Pokémon: Starting as a Pokémon Researcher with Milotic

Old Liu was overjoyed to see the changes in Infernape. He had thought it was just an ordinary tutorial battle, but the opponent's Pokémon actually possessed at least high-level strength.

Not only Infernape, but he himself was also infected by this desire for battle, as if he had returned to his youth and the days when he was adventuring in various secret realms!

Old Liu shouted in a melodramatic, adolescent voice:

"In that case, Infernape, let's have a good fight!"

"Roar!"

Their fighting spirit soared even higher!

Infernape approached Milotic at incredible speed, its fists burning with orange-white flames, and swung them out fiercely.

Sonic Fist combined with Flame Fist,

The wind helps the fire!

"Water Pulse!" Ye Chen remained calm. He wasn't naive enough to think that Infernape would be defeated by his Water Pulse.

What's the point of fighting a spirit that has lost its will to fight? If you're going to fight, fight with all your might!

Everything is going according to Ye Chen's plan!

The fist, carrying immense force, collided with Milotic's slender tail, causing water and flames to meet and generate a large amount of steam.

Milotic was sent flying several meters by Infernape's immense power, but it rushed back at an extremely fast speed as if nothing had happened, as if it hadn't been hit at all.

Infernape had the upper hand in the head-on collision and was not going to back down. The two Pokémon clashed several times in succession, and Milotic was already panting heavily.

"What's going on?" Old Liu looked at the situation on the field with a puzzled expression.

"Infernape has the Iron Fist ability and is a veteran Pokémon, yet Milotic was able to hold its own for several rounds?"

At that moment, he suddenly noticed that every time Milotic's fist collided with Infernape's, a water curtain would appear, reducing the power of Infernape's punch.

Old Liu suddenly realized: "It's actually the Water Ring from back then!"

"In that case, let's not give it a chance and end the fight with one punch!"

Upon hearing this, Infernape unleashed another punch, this time aimed at Milotic's head.

"Water gun, dragon tail!"

Milotic unleashed a powerful water jet, but it was still shattered by Infernape's punch. However, Milotic took advantage of the water vapor obscuring its vision to crouch down and then lashed Infernape's ankle with its tail.

"Roar!"

Infernape punched empty air, and then its ankle was hit by the dragon's tail, causing it to lose its balance. The intense pain made it panic.

Old Liu has extremely rich combat experience. "It's time! Thunder Fist!"

Although Infernape lost its balance and was about to fall to the ground, Milotic was also lying on the ground. The two Pokémon were very close to each other, and Infernape had never used Thunder Punch in the previous battles!

If that punch lands, Milotic will basically lose its ability to fight.

Upon hearing Lao Liu's command, Infernape forcibly regained its composure, its fists crackling with electricity.

Ye Chen hadn't expected Infernape to have mastered Thunder Punch, but Milotic's hard training every day hadn't been in vain:

"substitute!"

At the cost of a quarter of his physical strength, he created a substitute to help him resist an attack!

As one of the few life-saving skills, Ye Chen couldn't possibly prevent Milotic from training.

Infernape's lightning-fast punch struck Milotic hard, shattering Milotic into pieces that scattered like glass!

"not good!"

Before Infernape could react, Milotic lashed its back with its tail, sending it flying several meters.

Infernape quickly got up and looked at Milotic warily. This Pokémon was already comparable to some low-level veteran Pokémon.

The two elves fought back and forth, making all the students cheer with excitement!

Milotic looked at Infernape, its body swaying slightly.

Although Infernape was covered in wounds, its fighting spirit showed no signs of waning, as if it could fight for another three hundred rounds.

Ye Chen sighed. Although Milotic had the upper hand, Infernape was still one of the stronger veterans. It was only slightly injured and its injuries did not affect the battle at all. In comparison, Milotic was already exhausted after using its skills continuously.

If they continue fighting, Milotic will be the one to lose. It's a difference in raw strength, and there's nothing that can be done about it.

Ye Chen decisively raised his hand and recalled Milotic, saying, "I lost. I learned a lot from this battle."

Old Liu quickly said, "The fight isn't over yet, what are you doing? Release them and let them continue fighting!"

Infernape was being completely overwhelmed in the previous battle, so why are you giving up now?

