I caught a Pokémon

Sabrina gave a soft "hmm," and just as they were about to leave, they bumped into a young man at the dojo entrance.

Judging from his age, this person should be around the same age as Xia You, but a head shorter. He was wearing a judo uniform similar to that of the staff, but the style was much more gorgeous. Looking at his face, he had a thick head of medium-length hair. Although his thick bangs covered half of his face, his delicate features were still visible.

This must be Asu...

At first glance, he does look cool and gives off a very composed vibe.

He's cool enough, but as for being handsome? Hmph, no one has ever dared to call themselves handsome in front of me!

Before Xia You could speak, Asu said, "I am Asu. Are you here to challenge the dojo?"

Sure enough it was him!

“That’s right,” Xia You said. “However, I’m the only one here to challenge the gym, and the woman next to me is just my female companion.”

After glancing at Xia You a couple more times, Asu nodded: "I understand, please follow me."

Asu walked past Xia You toward the dojo hall. At that moment, Xia You noticed a Gugu standing on one leg on Asu's shoulder!

Cuckoo looks a lot like an owl, but it's rounder. It has a pair of very small wings and a beak. As a Normal/Flying-type Pokémon, its red eyes look extremely frightening at night.

Xia You also remembered that Gu Gu had an organ in its body that could sense the Earth's rotation, so it would call out at the same time every day, and no matter what time it was, its biological clock would tell the time with perfect accuracy!

Moreover, it is said that people in the past attached great importance to it, regarding it as a divine messenger of time, and in some countries, it was even considered to be a wise god who knew all the principles of the world!

Judging from how close Asu is to it, it's probably like Ash's Pikachu; he also enjoys having his Pokémon stay with him outside the Poké Ball.

Gugu tilted its head and, seeing that Xia You was focusing his gaze on it, it made a "gugu" sound and flapped its wings, greeting him very intelligently.

Xia You smiled back at it.

Led by Asu, the three of them arrived at the elevator in the center of the lobby, and then took the elevator to the top floor.

The top floor is the dojo's battleground, but when Xia You arrived there, she found that the arena had no roof and was exposed to the sun. It was just surrounded by a wall with tiered seats.

Looking at the center, it is a standard, ordinary battlefield.

In fact, Xia You doesn't like fighting on rooftops, ship decks, or elevators. She always feels that they are too fragile and doesn't dare to use terrain-destroying moves like burrowing, for fear of damaging them.

He prefers the feeling of being grounded, able to fight as he pleases without any worries.

After taking a few steps, Asu stood in the trainer command area to the side and solemnly said, "Let me reintroduce myself once again. I am Asu, the gym leader of the Flying-type gym—the Violet Gym. You are welcome to challenge me!"

"My name is Xia You."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing Xia You's name, Asu was not surprised at all. He simply said, "I know it's you, the champion of the Indigo League. However, I thought you would come to challenge our Silver League immediately after the Indigo League, but I didn't expect you to arrive so late."

So you already recognized me!

"I made a trip to the Orange Islands and stayed there for a while."

Since they weren't familiar with each other, Asu didn't say much. He only said after Xia You stood in the command area on the other side: "Alright, let's talk about the rules here. Each person can only use three Pokémon. Whoever's Pokémon all fall down is out."

In general, dojo battles are either two-on-two or three-on-three, and the rules are the same, with no major differences.

Just as Xia You was getting ready, the elevator doors suddenly opened again, and more than a dozen teenagers walked out.

They stood behind Asu without saying a word, seemingly there to watch the battle, while one of the older boys went to the center and acted as the referee.

Chapter 293 Increases Difficulty

"Now, both sides, please send out your Pokémon!"

As the gym leader, Asahi naturally sent out his own Pokémon first, and his first participant was the Goooo that stood on one leg on his shoulder!

"Gugu, the first battle is yours!"

"Cuckoo!"

Gugu flapped its wings and flew to the center of the arena. At the same time, Asu's apprentices also took their seats in the stands and focused their attention on the arena. However, their serious expressions made the atmosphere on the scene slightly tense.

Glancing at them, Naz walked alone to the other side of the audience, sat down gracefully, and looked relaxed, a stark contrast to them.

