I caught a Pokémon

When the match began, just like in the anime, Dewford sent out Exeggutor first, while Ash used his underdeveloped Krabby.

These two Pokémon have different advantages. One takes advantage of the Water type in the Water terrain, while the other, being Grass type, can resist half of the Water type attacks.

It can be said that both sides made good use of the venue.

Xiaochun looked around and exclaimed, "Wow, there seem to be more spectators at this match than before!"

"There are a lot more people, probably about a third more," Xia You nodded.

There are indeed many more people sitting here now than when he was competing.

The reason it has received so much attention is naturally due to Duowu.

In fact, during the preliminary rounds, no one had high expectations for people like Xia You and Xiao Zhi who were not well-known, except for their close friends and family. On the other hand, players like Duo Wu and Xiao Mao, who had their own fan base, naturally attracted public attention.

However, as the game progressed, the audience realized that something seemed amiss.

Although Exeggutor caused a lot of trouble for Krabby with its psychic powers at the beginning, and Ash even wanted to switch Pokémon, Krabby eventually seized the opportunity, got close from the water, and finished the battle with a combo.

Xiao Zhi wasn't the only one surprised. Seeing this, the audience started discussing among themselves. They really didn't expect that the somewhat famous Duo Wu would lose the first game to a child.

Even more surprisingly, after defeating Exeggutor, Krabby evolved into Giant Krabby!

For Duowu, being defeated by a child was already humiliating, but this sudden evolution made him even more embarrassed.

Thinking that Ash had only gotten lucky for a moment, he stubbornly sent out Seadra again.

However, Ash still won. This time, not only did Doki lose his composure, but even the audience became interested and gradually started to support Ash, giving him shouts and applause.

"This kid is amazing!"

"I remember he's also from Pallet Town, right? That favorite to win, Shigeru, seems to be from the same place too."

In the third battle, Ash didn't switch out Kingler, but instead pressed his advantage and defeated Zubat, winning the match.

"He won the match!" The announcer's voice was filled with disbelief. "Ash actually won!! I can't believe it, he didn't even switch Pokémon, he won the match using only Kingler!"

Just as the host said, fighting against three opponents single-handedly was truly an eye-opener for the audience.

After the referee announced the result, Duowu knelt down on the ground, his face turning extremely pale.

After losing to a child, he will never be as confident as he was before the match.

Xia You, Xiao Chun, and the biker gang all banged their support batons.

The sound banged incessantly, forming a continuous chorus.

Xiao Zhi's victory means that Xia You and he have both stood out from the 256 contestants and successfully advanced to the next round of the competition.

The day after tomorrow, half of the remaining 128 contestants will be eliminated.

These harsh rules force contestants to give their all in the fight for those precious spots.

After leaving the arena, Xia You and the others met up with Xiao Zhi and his two friends, and they had dinner together.

After the meal, they did not watch any other matches.

Due to the large number of participants, the Indigo League schedule was packed. Although the competition was held simultaneously in four venues, each venue still needed to have 32 battles to determine the winners for the next round.

With their limited energy, they simply couldn't possibly watch all those battles.

Chapter 139 Hiding

The first day's battles lasted until around 10 p.m., and the second day's competition was the same, with 128 contestants finally being eliminated one by one in the evening.

The once bustling sports village, now deserted, was empty after many disappointed people, including their companions, had left.

But people's joys and sorrows are not shared.

On the morning of the third day, the remaining contestants gathered once again at the drawing venue, full of anticipation.

Xia You and Xiao Zhi walked to the workbench they had seen before and met the smiling staff member again.

Perhaps because they had interacted before and knew each other, they spoke more casually, and the staff member even offered their heartfelt congratulations on their advancement.

"You guys are really amazing! So many famous contestants were eliminated, but you managed to get through the first round so easily!"

"This is nothing," Ash said, adjusting his hat with an air of self-importance. "We're very strong, and we'll definitely keep defeating our opponents and advancing to the next round. I think at least... um... we'll have to make it to the top 16!"

"That's really inspiring! Well then, keep up the good work!"

The staff member chuckled lightly at first, then glanced at the slightly impatient contestants in the back of the line before quickly getting back to the main topic.

"Alright, after the first round, your venues and opponents will need to be changed again. Let's draw lots now. But which of you two wants to go first?"

