I caught a Pokémon

Chapter 786 Xia You Advances, Xiao Zhi Eliminated

As Xia You left through the contestant entrance, she immediately spotted Xiao Zhi and his group waiting outside.

As he appeared, Ash and the others applauded, and Misty even bought a bouquet of flowers from somewhere and presented them to him.

"What are you guys doing?" Xia You said with a helpless smile. "It's so grand. I thought I had won the championship."

At this age where he can't keep secrets, Xiao Sheng, regardless of whether Xiao Zhi and Masamune were present, exclaimed, "Mr. Xia You! You're absolutely amazing! Simply unbeatable! Two Pokémon, two consecutive victories against three opponents!! You didn't see it, but when you won, the atmosphere in the stands practically exploded!!!"

Both Satoshi and Masamune looked slightly uncomfortable.

Xiao Sheng's statement that no one could defeat him naturally included them as well. Although they knew they might not be able to beat Xia You, some things couldn't be said openly. Zheng Zong was one thing, but Xiao Zhi had already entered the top eight and would have to face Xia You sooner or later. Xiao Sheng's statement now was just a way of saying that he believed Xia You would definitely lose!

However, it must be admitted that Xia You's performance just now was truly outstanding. If they were to be substituted on, they certainly wouldn't be able to achieve the same results as him!

"It's not as exaggerated as you guys make it out to be." Xia You waved her hand and laughed. "I wouldn't dare say I'm invincible, but at least in this tournament, no one should be able to stop me from winning."

Xiao Zhi: ...

Masamune:......

How is this different from what Xiaosheng said?

They thought Xia You would be more modest, but they didn't expect her to admit it directly!

Masamune quickly looked at Satoshi. He himself had already been eliminated, and there was no use in being dissatisfied. Now he could only place his hopes on Satoshi and see what he had to say.

But to Masamune's disappointment, although Satoshi clenched his fists, he unusually chose to remain silent!

what! ?

How could I not talk back?

Is this really the Ash I know?

Although Masamune knew Satoshi quite well, he clearly didn't know how much Xia You meant to Satoshi.

If it were anyone else, and they dared to say to Xiao Zhi that they would win, Xiao Zhi would definitely argue back and debate with them. But only in front of Xia You, he both regarded him as an opponent and admired him immensely.

This feeling is contradictory, but it is precisely the deep impression Xia You has left on him over the long term that makes Xiao Zhi firmly believe that if anyone can defeat him and become the champion, it must be Xia You!

In just one day, all eight finalists have been chosen.

Besides Xia You and Xiao Zhi, there were six other trainers, but they had never met these people during their previous travels and had no chance to get to know them here, so they naturally didn't have much to say to each other.

Despite being in the same quarterfinals, they received completely different treatment.

Countless reporters swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, completely surrounding Xia You. They seemed to want to shove their cameras right in his face. In contrast, the other seven contestants didn't have a single interviewer. Even though Xiao Zhi was standing right next to Xia You, the reporters ignored him and pushed him away!

"How scary..." Seeing this scene, Xiaoyao felt that these people were really too exaggerated. This was only the top eight, why did they all surround them?

Only Xiaoxia and Xiaogang were already used to it, having witnessed this scene before at the Silver Conference and the Quartz Conference.

"It's nothing serious," Xiaoxia shrugged. "These people make a living this way, so it's normal for them to have a keen sense of smell. You haven't seen what happens after the finals; that's when things really get scary!"

Surrounded by people, Xia You was naturally the one who could feel their intense gazes the most.

However, he was prepared. He announced that he had already given exclusive interviews to Miare Publishing and Purple Violet TV, declined all other interviews, and easily slipped away with the help of the event's security personnel.

Since they've interviewed me, they'll inevitably become my shield. Now let's see how the people from Zijing TV deal with them.

……

By evening, a new round of group assignments had been completed.

It can be said that at this moment, apart from Xia You, every other contestant was feeling heavy-hearted.

After all, no one wants to be an opponent of such a powerful person, or become his stepping stone.

But the eight contestants will be divided into four groups, and one of them is destined to be unlucky enough to encounter him. And even if he manages to avoid this round, what about the next round?

It was only a matter of time, which made it even more difficult for them.

No one expected that, having already made it to the quarterfinals, they would be just like they were during the qualifiers, constantly worried about being eliminated.

But in any case, the moment to reveal the answer has finally arrived.

