Bottom-tier trainers in the Pokémon world

Isn't it because she is strong enough and capable enough that others dare not be the first to target her?

Xia Yan does not have Tom Ruoqi's strength.

But her success gave Xia Yan a "suggestion".

That means "hitting" it!

Previously, there was no other way.

Insufficient strength is one reason.

Another reason is that I didn't want to provoke them.

The most important issue is still identity.

The identity he fabricated at the time could be easily traced by anyone with even a little power.

But now it's different.

With Kikuko's help in forging and concealing identities, the Hunter's Guild, despite its vast territory, large membership, and abundant resources, clearly cannot bypass the Elite Four to investigate a single individual.

Then Xia Yan would have no more worries.

Big deal.

Abandon the mission and run away.

If they didn't genuinely value the Hunter Guild's channels and capabilities, who would be willing to give up a perfectly good position as a gym leader and get involved in this mess?

"That's why I called you here today," Xia Yan said, softening his tone.

"Oh?"

"Fight me. If you win, I'll do everything I can to help you. If I win... then our leadership roles will be reversed, and I'll take the lead!" Xia Yan said confidently.

This is an important part of his plan.

Joanna is highly likely to become Hunter J in the future. As a current member of the Hunter Guild's core leadership, Xia Yan needs her as a "guide" if he wants to rise to the top quickly.

Just like Tom Rouche used Mr. A as a stepping stone to bypass many unnecessary steps.

"A fight? With you?"

Joanna was somewhat taken aback.

However, she now fully understood what Xia Yan meant.

To sum it up simply, it can be said in one sentence.

You're too slow, let me do it, I'm better.

Joanna's gaze gradually sharpened as she scanned Xia Yan from head to toe.

After a few seconds of silence, he uttered a single word, "Okay!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand.

The Salamence that had been eagerly waiting behind her became excited upon seeing Joanna's actions.

It flapped its wings, stirring up waves, and stared at Eevee with a ferocious gaze.

It was already considering what methods to use to let this little guy experience the power of a pseudo-legendary Pokémon.

Xia Yan did not hesitate and reached out his hand to his waist.

In the red light, a heavy blue-white elf plopped down on the ground with a dull thud, causing quite a commotion.

Snorlax!

"Near-Heavenly King level?!"

Joanna's pupils contracted slightly when she saw Snorlax appear.

No wonder.

No wonder he was so aggressive today; he caught a near-Champion level Snorlax!

Joanna had to admit that Xia Yan did indeed have the ability and strength to challenge her with just this one Snorlax.

But Joanna is not someone who would give up easily just because of the opponent's Pokémon's strength level.

We'll only know how much of Snorlax's power Xia Yan can unleash after the fight!

With an identity as a disguise, Xia Yan no longer needed to deliberately hide these near-Elite Four level Pokémon.

There's no need to worry about the watchful eyes of that old king, Ryuichi Hoshino, anymore.

Although Snorlax was not a Pokémon he bred.

But after spending so much time together, their understanding and chemistry are definitely much better than those newly captured near-Elite Four level Pokémon.

It's unrealistic to expect to achieve the same level of synergy with Beedrill and Alakazam.

However, Xia Yan felt that dealing with a Gym Leader-level Salamence was still no problem, thanks to Snorlax's "move pool" and some tactics he had tailored for Snorlax.

This is his first step in establishing himself in the Hunter's Guild.

Win over Joanna!

"Wyvern, Dragon Dance!" Joanna exclaimed with a serious expression.

She originally thought that Xia Yan's greatest strength might be his connections, and that his own abilities were probably just so-so.

Unexpectedly, Xia Yan summoned a near-Elite Four level Snorlax, which was truly beyond her expectations.

Therefore, at this moment, she valued Xia Yan 100%.

Based on their apparent strength, she seemed destined to lose.

"Roar--!!"

Salamence flapped its wings violently, and blue-purple dragon-type energy surged rapidly.

It also felt immense pressure from Snorlax.

This pressure forced it to abandon its previous disdain.

Xia Yan smiled.

"Snorlax, curse."

Snorlax is a Pokémon that can learn and master a wide variety of moves.

Xia Yan also has a lot of tactical reserves regarding it.

"Cursed Snorlax" is one of them, and it is also the most suitable tactic for Snorlax among the tactics that Xia Yan knows.

The main reason is that the move "Curse" is so well-suited to Pokémon like Snorlax.

The "Curse" move will produce different effects depending on the type of the Pokémon used.

If the Ghost-type Pokémon uses "Curse," it will inflict a terrifying curse on its opponent by reducing its own HP by nearly half, causing the opponent's HP to be greatly weakened every certain period of time.

Normally, a Pokémon afflicted with a "curse" cannot survive the fourth activation of the curse effect.

However, if the user is using a non-Ghost-type Pokémon like Snorlax, the effect will be relatively simpler.

It reduces its own speed, thereby increasing its physical attack and physical defense capabilities.

Even if a Pokémon like Snorlax is already very slow, its speed won't be that low.

Increasing its physical attack and physical defense undoubtedly enhances the abilities that Snorlax already relies on.

Snorlax is a Pokémon whose Special Defense is much better than its Physical Defense. Enhancing its Physical Defense is essentially making up for its weakness.

Furthermore, Snorlax has a very high HP, which is its biggest advantage.

If physical strength, the greatest advantage, cannot be improved, how can we maximize its advantage?

That would naturally be to increase defense.

This is equivalent to indirectly improving the quality of physical strength.

To give a simple example.

If both have 100 HP, but one has a defense of 1 and the other has a defense of 10, will the quality of those 100 HP be the same?

For Snorlax, the "Curse" move is simply to increase its own stamina.

Layered armor!

It also comes with a bonus to physical attack power.

"Click!"

Snorlax roared in a deep voice, its thick hand slapping its chest, the faint Ghost-type energy enveloping it seeping into its body through its hand.

It brought about some wonderful changes.

"Buyi!!"

Eevee, nestled in Xia Yan's arms, cheered on Snorlax.

'Beat it up! Let it be mean to me! Beat it up! Let it know we can be just as fierce!'

The small and adorable Eevee, and the cute and goofy Snorlax.

How could it possibly be associated with the word "ominous"?

Chapter Eight: A Rational Madman

"Salamander, Dragon Dive!"

When Joanna saw Xia Yan use "Curse" on Snorlax, she knew from her understanding of Snorlax that she absolutely couldn't let it continue using it, so she decisively launched an attack.

"Roar--!!"

With a flap of its wings, Salamence's body was quickly enveloped in a thick layer of Dragon-type energy, and it charged toward Snorlax at an extremely fast speed.

After using "Dragon Dance", Salamence became even faster.

This makes its already greatest advantage even greater.

Without a doubt.

Given Snorlax's slow speed, it had no chance to defend against Salamence's attack after casting "Curse".