Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

------

Time flies after the Fireball Slab incident.

Within the secret realm of Xicui, after several days of continuous rain and thunderstorms, everything returned to normal.

Even on Firebloom Island, which was most severely affected by the fireball stone slabs, green seedlings quietly sprouted from the fertile soil beneath the ashes.

Although Xidoran had arranged to meet him a month later, Xia Shen had nothing much to do during this time and would visit the master and apprentice Fire Steel and Fire Rock on Firebloom Island every few days.

Every time he came over, he could sense that Arcanine's strength had improved somewhat.

But that's not the point. The point is, Xia Shen witnessed Heatran teaching Arcanine a move, his signature move—

Lava storm!

It can be said that this move is Heatran's signature move.

In the game, this is a fire-type special attack move with a power of 100.

Not only that, it also has an extremely powerful additional effect.

The target enters a bound state for a period of time, unable to escape, and the trainer is also unable to switch Pokémon.

Furthermore, the Pokémon that is hit will continuously lose stamina during this period.

It can be described as a super-enhanced version of the Flame Vortex.

Goodness, Heatran is quite the character; he really knows how to teach moves!

At the same time, Xia Shen wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but every few days when he saw Arcanine, he felt that the small black horn made of rock on its head was becoming more and more... shimmering with a metallic luster.

Xia Shen also wondered if Heatran had done something strange to him, changing Arcanine's attributes.

However, the information in Arceus's phone shows that Arcanine's type is still Fire/Rock.

Xia Shen also asked Xiduolanen directly, but he just smiled and shook his head without answering.

Anyway, it shouldn't be a bad thing, so Xia Shen simply ignored it and let them do whatever they wanted.

.........

In the real world, life continues its peaceful, daily routine on campus: training, classes, battles, matches...

In the regional league, Wudu University has won all the way and is only one final game away from winning the Sichuan-Chongqing championship.

The team that wins against Sichuan University, which has a record of 16 wins and 1 loss, will be the champion.

Of course, this is not the end for Xia Shen and the Wudu University team.

National competitions, world competitions... as long as their strength allows, they can go all the way.

That's why no one on the Chongqing University team was particularly concerned about this match that would determine the regional champion.

There was no deliberate preparation.

Having the strength and confidence is one thing, but more importantly, their sights have long since been set on the small territory of Sichuan and Chongqing.

To put it more arrogantly, we're already studying our opponents in the national competition.

How could sparrows like Sichuan University possibly understand the lofty ambitions of Chongqing University?

And so, on an ordinary day at the end of April, the final match of the Sichuan-Chongqing Regional League officially kicked off at the Fog City Elf Arena.

No one doubts that Sichuan University still has the potential to defeat its opponents.

For the audience who supported Wudu University, the only special thing was that the person playing in the main match was Xia Shen.

In matches between Wudu University and Sichuan University, both sides have always tacitly agreed not to have any strategic arrangements.

The battle of the main generals must be a duel between the strongest of each side.

The signal sent by Chongqing University through this tactical change in the match is self-evident.

Looking at that spirited young man on the field, everyone knew that a new era had arrived for Chongqing University!

…………

The battlefield is a dense forest area chosen by the opponent.

This is a good fit for the agile Pokémon like Greninja and Leopard, which are perfect for the captain of Sichuan University.

However, to the opponent's surprise, the one who would fight in this match was not Ye Rou as expected, but Xia Shen.

Faced with such opponents and terrain, Xia Shen naturally chose Garchomp as his starting lineup.

In terms of speed and agility, the massive Garchomp may not be as fast as the Pokémon of its rivals.

But if the other party insists on playing hide-and-seek with Garchomp and provokes him, then he'll raise the whole forest!

The referee blew the whistle, and both Pokémon entered the arena, officially beginning the battle.

Garchomp's entrance was quite comical, because his height... was only slightly shorter than most of the trees on the field.

His enormous size left him nowhere to hide in the dense forest.

This is normal; trees on the battlefield are often destroyed by unknown area-of-effect (AOE) attacks, resulting in huge losses.

They are all composed of tree species with extremely short growth cycles, nurtured by grass-type spirits.

It won't be too tall, nor too thick.

