Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

The point of surprise on the other side was—how did Xia Shen know Zhao Yi's usual tactics for starting with armored warriors?

It should be noted that those who fought Zhao Yi for the first time all suffered a great loss at the start because they were unfamiliar with the skills of armored warriors.

Could it be that Xia Shen knows so much about armored warriors, a relatively uncommon profession in China?

……

On the field, the armored warrior, whose speed should have been extremely slow, was as fast as his Zerg brethren, the Iron-Faced Ninja.

Almost instantly, it appeared in front of Garchomp, its huge, sharp claws rising high before falling down.

"Bang—" This was the crisp sound of the insect's claw striking the protective barrier.

Xia Shen smiled slightly, "You're still a long way from trying to outsmart me."

Without being immodest, I would say that no one here knows Pokémon better than me!

As soon as Xia Shen saw the Armored Warrior spirit, he decided to activate protection at the start to defend against its [Head-on Strike].

[Headbutt]: A Bug-type physical attack that deals a whopping 90 damage in the game. It's a priority move, but it only succeeds if used immediately upon entering the battle.

In the entire Pokédex, only a handful of Pokémon can learn this skill, and Golisopod is one of them.

As expected, Zhao Yi did not let go of the opportunity to take the initiative at the start.

Even if the opponent doesn't use Head-on Strike, you won't be at too much of a loss, unless they immediately use Sword Dance to enhance their attack at the start.

If the other side really plays like that, then Xia Shen will accept it.

Fortunately, the opponent's head-on attack was read by himself.

Now it's our turn to fight back!

"Garuda, quicksand hell!"

When facing a slow Pokémon, the safest strategy is to first unleash a Sandstorm.

Although armored warriors could theoretically learn the Rainmaking technique, Xia Shen was not worried.

If the opponent chooses to use Rain Dance, Garchomp can take advantage of the moment when he uses his move and immediately unleash a Bite Meteor Shower.

……

As one of Garchomp's most proficient moves, it doesn't require much time to charge up.

The rough, flying sand and stones enveloped the location where he and the armored warrior were.

To everyone's surprise, Zhao Yi didn't take the quicksand hell seriously at all. "Armored warriors, let's go straight for the sword dance!"

Do whatever tricks you want to play in the quicksand hell, my armored warrior has high defense and is resistant to ground-type attacks.

Quicksand hell? Just take a bath!

Xia Shen sneered, "You're performing a sword dance right in front of me?"

They really don't take Garchomp seriously!

Want to do sword dancing? Sure, but you'll have to pay a price.

"Garuda, Bite Meteor Shower!"

The two Pokémon were already close together, and Garchomp was also very fast.

Before the armored warrior's sword dance was even over, fangs burning with raging flames had already bitten into his neck, which was protected by a thick outer shell.

Despite the excruciating pain, the armored warrior persevered and finished his sword dance.

Just as the armored warrior finished his sword dance, the brilliant light representing the explosion of the meteor shower also shone in the sandstorm.

Fire-type and dragon-type moves deal normal damage to armored warriors.

One can imagine that even if he were incredibly strong, taking those two moves completely would be extremely painful for him.

But...isn't everything going a little too smoothly?

A sense of unease began to rise in Xia Shen's heart.

Zhao Yi certainly knew that under these circumstances, he would absolutely not miss this opportunity.

But why would he rather endure a beating than give up on using sword dance?

Xia Shen was completely clueless and could only take it one step at a time for now, at least the advantage was in his hands for now.

"Garuda, dig a hole and hide!"

The armored warrior was at the height of his power after the sword dance, and Xia Shen decided to test his patience first.

Against armored warriors, digging tunnels makes you invincible.

It's impossible for your armored warrior to cause earthquakes, right?

The Garchomp, having burrowed underground, did not dig too far, maintaining a distance of three to five meters from the armored warrior, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment.

Xia Shen frowned as he looked at Zhao Yi's expressionless face, which had remained calm since the start of the match.

What exactly is this guy trying to do?

