I caught a Pokémon

They left without saying goodbye!

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Apart from Ash, no one could accept being beaten 6-0. It's only natural to find a secluded place to lick one's wounds and continue the journey after adjusting one's mindset.

They looked at each other again but said nothing more, clearly respecting Tetsuya's choice.

At that moment, Xia You turned her gaze to Xiao Zhi.

"I've already made it into the round of 16, now it's your turn, so don't mess it up!"

"Don't worry!" Xiao Zhi clenched his fist, a confident smile spreading across his face. "I'm not the same person I used to be! Just wait for me, I'll be in the top 16 soon!"

Ash's match is in the afternoon, and his opponent is a female trainer from Lilycove City named Maple.

This player, Xiaofeng, is also quite extraordinary. He won the previous qualifiers with a brilliant performance. Although Xiaozhi is now full of confidence, those around him know that what follows will probably be a tough battle.

The group had lunch at a nearby restaurant at noon. The meal was quite sumptuous, partly to congratulate Xia You on her successful advancement, and partly to send Xiao Zhi off on his journey.

……

The Olympic flame is still burning brightly.

2 PM, the main venue of the Rainbow Tournament.

As the host introduced the two contestants, Xia You, Xiao Xia, Xiao Yao, and the others walked through the bustling audience to their reserved seats.

Because they had been cheering for Ash in the player entrance, they were delayed, and Ash had already entered the arena before they had even reached the audience seats.

However, this conveniently bypasses the previous tedious warm-up process and waiting time, allowing the battle to begin immediately, which is just the right timing.

After Xia You sat down and put down her popcorn, she finally saw Xiao Feng's face through the big screen.

This is a beautiful woman in her early twenties with long green hair cascading down her back. She has her arms crossed and looks very calm.

The sound of pages turning filled Xia You's ears. Turning her head, she saw Xiao Gang flipping through a small notebook he'd pulled out from somewhere. He quickly flipped to a page, then, without looking up, began reciting as if reciting a familiar story: "I have all the information on this pretty lady. According to the information, this Miss Xiao Feng is known as a 'cool beauty' by the residents of Shuijing City. She loves music, her hobby is playing the clarinet, and she especially loves spicy food, particularly pasta with tomatoes..."

"Stop!" Xiaoxia interrupted him abruptly, saying helplessly, "I really don't know where you got this information from, and it's all such random stuff! What about battle information? What type of Pokémon does she specialize in, and which one is her ace? How come there's no information like that?"

"Of course," Xiao Gang said nonchalantly, instead laughing, "This is my interest log, so of course I only collect things that interest me. And by the way, she's one of the top three beauties at this conference, in my opinion!"

As expected of you, Xiao Gang.

Hearing this, Xia You was utterly impressed.

Don't underestimate these seemingly insignificant pieces of information; collecting them was far more laborious than gathering information on Pokémon. I really don't know how he managed to do it.

All I can say is that nothing can stop Xiao Gang from being smitten by beauty!

However, Xia You took a closer look at Xiao Feng and found that she was indeed a stunningly beautiful woman. Yet, she was only ranked in the top three. He wondered what the other two looked like.

Ahem, of course, I was only slightly curious from an appreciative perspective, and I had no other intentions.

At this point, Ash and Maple's first playing field had been decided.

As the wheel turned, the pointer on the large screen finally stopped on the rock icon, and then a rock field filled with rocks of different sizes was created by the gears and presented to the people.

At the referee's signal, Ash and Maple simultaneously took out their Poké Balls.

Ash's first Pokémon to participate in battle was his Torkoal, while Maple's first Pokémon to participate in battle was a Morpho.

From an attribute perspective, the Fire-type Torkoal is clearly type-advantageous against the Poison/Bug-type Moro.

However, this lineup brought a wry smile to the faces of Xia You and the others who had a very good relationship with Xiao Zhi.

Not only Xia You, but everyone who has been in contact with him for so long has discovered the pattern: if the type is unfavorable to Ash, the battle will be tough, but there is still a chance to win. However, when the type is advantageous, Ash often loses the battle!

It may just be a matter of probability, but it is this mysterious thing that made these people suddenly feel uneasy after seeing such a confrontation.

Chapter 777 Ash's Battle

Amid cheers from the audience and worries from friends, the match officially began.

It has to be said that watching such a competition from the stands is a completely different experience from participating in the competition from the field. Under the spotlight, tens of thousands of eyes are focused on two people and two Pokémon. Their emotions rise and fall with them, cheering for their wonderful performances and feeling sorry for their mistakes. Feeling the waves of voices around them, Xia You's heart also surged.

This is the atmosphere of the Rainbow Festival!

This is the most beloved sport in the world!

With such enhancements, every performance of the two contestants is amplified, and the Pokémon's movements seem to have an extra filter. This makes even ordinary moves elicit cheers, not to mention those brilliant performances.

Even ordinary people can grow in such a competition, and if they are lucky enough to make a name for themselves, they can become a well-known star!

