I caught a Pokémon

After all, the scale of the sprouts was quite impressive, and even just a simple extraction made Xia You feel a little distracted.

Yami naturally sensed this, and her face turned even redder. Fortunately, her face was always mysteriously rosy, which conveniently concealed it.

To be honest, although she usually seems like someone who's easy to bully, she's definitely not a casual person.

However, Xia You was, after all, her travel companion, someone she was willing to be close to. In addition, he did have a strong attraction for her, like a magnet, which made her subconsciously rely on him.

The two were lost in their own thoughts and sat there, unsure of what to talk about.

And it was in this atmosphere that the grand event finally began.

As the lights changed, Bian, the glamorous tournament host from the Sinnoh region, made a dazzling entrance in a long yellow dress. As is customary, after explaining the rules of the competition and introducing the three ever-present referees, the competition officially began.

The contestants took turns performing.

It must be said that without exceptionally talented contestants like Xiaoguang and Xiaowang participating, the Black Gold Tournament, while still exciting, lacked some standout moments and appeared somewhat unremarkable.

But in fact, this is how a conference should be conducted.

After all, not everyone will make a name for themselves in their debut battle, nor will they have a level of skill far exceeding that of other contestants in every match. For most contestants, they are just ordinary people with mediocre talent.

This made Xiaoyao's arrival a kingly presence!

Whether it's the trainer's performance, the Pokémon's play, or the synergy between the trainer and their Pokémon, it far surpasses that of other contestants.

This allowed Xiaoyao to maintain a commanding lead after achieving the highest score of the entire competition, with no one able to pose a threat to her.

Upon seeing this, Yami couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "I never imagined Xiaoyao was so amazing!"

No wonder she was so surprised.

After all, although she had witnessed how powerful Xia You was and knew about his achievements, she lacked a certain understanding of Xiao Yao. In addition, she had not specifically watched Xiao Yao's practice. Therefore, she was naturally shocked when she saw it with her own eyes.

It was at this moment that she truly realized that Xiaoyao was also an extremely capable person!

These two travel companions are indeed quite remarkable...

As for Xia You, Xiao Yao's performance was no longer surprising. However, just when he thought that Xiao Yao would definitely win the ribbon medal at this competition, the appearance of a man immediately caught his attention.

This is an elegant man with long, flowing hair like a woman. He wears a dark green wide-brimmed hat and a dark green cloak, and holds a special golden musical instrument that looks like a dream. He is dressed like a wandering poet.

At first, his appearance only made Xia You feel somewhat familiar, but as Bai An introduced his name, Xia You immediately remembered who he was!

Shangzhi, a Pokémon trainer and coordinator who calls himself a Pokémon bard!

He is a man who walks two different paths at the same time!

As a trainer who appeared many times in the anime, he left a moderate impression on Xia You. She only remembered that he was quite strong and was a formidable rival of Ash and Dawn. However, in the final two races, namely the Grand Festival and the Lily of the Valley Conference, he was not able to go very far and was defeated by Nozomi and Ash.

But regardless, he is, after all, a powerful figure who has collected all five ribbon medals and fought his way through to the grand celebration. His appearance may or may not have any impact on Xiaoyao.

Seeing Xia You's gaze focused on Shang Zhi, Ya Mi couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

Why do you look like that? Is there something wrong with that person?

Xia You shook her head: "It's nothing, I just feel that this person should be the one who will compete with Xiao Yao for the final victory in the second round of the competition."

"Huh? Is that so..."

Yami had no doubt about Xia You's words, after all, she still trusted Xia You's vision and judgment.

She was a little puzzled. Judging from Xia You's expression, it was clearly the first time she had met this man, so why was she so sure?

Is this the intuition of a strong person?

At this moment, Shang Zhi's performance on the field also began.

His Pokémon for the competition was a Buddleja.

This is a Grass/Poison Pokémon that is also common in the Hoenn region. Its prototype is an unopened flower bud of a Rosa genus plant. It is only 20 centimeters long, has two yellowish-green legs, and its body is connected to the unopened flower bud on its head. Its eyes seem to be squinting, and its overall color is greenish. It also has three petal-shaped patterns in a darker green color on its chest.

As a Pokémon that prefers to live near clear ponds, Buddleja is very sensitive to temperature changes. In winter, it closes its buds to endure the cold. When spring arrives and the sunlight becomes stronger, the buds on its head will open and release pollen. People will then know that the cold winter has passed and the season for new buds to grow has arrived. The pollen it releases contains toxins that can cause symptoms such as incessant sneezing and runny nose. The cleaner the water used to cultivate it, the higher the toxicity.

Of course, people are still unfamiliar with its current form, but its evolved form is much more well-known.