In the arena, Xia You looked at Gugu, pondering which Pokémon to use to deal with it.

My finger traced each Poké Ball, finally stopping on Gardevoir's Poké Ball.

"Come out, Gardevoir!"

Having made her decision, Xia You didn't hesitate and threw out the Poké Ball.

As the blue light flashed, Gardevoir's beautiful figure appeared before Gugu.

“Gardedoll…” Asu crossed his arms and examined it closely. “This is not a Pokémon from our continent, so we rarely have the chance to see it.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it.” Xia You shrugged. “It’s just a regional difference. In fact, you rarely encounter Kanto and Johto Pokémon in other regions.”

Judging from their attributes, the two Pokémon do not have a type advantage/disadvantage relationship. However, as a Normal/Flying-type Pokémon, Googoro can also use many Psychic-type moves. Xia You took this into consideration, which is why she had Gardevoir fight against it.

"Game start!"

When the referee gave the whistle, the match officially began.

However, after only a few rounds of fighting, the situation on the field made Xia You's brows slowly furrow.

It's not that Gardevoir performed poorly or was at a disadvantage; on the contrary, it performed exceptionally well!

From beginning to end, Gardevoir suppressed Gugu, leaving Gugu with no chance to fight back!

Whether it's a Flying-type Peck or a Psychic-type Psychic, Hypnosis, or Reflect, Gardevoir easily neutralized them and calmly retaliated.

It can be seen that although this Googoro is well-trained, its initial form is far weaker than Gardevoir's third form!

And this is what made Xia You suddenly realize the problem!

They won so easily...

To be honest, after experiencing the Indigo League and Orange League, his champion lineup is indeed a bit of a game-changer when used to fight ordinary Pokémon in gyms.

Although each gym leader has several powerful Pokémon, in order to accommodate new trainers and to make it easier for gyms to pass through, they usually only send out some slightly weaker Pokémon to guard the gym.

This might be difficult for other trainers, and the battle might be very close, but for Xia You, it's no challenge at all!

The one-sided battle not only left Xia You with no experience, but also failed to help him train his Pokémon!

Now, he either uses new Pokémon to challenge gyms, or he tries to increase the difficulty of battles!

Ultimately, when Gugu fell, the entire process had barely caused any real damage to Gardevoir!

A commotion broke out among Asu's apprentices, who whispered among themselves, clearly not expecting Gugu to suffer such a crushing defeat.

They had naturally watched Xia You's matches, but when they actually faced this champion, they realized they had underestimated his strength!

Asu shook his head helplessly and said, "Your Gardevoir is so strong. You can see the obvious difference in strength between the two Pokémon. It's no wonder that Gugu lost."

Hearing his words, Xia You showed no sign of happiness.

Although he won, he sighed, "Actually, this was my oversight, and I wasted the opportunity to become stronger through battle."

Asu raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Why do you say that?"

Looking solemnly at Asu, Xia You suggested, "To make the battle more intense, Mr. Asu, could you please send out your ace Pokémon?"

"Looks like my Pokémon have been underestimated!" Ash chuckled. "But should we really do this? That goes against the League's original intentions!"

Seeing that Xia You did not waver, Asu nodded.

"That's fine then. It's indeed a bit too easy for you. Since it's your request, I can only use some of my best skills!"

As she spoke, Xia You noticed that Asu had recalled Gugu and put all three Poké Balls back into his pouch. Then, he took out two more Poké Balls.

These two Poké Balls look ordinary, but judging from Asu's expression, they clearly have a different meaning for him.

Staring at Xia You, Asu slowly said, "To be honest, I also want to have a real match with you and see what level you, the champion of the Indigo League, are really at. So, now I'll let you truly understand the power of bird Pokémon that dances so beautifully in the sky!"

After saying that, Asu threw the second Poké Ball into the air.

"Come out, Starhawk!"

In the dazzling blue light, a rather handsome and fierce-looking bird Pokémon appeared in the sky.

oh, the Hawk...

Xia You looked up and examined the Pokémon. Its size was that of a medium to large bird Pokémon, and it looked very strong and sturdy!

As the final evolution of Stark and Starbird, Starhawk is fierce in nature, with a resolute and sharp gaze, sharp claws and a pointed beak, and its tail feathers are also distributed in a fan shape. What makes it most memorable is the crest-like feathers on its head, which look quite edgy.