The hall, which had once been crowded with contestants, was now empty except for a few people. Apart from Xia You and Xiao Zhi who were together, the rest of them were scattered and kept at a distance from each other. It seemed that as their rankings rose, they became more wary of potential opponents and were afraid that their secrets would be exposed by others.

At 7 p.m. sharp, the information on the big screen was updated on time.

You could feel that the atmosphere was extremely tense at that moment. These people didn't even dare to breathe, as if they were afraid that the slightest sound would bring them a bad situation.

Even Xiao Zhi nervously swallowed and subconsciously clenched his hands.

Influenced by these people, even the accompanying Haruka and Kakeru became nervous. Masamune, in particular, was so nervous that he broke out in a sweat, as if he were the one who was going to compete!

In this atmosphere, the screen suddenly changed, showing the group assignments.

Before Xia You could see clearly, a cheer suddenly came from afar, and even Xiao Zhi next to her relaxed his shoulders and let out a long breath.

Ok?

With doubts in her heart, Xia You looked closely at the screen.

In the first row, the first picture was his own, while on the other side was a man who was not yet twenty years old, with a spiky hairstyle and slanted eyes!

Upon discovering that he and Xia You had been assigned to the same group, the man in the hall scratched his head, a bitter expression on his face, and inwardly cursed his bad luck.

Why am I so unlucky?

After finding out who her opponent was, Xia You took another look at Xiao Zhi's group assignments.

Ash's opponent this time is a blue-haired girl, which makes Xia You want to see the outcome of their battle.

After all, when watching the anime on Earth, some people said that Ash was killed by the plot. If he hadn't met Tetsuya, he would definitely have made it to the top 4. Now that Tetsuya has been defeated by Ash, his opponent in this round is someone else. Let's see if he can advance to the next round with his current strength!

……

"Soulsnatch has fallen! Metagross has won! The winner of this battle is Xia You!"

Amidst the host's loud announcements, the cheers of the audience, and the applause of his friends, Xia You once again secured a clean and decisive 6-0 victory, defeating his opponent.

In today's first match, Xia You's performance remained unmatched.

He sent out a total of four Pokémon in this match. In the first two matches, he sent out Gardevoir and Gengar to play a couple of rounds. Needless to say, he won easily without giving his opponent a chance to fight back.

Gardevoir was alright; it simply dealt with its opponent swiftly. Even though its type was weak to Gardevoir's, it still made its opponent feel what absolute power suppression meant. Gengar's performance, however, could only be described as cruel. It toyed with its opponent until they were exhausted, and even used its ability to block the opponent's Poké Ball before finally ending the battle with a satisfied expression.

In the remaining four rounds, Eevee and Metagross each fought two battles. Although they did not achieve a three-game winning streak again, and their performances were not as outstanding as Blaziken and Milotic, they still performed quite well.

In summary, today's opponent was at most comparable to Shizuko from yesterday, and did not pose much of a problem for him, allowing him to successfully advance to the semi-finals.

Although it was a one-sided battle, the audience still enjoyed it very much, and the calls for him to win the championship grew louder and louder.

For Xia You at this moment, as long as she defeats two more opponents, she can hold the Rainbow Tournament trophy in her hands!

Returning to the overall picture, a total of four matches will be held today.

After Xia You finished his first match, it was immediately time for Xiao Zhi's battle. This led Xia You to not leave the arena after the match, but instead go directly to the stands and take Xiao Zhi's place.

From Satoshi's face, you could see that he was very nervous and somewhat heavy-hearted, a completely different emotion from when he fought Masamune.

It's understandable that he's upset. After all, while it's not the first time Ash has made it into the top 8, nor is it the first time he's challenged for the top 4, he's never actually reached the top 4 before. Now that the opportunity is presented to him once again, how could he not have mixed feelings?

Winning means going further and setting even better records.

If you lose, stop here and don't repeat the same mistake as last time!

Standing in the Trainer Command Area, Ash turned his gaze to the sacred flame on the high platform. Under the reflection of the sacred flame, it seemed as if flames were burning in his eyes as well.

Xia You-ge, wait for me!

I will definitely defeat my opponent and challenge you!

……

"Pikachu is down!! The score is now 4 to 5, which is very disadvantageous for Ash. After all, all he has left is a Grovyle in extremely poor condition. Can he turn the tide in this situation?"

As the host's loud voice rang out, cold sweat streamed down Xiaozhi's face.

Pikachu failed to defeat his opponent once again, putting him in a very bad situation.