It is indeed Rose of Poison and Roseredo!

As expected of a contestant who made it to the second round of the Grand Festival, Shangzhi and his shy bud performed exceptionally well.

Their performance drew rounds of applause and cheers from the audience, and they even achieved a score almost equal to that of Xiaoyao after the performance.

This immediately made Xiaoyao nervous.

She must have noticed that this opponent was unusual.

Not long after all the contestants took the stage, the list of the eight contestants who would advance to the second round was also released.

Unsurprisingly, Xiaoyao and Shangzhi took first and second place respectively, with scores significantly higher than the other contestants, clearly belonging to two different levels.

With the scores announced, the subsequent match pairings were immediately revealed.

Xia You glanced at the big screen and saw that Xiao Yao and Shang Zhi were separated, each in their own half of the bracket, meaning they would most likely not meet before the final battle.

Upon seeing this, Xia You couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

After all, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that this grouping is definitely not just a simple matter of random selection.

That's understandable, though. If you put the two best performers together and eliminate one of them first, how can the rest of the competition be exciting?

This is the best choice for the contestants, the audience, and even the ratings!

Even if it were Xia You in that position, he would have done the same.

That's just reality.

Underhanded dealings are almost inevitable wherever there are people.

Seeing this result, Yami couldn't help but worry about Xiaoyao.

"That man seems really strong. Is Xiaoyao really okay if this continues?"

"Don't worry." Xia You shook her head nonchalantly. "Don't underestimate Xiao Yao just because she's a girl and younger than that man. She's very strong, and wherever she goes, opponents of that strength are obstacles she must overcome. Let's trust her!"

-

Here's a 6000-word chapter. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Lantern Festival!

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Chapter 969 Gengar: I despise you!

Apart from Shang Zhi, there were no other noteworthy competitors at this tournament.

This is also very much in line with normal battle situations.

Faced with this situation, Xiaoyao and Shangzhi were able to easily defeat their opponents with a huge advantage, first becoming the top four, then advancing to the semi-finals, and finally clashing in the finals.

This brought the battle to its most crucial and important moment.

When Xiaoyao and Shangzhi took the stage for the last time, everyone's eyes were immediately focused on them.

Even the host, Bai An, excitedly exclaimed, "After rounds of selection, we've finally arrived at the final battle of the Black Gold Tournament! Will Xiao Yao emerge victorious, or will Shang Zhi have the last laugh? Let's wait and see!!"

Amid cheers and applause, the game timer began to tick.

May and Takashi also sent out their Pokémon at this time.

Just like in the previous battles, May sent out her Pokémon Wartortle, which she had recently evolved into, and Takagi also sent out the same Pokémon, Krillin, which he had chosen in the second round.

Most people are probably unfamiliar with this Pokémon.

The speaker cricket is about one meter tall, like a standing cricket. It is entirely red, with a pair of long, thick mustaches, which makes it look somewhat comical. Its antennae are long, red, and curved. Its abdomen is somewhat shaped like a violin. Its hands are long and slender, divided into two sections, allowing it to turn more freely. It has a pair of black wings on its back, which can be used for short-term flight.

It is said that the Speaker Cricket was designed based on the violin beetle, and its shape also incorporates elements of the violin and musicians.

It expresses its emotions through melodies. When it calls, it crosses its knife-like forearms in front of its chest to make a sound. It makes its call more melodious by making the sound resonate in the hollows of its body. The melody it plays varies from person to person. In some villages, they even have them compete with each other in their varied calls as a form of entertainment.

Hmm... it's just another way to tease crickets...

However, although it sounds fun, perhaps due to its appearance or its singular Bug type, very few trainers use it.

In contrast, the Warm Turtle is much more common.

Although she didn't know much about it, Xiaoyao had watched a few battles between Shangzhi and Speaker Cricket before, so she could apply what she had learned and wasn't completely clueless when dealing with it.

After entering the arena, both Pokémon knew that time was of the essence, so they didn't bother to observe or test each other. Instead, they launched their attacks directly under the command of their respective trainers.

Wartortle primarily uses water attacks, while Krillin relies on close-range combat.

This is where Yao's solid combat skills come into play.

Despite it being her first time battling Krill, Wartortle's excellent adaptability and her own strength allowed her to hold her own against Shōshō from the very beginning of the battle, even showing signs of dominating the fight.

However, as mentioned many times before, Haruka's fighting style, just like her easygoing personality, lacks sufficient dominance in the early stages. Even though she is stronger, she just can't achieve that dominant effect. She fights steadily and conservatively, without any decisiveness.