"Of course it's me!"

As is typical of him, Ash was the first to draw a player this time.

When he pressed the button hard and the light stopped, he found himself assigned to the rocky arena, and his opponent was a complete stranger.

Seeing that he hadn't become opponents with Xia You and Xiao Mao ahead of time, Xiao Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he was not afraid of challenges, he did not want to meet his friends so soon.

Next, it was Xia You's turn.

Xia You took a step forward and gently pressed the button. As the light circle slowly slowed down, it finally stopped on the water field. At the same time, his next opponent was displayed on the screen.

This is a man dressed as a wandering swordsman with a long sword hanging at his waist. Judging from his appearance, he doesn't look like a trainer, but rather like a swordsman who is good at using the wind!

Upon seeing that it was this person, Xiaoxia couldn't help but let out a soft "Eh."

Xia You turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

“This person…” Xiaoxia frowned as she looked at his profile picture. “Isn’t this the unlucky idiot we met before we came to Quartz Plateau?”

How come you know all sorts of people...?

Muttering a curse to herself, Xia You couldn't help but ask, "That unlucky guy? Who exactly is he?"

Xiaoxia thought hard, but she couldn't remember his name no matter what she did. She stammered, "I remember his name was... his name was..."

“His name is Saizo,” Brock continued. “When he first arrived at Indigo Plateau, Team Rocket trapped him with a Fruit Trap and stole all his badges. When we got there, he challenged Ash to a duel, using Ash’s badge as a wager. But the result, naturally, was that he was defeated by Pikachu and even got rejected by his own Pokémon. In the end, we had to go through a lot of trouble to get his badges back for him.”

Could the Rockets steal the badge?

No wonder Xiaoxia called him an idiot.

Now that the schedule was set, Xia You and Xiao Zhi waved goodbye to the staff and left the venue.

Unfortunately, because their matches were scheduled at the same time, it meant they couldn't be there in person to cheer each other on.

At the fork in the road, on the path leading to their respective arenas, Xia You extended her right hand to Xiao Zhi.

"Come on! I hope we can both defeat our opponents and advance to the next round. To be honest, I really want to play against you in the finals."

"I will," Ash nodded. "Whether it's you or Gary, you're both targets I'll defeat!"

After Xiaozhi finished speaking, he was about to turn around and leave with Xiaoxia and Xiaogang. But looking at his back, Xiayou thought for a moment and then suddenly called him back.

"Hey, Ash!"

Xiao Zhi turned around, puzzled, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xia You pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "If you want to achieve better results, I think you should have a good talk with your Charizard when you have time. If the situation of being disobedient happens again, like it did at the Cinnabar Gym, I'm afraid your journey in the Indigo League will come to an end."

Xiao Zhi scratched his cheek awkwardly: "I've talked to it many times before, but it just won't listen to me!"

However, Xia You still looked serious, and Xiao Zhi's long-standing admiration for her made him heed her advice.

"Alright, after this match, I'll try to talk to Charizard again!"

After parting ways with Ash and the others, Xia You and Xiao Chun went to the rest area in the Water Field.

The Pokémon League, the organizer of the Indigo League, provides each participant with a separate rest room where trainers can adjust their condition and plan their tactics.

With no one to disturb her, Xia You applied a damp towel to her face, leaned back on the sofa, closed her eyes to rest, and pondered which Pokémon she should use for the competition later.

With some time still before the match started, Xiaochun took out her phone and quickly browsed through Saizo's previous airport battle.

"This person..." After watching several battles, Xiaochun expressed her feelings, "He doesn't seem to be very strong. In the last round of battle, he only managed to defeat his opponent with difficulty when he fought down to the last Pokémon."

"Really?" Xia You lay there lazily, not moving an inch, and casually said, "Maybe the opponent was too strong, or maybe he wasn't in good form. By the way, which Pokémon did he use?"

"Let me see..." Xiaochun took out the notebook next to her and read, "It's Pidgeotto, Nidoking, and Marowak. Just now at the venue, I heard Brock and the others say that Saizo's Marowak seems to be his most trusted partner, that is, his ace Pokémon. I just don't know if he will send them out again this time."

Another Gara Gara?

It was featured quite frequently at this Quartz convention.

