I caught a Pokémon

Eh?

Ash was taken aback by Misty's actions and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Xiaoxia...Xiaoxia, what are you doing?"

To be honest, he was really startled. After all, given Xiaoxia's personality, he thought she would really hit him. He didn't expect her to stop in the end!

"What is this?" Xiaoxia squinted at him and snorted. "You can make other expressions, can't you? I thought you'd lost your soul on the field."

Ash's face immediately turned red: "I...I just...I just..."

"What are you?" Xiaoxia bluntly called him out. "You lost, so what? Why are you making that sour face? So what if you were eliminated? It's not a big deal. It's just that your skill level wasn't high enough. Since it's your own fault, you can just keep trying next time!"

It can only be said that being overly sensitive requires strong medicine to cure it.

After Xiaoxia's barrage of words, Xiaozhi came to his senses. His face flushed with shame, then turned purple with anger, and finally returned to its normal flesh color. But Xiaoxia had completely dispelled his frustration with just a few words!

Seeing that he had returned to his usual self, Xiao Sheng and the others breathed a sigh of relief and admired Xiao Xia. Xiao Yao even secretly gave Xiao Xia a thumbs up.

Sure enough, only Xiaoxia would dare to do that!

"That's right, Satoshi, cheer up!" Masamune chimed in at that moment. "Remember how you comforted me yesterday? How come you're so pathetic when it's your turn?!"

Upon hearing Masamune's words, Xiaozhi was taken aback at first, but then realized that he shouldn't be so depressed.

Yes, isn't I just like Masamune yesterday?

If he can overcome this, what am I lacking?

He ultimately turned his resentment and disappointment into a sigh.

After sighing, his eyes regained their light, and he nodded to the people beside him.

"You're right, a temporary setback doesn't mean anything. My journey has just begun! Next time, I definitely won't be in the top 8!"

“That’s right,” Xiaosheng laughed, “That’s the Xiaozhi we know!”

……

After Xiao Zhi was also eliminated, only Xia You remained.

Of course, calling it a lone survivor is not quite right or accurate. It should be described as a towering tree, since this tree is not only extremely thick, but it has also been consistently defeating its opponents, dominating the entire Rainbow Tournament with unparalleled power.

After reaching the top four, Xia You will face the semifinals next.

Coincidentally, his opponent in this match was the blue-haired female trainer who eliminated Ash!

In this battle, Xia You avenged Xiao Zhi, defeating his opponent easily with a score of 6-0.

It is truly unstoppable.

This made Ash's expression extremely complicated.

It's incredibly disheartening that an opponent you couldn't defeat even with all your might couldn't defeat Xia You's Pokémon...

Although he hadn't actually fought Xia You since the Silver Tournament, he had realized that there was indeed a huge gap between them.

Indeed, I still need to work much, much harder...

After defeating her opponent in the semi-finals, Xia You was the first to advance to the finals, awaiting the opponent she would face in the next battle.

It's worth mentioning that in another battle, the two trainers had a very close fight.

That's right, it's a dilemma!

They hoped to defeat their opponents, advance to the finals, and go even further to gain greater honors. However, the thought of facing Xia You, this terrifying man, made them feel a stomachache and even more...terrified.

So what if we make it to the finals?

To be easily defeated under the spotlight and become a mere background figure?

They were extremely unwilling to not make it to the finals, and none of them wanted to fall at the last step before the finals.

In short, it's neither good nor bad, which is very uncomfortable.

In the end, a contestant named Ahua proved to be the stronger one and, with mixed feelings, successfully advanced to the finals, becoming Xia You's opponent.

only……

After comparing the performances of Xia You and Ahua, the audience subconsciously shook their heads.

The gap in strength is still too large.

The fact that they all overwhelmingly believe Xia You will easily defeat her opponent and win the final victory is probably only the most ruthless gamblers would be so desperate as to place their bets on Ahua.