"Armored warriors, continue your sword dance!" Zhao Yi's voice was calm and firm.

Holy crap, is this guy crazy?

Xia Shen couldn't help but curse in his heart, "How can anyone be so greedy?"

Aren't you afraid I'll unleash another meteor shower?

and many more...

Xia Shen's heart skipped a beat.

No, Garchomp's Special Attack has dropped by two levels, so it seems... it's really not going to be able to damage him anymore!

Xia Shenxin understood; that was his original plan.

By sacrificing some health to boost their physical attack to a terrifying level, they rely on their high durability.

So terrifying that Garchomp couldn't even withstand two surprise attacks!

To understand what two sword dances mean, an armored warrior's attack can be three times stronger than before!

Whether it's a missile strike, a surprise attack, or even if the armored warrior can suck blood...

Seeing that the opponent had already revealed their hand, Xia Shen no longer hesitated, "Ground Shark, dig a hole and get out, then use Dragon Claw!"

We must deal as much damage as possible before he finishes his sword dance, otherwise Garchomp will be at a disadvantage in the real battle.

Although armored warriors are resistant to the ground, they still have their own Dig skill and connect to their own Dragon Claw skill, which is not reduced.

Even the toughest warrior, as armored as he was, showed a look of pain on his face at this moment.

Xia Shen guessed that if he had a backup Pokémon, it would have already triggered the [Danger Avoidance] ability.

No matter how many times you enhance Sword Dance, you'll have no choice but to reset it to zero.

Unfortunately, this is a 1v1 match.

"Garuda, dig another hole!"

Xia Shen dared not recklessly use his protection. If the armored warrior broke through his protection with a missile needle and then followed up with a life steal, it could be said that there was no hope for this round.

At times like this, only digging a hole can give Xia Shen a sense of security.

As for the armored warrior's sword dance... Xia Shen didn't care. Anyway, as long as two moves hit, he could kill him instantly. What difference did it make whether he enhanced it twice or three times?

Conversely, if he dares to strengthen himself further, Garchomp can come up and take the opportunity to unleash another attack.

This is also Xia Shen's most successful strategy under the current circumstances—to slowly whittle down the armored warriors by digging holes and providing protection.

……

"Armored warriors, go to sleep." Zhao Yi's voice drifted across the arena.

[Sleep]: A Psychic-type status move that restores all of a Pokémon's HP and removes all status conditions, putting the Pokémon into a two-turn sleep state.

Xia Shen was startled; this was outrageous!

If he falls in love with me, wouldn't all my efforts be wasted?

In reality, the sleep skill obviously doesn't involve sleeping for two rounds or taking two hits to wake up; rather, it's a fixed amount of time.

During this period, Garchomp could use the armored warrior as a punching bag.

However, without sufficient intervals to recover its Dragon-type energy, Garchomp's speed in condensing its Dragon Claw will only decrease.

As long as the armored warrior does not lose his fighting ability during sleep, it will be Garchomp that is worn down and killed.

"Gallopian, come out and stop him!" Without further ado, Xia Shen went all out.

Even if we can't stop him, we must kill him while he's sleeping!

……

"Boom—" Garchomp burst out of the ground beneath the armored warrior.

Just as the dragon claw, which had been hastily gathering power, was about to strike, the armored warrior, who was thought to be asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.

Xia Shen's heart sank. He'd been tricked!

This armored warrior doesn't sleep at all; he's just trying to trick me into coming up here.

But he didn't dare to gamble... Xia Shen smiled bitterly.

In this situation, he had no choice but to come out.

……

The armored warrior bowed slightly, a posture... was he about to fire a missile?

It was too late for the Garchomp to burrow again; it could only tough it out. Xia Shen gritted his teeth.

He always felt that the armored warrior's reckless early-game fighting style must involve life steal.

The protection must be used to block lifesteal!

Even if it turns out he doesn't actually know how to play, I'll accept it.

"Garuda, scales flash!"

I still have the same idea: since the armored warrior definitely can't kill me in one move, and I definitely can't take two moves either, I might as well make the speed advantage even greater.