"Xia You, Xia You, please proceed to the arena to prepare after hearing this announcement."

Just then, the announcement for the contestants to enter the arena sounded. Xia You took off her towel, patted her cheeks, and cheered herself up.

"Who knows if these Pokémon will even make an appearance? But even if they do, I'll give it my all!"

With that, Xia You stood up, got ready to leave, and before leaving, he turned back to Xiao Chun and smiled, "Alright, don't think about it too much. You should hurry up and go to the audience seats. Misa and the others have already saved you a spot. Now, let's watch my performance."

Chapter 140 Water Flow Tail

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second round of the Indigo League Water Arena qualifiers!"

After a long silence, a host with a rather sharp voice suddenly spoke passionately in the water arena.

"First up for the red team is the sunny and handsome Xia You! He won the last match with a huge advantage, and will he continue this momentum in this match?"

Amidst thunderous applause, Xia You walked out of the contestant tunnel and waved to the surrounding audience.

Meanwhile, the frantic cheering and waving of the bikers in the audience drew the attention of those around them.

In fact, after the competition the day before yesterday, they already knew that there was a group of crazy guys on the field, and they also knew that the person they were cheering for was this handsome young man in front of them.

However, the stark difference in their appearances, especially the fact that this group keeps calling each other "Big Brother," also makes people wonder.

Some people even imagined many sensational scenarios, such as "a biker gang leader reforms and becomes a Pokémon trainer" or "the son of a yakuza boss participates in the Pokémon League."

After the applause subsided, the host changed the subject and continued, "Next up is Saizo from the green team. He won the last match with great difficulty, but facing such a strong opponent, we wonder if he has adjusted his condition today!"

Amidst the friendly applause of the audience and the boos of the biker gang, Saizo walked to the trainer command area and faced Natsumi from a distance.

Seeing that both players were ready, the referee announced, "Now, both players, please bring out your Pokémon for battle!"

Xia You reached into her waist and took out a Poké Ball, making it grow larger in her hand before releasing her Pokémon.

"Come out, Gyarados!"

On the other side, Saizo also sent out his first Pokémon.

"Go for it, Mosquito Coil Guy!!"

As the evolved form of Poliwag, Poliwag is also a bipedal Pokémon with a spherical body. Its blue skin looks sticky and slippery, its two hands look like they are wearing white gloves, and its white belly has black counterclockwise spirals that are particularly eye-catching.

The host chuckled, "It seems both trainers have coincidentally chosen Water-type Pokémon for this battle! Since there's no type advantage between them, victory will depend on who's stronger!"

As soon as Gyarados appeared, its blood-red eyes and terrifying aura made Poliwag take several steps back in fright.

Upon seeing this, the host exclaimed in surprise, "Oh? It seems that Xia You's Gyarados is truly imposing! Its Intimidate ability has actually made Poliwag intimidated!"

"Mosquito Coil, cheer up! The battle hasn't even started yet, how can you give up so easily!"

Saizo encouraged them loudly, but the effect was limited. Unable to contain himself, he could only let Mosquito Coil attack first.

"Mosquito Coil, use hypnosis!"

Mosquito Coil forced himself to remain calm, and his eyes emitted ripples of light as he swept towards Gyarados.

Xia You calmly commanded, "Gyarados, enter the water!"

Just a second before the hypnosis was about to hit, Gyarados leaped off the platform and plunged into the water, rendering the light ripples completely ineffective.

"Don't think you'll be safe just because you're underwater!" Seeing that they had lost their target, Saizo shouted, "Mosquito Coil, let's go into the water too!"

Mosquito Coil leaped up, about to jump into the water, when suddenly the surface of the water beneath it exploded, and Gyarados emerged from underwater, crashing into it mid-air!

"Very good." Xia You nodded. "Gyarados, just keep your jaws on it!"

Despite Poliwag's smooth body, the size difference between the two was overcome when Gyarados turned its head and used its huge mouth to bite and hold Poliwag's round body in its mouth.

As its teeth continued to exert force, the mosquito coil looked pained, struggling but unable to break free.

"Mosquito Coil, quick! Use hypnosis again!" Saizo shouted anxiously.

Upon hearing the command, Poliwag's eyes gleamed, attempting to use hypnosis to escape Gyarados's gaping maw.