I caught a Pokémon

He maintained his cool, or rather, arrogant demeanor as he calmly stepped onto the stage.

His first Pokémon surprised everyone.

With a flash of blue light, an Absol appeared before the people.

I've seen this Pokémon before, which is known to bring disaster, so I won't go into details. But I never expected that the Pokémon that Shun sent out would be this one!

This was something he had never used before, so it seems that Shun caught his new Pokémon without anyone knowing.

The audience was abuzz with discussion about the appearance of this Pokémon. Regardless of the rumors, Absol's appearance was undeniably cool, which made it attract everyone's attention as soon as it appeared.

Upon appearing, Absol used Flash, instantly bathing its entire body in intense light, as if even its own body was sparkling!

This Absol was undoubtedly showing off its charm, and after a brief display, at Shun's command, it used Water Pulse to create a circular vortex on the stage, which eventually formed a water tornado that enveloped itself!

That wasn't all. Absol, enveloped in the waterspout, used Whirlwind Blade, with over a dozen glowing blades, to shatter the waterspout. The water then transformed into countless droplets, slowly falling around Absol and highlighting its body.

The audience erupted in applause; the performance was so brilliant that even Xiaoyao couldn't help but clap along.

Xiao Shun's performance was as stable and superb as ever, earning him a very high score.

This is not surprising.

To put it simply, Absol just used some common Pokémon moves. The job of these Pokémon Coordinators is to make them more exciting and skillful, and to combine them together effectively.

Xiaoshun is one of the more thoughtful and talented individuals among them.

Amid cheers, Shun and Absol bowed and then calmly walked off the stage.

After he left the stage, several other contestants took the stage to perform, and soon it was Harry's turn.

Fortunately, Harry didn't dress up as Yao again today, which made Xia You's eyes feel a little better. After all, that kind of disguise was really an eyesore, and neither the audience nor Yao herself wanted to see it again.

Harry's partner for this round was his Octobuzz, which is also Harry's old Pokémon. After entering the field, Octobuzz immediately used Flamethrower, but its next move left the audience speechless!

After the Great Flame Burst was unleashed, a raging fire broke out on the ground, instantly turning the area a fiery red. Amidst this flame, the Octopus Bucket jumped in and, braving the intense heat, began to writhe inside!

only……

Seeing this scene, Xia You frowned.

Well, thanks to the water-type Pokémon's resistance to fire, this chaotic dance in the fire did indeed have an unexpected effect and broadened the audience's horizons.

But the scene looked rather awful, reminding Xia You of a snack—grilled octopus!

It looks rather tragic no matter how you look at it.

I really don't know if Harry got his inspiration from there.

In short, Harry took a different approach with this self-destructive performance and still managed to get a high score.

After Shun and Harry, it was soon Saori's turn to appear.

At this moment, she wore a confident and composed expression, seemingly unaffected by her defeat in the previous night's battle. Instead, she released her Slowbro, which had fully recovered. With her help, the Slowbro glided across the ice like it was on an ice rink, using the spiral shell on its tail and enveloped in Nen to glide around the ice!

In short, it's both visually appealing and fun!

Finally, Slowbro used its water gun while upside down, showcasing its excellent balance in a water dance performance, successfully concluding the show.

Although this performance wasn't as amazing as yesterday's preliminary round, Slowbro's mastery of its own power still earned it the highest score of the entire competition so far!

Like Shun, Saori's performance was as consistent as ever!

Finally, after the three strong opponents finished their performances, Xiaoyao finally got to take the stage in the second half of the match.

In an instant, not only Xia You, Xiao Zhi, and Xiao Sheng, but also Xiao Shun, Saori, and Harry all focused their attention on Xiao Yao. It can be said that in the eyes of the latter three, Xiao Yao was undoubtedly a formidable opponent, and everyone had a reason to take her seriously!

It's worth mentioning that when introducing May, Lillian used the phrase "dancer from Hoenn" to describe her for the first time.

Perhaps she just wanted to introduce Haruka as a contestant from Hoenn, and mentioned it casually, but in any case, it was this introduction that, although unintentional, gave Haruka another title—Hoenn Dancer.

May's partner this time is her Snorlax.

Now that she's on this stage, she's finally going to bring out the move she's practiced every day in Enju City and has mastered!