There will be a rest day after the semi-finals.

On this day, Xia You and Ahua each filmed promotional videos for the final battle, as arranged by the conference organizers.

At the same time, a massive propaganda campaign swept across the entire Hoenn region. The Pokémon League's motto was that even remote towns, isolated islands, and sparsely populated deserts must know this news and maintain a reliable signal!

Online, just like the audience at the scene, Xia You and Ahua's support rate has reached a terrifying 97% to 3%!

What is this concept?

Xia You has 152.78 million votes, far ahead and absolutely in the lead! (By the way, please vote for me! Please vote for me!)

In terms of appearance, temperament, and ability, the two are simply incomparable.

This is probably the most lopsided final battle in the history of the Ayame Tournament.

In short, Xia You won the championship—as expected!

After a busy day, Xia You received calls from Naz, Rika, Maya, Dr. Sakuragi's family, and Carlos.

It wasn't just them; Lila, the handsome guy, A-du, Xiaochun, Liuqia, and other people who were close to Xia You also contacted him on this day, either by phone or by text message.

Due to regional or work reasons, some people were unable to cross the ocean to come to Hoenn to cheer him on, while others were also unable to attend in person for various reasons.

However, everyone feels the same way and will watch his matches on TV.

Xia You felt a warm feeling in her heart after receiving these people's blessings and words of advice.

This is what it feels like to be cared for.

Before I knew it, I'd made so many friends and... a girlfriend since coming into this world...

This also gave him a deep sense of attachment and ties to this world. If one day he were to return to his original world, he would be extremely reluctant and would likely refuse.

After all, he had developed too many connections with this place, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to sever ties...

……

After a night's rest, Xia You regained her strength and energy, and finally faced the final battle.

A salute was fired, and balloons and ribbons flew from the stands into the sky.

Before the battle began, Pokémon League Chairman Darma Lanqi stood in front of the torch and gave a speech. He first thanked the staff and then thanked all the players for their hard work. Finally, with the host warming up the crowd, the two trainers walked into the arena from the player entrances on both sides!

Amidst the thunderous cheers, Xia You waved to the surrounding audience as she walked into the trainer command area.

Compared to his composure, Ahua on the other side was clearly much more nervous.

This was both because it was his first time entering the finals and because the overwhelming cheers for Xia You from the audience made him feel immense pressure!

Aside from his own relatively good physical condition, off-court factors were extremely unfavorable to him.

He knew perfectly well that everyone thought he couldn't beat Xia You and wouldn't win the championship. If that was the case, then he would be even more determined... Well, even he himself knew that he probably wouldn't be a match for this man.

All I can say is that I'll do my best.

After the host gave a grand introduction to the two contestants, the venue on the big screen began to rotate.

Under Ahua's tense gaze and Xia You's casual remark, the venue for the first half of the game was already determined—the grass field.

This is a fairly fair battlefield. Apart from fish and jellyfish Pokémon being unable to participate, the Grass Field is very inclusive, allowing most Pokémon to fully unleash their power here.

This is good news for Ahua.

At the referee's signal, both players took out their Poké Balls at the same time, and at that moment, the cheers from the audience reached their peak!

Amidst the cheers, seeing that Ahua made no move, Xia You released her Pokémon first.

With a flash of blue light, his Blaziken appeared on the battlefield, and people cheered even louder when they saw this Pokémon that had performed so well!

Only Ahua looked distressed.

The scene of Blaziken defeating three opponents was still vivid in his mind. Although he was not a witness to that tragedy, putting himself in Shizuko's shoes, he still felt a sense of suffocation.

Even when studying the video, whether using Shizuko's team or her own Pokémon, she did several strategy simulations, but no matter how many times she did them, she could never change the outcome.

Am I going to experience this myself today?

What a wonderful opening surprise...

Fortunately, Ahua had anticipated this, so the Poké Ball he was holding contained a Pokémon that was not weak against Blaziken!