At that moment, the two Pokémon began to battle.

Xia You took a bite of popcorn, leaned back, and focused her attention on the game.

Although she shares the same name as Xiaofeng from the Green Moss Gym, if we disregard Pokémon strength and focus solely on appearance, the current contestant, Xiaofeng, is clearly superior to Xiaofeng in every aspect, even achieving a complete and utter domination!

Of course, someone who can collect all eight badges and make it this far must be quite strong.

As you can see, right from the start, Xiao Feng's Moth used paralysis powder, and Coalossal immediately retracted its body into its shell to avoid the powder. Xiao Feng seemed to have anticipated this, and then had Moth use a stun spell to directly seal Coalossal's shell retraction!

I must say, that was a brilliant move.

What do turtle-type Pokémon rely on most? It's their ability to retract into their shells!

These sturdy shells serve as both a defense and an attack, making them versatile. The Immobilize move will freeze the target, preventing them from using the last move they used before being frozen. In short, it perfectly seals away the turtle Pokémon's greatest asset!

However, Ash didn't seem to care much about this, and instead had Torkoal use Flamethrower to fight back.

Faced with the approaching flames, Xiao Feng took out a Poké Ball and recalled the Morpho after it dodged!

This action left the audience puzzled.

After all, they had just started fighting, so why was Moromoth suddenly replaced?

Only a trainer like Xia You could see through Xiao Feng's intentions.

Since the opponent is a calm and collected type who values ​​planning before acting, necessary probing is essential. That's why Xiaofeng sent out a flying Pokémon first in the first battle, just to test the opponent's lineup.

Now that Ash has sent out Torkoal, it's obvious that he'll switch to a Pokémon with a favorable type next.

Sure enough, just as Xia You had expected, a Golduck appeared in front of Torkoal with a flash of blue light.

Ash was somewhat taken aback when his opponent switched Pokémon, but after regaining his composure, he didn't hesitate at all. As soon as Golduck appeared, he commanded Torkoal to launch an attack.

Golduck reacted quickly. Before Torkoal could get close, Golduck hit Torkoal with its water gun and was swept into the air by the water. Before Torkoal could land, Golduck took a big step and ran to the spot below where it was supposed to land. The moment Torkoal landed, Golduck used its frantic clawing attack on it!

They grabbed things randomly and haphazardly.

In just a few seconds, Torkoal had been attacked dozens of times by Golduck. When the last claw landed, Torkoal was knocked back and finally collapsed at Ash's feet, its eyes were swirling, clearly indicating that it had lost its ability to battle.

The referee raised the colored flag at the appropriate time and announced the result of the first match.

Seeing that Ash had lost so quickly, Masamune and the others couldn't help but look at each other in disbelief.

"The opponent is so strong..." Xiao Sheng hissed, then tentatively asked the others around him, "Is Xiao Zhi going to lose?"

His concerns were not unfounded. After all, the fact that Xiao Feng could defeat Xiao Zhi so easily meant that he was no ordinary person!

"A temporary setback doesn't mean anything," Xia You said calmly without looking up. "From the performance just now, we can see that Xiao Feng's fighting style does have a slight suppressive effect on Xiao Zhi, but I believe Xiao Zhi will adjust. Although there will still be some twists and turns in the process, if nothing unexpected happens, the final winner should still be Xiao Zhi."

His voice remained calm as always, yet it reassured the group and calmed their anxieties.

Even though Xia You made a judgment that Xiao Zhi would win without any basis, Xiao Sheng and the others had no doubts. After all, they were more willing to trust the judgment of this double champion than they were!

In the arena, after losing the first battle, Ash could be seen on the big screen to be visibly nervous, with cold sweat dripping down his forehead.

Perhaps in an attempt to turn the tide or gain an advantage in attributes, he immediately sent out his Pikachu in the second match.

Everyone could see that Ash wanted to use Electric-type Pokémon to counter Maple's Water-type Pokémon.

However, Xiao Feng didn't give him that chance at all.

In front of Ash, she took out a Poké Ball and recalled Golduck, then sent out a Dugtrio!

They've really mastered the art of elemental advantage.

Seeing this, Xiaoxia turned to look at Xia You and said with a soft laugh, "Why does this Xiaofeng's fighting style feel so similar to yours when you challenged the Indigo League?"

"They do look somewhat alike."

Xia You nodded, recalling when he participated in the Indigo League. Back then, because the Pokémon weren't particularly strong, he had to calculate the type advantages between Pokémon to create an advantage for himself on the field. But as he traveled more, by the time he reached the Silver League, he no longer needed to use this method. Now, he can completely ignore type advantages.

This is the growth that travel brought him.

Looking back now, isn't this Xiao Feng just like me back then?

However, type advantage isn't always that useful, especially against someone like Ash.

Not only can it deal double damage to Electric-type Pokémon on the offensive end, it can also ignore the damage of electric shocks on the defensive end. In every aspect, Xiaofeng's three dark little bald heads gathered together on the field undoubtedly have a strong suppressive force against Pikachu.