Ash picked up Pikachu, gritted his teeth, and took out his last Poké Ball. As he threw it far away, the next second, a panting Sceptile appeared on the field.

As the host said, the forest lizard was in really bad shape at that moment.

Not only was his physical strength dwindling, but his body was also covered in wounds. He looked like he could collapse at any moment, let alone fight.

But there's nothing I can do; this is Ash's last Pokémon!

All I can say is that this opponent is really too difficult to deal with. In terms of strength and performance, he is a step ahead of Xiaozhi!

This feeling is like facing Masamune, who is in a great fighting state, or even more difficult to deal with.

Ash was completely overwhelmed in this battle. Apart from Glalie and Swellow each trading one of the opponent's Pokémon, Pikachu, Torkoal, and Gryphon all failed to achieve anything and were instead defeated by the opponent one after another.

Only the Forest Lizard managed to turn the tide at this moment, unleashing 200% of its power and performing beyond expectations. Despite suffering severe physical damage, it managed to defeat two Pokémon and bring the score to its current state.

But with Pikachu falling, having only rested for one round, it had to drag its extremely exhausted body into battle again, trying to bring victory to Ash.

"The situation is very bad..."

Xiao Gang's eyes were wide open, but no matter how he looked at it, Xiao Zhi seemed to have no hope of turning the tide.

“It’s really bad.” Xia You shook his head slightly. “If the Forest Lizard were at full strength, it might be okay, and there might still be a chance to win, but now… it’s already like this, it’ll fall over at the slightest touch, and the opponent still has two Pokémon that haven’t shown up yet. Even I am powerless to help it.”

Just as Xia You said, even a single impact or a water gun with half damage could defeat the forest lizard. And with such a body, what could the forest lizard possibly do?

It really did its best.

If their companions were stronger, or if Pikachu had performed more normally, perhaps they wouldn't be in this predicament.

But there aren't that many "what ifs" in the world.

It was initially thought that without Tetsuya, Ash would be able to break through and enter the top 4, but now it seems that it is still a bit too early for him at this moment.

In fact, you could tell from his previous match against Masamune that he only managed to defeat his opponent with difficulty after Masamune gave him a two-game lead. Now that he's facing someone even more difficult than Masamune, it's already quite an achievement that he's done this well.

It's still a bit immature...

The lineup isn't great either.

If it were Ash from the Kalos, Alola, and Galar eras, he would have won by a large margin long ago.

Shaking her head, Xia You refocused her attention on the competition.

At this moment, Ash's opponent has also sent out a new Pokémon, and with a flash of blue light, a Typhlosion appears in front of the Grovyle.

Seeing this, everyone who cared about Ash felt their hearts sink to the bottom, and even Ash himself lost his sparkle.

The situation was already precarious, and now a Pokémon with a type advantage against Forest Lizard has entered the fray. How are they supposed to win?

It wasn't that he wanted to give up hope, nor that he had lost his fighting spirit; it was just that, faced with this situation, he knew very well that he was powerless to change anything.

As the referee waved the colored flag, the battle officially began.

There was no miracle at all; the Firestorm Beast simply breathed fire, and the Forest Lizard didn't even have the ability to dodge, being engulfed in flames...

We still lost...

Xia You shook her head again, feeling a little sorry for Xiao Zhi.

Once the flames subsided and Ash's Forest Lizard lay motionless on the ground, it signified the end of Ash's Rainbow Tournament journey.

Chapter 787 Final

Xia You and the others left the audience seats and waited in the players' passage for a while before finally seeing Xiao Zhi, who looked dejected, walking out with heavy steps.

Seeing him like this, Xiaosheng and Xiaoyao swallowed all the encouraging words they had just thought of.

There was no way around it; Ash just looked so downcast!

Seeing that no one spoke, Xia You was about to say something first, but then a figure flashed beside her and Xiaoxia strode towards Xiaozhi!

Despite having the body of a ten-year-old, he exuded the aura of a powerful figure!

Intimidated by her imposing manner, everyone's attention was immediately focused on her. With a serious expression, she raised her right hand fiercely and swung it down at Xiaozhi's face!

what! ?

Everyone was startled by this sudden turn of events, and watched helplessly as Xiaoxia's slap landed.

Even Ash was startled and stood there dumbfounded, forgetting to dodge!

However, Xiaoxia's slap suddenly stopped just centimeters away from Xiaozhi and did not hit his face.