Chapter 289

"Oops."

Inside the train carriage, the Sportswear in the tracksuit, having missed her target, already sensed something was wrong.

As expected—an invisible attack struck Lucario's waist, sending Lucario flying.

Not only that, Vulpix had somehow climbed over the edge of the car window and used the recoil to charge directly at Lucario.

"Zen Headbutt!"

The two consecutive attacks sent Lucario flying even faster. Although the Zen Headbutt, being a physical attack, might not be able to cause significant damage to the Steel-type Lucario, it did give Vulpix a good chance to vent its anger and release the resentment it had accumulated while fleeing.

"Aww--!"

The Vulpix fox's little face was full of eager anticipation.

For her, this battle has only just begun.

"Well done."

Such an attack alone was not enough to knock Lucario down. Shaking himself, Lucario managed to stand up, leaning against the wall of the carriage.

Despite looking somewhat disheveled, it can still continue fighting.

"Let's continue!"

The girl in the Sportswear beckoned to him again.

The battle continued inside the carriage. After using the trick of switching the baby with a baby, Vulpix did indeed inflict some damage on Lucario. The most important of these was the Extrasensory that directly hit Lucario's waist. After being injured in the waist, its speed was significantly reduced.

Ultimately, thanks to the efforts of Qiao Ran and Vulpix, the Competition ended in their victory.

Final time: 38 minutes and 20 seconds!

"Qiao Ran has broken the record again!"

Inside Carriage 5, the timer screen suddenly stopped, and the girl in the Sportswear shook her head, looked at the fallen Lucario, and sighed.

Under Qiao Ran's perception, her Lucario's proud Aura Power did not achieve the expected effect. Qiao Ran was even able to sense the opponent's next move through the opponent's Aura.

And most importantly, this Lucario's use of Aura hasn't reached a higher level. If it were Aura Guardian from the Sinnoh Region, they might have sensed the Aura of the Vulpix's Substitute the moment they saw it. Clearly, this wasn't the Aura emitted by the Vulpix itself. The Aura of any living being is very different from that of an inanimate object.

"I've lost. My cultivation isn't enough."

The girl in the Sportswear clasped her hands in a fist salute to Qiao Ran.

"It looks like this time it will be your turn to challenge that one. Good luck from now on."

Qiao Ran: "?"

After leaving behind a vague statement, the girl recalled Lucario and turned to leave the carriage in another direction.

Qiao Ran, on the other hand, returned to his original position via the same route.

"Congratulations! Thirty-eight minutes and twenty seconds, a narrow victory has once again broken the record just set by Mei!"

Upon arriving at carriage number 0, the host congratulated him on his achievement, while Mei looked away, appearing somewhat helpless. This kind of battle really wasn't suited for her; losing to Qiao Ran... wasn't too shameful, was it?

It's true that I'm a little unwilling to accept it.

"Then it's my turn!"

Mei chuckled and stood up from her seat. She was getting a little tired of waiting for the two of them to start their fight. Now it was time to see how she would show off her skills.

As the challenge began once again, Mei confidently entered the carriage, while Qiao Ran sat in carriage number 0 and chatted with Mei.

"This battle did reveal some of my current shortcomings."

Mei didn't relax or rest at this time; instead, she reviewed her previous battles.

"After Serperior reached the Elite Four level, I seem to have become too obsessed with sheer power, neglecting the control of the power of my moves that I had learned in previous training."

"This should be the direction in which I can continue to improve."

Even after reaching heights that others can never achieve in a lifetime, Mei still recognizes her shortcomings.

They continued to make progress.

"By the way, which Pokémon did you choose for the challenge? It wasn't Dianxi, was it?"

As a contestant, Mei can't see the other contestants' challenge process right now. She's a little curious about Qiao Ran's battle. She knows all of Qiao Ran's Pokémon, but she doesn't think there are many that she can use in the challenge.

"I chose the Vulpix."

Qiao Ran smiled and shook his head.

"Although it took a little longer, we still won."

"... I see."

Although somewhat surprised, Mei still fully understood Qiao Ran's choice.

"We all chose our own Starter Pokémon."

"I reckon Mei is probably about the same; her Decidueye is well-suited for this kind of combat."

"Yes."

Even though they differ in many ways, they share many similar ideas and make the same choices when faced with the same problems.

"How long do you think it will take for her to come out?" Mei couldn't help but ask again.

I think it will take about forty minutes.

"Why?"

Mei blinked. She had just said she thought highly of Mei, so why was the timeframe being dragged out again?

"Because I want to play one more Competition," Qiao Ran answered without hesitation.

If Mei is faster than him, wouldn't he be eliminated immediately?

Mei couldn't help but laugh and pinch Qiao Ran's waist.

"Snort."

"Look at what you're saying!"

"Damn it! Why did it take me so long?"

