The next morning, as the dawn barely tore through the night, Chen Kai, Yelena, Wang Yi, and the others had already gathered at the hotel entrance, boarding a bus to the new competition venue.
The bus rumbled along, the scenery outside the window flashing by, until finally, it slowly came to a stop, and everyone arrived at the competition venue—the Qu County Sports Stadium.
It was situated in a corner of the city, square in appearance, without particularly lavish decorations, but clean and tidy, giving off a feeling of simplicity and reliability.
Stepping inside the stadium, the space was much more spacious than the day before, which made everyone feel comfortable.
The floor was smooth marble, shimmering with a soft luster under the lights, and the surrounding stands were arranged in tiers. The seats in the lounge were neatly arranged; although they weren't luxurious leather seats, they were quite comfortable to sit on.
Compared to the previous day's venue, the specifications here had improved significantly.
The arena was meticulously planned, with professional protective facilities set up around it to ensure the safety of both contestants and their Pokemon. There were now also spectator stands, which were gradually filling with many people, mostly parents or relatives of the contestants, judging by their appearance.
The referee's stand and commentary booth were orderly arranged, and staff members were busy adjusting equipment.
A huge electronic screen hung above the arena, clearly displaying match information and contestant profiles. Moreover, this competition was being live-streamed on Douyin, with multiple high-definition cameras set up inside the venue to record every exciting moment of the competition from all angles, allowing parents of students who couldn't attend in person to watch the live broadcast on their phones.
Currently, Chen Ba and Chen Ma, who were herding on the mountain, were watching via their phones.
Contestants went onto the arena in an orderly fashion, group by group, according to their divisions. Each time a group of contestants stepped onto the arena, it would trigger a round of enthusiastic applause and cheers from the audience.
Zining High School was scheduled last, and their cheers weren't very loud, but one bald man in the audience was shouting very loudly.
Just by hearing the bald man shout, “Tianxiang, Tianxiang, come on! Tianxiang, Tianxiang, bring honor to your ancestors!”
Everyone knew this was Yellow Hair's dad.
Chen Kai took another look at Yellow Hair's father, thinking that Yellow Hair often dyed his hair, and when he got older, he might go bald too.
Even if Blue Star's medical technology was better than Earth's, such a shiny bald head probably couldn't be cured.
And just as well, in the first round this morning, Yellow Hair was drawn, and his opponent was precisely that Trainer with Fletchinder.
Since it was going to be live-streamed, the Qu County Alliance Center also made things much more formal. The big screen would display the schools, names, and Pokemon of both competitors.
The Fletchinder Trainer's name was Liu Fu, and he was from Chicheng High School, which was under Qu County.
Like Zining High School, Chicheng High School was also a high school in Chicheng Town, under Qu County, but Chicheng High School's past results were far better than Zining High School's.
And Yellow Hair's side also showed that he was from Zining High School.
This drew exclamations from the crowd: “So Zi Ning Town also has a high school!”
Which made Teacher Xu give a wry smile.
However, Teacher Xu was quite open-minded. After today's matches, regardless of the students' results, Zining High School was considered saved and had made a name for itself, so there wouldn't be such awkward situations in the future.
At this moment, Liu Fu stood on one side of the arena, his eyes filled with arrogance and disdain. His hands were in his pockets, and the corner of his mouth was slightly turned up. Yesterday, he had easily defeated Zhong Cong and Kricketune, and he felt that Zining High School's abilities were just mediocre, so his expression seemed to suggest that victory in this match was already a foregone conclusion.
Yellow Hair walked onto the stage with an arrogant stride. The corner of his mouth curled into a provocative smile, and he suddenly extended three fingers, shaking them in front of Liu Fu.
Liu Fu frowned slightly, his eyes filled with confusion. He coldly asked, “What do you mean by this?”
Yellow Hair sneered dismissively, his tone utterly arrogant:
“What do I mean? I'm telling you, three minutes. I only need three minutes to beat you to a pulp, leaving you no chance to even fight back.”
Liu Fu's face instantly turned ashen. His lips trembled slightly, and he was about to retort fiercely to Yellow Hair, but just then, the referee's voice rang out in the arena: “Both contestants, please prepare yourselves quickly. The match is about to begin.”
This was being live-streamed, and there were so many parents watching. Unless the referee wanted to lose his job, he would definitely have to stop them from yelling at each other.
The referee's words forced Liu Fu's retort back down his throat.
His face flushed crimson, and his chest heaved violently. He wanted to retort but was constrained by the referee, so he could only vent his frustration, feeling as uncomfortable as a wild beast trapped in a cage.
Finally, Liu Fu glared fiercely at Yellow Hair and sent out Fletchinder.
Yellow Hair, on the other hand, smugly raised his eyebrows and sent out Dwebble, his smile becoming even more arrogant.
Seeing both sides in position, the referee blew the whistle.
The match officially began, and Liu Fu gave the first command:
“Fletchinder, use Acrobatics!”
Fletchinder instantly flapped its wings and flew high, nimbly weaving through the air. Its body was as swift as lightning, and it swiftly pounced towards Dwebble.
Since Liu Fu had not given Fletchinder any held items, the power of the Acrobatics move was maximized. Its sharp wings flapped, carrying a whistling wind as it attacked Dwebble.
Although Fletchinder’s Fire and Flying types were both weak to Dwebble’s Rock type, Liu Fu believed that with the flexibility of the Acrobatics move, going up and down, left and right in the sky, Dwebble’s attacks would likely miss repeatedly.