However, sometimes combat is unrelated to attributes.

Even though Ground-type Pokémon are immune to Electric-type moves, Ash's Pikachu has countless memorable moments of defeating Ground-type Pokémon!

The title of "Master of Reverse Attributes" isn't given lightly!

Xiao Feng was unaware of all this, still wearing a confident smile, as if he had Xiao Zhi completely under his thumb.

Or rather, even if she knew, she probably wouldn't care.

Despite the disadvantage in type matchup, Ash didn't back down. As soon as the battle started, he had Pikachu use Quick Attack to quickly approach Dugtrio. Meanwhile, Xiaofeng remained calm and ordered Dugtrio to use Dig and burrow underground.

Having lost its target, Pikachu had to stay put, carefully guarding against Diglett's attack. But Diglett had no intention of showing itself. Instead, it used Sand Pit underground, creating a large sinkhole in the center of the field that kept collapsing!

The crater grew larger and larger, soon engulfing Pikachu and swallowing it whole. Because of the slippery quicksand beneath its feet, Pikachu couldn't escape with Quick Attack and could only retaliate with Thunderbolt.

However, such an electric-type move had no effect on Dugtrio at all, and instead caused a murmur among the audience.

This made Xiao Sheng and his companions sigh helplessly.

Ash is indeed like that. Sometimes he can defeat his opponents in a creative way, but at other times he seems to have lost his memory or common sense, often making these common-sense mistakes.

His actions naturally drew a faint sneer from Xiao Feng.

At her signal, Dugtrio used a charge attack in the quicksand, charging aggressively at Pikachu. Ash, in this situation, also very unwisely let Pikachu use Iron Tail to fight back.

The consequences of doing so would undoubtedly be disastrous.

As the two Pokémon collided, a violent explosion occurred, and amidst the billowing smoke, Pikachu flew high out of the quicksand abyss and landed beside Ash.

Seeing this, Xiao Sheng and the others breathed a sigh of relief, happy that Pikachu was able to take this opportunity to escape the quicksand abyss.

Xia You's gaze sharpened, noticing that Pikachu looked a little off, and she shook her head.

It seems the master of reverse attributes has temporarily gone offline.

Noticing that Xia You's expression was unusual, Xiaoxia asked in surprise, "What's wrong? Is something the problem?"

Before Xia You could even speak, Pikachu had already fallen heavily at Ash's feet, lying there motionless. Although its eyes were still open, it was clear that it had lost the ability to move.

"What!?" Xiaosheng's eyes widened instantly, and he said in disbelief, "Pikachu was actually defeated!?"

They had considered that Pikachu might lose, and they had also considered that Pikachu might win, but they never expected that Pikachu would lose so quickly and so easily!

“Xiao Zhi is too impatient,” Xia You said calmly. “If he hadn’t rushed into fighting Dugtrio and hadn’t been so reckless, but had instead left the Sand Hell area first and then slowly dealt with Dugtrio, he would have had a chance to win.”

Xiao Sheng and the others nodded in agreement, but they also clearly realized that if they really did what Xia You said, it wouldn't be Xiao Zhi's personality.

Different personalities naturally lead to different fighting styles.

Overall, Xiao Feng still came out ahead by easily defeating Pikachu with just one Dugtrio!

At this point, they were already down by two rounds, and the overall situation was very unfavorable for Xiaozhi. However, after listening to Xia You's words, Xiao Sheng and the others had more confidence in Xiaozhi. Although they were still a little worried, they believed that he could turn the tide and win.

Ash picked up Pikachu and placed it beside him, then took out his third Poké Ball.

As he threw the Poké Ball, an Ice Golem appeared on the field.

Although Xia You had never personally witnessed Ash's Glalie in battle, nor had she ever fought against it, she knew from its performance in the anime and from the descriptions of Xiao Sheng and the others that this Glalie was quite strong. This gave Ash a chance to turn the tide even after losing Pikachu and Torkoal.

Meanwhile, upon seeing Glalie, Xiaofeng, perhaps lacking a Pokémon to counter it or having other plans, did not switch Pokémon but continued to fight Glalie with Dugtrio.

Xiao Feng tried to use the same trick again, but as soon as she let the Diglett burrow underground, Ice Ghost used Headbutt to slam the ground hard, which directly shook the Diglett out. Taking advantage of the moment when the Diglett was stunned, Ice Ghost used Ice Beam again and accurately hit the Diglett.

Ice Blast, combined with the previous headbutt, instantly wiped out the three Dugtrios!

This not only shocked the audience, but even Xiao Feng was completely surprised that Ice Ghost Guard's damage was so high!

This was completely unexpected; Glalie's damage was so high that she didn't even have a chance to switch Pokémon!

If she had known this would happen, she would have switched to a different Pokémon before the battle even started!

This also shows that Xiao Feng was indeed a bit careless. Perhaps the victory in the two consecutive battles made her complacent and she did not continue to maintain that attribute suppression strategy.

This also made her pay the price she deserved.