As he threw the Poké Ball, Ahua's Pokémon appeared before everyone's eyes.

"It's Slowbro!" the host exclaimed. "Ahua's first Pokémon is Slowbro! This is a Pokémon he's never shown in any of his previous battles! It seems he's been holding back a secret move for this final battle!"

It turned out to be the case.

Xia You smiled gently upon seeing this Pokémon.

As a Psychic-type Water-type Slowbro, Blaziken's Fire-type moves and Fighting-type moves can only deal half the damage to it, making it a very good choice in terms of type.

Even though it's not a water-themed area, they sent out a water-type Pokémon...

They really came prepared, and they really guessed that they would use Blaziken in the first battle...

Putting aside his skill level, just his dedication alone is enough to make him a worthy finalist!

Of course, Xia You is only evaluating Ahua's strength from his own perspective. From the perspective of a normal trainer, Ahua is already very strong. At least if Ash were to fight him, his chances of winning would probably only be 40%.

But even such a formidable player, standing before Xia You, still felt that victory was far from his goal.

However, the appearance of Slowbro has added a bit more interest to this match.

As another evolution of Slowking, Slowbro may look silly and clumsy, but it is no pushover.

The combination of water and superpowers gives it a wide range of offensive capabilities.

Slowbro is entirely pink, walks on two legs, has a head almost identical to Slowpoke's, a cream-colored striped belly, and a spiral-shaped shell biting its tail.

In terms of appearance, the Dumbshell actually has many characteristics of real animals, such as otters, hippos, and platypuses.

Because they walk upright, Slowbro's limbs are longer than Slowpoke's. They evolved because their tails were bitten by a Trolltunga when they went to hunt in the sea, which is how they evolved into Slowbro.

It is said that the sweetness emanating from Slowpoke's tail captivated Shellder, who, unable to let go, longed to taste the savory flavor emanating from its tail. As a result, the gluttonous Shellder transformed its shell into a spiral shape in order to extract even more sweetness from its tail.

According to observations, if the Shellder, which is biting its own tail, falls off during a fierce battle, or if its tail is cut off and the Shellder falls off, it will revert from Slowpoke back to Slowpoke.

Although its response is somewhat slow, in some ways this is also its advantage.

Because it is infected by the venom of the giant tongue clam on its tail, it has difficulty feeling pain. Therefore, even if it is attacked, it will take a long time to realize it. This characteristic undoubtedly allows it to last longer in battle.

Although it may sound useless, don't underestimate this physical characteristic.

Perhaps it's this little bit of time that will allow it to ultimately turn the game around!

Chapter 788 The Champion Wave Echoing on the Field

The battle between Blaziken and Slowbro has officially begun.

From the outset, Ahua went all out, trying to gain an early advantage.

This is the right approach, because only by suppressing Blaziken first and preventing it from gaining momentum can we avoid repeating the mistakes of those who came before.

Ahua had even decided that as long as he could hold on and not lose in the first round, he would consider the final a victory in his heart!

Even if she is defeated in the end, Xia You is not completely victorious. Compared with others, she is worthy of this ranking and has not let down her hard work in making it to the finals!

Although he had a good plan, Xia You was unwilling to give him the opportunity.

Although she didn't intend to win the championship with a perfect record, since the opportunity was right in front of her and she hadn't encountered any particularly strong opponents along the way, Xia You naturally wouldn't want to leave any regrets.

If we can do better, why not?

In recent years, no one has been able to win the championship with a perfect record, so let me be the one to break that precedent!

The two trainers had different ideas, and under their command, Blaziken and Slowbro had already started fighting.

It was clear that Ahua had no intention of thinking about the next battle. At his command, Slowbro used its psychic powers and water guns to continuously shoot at Blaziken, throwing it around like it was going to kill Blaziken!

In this way, even though Blaziken is stronger than it, it has to temporarily avoid a direct confrontation due to these type-advantageous moves.