This was also why Liu Fu had the confidence not to fear Yellow Hair's provocation; he firmly believed Fletchinder could win with its excellent moves and agile movements.
However, Yellow Hair had already anticipated this. He quickly commanded Dwebble: “Dwebble, use Rock Slide!”
Upon receiving the command, Dwebble immediately took action. A giant rock gathered in front of its pincers.
It manipulated the boulder, lifted it high, and then forcefully hurled it towards Fletchinder in the air.
Unfortunately, Fletchinder was too agile and easily dodged the attack with a sharp turn.
But Yellow Hair wasn't discouraged. He immediately shouted:
“Dwebble, gather small rocks, more of them!”
Dwebble endured Fletchinder's Acrobatics move and exerted force again. Its two pincers once again gathered power, and in a short while, dozens of small rocks were condensed. Then, Dwebble hurled all these small rocks towards Fletchinder in the air.
For a moment, it was as if a rain of stones was falling from the sky, with dense rocks assailing Fletchinder's direction.
Although Fletchinder tried to dodge, facing such a dense attack, it was ultimately difficult to avoid all of them.
Several small rocks slammed heavily into its body, and its body instantly lost balance, falling straight down from the sky like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the ground.
Dwebble, on the other hand, had only taken one Acrobatics hit and was not too badly injured.
Yellow Hair seized this excellent opportunity and immediately ordered loudly:
“Dwebble, use Rock Slide!”
Dwebble's stout crab pincers lifted high, then slammed forcefully onto the ground.
In an instant, the ground shook violently, and countless massive rocks burst forth from beneath the arena, roaring towards Fletchinder like enraged beasts.
These rocks collided and squeezed against each other, merging into even larger rocks, emitting a thunderous roar, as if they would crush everything in their path.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Liu Fu's eyes flashed with a hint of tension, but he quickly calmed down. He had to get Fletchinder back into the air so it could rely on its agility to defeat the opponent.
He shouted loudly:
“Fletchinder, use Flame Charge to break through the rocks and get back into the air!”
Fletchinder endured the pain on its body, flapped its wings forcefully, and instantly burst into raging flames. It continuously gathered the flames around its body, forming a huge, scorching fireball.
Then, Fletchinder flew towards the sky like a burning meteor, attempting to dodge the incoming rocks.
But Fletchinder was still a step too slow. The flames of Flame Charge collided violently with the rocks of Rock Slide, erupting in dazzling Sparks.
However, the Rock Slide Dwebble unleashed this time had unimaginable power.
Although Fletchinder successfully broke through some of the rocks, many large rocks still changed direction after the collision and continued to assault it.
Moreover, since Fletchinder had already suffered saturation strikes and the impact of falling, its stamina was somewhat depleted, and it seemed a bit powerless in the face of such fierce subsequent attacks.
Several huge rocks slammed heavily into Fletchinder, and its body once again lost control, falling from the sky like a shot-down cannonball, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up an even larger cloud of dust.
Seeing this, Yellow Hair's face was full of smugness, but his old habit resurfaced.
To show off his power, he deliberately raised his voice and commanded loudly:
“Dwebble, charge over there and use Slash! Let this guy see how powerful we are.”
Upon receiving the command, Dwebble's stout crab pincers gleamed with a cold light. It advanced with heavy, powerful steps, charging towards Fletchinder in the dust like a small tank.
And in the swirling dust, Fletchinder, though already battered and bruised, with disheveled feathers and a body trembling from pain, had an unyielding flame burning in its eyes.
It exerted all its strength, gathering the remaining energy within its body once more. Blazing flames roared around it, even more dazzling than before, and with this final burst of power, it unleashed Flame Charge once again.
Dwebble's Slash and Fletchinder's Flame Charge instantly collided, and for a moment, Sparks flew everywhere, and the roar was deafening. The two passed each other, and the powerful impact caused them both to sustain varying degrees of damage.
Dwebble's crab pincers were scorched by the flames, showing charred marks; Fletchinder's body was also cut with bloody gashes by Dwebble's Slash, and a large patch of feathers was torn off.
Both sides passed each other, maintaining their attacking stances, standing on the arena.
Wang Yi covered her face. This silly cousin, he was showing off again.
Teacher Xu even felt a cold sweat for Yellow Hair: This kid is truly a handful.
The audience in the stands, everyone's gaze was tightly fixed on these two scarred figures, not daring to breathe.
Making the entire arena eerily quiet, as if time itself had frozen at that moment.
And Dwebble, though also injured, had only been attacked once, and it barely managed to steady itself.
Fletchinder, on the other hand, had already suffered too many heavy blows. Its body was already overwhelmed, its legs gave out, and it slowly collapsed, like a wilting flame.
“Oh!!! Tianxiang! Dwebble, you did great!” Seeing Fletchinder fall, Yellow Hair’s father stood up excitedly and roared.
Liu Fu's heart instantly clenched. He rushed to Fletchinder's side in a few steps, cradling it gently with trembling hands.
Fletchinder slightly opened its eyes, looking at Liu Fu with a weak gaze, as if feeling guilty for not winning the match.
Liu Fu's eyes reddened, and he said with a slight choke in his voice, “You were very brave. You fought until the very last moment.”
Yellow Hair, meanwhile, took Dwebble and excitedly jumped off the arena, laughing loudly as he gave a thumbs-up to Zhong Cong in the resting area, and then flexed his non-existent muscles at the live stream camera.
He was quite pleased with himself.