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

Mega Sylveon and Mega Gardevoir are at least Elite Four level in strength. With their Fairy-type attributes, they are barely capable of going head-to-head with the main Pokémon of the Dragon Realm.

As for the rest, let's do our best and leave the rest to fate.

With that in mind, Xia Chen began his preparations, and the day of the competition soon arrived.

…………

November 15, Kamijyo City, Senryu Dojo.

Inside the arena, a match with few spectators but a large number of cameras is about to begin.

The reason there are few spectators is that the dojo does not bear the heavy responsibility of hosting large-scale competitions and cannot afford too many spectators.

However, fewer people do not mean lower quality. Most of the people watching the game today are high-ranking officials from the Donghuang Alliance.

Their perception of the competition will greatly influence the outcome of the assessment.

The large number of cameras was due to the large number of media outlets covering the match, including most of the regional media branches based in Beijing.

This is a special competition that has generated a lot of buzz online.

At this moment, the two main characters of this match, Xia Chen and Long Ye, who hadn't seen each other for several months, were having a pleasant chat in the preparation room.

"You little rascal, you've come back and haven't even come to sit here for a while."

Longye laughed and cursed.

Having known each other for two and a half years, their relationship is that of mentor and friend, and they still keep in touch frequently.

Speaking of the last super evolution experiment, he had contacted Longye, but unfortunately he had gone off to wander around somewhere at the time, so he had to invite him again for the second batch that started not long after.

Xia Chen shrugged helplessly. "You know perfectly well that my island is in the busiest time right now. After this battle, I still need to go back and incubate the eggs."

"That Burning Bug from Alder, right? Nurture it well; the future belongs to you young people."

Longye suddenly sighed, "I'm also preparing to hand over the position of head of the museum to Longyue and start my retirement."

Xia Chen asked in surprise, "So early?"

Longye smiled and replied, "At least the year after next. After all, not everyone has your freakish rate of growth. By the way, I won't hold back in today's match!"

Xia Chen smiled and raised an eyebrow. "I couldn't be happier."

Regardless of what you're thinking, you can't let your momentum falter.

The two exchanged a smile, and then headed towards the battlefield amidst the urgent ringing of the bell.

Although it was only a short match, the assessment tournament was organized quite well, with the venue, referees, and scoreboard all following the most standard international 6v6 format.

Having just finished catching up, the two naturally had nothing more to say and silently waited for the competition to begin.

Shortly after, the whistle signaling the start of the match suddenly rang out, and two Poké Balls flew onto the field with a flash of white light.

The battle officially begins!

…………

With a flash of white light, the starting Pokémon of both sides made their appearance.

Standing on the left side of the battlefield is a kind-looking but exceptionally powerful orange-yellow flying dragon spirit, Dragonite.

On the right is a slender figure in a white dress, Gardevoir.

Both sides had a very standard opening, and Ryūno didn't send out his ace, Nume Ryū, so quickly.

Xia Chen didn't dare to be arrogant. Facing the Dragon-type Gym Leader, he directly used the Fairy-type Gardevoir as his counter.

"Dragonite, close in at lightning speed!"

Just as predicted before the match, Ryūno showed no intention of holding back. The match had barely begun when he immediately directed his Dragonite to launch a fierce attack without any hesitation.

Gardevoir's troublesome aspect lies in its unpredictable teleportation; the tactical intent behind this lightning-fast maneuver couldn't be clearer—

You'd better hand over your teleportation ability!

Despite its somewhat bulky appearance, Dragonite started moving at an astonishing speed, instantly transforming into an orange meteor and flying towards Gardevoir.

The afterimages behind him and the straight lines of flowing clouds all demonstrated his amazing speed.

Generally speaking, Gardevoir, being a fragile Pokémon, will inevitably avoid the opponent's most aggressive attack at the start of the battle when facing a physical attacker several levels stronger than itself.

However, Gardevoir unexpectedly gathered energy, seemingly preparing to counterattack.

Ryūno raised an eyebrow, vaguely guessing what was going on—this was Zoroark disguised as Gardevoir!

Zoroark, being a Ghost-type Pokémon, is immune to Normal-type Extreme Speed, which is why it is so fearless.

Thinking of this, Ryūno quickly changed his mind and said, "Dragonite, switch to Hurricane!"

Although he had a guess, he didn't dare to directly use Dragon Pulse or Meteor Shower, just in case this guy played a trick on him.

As expected of Dragonite's main Pokémon, it paused in a very short time, then tilted its head back and took a deep breath before exhaling violently!

Chi-

A howling wind raged across the field. Under the precise control of the near-championship-level Dragonite, the turbulent airflow swirled in one direction and instantly coalesced into a terrifying whirlwind.

The wind howled and swept across the short distance between Dragonite and Gardevoir, and it looked like it would swallow the latter in the next second. Ryuno waited patiently for the result.

Zoroark's ability [Illusion] is annoying, but a little bit of intelligence will prevent you from falling into its trap.