It's worth mentioning that May actually practiced her own performance routines with each of her Pokémon. However, due to limited opportunities, she couldn't have every Pokémon perform on stage. She could only decide who to send out based on the situation.

This time, she chose Snorlax.

Upon entering the arena, under May's command, Munchlax used Solar Beam.

A powerful energy slowly gathered in the mouth of the little Snorlax, eventually condensing into a ball of light, which was then launched into the sky.

Just then, Munchlax leaped high into the air and used Aura Punch to strike the solar beam. In an instant, as the Aura Punch shattered the solar beam, and the shattered sunlight filled the arena, a pleasant sound suddenly echoed in every corner of the arena!

Chapter 899 News from the Age of Gods

Snorlax's move was extremely successful, not only surprising the audience but also leaving a deep impression on everyone.

Not only were the audience and referees amazed and their eyes opened wide, but even Ash and his two teammates were astonished. Not to mention their opponents Saori, Shun, and Harry, who frowned deeply.

It was at this moment that Xiaoyao truly revealed her full strength.

A meteoric rise to fame!

Just like Saori during the preliminaries, the sensation caused by May and her Snorlax also made people realize the extraordinary nature of this contestant. In addition, Lillian's introduction that she was a dancer from Hoenn made people remember her even more.

Xia You, having witnessed Xiao Yao use this move at the Five Sisters' house, couldn't help but smile slightly.

Xiaoyao's success was inevitable.

After all, this wasn't a trick I came up with on the spur of the moment; it was a masterpiece that had been refined over a long period of time with the help of the five Yuanzhu sisters. It would be strange if it failed!

Amidst thunderous applause, Haruka received the highest score of the entire event, even higher than Saori's!

Seeing this result, Saori raised Haruka's threat level to another level in her mind, while Harry was also itching to get his hands on her!

For Harry, it was even more unacceptable for him that May got a high score than for him to be eliminated!

But no matter how much he resents it, the result is already out, and it won't change because of his unwillingness.

After Xiaoyao left the stage, the last few contestants came on stage, and the first round of judging came to an end.

Next came the nerve-wracking ranking process.

It's really cruel. Yesterday, 270 contestants participated in the preliminary round, and only 64 of them made it to the main competition today. Now, 48 of them will be eliminated, leaving only 16 contestants to advance to the second round of judging.

In just two days, contestants were eliminated one after another. How many people came full of dreams and expectations, only to leave disappointed after just one chance to showcase themselves on stage?

But there's nothing that can be done about it; for every person who succeeds, someone else is destined to fail!

Before long, the list of those who advanced was announced.

Everyone, including the audience, looked nervously at the big screen, only to see the screen change, revealing 16 avatars with names on them.

And the one ranked first was none other than Xiao Yao, who shone brightly in the performance just now!

This is not unexpected, after all, Munchlax's performance was just too amazing!

However, after Haruka, it wasn't any of Saori, Shun, or Harry who appeared, but rather two other contestants who had delivered outstanding performances. Saori's image didn't appear until fourth place!

This made Xia You shake her head slightly.

Compared to the preliminary rounds, Saori's performance in the main tournament was undoubtedly weaker, which prevented her from maintaining her previous momentum and causing her to slip from a tie for first place to fourth.

Although fourth place is still a very good result, and Saori's performance was quite stable with no mistakes, it still gave Xia You a clear understanding of Saori.

This woman, who became a top Coordinator in the anime through the Indigo League Grand Festival, is actually the same type of person as Rob from the Hoenn region.

Both athletes displayed a composed and confident demeanor, exuding elegance and grace. They both defeated their opponents with superior skills, securing victory in the grand celebration.

So similar, therefore, although she had never fought Robert, Xia You guessed from Robert's performance at the Hoenn Tournament that Saori and Robert's strength should be roughly equal.

However, both of them are the same. Although they performed better than the other contestants, they did not achieve a crushing victory. This gave them a certain advantage, but it was not obvious enough. They often found themselves being overtaken by other contestants or getting into a tough battle.

To reiterate, only when they truly become top-tier coordination trainers and their mindset changes will they undergo a genuine transformation.

As for now, he's just a Coordinator who performs consistently and is quite strong!

Xia You's gaze shifted, then she looked at Xiao Shun and Harry's rankings.