While this approach might allow her to gradually discover the other party's weaknesses, it would also expose too much of her own, leaving certain hidden dangers and giving Shang Zhi more opportunities to exploit her.

This is somewhat similar to Xia You's style, but it lacks Xia You's deadly rhythm and ability to instantly kill the game!

Fortunately, as I said before, after such a long journey, Haruka has become strong enough!

The two Pokémon battled back and forth, alternating between offense and defense, with their respective spectacle values ​​decreasing. However, thanks to her superior performance, she still managed to firmly hold her own against Shangzhi.

This pressure continued from beginning to end. Although Shangzhi tried to turn the tide many times during the battle, he was completely drained of his "Glamour Value" by Xiaoyao when there were still about twenty seconds left in the battle!

This allowed Xiaoyao to win the match without any major incident.

For most other viewers, it was undoubtedly a thrilling match, lasting almost the full five minutes, with both sides delivering the performance expected of them, making for a dazzling spectacle.

But for Xia You, Xiao Yao still has a long way to go.

Of course, this is all based on his own strength, which is really asking too much. But from a normal person's perspective, Xiaoyao is already very good!

After all, if she wasn't good, how could she have achieved second place in the Kanto Grand Festival?

"Congratulations to Haruka and her Wartortle for winning this year's Black Gold Festival!!!"

Under Bai An's impassioned voice, the entire venue erupted in applause and cheers once again. People generously gave their cheers to Xiao Yao, who stood still and waved to her Squirtle.

For Xia You and Xiao Yao, this Black Gold Tournament was like a natural progression. From hearing about it to participating, and then defeating Shang Zhi to win the ribbon medal, everything seemed very simple and smooth. This also shows that for Xiao Yao now, such ordinary competitions no longer pose much of a problem.

Colorful ribbons fell from the sky.

After Conkenstein, the director of the Grand Contest's secret service, presented the prizes to Haruka, the Black Gold Contest came to an end rather casually.

Following the crowded passageway, Xia You and Ya Mi managed to squeeze out of the venue after most of the audience had left, and found Xiao Yao, who had been waiting for a while, in front of a coffee shop not far away.

"Congratulations! You've got another Ribbon Medal! You only need to collect the remaining three to qualify for the Sinnoh Grand Festival!"

Upon meeting, the two men naturally congratulated her, and Xiaoyao returned their gaze with a shy smile, showing them the ribbon medal she had just received.

However, after the initial joy subsided, Xiaoyao looked up at the sun, which was already high in the sky, and couldn't help but ask Xia You, "Brother Xia You, it's already this late. Has the Black Gold Dojo master left the dojo again?"

"Who knows?" Xia You shrugged. "We'll only know once we get there. We can only hope he's still there."

The three of them did not linger, but followed the main road to the Black Gold Dojo again.

Actually, Xia You could have challenged the Black Gold Gym alone while Xiao Yao was participating in the Grand Contest. That way, neither the Grand Contest nor the gym challenge would have interfered with either. But since they were partners, the Black Gold Gym challenge could be postponed, but Xiao Yao's Black Gold Grand Contest was a once-in-a-lifetime event. So, as her partner, she had to witness Xiao Yao's performance in person, regardless of whether she won or lost.

Xia You didn't feel anything was wrong about this, and was even prepared to be disappointed again on this trip to the Black Gold Dojo.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the Black Gold Gym and saw the man reading Playboy magazine again, he also looked helpless.

He shrugged, somewhat puzzled, "Didn't I tell you yesterday? If you want to challenge the gym, you have to do it in the morning. Now, Piao Tai has already gone to the Black Gold Coal Mine!"

That's really true...

"Sorry, we were delayed by other matters."

As she stepped out of the Black Gold Gym again and stood in the same spot as yesterday, Haruka felt a little embarrassed.

After all, it was because of her that Xia You's plans were delayed. Although she knew why Xia You did this, she still felt guilty.

Before she could say anything, Xia You turned to look at her and Ya Mi: "Do you want to go and take a look at the black gold mine?"

"Huh?" Xiaoyao's words were stuck in her throat, and she couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Black... Black Gold Charcoal Pit?"

“Yes.” Xia You nodded. “This Black Gold Coal Pit is so mysterious that it can keep a museum owner spending most of his day there. It’s also a landmark of the entire Black Gold City. Don’t you want to go and see it?”

Hearing him say that, Xiaoyao and Yami were obviously also interested. Since the three of them were in the same boat, they headed straight for the Black Gold Coal Pit after finding out the direction.

The Black Gold Coal Pit is located in the southern part of Black Gold City. It covers an extremely vast area, arguably even larger than the entire city of Black Gold.

It extends not only above ground but also beneath the city and even into the sea.