Pokémon: Hard work pays off, moves can be upgraded infinitely.

"Hey!!"

Houndoom opened its orange-red muzzle, and scorching flames gathered within it.

But unlike ordinary Pokémon that breathe fire, Houndoom swallowed it whole the moment it finished condensing.

"Hey!!"

As the flames subsided, Houndoom let out a long howl, its aura noticeably increasing.

His noticeably rising body temperature even melted the snow around him, leaving a large, waterlogged pit in the otherwise snow-covered ground.

A combination of the Ignite ability and the Howl move.

"Perfect!"

Seeing his Houndoom successfully activate its Flash Fire ability and unleash Howl, greatly increasing its combat power, Qu Qi couldn't help but clench his fists and let out a low shout.

..............................

"Activate Ignite with the weakest fire-attribute move..."

On the other side of the battlefield, Mu Yun thought to himself.

Judging from Houndoom's speed in consuming fire, this is clearly a tactic he practices frequently and is highly proficient at, resulting in its incredible speed.

His tactics were good, but unfortunately his opponent was Bingbing.

"Whew!!"

A fierce, cold wind swept across the area once again.

Because the special ability had just been used, this snowstorm didn't have a build-up process; it reached its maximum power as soon as it started.

Almost the instant the snowstorm hit, the water around Houndoom froze into ice.

Even though Houndoom is not afraid of the cold, it even felt a slight chill on its skin.

"Houndoom, use Fire Fang!"

Having anticipated this, Quqi deliberately chose the edge of the arena when releasing Houndoom.

Even if a snowstorm were to strike, as long as he shouted loud enough, he could still give orders.

"Hey!!"

Upon hearing Quqi's voice, Houndoom snapped back to reality, and scorching flames once again spewed from his mouth.

A sharp fang formed from flames quickly took shape.

As the Flame Fang coalesced, Houndoom felt the surrounding cold dissipate considerably.

After stretching his limbs slightly, he gripped the ground, bent low, and prepared to rush towards his target as fast as he could, and then...

"Hey?"

(Where are they?)

However, in the instant Houndoom bent down and looked up, a human-like bewilderment appeared in its orange-red eyes.

When he looked up, what he saw was a blizzard, a terrifying blizzard with astonishing speed and density, like a wall of snow.

Not to mention finding the Ice Ninetales, who was their rival, even the trainer who was just vaguely visible has vanished.

..............................

"Holy crap, really? The coverage area can actually expand?"

Off the field, Qu Qi watched as the terrifying blizzard suddenly expanded, enveloping the entire field and even the area near the referee's stand, and muttered to himself.

Now things are really messed up; forget about giving orders, he can't even see Houndoom anymore.

All he can do now is pray.

..............................

Inside the monitoring room.

Qu Zonghe leaned forward slightly and dragged the surveillance footage forward a bit.

After he clearly saw the changes in the field, he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement:

"What amazing control!"

Qu Ning hadn't expected her grandfather to have such a strong reaction.

In her opinion, wasn't it just that the ice storm of the Nine-Tailed Fox covered a larger area?

Although it's impressive, it shouldn't cause such a strong reaction from my grandfather.

Qu Zonghe said, as if explaining, yet also as if talking to himself, "Blizzard is a circular area-of-effect move centered on the caster with an arbitrary radius. Generally, the area of ​​effect varies depending on the Pokémon's level and the amount of energy it possesses."

"But Xiaoyun, this Ice Nine-Tailed Fox, is different!"

As he spoke, he took out a folding stick the size of a ballpoint pen from his pocket, flicked it lightly, and it turned into a teaching stick more than half a meter long.

He picked up the pointer and tapped one of the screens.

On the screen, the snow was no longer a regular circle, but a distinct ellipse that was narrower at the front and back and longer at the sides.

A snow-covered no-go zone that just covered the entire battlefield without affecting the referee's table and the battle command post in the slightest.

"Grandpa, what level does this control ability roughly correspond to?" Qu Ning could sense that Mu Yun's Ice Nine-Tailed Fox seemed very powerful, but she didn't really have a sense of just how powerful it was.

"Champion level," Qu Zonghe said, then added after a moment, "At least!"

"Hiss~~~"

After hearing Qu Zonghe's explanation, Qu Ning gasped.

She thought she had overestimated Mu Yun's talent as a trainer, but she had underestimated him.

A soon-to-be freshman who hasn't even registered for university yet has a Pokémon whose move proficiency is at least comparable to a champion-level Pokémon?

Is this really reasonable?

..............................

"Is this guy really a newbie?!"

On one side of the battlefield, Qu Qi looked at Houndoom, frozen solid like Greninja just moments before, after the snow had melted. He couldn't help but murmur in shock.

His second ace, which he had nurtured for two years and was a fire-type Pokémon, was frozen into an ice sculpture just like that.

And, was there a minute between the beginning and the end?

Qu Qi fell into deep thought.

He wondered, are the top scorers in the national exam really that authoritative...?

..............................

[Ding! Alolan Ninetales (50) defeated Houndoom (52). Permanent Quest 1: Battle Completed. The opponent's level is equal to yours. Congratulations, host! You have gained 52 points. Alolan Ninetales' growth level has been slightly increased!]

..............................

"Beep--! Houndoom detected as unable to battle. Please switch Pokémon, Red Team player, Quqi!"

The electronic referee's voice brought Qu Qi back to reality.

He absentmindedly retrieved Blackie, and then, under Mu Yun's strange gaze, he kept slapping his face with his hands, the speed and force of the slaps increasing.

"Qu Qi, cheer up. It's just a Pokémon battle, nothing to worry about. Maybe this Ice Ninetales is their hidden trump card, the kind they didn't even have a chance to use during the college entrance exam. The fact that you saw it today means they value you. You should be proud; you're someone the top student in the country values..."

Although the venue was large, Mu Yun's five senses were extremely sharp, and he heard every single word of Qu Qi's incessant mutterings.

Is Bingbing my hidden trump card?

Okay, let's just say we'll treat her that way.

Kind-hearted Mu Yun ultimately couldn't bear to shatter Qu Qi's fantasy.

Meanwhile, Qu Qi continued to mutter to himself, "That's right, that's exactly it. Their Beedrill might just be their strongest Pokémon on the surface. In reality, this Ice-type Ninetales is their trump card. Otherwise, they would definitely have applied to a university in the southwest region, instead of coming to Heilongjiang University where it freezes to death in winter!"

The more he spoke, the brighter Qu Qi's eyes became.

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, his eyes lit up: "So, being defeated by Nine-Tails isn't a big deal. As long as I can defeat his Beedrill, it proves I'm still quite powerful!"

Thinking of this, Qu Qi raised his head, his bright eyes even more dazzling than the white snow on the field: "Mu Yun, can I challenge your Beedrill?"

Mu Yun: ? ? ?

Seriously, man?

Even Bingbing, who was in the arena, couldn't help but raise her head slightly and look at him with her beautiful, azure eyes after hearing Qu Qi's shout.

Challenging the eldest brother?

you?

Where does this confidence come from?