Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

With mental strength far exceeding that of ordinary people, he firmly remembered the timing of the last Sword Dance cast by the Lycanroc.

Just wait for that final moment before the sword dance is finished... that will be the best opportunity!

Seeing the orange light on the mane rock werewolf growing stronger, Xia Shen shouted, "Come out!"

Suddenly, a crack appeared in the space beside him.

Dragapult, carrying Ghost-type energy, suddenly charged out and attacked Lycanroc, who was still using Swords Dance and seemed not to have reacted yet.

Draco's Phantom Assault, in its second phase, unsurprisingly struck the Lycanroc, who was in the final stage of Sword Dance and neither dodged nor evaded.

The violent impact even caused cracks to appear under the feet of the rock werewolf who was firmly planted on the ground!

Even so, Lycanroc gritted his teeth and completed the final stage of Sword Dance.

After all the hardships, the orange light on the Mane Rock Lycan shines brightly!

But it wasn't over yet. In the next instant, a blazing and furious red light shot into the sky, completely engulfing the dense enhancement light!

Combined with the already scarlet and fierce eyes of the mane rock wolf, he resembled a bloodthirsty beast on the verge of rage.

There's no other possibility; it's their Achilles' heel!

Perhaps because the Rock Rush and Stone Sharp attacks of the Lycanroc were used so frequently, Xia Shen momentarily forgot that he could also learn Reverse Scale!

However, he knew that Draco could not possibly withstand this powerful double-counter move.

"Protect them quickly!" The mane rock werewolf is right next to us. A sneak attack is definitely too late. Protecting them might give us a glimmer of hope.

Fortunately, Xia Shen shouted early, and Dorambaruto reacted quickly. Just as the Lycanroc attacked, the protection was successfully activated.

In front of him, the crimson-haired werewolf with mane was fully enraged and was flailing wildly with its mouth and claws.

The explosive attacks crashed against the protective barrier wave after wave.

Xia Shen silently watched Dorambaruto's body gradually tremble. He knew that the battle was over.

Under the onslaught of Rebellion's riots, Dorambaruto was already on its last legs.

……

"I concede."

As he uttered those three words with a sigh of relief, Xia Shen finally relaxed the tension that had been building up in his heart since the start of the match.

After a game, Xia Shen's down jacket lining was completely soaked.

Despite his best efforts, Xia Shen failed, but he felt no regret.

On the one hand, we've done our best; on the other hand...

Without being modest, Xia Shen felt that if he could use telepathy to command, or if Dorambaruto also mastered swift and powerful moves, he wouldn't be without a chance of winning.

Xia Shen retrieved Dorombarut from the field and handed him back to Yan Yu on the sidelines.

"I'm sorry I didn't win. I've let you down for lending me the elf."

Yan Yu looked at him strangely, "To be honest, the fact that you could beat Dad to this extent... that's already a monster."

Xia Shen didn't mince words, shrugging noncommittally, "However, a loss is a loss."

Just like in football, losing 0-1 is a loss, losing 1-7 is also a loss, but does losing spectacularly mean you're not a loser?

"I didn't realize you were so competitive at such a young age." The speaker wasn't Yan Yu, but her father who had just walked over.

He smiled, looking quite pleased with himself after venting his anger. "What, is losing to me shameful?"

Xia Shen shook his head, "How could that be? It's just that the feeling of trying your best but still not being able to win is unpleasant."

There was no hidden admiration in Yan's father's eyes. "Then win it back next time. Life is more than just one battle."

He patted Xia Shen on the shoulder, "Your clothes inside must be soaked through. Go in, take a shower, and change your clothes, otherwise you'll easily catch a cold in winter."

In this situation, Xia Shen understood that he had finally succeeded in winning over the middle-aged man in front of him.

He finally relaxed, his heart pounding since he got in the car. "Thank you, Uncle Yan, but... I don't know the way."

Father Yan said expressionlessly, "Xiao Yan, you take him there."

## Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Breakthrough Tournament Begins! (Wishing our friends in Sichuan a safe journey)

January in Jiangnan isn't exactly bitterly cold, but the damp, chilly wind blowing on your face is definitely unpleasant.

No wonder some people joke that "winter in the north is a physical attack, while winter in the south is a special attack."

The battlefield by the lake was a short distance from the residence. Xia Shen and Yan Yan walked side by side on the stone path.

Yan Yan's pretty face flushed slightly, whether from the wind or some other reason, it was hard to tell.

Despite it being her first time alone today, she became even more silent, staring intently at the road ahead, as if she were a guest in someone else's home.

Xia Shen even felt that if he didn't speak up, they might never have a chance to communicate, even if they lived a lifetime together.

He cleared his throat and started the conversation, "What does your dad... oh no, what does he do? How come he's so amazing?"

