“No, referee, is this reasonable? His Flaaffy isn’t just Elite Level, is it?” The opponent clutched his Scraggy, his heart aching, and complained to the referee.
The referee didn't know what to do and turned to his superior for instructions.
Just then, an old man from the Bai family walked over, looked at Xiao Mei and Chen Kai, and said, “Regarding Pokémon levels, we actually have no restrictions. As long as the Pokémon obeys its trainer’s commands, we see no problem.”
“You…” The opponent tried to say something more, but the old man waved his hand, cutting him off.
“If you have an objection, you can also try finding any Pokémon and see if it will listen to your commands.
Alright, I rule this match a win for this Flaaffy. Let’s start the next match.”
Chen Kai walked off the competition stage, scratching his head. He felt a bit sorry for his opponent, but for Applin’s honey apple, he had no choice.
Chen Kai vaguely recognized the contestant for the next match; it was Section Chief Hu’s grandson.
He brought a Charmander onto the stage, and his opponent had a Helioptile. Both belonged to the Dragon egg group.
Chen Kai realized that the Bai family had finally done something decent. They arranged for all those who got in by spending money and pulling strings to compete together, ensuring that at least half would be eliminated in the first round.
He just didn't know why Section Chief Hu wasn't there.
After spending so much money and pulling strings to get his grandson into the competition, wasn't he going to watch?
Before Chen Kai could figure it out, the match began.
But to everyone’s surprise, Section Chief Hu’s grandson commanded Charmander to use Spark, but for some reason, Charmander didn’t emit any Spark.
Instead, the opponent’s Helioptile’s ‘Mud-Slap’ seemed to hurt Charmander badly, causing Charmander to run straight out of the competition area, and Section Chief Hu’s grandson couldn't even pull it back.
It turned into a farce.
The referee immediately ruled Helioptile the winner.
What made Chen Kai even more curious was that he had clearly seen Section Chief Hu enter, but when something happened to his grandson, he was nowhere to be found.
The competition continued, and in subsequent matches, there were also several instances of Pokémon not obeying their trainers’ commands.
These types of Pokémon, such as Seviper and Turtonator, are powerful but lack emotion, making them completely unmanageable for novice trainers.
All these people lost their matches.
The first round of the pre-second-year competition quickly concluded.
There was still no lottery draw. The screen once again displayed new opponents, and this time Chen Kai had to go on stage early. His opponent was a trainer from the Long family.
Chen Kai scratched his head: It seemed he, like Chun Jie, was being used as a pawn.
But it wasn't a big problem. This opponent's Pokémon in the first round was a Bagon, and Xiao Mei could still easily win.
As the competition continued, it was Chen Kai’s turn again.
He directly led Xiao Mei onto the stage: “It’s up to you, Xiao Mei!”
“Meeeh!”
But the Pokémon his opponent sent out surprised Chen Kai.
“Go, Trapinch.”
“Begin!” The referee had already blown the whistle. Chen Kai was still rooted to the spot this time, not because he wanted to show off, but because his opponent's Ground type left him a bit stunned.
Xiao Mei only seemed to have learned Electric-type moves. Should she try to use an Electric move and see if she could Mimic ‘Pikachu’?
Chen Kai was hesitating, but his opponent wouldn't give him time to think: “Trapinch, charge forward and use Bite!”
“Never mind, Xiao Mei, try Electric Net first!”
Xiao Mei flicked her tail, and a yellow net covered Trapinch.
This time, no burning smoke appeared. Trapinch, with the Electric Net on its head, was completely unharmed and continued to charge towards Xiao Mei.
Chen Kai rubbed his chin. It seemed he wasn't the chosen one, and Xiao Mei wasn't ‘Pikachu’. Using an Electric-type move against a Ground-type was still too absurd.
Chen Kai helplessly asked, “Xiao Mei, did you learn any other moves from Miraidon?”
Xiao Mei shrugged helplessly:
“Meeh.” (No.)
Miraidon, in the Poké Ball, retorted, “You didn’t tell me to teach it other elemental displays either!”
Fortunately, Trapinch had short legs and moved slowly, giving Chen Kai time to think.
After much deliberation, Chen Kai could only come up with a desperate measure: “Xiao Mei, why don’t you just run for now? Maybe you can make your opponent tired and collapse.”
The young man from the Long family on the other side was sweating profusely as he listened. “You can play like that too?”
“Trapinch! Stop and use Mud-Slap instead!”
Chen Kai immediately commanded, “Xiao Mei, use Thunder Shock to scatter that mud!”
Trapinch spat out a puddle of mud from its mouth. Xiao Mei extended a finger and emitted a current. Although Electric-type moves couldn't cause damage, scattering the mud was not a problem.
The two sides went back and forth like this. Trapinch fired more than a dozen mud shots, leaving it ‘parched’, but all were struck down by Xiao Mei’s Thunder Shock.
The opponent was the first to lose his patience.
“No, Trapinch, stop Mud-Slap. This time, charge at the opponent with all your might and use Bite.”
Trapinch clearly ran more vigorously. Its four short legs spun like miniature electric motors, rotating continuously as it charged towards Xiao Mei.
And Chen Kai continued to have Xiao Mei run away.
Actually, Chen Kai knew Xiao Mei could use Tackle to hit Trapinch, but Chen Kai also knew that Trapinch’s physical attack was quite high. If they collided head-on, it would be a Pyrrhic victory, hurting the enemy a thousand while harming oneself eight hundred.
There were still several matches to go, so they had to conserve strength. Anyway, Xiao Mei often ran in the Botanical Garden, so her stamina was pretty good.
But as she ran, Xiao Mei, for some reason, was cornered in the competition area.
The opponent was overjoyed and quickly commanded, “Trapinch! Good chance! Rush up and Bite it, damn it!”
Trapinch took a deep breath and once again mustered its strength, charging towards Xiao Mei.
But Xiao Mei stood still at this moment, like a brave and fearless bullfighter, waiting in place for Trapinch’s charge.
When Xiao Mei could almost smell Trapinch’s bad breath, it dodged sideways, and Trapinch missed, falling out of the competition area.
“Chirp chirp”
The whistle sounded, and the referee announced, “Trapinch has fallen out of the competition area. This match is won by Flaaffy.”
The opponent was surprised at first, then his expression was like he had eaten something foul. He had chased for so long, finally about to touch Xiao Mei, and then he ran out of bounds.
He couldn't be more frustrated.
Chen Kai and Xiao Mei chuckled. When Trapinch got overexcited and charged at Xiao Mei, Chen Kai secretly planned to make the opponent go out of bounds, using telepathy from Miraidon in the Poké Ball to make the opponent charge out of bounds.
One human and one Pokémon skipped off the stage with joyful steps.
They had won 2 matches, and even against someone from the Long family. Plus, with his grandfather having spent money, he could basically ask the Bai family for a honey apple.
At this moment, his grandfather praised from below the stage, “Xiao Kai, Xiao Mei, you’re amazing!”
Chen Kai and Xiao Mei humbly replied, “Just average, really.”
“Meeh!” (Average, average, top three in the world!)
His grandfather heard this and laughed happily, “Hahaha, Xiao Mei can even say rhymes now.”
Although they won, Chen Kai still had to consider the issue of Electric-type moves being completely immune to Ground-type moves. He should go back and try to have Miraidon teach Xiao Mei a few more moves!