Just as everyone was still lamenting Gengar’s oppressive battle style, a black mist suddenly surged through the venue.
Just like the black mist swirling on the big screen, the mist gradually obscured the lights and the big screen, and the entire studio gradually plunged into darkness.
“Jie jie jie…”
As everyone wondered if this was a setup by the production team, a cunning laugh came from the void.
“Ah!!! It’s Gengar!!!”
A startled cry immediately caused a sensation throughout the venue.
“Gengar?? Is Gengar here today too?”
“Is it really Gengar?”
“I never thought I’d get to see A Li’s Gengar in my lifetime!”
…
As if to respond to everyone’s calls, a plump figure suddenly appeared from the shadows in the darkness.
The shadow was cast on the walls of the studio, appearing even larger and plumper.
Within this shadow, a pair of crimson eyes suddenly popped out, and a gaping maw also spread open, seemingly greeting everyone.
However, Gengar’s body did not appear; Gengar, in its shadow form, greeted everyone and then disappeared directly.
The studio’s environment also returned to its original state.
“Was that A Li’s Gengar just now?” host Xiao You exclaimed, “I’ve never seen a Gengar with such a large shadow before, it’s amazing!”
Mu Li chuckled and said, “Heh, he just likes to play. The common trait of Ghost-type Pokémon is that they love to play pranks. I’m often the target of his pranks.”
“I didn’t expect Gengar to be quite cute in private…” Xiao You laughed.
“Cute? If you were the target of his pranks, you probably wouldn’t think so,” Mu Li explained with a strange expression.
“Really? What kind of pranks does Gengar usually play?” Xiao You asked.
Mu Li twitched his lips and pointed at Xiao You’s hand, saying, “For example, this…”
Xiao You subconsciously looked down and saw that the microphone in her hand had turned into an Arbok at some point, which immediately scared her into screaming and throwing the Arbok away.
Mu Li shrugged, “See? I told you, if he jokes with you, you won’t laugh anymore.”
The Arbok, amidst Xiao You’s screams, reverted to its original microphone form, and Gengar’s laughter came, though this time, his smile clearly held a hint of triumph.
Xiao You immediately came to her senses, picked up the microphone with a flushed face.
Everyone was also amused by Gengar’s prank.
“Give it to him, give it all to him, whatever he wants, I’ll give it to him.”
“He’s simply too cute! How can there be such a cute Shell Smash Pokémon like Gengar?!”
“If my family didn’t stop me, I’d want to catch a Gengar too!”
“You won’t think that when you wake up in the middle of the night and Gengar pranks you.”
…
Just then, the screen on the big display changed, a mass of flames surged, and a beam of light shot out from the invincible abyss, dispelling the pervasive gloom.
A fox-like Pokémon tore through the light and leaped out from it.
“Ranked 7th, Ninetales.”
The appearance of Ninetales immediately caused the audience to scream wildly.
Because compared to Mu Li’s first team, his second team indeed had more distinctive features.
As everyone knows, in Mu Li’s second year of debut, his first team entered the Champion Level. That year, he crushed all active Champions and dominated all competitions.
It was also that year that he ushered in the most nauseating rule changes in Pokémon history.
These rule changes were specifically aimed at him—A Li.
This was his second year of debut.
A restriction order was issued, allowing only Heavenly King Level Pokémon to be used in battles, even for Champions, directly barring all of A Li’s first team Pokémon from the arena.
Just when everyone was worried about A Li, Ninetales made its debut.
It was also that year that was called the “Year of the Demonic Fox,” because in that year, A Li, with a single Ninetales, shattered all the rules and completely unified the world’s perception.
From that year on, there might still be debate about who was the world’s number one Pokémon Trainer, but there was no debate about who was the strongest active Pokémon Trainer.
It was also that year that A Li earned the title of “Contemporary King Zhou,” simply because this was the second time in human history that a demonic fox had caused chaos in the world.
From then on, Ninetales became synonymous with A Li.
On the big screen, the scene changed, and Ninetales, like the dazzling sun, stood majestically in the void.
Fire is Ninetales’s attribute, but everyone knows that Mu Li’s Ninetales possesses two attributes—Fire and Psychic.
Audiences familiar with Mu Li know that his development of Psychic abilities had almost reached its peak with his first team, but in his second team, there was no dedicated Psychic-type Pokémon.
The reason for this was Ninetales.
The shortage of Psychic-types was, in a sense, compensated by Ninetales.
The ultimate Psychic control combined with the ultimate flames created the most destructive Ninetales in history.
Opening with Sunny Day at the start of a battle has basically become Ninetales’s signature entrance; no one tries to stop it, because no one can stop it.
However, what everyone didn’t know was that after his retirement, this unstoppable opening Sunny Day became Dragonite’s cleanup move.
And Ninetales’s signature move, Inferno.
The screen changed, and Ninetales stood in the center of the battle arena, facing five Pokémon alone without any sign of backing down.
Ninetales’s tails gently swayed, and nine balls of flame suddenly rose from the tips of its tails, sinking into the ground.
The next moment, the ground cracked open.
Nine pillars of fire spread out from Ninetales as the center, simultaneously shooting up from underground, engulfing all areas within a fifty-meter radius.
All matter within a fifty-meter radius disappeared, leaving only five Pokémon burned to charcoal falling from the sky.
Ninetales walked gracefully through the air, like a Fire God.
Such a scene has not happened only once.
Everyone cheered for Ninetales, as such a 1-on-5 scene was truly astonishing.
More importantly, since Mu Li’s retirement, such scenes have been rarely seen—no, it should be said that they haven’t been seen in years.
Perhaps seeing Ninetales, the audience once again shouted in unison.
“A Li, go to work!”
“A Li, go to work!”
…
Mu Li’s mouth twitched slightly. What on earth did “go to work” mean?
Am I not working right now?
Director Ling, beside him, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Look at you, you really were amazing back then!”
Mu Li retorted, “Director Ling, I don’t agree with that. Am I not amazing now?”
Director Ling immediately rolled his eyes, “Alright, alright, you’re amazing, isn’t that enough?”
However, Mu Li also looked at the screen and fell into reminiscence.
“Ninetales was more obedient back then, unlike now, it’s almost as lazy as a pig,” Mu Li murmured.