Eve, standing opposite Qiao Ran, did not seem to care at all about how much resentment her words might provoke. She took out a Poké Ball and released her Pokémon as well.
"Come out! Smoochum!"
"Smoochum..." Qiao Ran looked at the Pokémon that appeared on the field, excitement flashing in his eyes.
He had a feeling that this opponent could truly bring him quite a surprise. Although Smoochum's species was not particularly outstanding, there was something between Eve and Smoochum that other Trainers lacked.
—Understanding.
That was what had carried him and Vulpix to victory all this time.
"Since I came here, I might as well defeat you too. What exactly is hidden within Pokémon battles? I think I've already experienced it."
Eve took her position on the field and folded her arms across her chest.
"Fine, then let me see whether you can defeat me!" The fire in Qiao Ran's eyes blazed.
"If you lose, you have to tell me the secret behind your performances! This is my first time entering a Pokémon battle. By what you said before, I should be able to win the championship too, right?"
The girl across from him met Qiao Ran's gaze without backing down. Something gleamed in her eyes as well.
Once she had escaped her former cage, she too had embarked upon a path of pursuing her dreams.
"Go! Smoochum! Show him what we're made of!"
Vulpix VS Smoochum!
"Smoochum! Use Powder Snow!"
At Eve's command, Smoochum pursed her lips, and an intense frosty breath began pouring from her mouth.
"We'll do the same, Vulpix! Use Powder Snow!"
Qiao Ran had Vulpix use the same move. The icy blasts collided in the center of the arena, and the frigid air even caused the temperature throughout the venue to drop.
However, the clash between their moves seemed inconclusive. Yet from that attack alone, Qiao Ran had already seen the other side's strength.
—She was evenly matched with Vulpix. Or perhaps even stronger.
The control and speed with which she used Powder Snow were the results of countless rounds of training.
"Smoochum, again!"
"What?" Hearing Eve's command, Qiao Ran was slightly startled. That move had clearly failed, so why was she repeating it?
"Vulpix, Powder Snow too!"
The outcome was the same as before. Their attacks gradually dissipated in the middle of the arena, but—Eve's lips curled upward slightly.
"Now! Let him see the results of our countless training sessions! Smoochum, pucker your lips!"
"Smooch, smooch, smooch!"
At Eve's command, Smoochum immediately made a move no one had expected—she gradually narrowed the mouth that had been spraying Powder Snow. As the spray range shrank, a series of chain reactions followed!
Smoochum's Powder Snow became sharper and faster, instantly overwhelming Vulpix's attack. It then struck Vulpix head-on, and even Qiao Ran behind her was blasted in the face by the howling snowstorm.
"Wha... what...?!"
Qiao Ran's eyes widened. This girl... just what was she...
"Didn't expect that, did you? My Smoochum is incredibly skilled at controlling her lips. It isn't easy to control them while using a move, but as you can see, she did it!"
Eve smiled proudly.
"I prepared these little tricks for performances, but I never expected them to work so well in battle too."
"...Well done."
Qiao Ran took a deep breath and brushed the ice crystals stuck to his clothes away. He had to admit that she might truly have a certain talent for battling. Up to now, Qiao Ran had only met two Trainers who fought by taking advantage of their Pokémon's own traits.
One was Long Jiangxue, the daughter of the Longjiang Gym Leader. The other was Eve, standing before him.
"Can you still keep going, Vulpix?"
Qiao Ran looked toward Vulpix in the arena. She had already battled all morning, and her stamina was running low. She had just taken a Powder Snow attack straight to the face. Though she resisted it well, the damage could not be avoided.
"Wuwu-ow."
Vulpix glanced back at Qiao Ran and nodded in a very humanlike manner, indicating that she could keep going. Or rather... spending too long transformed into a human had made her use human body language even in her Pokémon form.
"Is that so? You want to win this championship too."
A smile appeared on Qiao Ran's face as he stroked his chin.
It was not just Vulpix. He wanted to win this championship too. All the effort he and Vulpix had put in that morning was on the line. At a critical moment like this, there was no way they could retreat.
Besides, his opponent was a Trainer who had only taken up battling midway through her life. Even if he had to stake a Trainer's pride on it, he had to defeat her.
"Smoochum is an Ice- and Psychic-type Pokémon... That combination has many weaknesses, but it just so happens none of them fall within Vulpix's attack range."
Qiao Ran began thinking quickly. To deal the greatest damage, he naturally had to target the opponent's weaknesses first. Unfortunately, most of Vulpix's current moves were Fairy- and Ice-type, neither of which could gain an advantage against Smoochum.
"Still, Smoochum has a rather unusual stat distribution. Her Special Attack is an outstanding 85 among unevolved Pokémon, but in exchange, her Defense is weak, a pitiful 15—less than half of Caterpie's..."
"So she's a glass cannon-type Pokémon?"
A glint flashed through Qiao Ran's eyes as he came to his conclusion.
"Vulpix, get close to her first!"
"Awwooo!"
Vulpix received the order and began running on her little short legs. Yet when Eve saw Vulpix's movement, she showed no sign of panic.
"Get close? Have you forgotten what Smoochum and I did on stage? You can't get near me! Smoochum, Ice Beam!"
"Smooch, smooch, smooch!"
As the beam shot out, a long trail of ice appeared before Smoochum. Then, with a push of her feet, she began gliding across the ice.
Her astonishing speed stunned not only the still-running Vulpix, but the audience as well.
"...So fast!"
Watching Smoochum's practiced movements, sweat trickled down Qiao Ran's forehead. Smoochum's defenses might be weak, but this Smoochum seemed to have trained every kind of "technique" to the limit. She was extremely hard to handle.
"Hehehe, that's another performance technique. What do you think of its practical effect? Can't handle it now?"