In the current situation, Gardevoir has only two possible responses: either teleport away to prove she is indeed Gardevoir, or use a stealth attack, thus revealing Zoroark's true identity.

Long Ye had thought so; he had even written the script. But Xia Chen unexpectedly did not follow the script.

…………

A transparent barrier unfolded, tightly protecting Gardevoir at the center of the storm from any harm.

Hold on!

The emergence of the third scenario left Longye somewhat bewildered about the truth.

But he quickly realized something—if it really was Gardevoir, why would Xia Chen use the precious Protection instead of teleporting directly?

His attempt to cover up the truth only strengthened his belief that this was Zoroark's idea, but he still cautiously commanded, "One more time, Storm!"

Although I am confident, rationally speaking, it is most reasonable to use a move that can hit both targets at this time.

Thus, the second storm was born.

A fierce wind swept past, this time even faster than before.

To be honest, even with superior strength, such a move wouldn't deal much damage; it was purely to test Longye's idea.

This time, he finally got the answer he wanted.

Subtle surprise attack!

As a dark crack opened, Gardevoir entered, and the truth was finally revealed—

This is Zoroark!

Ryūno's slightly furrowed brows relaxed, and his voice became much lighter, "Dragonite, Dragon Dance!"

His Dragonite ability is Multiscale – when at its peak, it greatly reduces the damage it takes from moves.

Therefore, he was not afraid of a sudden attack from Zoroark after it came out, and instead let Dragonite perform Dragon Dance on its own.

Above the vast rocky arena, a large, fat orange dragon spun and danced. Although its dance was not particularly graceful, it possessed a strange power.

Suddenly, a void rift appeared out of thin air again beside Dragonite, and Gardevoir swiftly emerged from it.

Both Ryūno and Tatsumi were completely unconcerned—"Go ahead and fight me, I'll admit defeat if you even flinch."

The dense Ghost-type energy condensed into a claw shape and slammed down on the dancing Dragonite.

However, this move couldn't even shake the latter's body in the slightest. With its multiple scales and the protective energy overflowing from the outer layer of Dragon Dance, Dragonite's durability is just that formidable.

When Gardevoir appeared, Dragonite immediately stopped its dancing and spinning, its body shimmering with a faint orange glow.

"Dragon Claw!"

Faced with the guy who had delivered himself to his doorstep, Ryūno naturally didn't hold back and commanded Dragonite to use his signature move.

Dragonite's massive left fist condensed into a dark green energy at an incredible speed. The pure Dragon-type energy instantly grew into a ferocious claw shape almost half the size of its body!

The level of terror was on a completely different level compared to the previous storm—

Dragonite is already better at Dragon-type moves and leans towards physical attacks. With the added boost from Dragon Dance, the power of its Dragon Claw is unimaginable.

With nowhere to hide, Gardevoir decided not to run away, its orange horn radiating a chilling aura.

Clearly, she was going to retaliate with a freezing beam.

A cruel smile suddenly flashed across Dragonite's honest face. "Your idea is very good, but are you sure you can withstand my dragon claw?"

…………

The lingering storm air howled past, and the dragon's claws seemed to grow even stronger against the wind before the Dragonite slammed down with all its might.

The expected energy explosion did not occur. Dragonite looked down in confusion and saw that the immense energy in its claws had actually passed right through Gardevoir and vanished into nothingness!

This is a classic example of Dragon-type moves being immune to Fairy-type Pokémon. Is she Gardevoir?!

Not only were the Dragons and Dragons on the field astonished, but the big shots in the audience on the sidelines were equally surprised.

As high-ranking members of the league, most of them are elite-level trainers or above, and they can definitely understand the game.

Although Longye and Xia Chen's previous game was a bit confusing, after careful consideration, they were able to follow Longye's line of thought.

They also concluded that the "Gardedoll" on the field was a creation of Zoroark—if it wasn't Zoroark, could it be Gardevoir that used Phantom Assault?

Wait a minute, it seems... it's not really impossible?

Many people suddenly remembered Milotic, which could use Whirlwind Dance, Water Spray, and Freeze-Dry, and Gardevoir, which could use Volt Switch. So, it doesn't seem surprising that Gardevoir could use Phantom Attack.

As for why a special attack-oriented Pokémon would learn a physical attack move like Phantom Assault, firstly, it would provide an extra defensive move, and secondly, it's like today's situation—

This stealthy attack perfectly fooled everyone, and most importantly, it fooled Longye on the field!

The dragon's claw missed its mark. Ryūno was the first to react. Before he could even panic, he immediately shouted, "Dragonite, protect!"

However, it was too late. Gardevoir seized the opportunity and, the instant after the dragon claw phantom disappeared, shot out the Ice Beam towards its unobstructed front!

The chilling light magnified in Dragonite's eyes, and the thin, frozen beam pierced through the air, shining directly onto Dragonite's vulnerable face.

"Woo——"