Those who know will understand that Milotic's stamina is already low, but those who don't will think that you deliberately admitted defeat to save face for me!

What would it look like if word got out that a seasoned trainer like me couldn't beat a high school freshman!

"No, I am indeed no match for you." Ye Chen knew that he couldn't win in the end anyway, so why let Milotic get beaten up for nothing?

Old Liu was speechless. Doesn't what you're saying just confirm that you deliberately admitted defeat?

Sure enough, the students watching the game started discussing it.

"Ye Chen's Milotic was dominating Lao Liu's Infernape the whole time, why did it suddenly give up?"

"I think it's because he doesn't want Lao Liu to lose face, after all, it wouldn't sound good if word got out."

"That makes sense, but Ye Chen is too strong. He actually managed to defeat a veteran-level Pokémon."

"I don't think so. When have you ever heard of a newbie defeating a veteran Pokémon? I think it's just that Old Liu hasn't battled in a long time and is out of practice."

"It shouldn't be that your strength has decreased this much just because you haven't fought in a long time. I think it's probably because you're getting old and weak!"

Seeing that the rumors were getting more and more outrageous, Old Liu quickly shouted:

"I wonder what everyone thought of the battle just now. Actually, what I wanted to tell you is that the battle level of Pokémon doesn't mean everything. I deliberately gave some wrong commands just now, and Ye Chen was very good at seizing these opportunities and winning against stronger opponents. So, while you have powerful Pokémon, you also need to have a battle mind that can match them to help them fight."

The students suddenly realized, "So Lao Liu was setting a bad example!"

"So it turns out they're using their own example to show us the importance of a trainer's command!"

Luckily, it fooled them.

Old Liu let out a long sigh of relief, then glared fiercely at Ye Chen.

That brat! He had such strength and didn't say so earlier! But if this kid is so strong, he'll be a force to be reckoned with in this Southwest University Tournament…

Chapter Twenty-Two: Southwest University Tournament

After class, during break, in the classroom.

Jiang Shuyun was having Ye Chen teach her how to train Pokémon. In her opinion, Ye Chen was much better than the coaches at the training base she had visited.

In just two months, Milotic was trained to defeat a veteran-level Pokémon. Could any trainer at a training base do that?

Although Ye Chen did not gain knowledge about Charizard, he could tell that Jiang Shuyun's Charizard was very strong in terms of physical strength, but its fire ability was slightly weaker in comparison.

In other words, Jiang Shuyun's Charizard is suited for a physical attack build, with special attacks as a supplement, and its main damage output comes from its powerful physique!

However, since he did not have the knowledge of raising the little dragon, he could only talk about it briefly. Jiang Shuyun herself also followed the path of physical output, and she guessed that someone had told her this before.

Just then, Lao Liu suddenly came into the classroom.

"Ye Chen and Jiang Shuyun, come out for a moment."

Ye Chen felt a pang of panic. Why was Lao Liu looking for him out of the blue? Was he trying to cause trouble for him because of what happened before?

Wait a minute, what does that have to do with Jiang Shuyun? Why are we looking for her?

Puzzled, Ye Chen simply stopped thinking about it and figured he'd find out once he got outside.

After all, Old Liu had come knocking on our door, so we couldn't just stay away.

So Ye Chen and Jiang Shuyun arrived at Lao Liu's office, led by him. It has to be said that Lao Liu, as a senior trainer, was indeed well treated by the school.

I have my own office, complete with air conditioning, a recliner, and a computer.

There was also a glass cabinet against the wall, filled with trophies, each one polished to a shine and free of dust.

"Bronze Award at the 50th Southwest University Competition!"

"Silver Award in the 42nd Chengdu University Student Competition!"

"Gold Medal at the 43rd Chengdu University Student Competition!"

"Gold Medal at the 54th Southwest University Competition!"

And an inconspicuous trophy placed in the corner,

"Top 32 in the 73rd National Youth Competition!"

……

"Old Liu, these trophies are all..."

Old Liu said proudly, "That's right, these are all Pokémon battle awards that our school won in the past, many of which were won while I was leading the team."

"What about that top 32 in the National Youth Competition?"

“That…” Old Liu saw the trophy and his face suddenly became full of nostalgia. “That was the one I won when I was young. So many years have passed. I was only 22 years old then.”