were a true contest of strength, even with the vast difference in weight class, Senbu wouldn't be a match for Goodra.

Thus, with constant swinging and sawing, Nian Meilong quickly broke free from the silk bindings of the fairy cloth.

…………

"Beautiful! Xia Chen and Sylveon fought so cleverly! They used Light Screen to reduce the damage from special attacks, and Iron Tail was blocked by Sylveon's Silk. The defense was perfectly neutralized, and on the offensive end, Sylveon finally made his mark. Unexpected situations did not break the duo of Xia Chen and Sylveon. By countering each move, the scales of victory have tipped in Xia Chen's favor!"

As the commentator analyzed, Goodra didn't have many options against Sylveon. Its Dragon-type moves were ineffective against Sylveon, and its Poison and Steel-type moves were all neutralized by Sylveon. The initially fierce Goodra was gradually showing signs of fatigue.

The rain gradually subsided, and before we knew it, the rainy day was over.

However, this had little effect on the two Pokémon on the field. Goodra, which couldn't break Brick Break, had no way to deal with the light screen erected in front of Sylveon.

When using Iron Tail, Sylveon used the same trick as before, controlling it with its ribbons. Although the Goodra, which had become wary, would increase its strength or change its trajectory, Sylveon could not grab it every time, but it could still deflect some of the force.

As all its energy was used for offense, the special mucus secreted by the Goomy Dragon's body surface became less and less, and the blows from Sylveon's Roar or Moon Power became increasingly painful.

As one thing weakens while the other grows stronger, Nianmeilong's aura becomes increasingly feeble.

Lu Weiyu, who was directing from the sidelines, saw everything, but besides feeling anxious, she had no other options.

Should I switch to Poliwag or Swampert?

Sylvanas's attempt to meditate and strengthen himself will only hasten the end of the match.

Should we continue the fight?

Given the increasingly apparent decline of Nimmelon, this is not very realistic.

No matter what she does, it's wrong. Having revealed all her cards, Lu Weiyu is lost and confused.

Aside from mechanically directing Nume to relentlessly continue using the Iron Tail attack, she didn't know what else she could do.

Time ticked by, and the situation had been dragged into a slow death.

…………

"The final, deafening roar struck, and Goodra collapsed, unable to battle. The tenacious Sylveon finally defeated its opponent's trump card Pokémon in a nearly ten-minute tug-of-war. The score is now 1-0!"

"."

"The second and third defeats on the field came one after another! Swampert used its last bit of strength to charge fearlessly and used Waterfall to defeat the equally exhausted Sylveon. Then, it was defeated by Milotic's Freeze-Dry! The score is now 2:1, with Xia Chen still maintaining the advantage!"

"Poliwrath has been appointed to a critical mission. Can it withstand the pressure from Milotic and Gardevoir and turn the tide against two opponents?"

"."

"Thunderbolt! Poliwag is down! The referee steps forward to confirm the information. If there are no surprises, this will be the signal to end the match. OK, the referee blows the whistle to end the match!"

"The results of the most anticipated quarterfinals are in! Xia Chen, the youngest participant in this tournament, defeated Lu Weiyu, one of the biggest favorites to win the championship, with a score of 3:2, and successfully advanced to the semifinals!"

"Thank you to Xia Chen and Lu Weiyu for bringing us such a wonderful match, and thank you to Ms. Karuni for her analysis. The semifinal matchups for the second half of the competition have been determined: Bai Mu and Xia Chen will compete for their ticket to the finals tomorrow morning!"

"And this afternoon, there are two more exciting matches waiting for you to watch, so stay tuned!"

------

Having narrowly defeated his fellow townsman in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals of the tournament, Xia Chen, sitting in the Pokémon Center awaiting treatment, was still somewhat dazed and lost in thought.

The course of the match was much more complicated than he had imagined. In the early and mid-stages, as he had expected, he gained some advantages by relying on volt substitution and freeze-drying.

But the sudden appearance of Nyanmei Long interrupted his plans.

Sure enough, at this stage of the game, it's impossible for one person to have all the trump cards.

Today's battle with Lu Weiyu has already reminded me of this point, so what kind of trump card does Bai Mu, who is on the same level as her, have hidden tomorrow?

"Congratulations."

A soft, gentle voice rang in his ears, rousing Xia Chen from his reverie.

The owner of the voice was familiar; it was Lu Weiyu, whom he had just fought and defeated.

Xia Chen looked up and saw that she was sitting opposite him with her arms crossed, looking at him with a complicated expression.

Feeling Xia Chen's gaze, she shrugged. "Same as you, waiting for the elf to heal me."

Xia Chen replied softly, "Thank you, it's a tough match."

He didn't humbly say anything about luck or anything like that; talking to the person involved like that always felt a bit sarcastic.

Lu Weiyu tilted her head, suddenly smiled, and her eyes seemed to have less heaviness and more relief.

She suddenly whispered, "Don't let your guard down in tomorrow's match."

Xia Chen was somewhat taken aback. "What did you say?"

He wasn't that he didn't hear clearly, he just didn't understand what Lu Weiyu meant.

Lu Weiyu explained with some helplessness, "I mean, Bai Mu is very strong, and I'm pretty sure he's hiding something too."

Then, as if talking to herself, or perhaps explaining, she said softly, "Because we were just one step away, I hope you can defeat him for me."

Xia Chen smiled knowingly. Was this mutual respect between masters?

Or perhaps, due to comparisons from the outside world, a sense of rivalry has developed between the two of them?

Xia Chen had no idea, but there was no reason to refuse such a small matter, so he smiled and nodded.

"I will."

"Um"

After a short, nasal sound, Lu Weiyu suddenly asked, "By the way, do you have any other trump cards up your sleeve?"

"True card?"

Xia Chen gently tapped the Poké Ball at his waist that hadn't been sent for treatment.

"There should be, right?"

I have seen everyone's feedback on the battle scenarios.

Yes, I accept criticism, but there's nothing I can do. It's hard to improve in a short time; I can only try my best to improve.

Moreover, this is the established plot, and I have to finish writing it carefully.

I will release a large update within a few days to cover the last two matches.

Then there probably won't be any major competitions before the Donghuang Tournament.

I will write about everyday life, travel, and pet stickers that everyone likes and that I also like.

Chapter 230 The Overlord of Phantoms, the Ghost Zoroark Appears!