Watching Smoochum carve out a path with Ice Beam while performing figure-skating moves, Eve quietly placed a finger against her lips.
"I know it. You're still holding something back, aren't you? Your strength definitely doesn't end here. Since you still aren't willing to make a move, I'll let you see my most beautiful performance!"
"Smoochum! Ice Beam! Confusion!"
"Smooch, smooch, smooch!"
Smoochum lightly opened her mouth and used Ice Beam to create a thorn-covered path across the ground. Then her eyes turned blue, and Psychic energy radiated from her body—in an instant, countless thorns burst apart, sweeping the road clear. Those thorns transformed into sharp ice spikes that danced alongside Smoochum as she glided across the ice.
She was a dancer of ice, a trailblazer who cleaved through thorns. The ice spikes spun with her movements, and the dazzling combination of moves, along with her exquisite control, earned wave after wave of applause from the audience.
"It's over, Smoochum. Give your opponent the final blow!"
Listening to the applause, Eve waved her hand in satisfaction. With her movement, the ice spikes spinning around Smoochum all shot toward Vulpix's position. Surrounded by countless ice spikes, Vulpix had nowhere to dodge!
I won!
Eve clenched her fist excitedly. However—the very next second, something happened that she had never anticipated.
"Huh?"
The Smoochum who had still been using her moves suddenly fell straight down, face-first onto the ice, her eyes rolling white—and behind Smoochum, Vulpix had somehow appeared!!
"What... happened?"
Eve's expression froze. She stiffly turned her head toward where the ice spikes had struck, only to see a Vulpix snowman riddled with ice spikes, along with a small hole buried under the snow.
Dig... a hole?!
"This—is my path to victory!!"
Seeing what had happened in the arena, Qiao Ran's lips curled upward slightly. He raised a finger and pointed it at Eve, who stood across from him with her mouth hanging open.
"Your move combinations are powerful, and your coordination is incredible, but you made one mistake."
"—You were too focused on your performance! You didn't even notice Vulpix's movements!"
"The moment you focused on performing, your defeat was already decided!"
Do You Like It?
"You really are strong... Just as expected of the Performer I had my eye on."
"Likewise, you're not bad either. If you had more experience in battle, then I might have been the one to lose this time."
After the battle ended, Qiao Ran and Eve shook hands amicably. Although they had not known each other well before, after an exhilarating battle, they had both gained an entirely new impression of one another.
—Qiao Ran had recognized Eve's talent, while Eve had experienced Qiao Ran's strength.
For both of them, it was an unprecedented step forward.
"Battling is fun too, but I still think performance battles are more interesting. Hehe, what I like more is seeing Pokémon shine brilliantly on stage, rather than showing off their strength through force. Right, Smoochum?"
"Smooch, smooch, smooch!" Hearing Eve's words, Smoochum nodded vigorously as well.
If she had not become so absorbed in her performance just now, she would not have failed to notice Vulpix's little move. Trying to perform while battling at the same time... was simply too difficult.
"If you're interested next time, how about having another match with me?"
Qiao Ran invited Eve. His Vulpix still had plenty of room to grow, and he felt that Eve's Smoochum was an excellent learning target. Of course, he did not mean learning that focus on performance, but rather those special techniques.
"Of course, I'll be ready anytime!" An excited smile appeared on Eve's face as she stepped forward and grabbed Qiao Ran's hand.
"So, are you planning to invite me for special training in the middle of the night?!"
Clearly, she had misunderstood something again.
Qiao Ran's mouth twitched. Special training in the middle of the night... what exactly was that? Why couldn't he understand what she was talking about???
"...No, I would only invite you during the day."
"Huh... You like special training during the day? Other people might see us."
"If they see... us, then what?"
Qiao Ran's expression grew increasingly strange. What was this girl talking about?
Why couldn't special training in the middle of the night be seen by others??
"If they see it, then you can't be a genius anymore." Eve blinked and gave her answer while Qiao Ran stared at her in disbelief.
She seemed somewhat unable to understand why Qiao Ran would ask such a question.
"So whenever I used to train specially, I chose times when no one was at school. The girls in my class never found out about me. They really believed I figured all those things out on my own. I'm a genius at school too."
A mischievous expression appeared on Eve's face, and Qiao Ran finally let out a breath of relief.
He had thought Eve meant something strange. Had it all just been his own misunderstanding?
"Congratulations. You have received the reward for this competition: a Mysterious Evolution Stone!"
The event organizer handed a small box to Qiao Ran.
"This box already contains an Evolution Stone. As for what kind it is, you will have to confirm that yourself. It is a token of appreciation from our competition, as well as a surprise. We hope you like it."
"Thank you."
Qiao Ran took the box and placed it in the backpack behind him. He did not plan to open it right away. He would wait until he returned to his room and open it together with Suicune and the others.
"Well done, Vulpix. You were the greatest contributor this time. Is there any reward you want?" Qiao Ran held Vulpix in his arms. Though it had only been a competition on a ship, he was happy no matter what.
Qiao Ran liked winning. It had nothing to do with desire; he simply liked it.
"Awoo, woo, woo." Vulpix responded, twisting in Qiao Ran's arms before quietly closing her eyes. As for the topic of rewards, she did not answer immediately.
Qiao Ran was comfortable to be held by, but she truly was tired.
"That's nice..."
Dianxi cast an envious look their way. If she could, she wanted to lie in Qiao Ran's arms like that too. However... given her height and weight, that was difficult in either her human form or Pokémon form.
Still, Dianxi longed for more intimate contact with Qiao Ran. Especially after transforming into a human, she often found it difficult to control certain urges to do something. Those were things she could never experience back when she was a Pokémon with that mineral body.
"Are you going back to your room to rest? I still want to walk around outside."
Before you continue