Unsurprisingly, both of them advanced to the next round, with Harry ranking 7th and Shun...

His ranking was even lower than Harry's, reaching 10th place!

This is a serious mistake for Shun, whose grades have always been consistent!

And this is the first time ever!

Having watched so many matches, Xia You, though not a Coordinator or a professional, still has a deep understanding of some things and has figured out some of the tricks of the trade.

It can only be said that although Shun and his Absol were also very impressive, during his performance, everyone's attention was drawn to Absol's luster and water ripples, and they did not notice that Absol's final whirlwind attack was not skillful enough, resulting in a slight flaw. This may not matter to the audience, but the extremely discerning judges still keenly noticed the shortcomings.

This is why his score wasn't even as high as Harry's.

This is something that Shun absolutely cannot accept!

Immediately after the results were announced, the second round of group assignments began.

The avatars on the screen were shuffled and divided into 8 battle groups. Xia You noticed that Xiao Yao and Harry were grouped together!

"What a small world..."

Xia You couldn't help but laugh at this result, and even Xiao Zhi and the others beside her couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

What a coincidence!

After all, they knew that although Harry had been causing trouble for Haruka and was quite strong, the only formidable rivals that Haruka should be wary of were Shun and Saori, whom she had only recently met!

But whether it was fate playing tricks or not, before fighting those two, Xiaoyao could never get rid of Harry. Basically, every time they met, she had to fight him first!

You just can't shake them off!

That's really weird!

However, neither Xiaoyao nor Harry said anything about this grouping; in fact, they were quite happy with it!

At this moment, in the players' lounge, Xiaoyao and Harry, seeing this group arrangement, both glanced at each other simultaneously.

For Harry, defeating May has always been his second biggest goal besides winning, so it doesn't matter whether they meet sooner or later.

Similarly, for Xiaoyao, Harry's repeated trouble-making—from giving her a black rose with a hidden mechanism to dressing her up to attract attention—gives her every reason to eliminate him!

Now is perfect, it allows them to eliminate the person they hate the most before moving on to the next round!

Besides them, Saori and Shun were also assigned their own opponents and did not meet each other. As a result, in the second round of review, Xia You and the others would only focus their attention on the group of Haruka and Harry.

……

After leaving the venue, the group did not go for a meal this time, but went straight back to the Pokémon Center.

On the one hand, it was because they had already gathered yesterday and didn't feel like gathering again anytime soon, nor did they have the appetite for it. On the other hand, Xiaoyao was also thinking about how to deal with Harry.

Although Harry wasn't as difficult to deal with as Shun and Saori in terms of strength, he was good at devising tricks, which made Haruka quite wary of him, and she dared not be careless in the slightest.

While Xiaoyao was pondering a solution, Xia You and Xiaozhi also received a message from the God Era!

After such a long time, Kamishiro finally found the last divine pillar and successfully subdued it!

This is exciting news for both of them!

This also means that after being idle for so long, they can finally bring their journey to the Battle Frontier to a successful conclusion!

However, the grand celebration was not yet over, so they could not go to Kamishiro immediately. They could only arrange a time and place with Kamishiro and would go there as soon as the grand celebration ended.

However, this is also a good opportunity for the Age of Gods.

After all, he had just subdued the last of the three Divine Pillars, so he could use this time to get to know the three Divine Pillars better and prepare for the upcoming battle.

After hanging up the phone, Xia You and Xiao Zhi exchanged a glance.

"Brother Xia You!" Xiao Zhi's eyes gleamed with excitement. "The moment has finally arrived!"

“Yes.” Xia You nodded. “We’ve been back in Guandu long enough. Once this is over, we can finally travel to new places.”

"Shall we continue our journey...?" Ash asked longingly. "The next region will be the Sinnoh region, right?"

“That’s right,” Xia You exclaimed. “A new region, a new journey, there must be many exciting adventures waiting for us. It’s definitely worth looking forward to.”

After the main competition ended today, something else actually happened.

That was after dinner, when the group was taking a walk outside the Pokémon Center to digest their food, they unexpectedly saw Shun secretly practicing with his Absol in a secluded spot!

Judging from the aura he exudes, he is clearly still bothered by his performance mistakes today.

This also made him exceptionally strict when giving orders to Absol at this moment, as if he wanted to make up for something in this way.