Therefore, in high-level professional matches, the dense forest area often turns into a "logging ground" as the battle progresses.

With Garchomp present, this game is likely to bring disaster upon poor Treetie once again.

Back on the field.

After the battle began, Greninja, taking advantage of its height, hid in the dense forest, swimming around Garchomp and waiting to launch an attack at any moment.

Greninja, who thought he was hiding well, was unaware that his every move was being controlled by Garchomp.

## Chapter 232 I Am King of the Sichuan-Chongqing Region! (6.2k)

Garchomp's eyes were tightly closed.

In this environment, vision, which is ineffective, can actually impair his judgment.

The protrusion on his head emitted invisible energy waves, locking onto the motionless Greninja hidden among the trees on his right.

Garchomp is waiting for its opponent to make a move.

It wasn't out of caution, but because he wanted to know how fast his reaction speed would be after being activated and baptized by the stone slab.

Shortly afterward, a change occurred in the sensor above my head.

Where Greninja is hiding, ice-type energy is quietly gathering in the air.

Garchomp knew that its opponent had finally lost its temper.

He didn't rush into any action; he knew it wasn't the right time yet.

If I rush over now, Greninja can stop casting its attack and escape at any time.

Patience is the most important quality of a hunter.

Finally, as the first ice crystal appeared in the air, Garchomp moved.

He suddenly exerted force with his legs on the ground, and like a cannonball, he shot up and lunged towards the hiding place of the Greninja.

The sudden burst of energy generated a reaction force on the ground that even created two craters, each over ten centimeters deep, beneath their feet.

The layers of trees, which concealed Greninja and served as obstacles, had absolutely no effect on Garchomp.

With sheer physical strength, Garchomp smashed the tree in front of it in half!

In less than a second, he appeared in front of the astonished Greninja.

At this moment, the Ice Beam, which had not yet been fully unleashed, was still hanging in front of Greninja.

Garchomp's mouth snarled, revealing flames burning fiercely on its sharp teeth.

It is a move that is doubly effective against Greninja's Ice-type move, Fire Fang, which has just used Ice Beam and changed its type to Ice!

This is the opportunity Garchomp has been waiting for: a vacuum in which Greninja cannot escape, cannot use Substitute, and cannot provide protection.

What appears to be a simple and unremarkable ability to seize opportunities actually contains a reaction speed and energy flow speed that no other Pokémon of the same level can match.

And, the explosive power of the elves is so exaggerated that it doesn't belong to this level.

…………

In a duel between masters, victory or defeat often hinges on a single moment.

However, the turning point in this battle came much earlier.

The captain of Sichuan University clearly hadn't expected that Garchomp's ability to seize opportunities would become so strong after just a few months.

What should have been Greninja's delightful Ice Beam slaying of the dragon turned into a Garchomp's counter-kill showcase.

All the viewers and contestants who watched Xia Shen's matches know that if you get bitten by Garchomp's Flame Fang, that's just the beginning.

Unsurprisingly, beneath Garchomp's blazing fangs, the light of a meteor shower shimmered at the point where Greninja was bitten.

Struggling was futile; without any foothold, Greninja was unable to break free from the incredibly powerful Flame Fang.

At this moment, the dense forest that the Greninja used to conceal itself became the last straw that broke his back.

With the trees blocking its way, the Poké Ball had no way to catch the Greninja, which was in dire straits.

The strongest trainer from Sichuan University could only watch helplessly as the dazzling light of the meteor shower exploded in the dense forest.

But he himself was helpless.

This is precisely the characteristic of dense forest terrain.

If two Pokémon are fighting in a place where the trainer can't even see them, it means that the trainer's role is reduced to a minimum.

It's impossible to command them, and it's also difficult to switch between them.

The trainer's perspective is not even comparable to the viewer's perspective, which features nearly ten Rotom spinning in real-time.

In this kind of battle between uncommanded Pokémon of the same level, Xia Shen's advantage will only be greater.

He was confident that no college student's solo Pokémon battle experience could compare to that of Garchomp and the others who spent their days immersed in the Emerald Realm.

The choice of this dense forest location was a complete trap set by the opponent, burying themselves in it!