About forty minutes later, Mei's test came to an end.

"A full forty minutes and twenty-five seconds! A full forty minutes and twenty-five seconds!"

Although her grades were better than Mei's, she was clearly not very satisfied with them, as they seemed to be slightly inferior to Qiao Ran's.

Although it was only a matter of minutes, that was indeed the distance between the two.

Qiao Ran and his Pokémon were indeed much more Adaptability than them. Before this, Mei had never experienced such a battle, and her first encounter with it was indeed very uncomfortable. She desperately tried to control the power of her skills and limit the Pokémon's battle and performance, feeling as uncomfortable as having a fishbone stuck in her throat.

As for Mei, although there are such events in the Unova Region, she wasn't as strong as she is now when she participated. Back then, she wasn't at the point where she needed to specifically control the power of her moves. As a novice who hadn't yet reached the level of Elite Trainer, she used whatever she could.

It wasn't until this time that she truly realized the difficulty of this kind of battle.

--The behavior of Pokémon is forcibly restricted, and then a limited time is given.

It is these two factors that have created this extremely unique form of combat.

"Alright, now that our three challengers' challenges are over—it's time for the winner to face off against our Train Conductor in the final challenge!"

The host read aloud the times taken by the three people to complete the challenge, in order, and finally, he focused his attention on Qiao Ran.

"Congratulations! Qiao Ran has the shortest time among them!"

"Let's hear what the judges have to say."

"The teamwork between him and his Pokémon was impressive. Although it took a lot of time in the last carriage, they still managed to get first place. That's definitely the feeling that Qiao Ran gave us."

After a brief commentary, the host finally announced the start of the final round.

Unlike the first round, the final round will only have one battle, which will take place in Carriage 6, following Carriage 5.

"Our Bullet Train is about to reach its final destination. In this final stretch, what kind of battle will Qiao Ran bring us?"

After traversing the five familiar carriages, watching the lights and curtains in each carriage gradually open, Qiao Ran reached the end of the fifth carriage.

Back then, the girl in the Sportswear left the fifth carriage from here, and behind this door lies Qiao Ran's final destination— Carriage 6.

"Click."

The light on the door changed from red to green, and the door slowly opened, finally allowing Qiao Ran to see the scene behind it.

It was an exceptionally special carriage.

Although the size of the carriage was no different from what he had seen before, and there were seats inside, there were far fewer seats than in a typical Bullet Train. Moreover, the most unusual thing was that the carriage, whether it was the walls or the dome, was not made of any other material, but rather a large amount of transparent material.

Entering this carriage was like stepping into a giant, transparent box. Whether you looked up or around, you could see everything outside. Right now, their vehicle was traveling beside a vast Forest, and in the distance, you could see many towering peaks...

If you look up from the mountain peaks, you can also see the drifting clouds.

He didn't even feel like he was on any mode of transportation; it was as if he had become part of the world.

"So beautiful..."

This was the first time Qiao Ran had ever seen a carriage like this. He had never paid attention to such things before, but when this amazing sight appeared before him, he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"It's said that this special material was developed with inspiration from the Mr. Mime. It's truly an impressive technology."

A woman's voice came from the other end of the carriage.

She strode confidently into the combat zone.

"Everything about Pokémon is the most precious thing in the world, isn't it?"

"Who are you..."

Qiao Ran averted her gaze from the beautiful scenery and looked at the woman who had suddenly appeared.

But that one glance surprised Qiao Ran once again.

"..."

A long purple ponytail, a sharp women's suit, and that elegant posture.

This is a very charming young lady, both handsome and beautiful.

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With just that one glance, Qiao Ran already thought of a very familiar character from the Pokémon World. However, under the current circumstances, he had no way to confirm with that character and could only wait for their response.

My name is Anabel.

She reached out, tugged at her black gloves, and straightened her collar.

"He is also the Train Conductor of this Battle Train."

"Welcome, my first challenger."

A faint smile appeared on the purple-haired beauty's face, which startled Qiao Ran slightly.

"Li... La...?"

Wait... is this guy really named Anabel??

Anabel – This character does exist in the Pokémon World.

Moreover, her existence spans both the Hoenn and Alola regions. In the Hoenn Region, she is one of the strongest Frontier Brain in the Battle Frontier, holding the title of "Battle Tower Tycoon".

In the Alola Region, she lost her original memories due to being suddenly caught up in the Ultra Wormhole. By chance, she joined the International Police and became the "UB Countermeasures Headquarters Director," managing all of the International Police's investigations and affairs related to Ultra Beast.

In short, from any perspective, she is already a legendary woman, a model of someone who can survive no matter what and still rise to the top.

In an instant, a thousand words seemed to surge in Qiao Ran's heart, but after glancing at the cameras around the carriage, he restrained himself.

This is a television program; even if you want to say something, you shouldn't choose this time.