“Ah…” She seemed not to notice Xia Shen’s slip of the tongue, and paused for a moment before replying, “This… When he was young, he was a pioneer of the Chinese Trainers Association’s Secret Realm. He left his footprints in the Hawaii Secret Realm and the British Secret Realm.”

"Later... there were no large-scale secret realms open for a long time, so he did some Pokémon research and opened a training gym on the side."

Xia Shen remained silent. A pioneer of the secret realm... No wonder he wasn't on the list of past Heavenly Kings, yet he possessed the strength of a Heavenly King.

……

As the name suggests, the Secret Realm Pioneers are those who are responsible for pioneering work as soon as a new Secret Realm opens.

They bear the mission of exploring and discovering new Pokémon and species in the hidden realms, and also bear the risk of being attacked by unknown wild Pokémon at any time.

Courage, alertness, strength, curiosity about the unknown, fearlessness in the face of danger, and love for elves... these are the most important qualities of a pioneer of the secret realm.

To become a pioneer of the secret realm, a professional level 7 skill is the most basic initial selection requirement.

Even so, the mortality rate in this profession remains alarmingly high.

But it was precisely through the pioneering efforts of these trailblazers that this vibrant and beautiful world of fairies came into being.

……

Xia Shen felt a surge of emotion; he had never imagined that his father-in-law was such a great man.

"However, you probably didn't see him very often when you were little..."

Spending little time with family is one of the necessary sacrifices of this profession.

"Well...and my mom was busy when I was little, so my older sister and Aiguanshi took care of me the whole time. Later on, I saw my sister less and less."

Yan Yan recalled that time with a touch of sadness on her face.

Xia remained silent; even such plain language could not conceal the loneliness in her words.

He didn't say anything like "you're all better now," he just quietly took the girl's cold little hand in his.

The moment they touched, that soft, delicate hand, as smooth as jade, trembled almost imperceptibly.

Then, she placed it in Xia Shen's warm, large hand.

They walked hand in hand, slowly along this seemingly endless path.

------

Three days later, Xia Shen bid farewell to his parents and Yan Yan and went to Nandu with the school team to participate in the long-awaited breakout competition in the Jiangnan region.

The school specially rented a luxury minibus for the school team as their means of transportation for this competition.

Nandu is not far from Zhijiang.

As the most important city in Jiangnan Province and even in southern China, Nandu has naturally hosted a considerable number of high-profile Pokémon battle tournaments.

Including the previous World Cup a year ago.

Although this world has more than just Pokémon battles as a competitive sport, and the World Cup isn't the only one that exists in Pokémon battles.

However, only the Pokémon Battle World Cup can use this code name without a prefix.

The World Cup, held every six years, is a carnival for trainers worldwide and a feast for all.

In a relatively peaceful era, a country's ranking in the World Cup was a symbol of its overall strength.

This is easy to understand; the strength of top trainers in various countries not only represents military power but also economic strength.

After all, which top trainer doesn't spend a lot of money during the training process?

……

As one of the countries with the most complete heritage, China has always been a strong contender for the championship.

However, in recent years, the two most important secret realms have descended upon the West, allowing several surrounding countries to rise rapidly.

In addition, China has been facing a talent gap in recent years, and its rankings in recent World Cups have not been ideal.

Of course, this is only in comparison to previous results where they were basically either first or second place. Even if it wasn't ideal, they still managed to maintain a top-six ranking.

As we all know, if we're talking about the top six, then it has to be the sixth.

This embarrassingly poor result came from the previous World Cup, which was held on home soil.

Of course, the overall lack of skill among Chinese trainers cannot be blamed on a single city.

Therefore, this year's Jiangnan Division Breakthrough Round will still be held in Nandu.

They even benefited from the World Cup; the venues used for the qualifying rounds and the players' accommodations were all newly built before this World Cup, making them top-notch facilities.

Xia Shen concluded from his own experience that the two-person suite he and Xu Chong stayed in was even more luxurious than their temporary accommodation at Dongdu University.

Since the opening match is tomorrow, the principal leading the team didn't do any last-minute cramming or emergency training, but instead let them rest well in their rooms.

After dinner, the principal gathered all the team members in the reception room of his suite for a final pre-match meeting.

……

"Coach Zhang and I went to draw lots this afternoon." The principal's expression was not relaxed. "We drew a rather tough opponent, the second seed in the group, which is Yancheng Middle School, the strongest team in the second pool."

The format of the qualifying rounds is the same as that of regular cup competitions, with a total of 32 schools participating. The competition consists of group stages followed by knockout stages.

With so many schools divided into four tiers, they were randomly drawn into eight groups.

Zhijiang Middle School, as a team that has represented the Jiangnan region in the finals for many years, is naturally the number one seed.