This was the first time Xia You had seen it in person, so she took out her Pokédex and pointed it at it.

Pokémon Pokédex entry: "Staraptor, a Raptor Pokémon, Normal/Flying type. This is a Pokémon that lives alone, detached from its flock. It is very particular about the shape of its crest. It has very developed muscles and strong wings, allowing it to easily carry small Pokémon. Its fierce nature means that even when it encounters an opponent larger than itself, Staraptor will bravely challenge it. Even if it suffers severe injuries, it will not stop attacking."

Xia You sensed a completely different aura from Muke Eagle compared to Gugu.

This must be Asu's trump card!

It definitely feels different!

After thinking for a moment, he called Gardevoir back, letting it rest while he threw out a second Poké Ball.

"It's all up to you now, go for it, Jolteon!"

For Xia You, after Asu changed Pokémon, it was as if he had skipped the first playthrough and was now fighting the gym battles in the second playthrough. Naturally, he dared not underestimate his opponent and therefore had to take the initiative from the very beginning!

Chapter 294: Playing the Ace

In terms of type, the Electric-type Jolteon is super effective against the Flying-type Staraptor. Moreover, Electric-type Pokémon also have the advantage of taking half the damage when facing Flying-type moves.

Therefore, it can be said that Reibou had a great advantage in this match, both in offense and defense!

Asu naturally understood the stakes involved, but he didn't take it to heart.

In fact, since he became the gym leader, most trainers who had researched his team in advance would choose Pokémon that were super effective against Flying-type Pokémon when they came to challenge him, hoping to easily obtain his Wing Badge using this simpler method.

But thanks to Pokémon's outstanding performance, many people miscalculated and were severely punished by Asu!

What Asu dislikes most are those who believe that Flying-type Pokémon are destined to lose to Electric-type Pokémon!

In the Pokémon world, nothing is absolute!

"Starhawk, use your wings to attack!"

Upon hearing Asu's command, the Starhawk soared into the sky, circled a few times, and then spread its wings and swooped down toward Reeves.

Its speed was so great that it even made a sound as it cut through the air!

Faced with the Starhawk's self-inflicted attack, Xia You remained calm.

"Rayle, use Discharge!"

A dazzling burst of electricity erupted from Jolteon's body. This attack, which indiscriminately strikes in all directions from within itself, would still strike Staraptor, no matter how fast it was, when it rushed to Jolteon's side.

Sure enough, the next second, Staraptor arrived in front of Jolteon and was struck by the burst of electricity. Golden light emanated from Staraptor's body, but with its tenacious willpower, it did not slow down. Instead, it endured the great pain and used its wings like blades to quickly pass over Jolteon.

boom!

The two Pokémon clashed, both injured to varying degrees, but Staraptor was clearly more seriously injured than Jolteon!

Trading injury for injury, although it seems like Asu is at a disadvantage, it's something that can't be helped.

Although he doesn't believe that Flying Pokémon will lose to Electric Pokémon, the fact that Flying moves only deal half the damage to Electric Pokémon is something that Asuthi can't change no matter what. Therefore, he must close the distance and defeat his opponent through other means.

Fortunately, although he was injured, he had achieved his goal.

"Starhawk, use close combat!"

With its arms clenched into fists, the Starhawk swung towards Reeves like a meteor.

Xia You wanted to continue using electric shocks, but the wind from the Hawk's punch was already close, giving Rayquaza no time to build up its power.

Seeing the flurry of punches, he changed his strategy and switched to close-range attacks: "Don't lose to it, Raybux, use Double Kick!"

Reeves raised its front body, its two front claws rising one after the other, and clashed head-on with Staraptor!

Boom!

As their fists and claws clashed, both Pokémon involuntarily took a step back, clearly having suffered the same loss.

However, the Hawk had just been electrocuted and was not in good physical condition. It stumbled and lost its footing for a moment. Although it quickly recovered, Xia You seized the fleeting opportunity.

"Rayle, use Thunder Fang!!"

Reeves opened its massive, electric-filled maw and bit down on one of the Staraptor's wings!

The Mk Eagle cried out in pain!