The 69th Chapter

The top eight contestants mostly had Pokémon with deep green potential. Qing Wu wasn't surprised by the potential of the Drowzee, but he was astonished that it knew Calm Mind.

Calm Mind, when used in battle, raises Special Attack and Special Defense by one stage, making it a very practical move.

Qing Wu had previously checked the Team Rocket exchange for a Calm Mind TM, and the listed quantity was a big fat zero.

Captain Dazuo had told Qing Wu that Calm Mind TMs were extremely popular; they'd be snatched up within a second of being stocked, so he shouldn't get his hopes up.

It would be faster to wait until he had a Psychic-type Pokémon and then spend a considerable amount of points to have a Team Rocket member whose Pokémon knew Calm Mind teach it directly.

"Drowzee, use Stun Spore!" Lian Ji didn't hold back, immediately preparing to immobilize Golbat.

The Drowzee's hand holding the ring turned ashen white, and it turned its gaze towards Golbat.

"Golbat, use Quick Attack, then Bite!" Since the Drowzee wanted to use the Psychic-type move Stun Spore.

Golbat just needed to be fast enough to preemptively use the Dark-type move Bite on the Drowzee before it even noticed, thereby disrupting the Drowzee's attack.

The Drowzee was shocked to find Golbat had vanished.

The next moment, the Drowzee's hand holding the ring ached, a deep, unfathomable wound appearing.

Blood flowed copiously from the wound, the pain causing the Drowzee to almost drop the ring. The Drowzee's Stun Spore attack was interrupted.

This was Golbat's Bite attack, which had latched onto the Drowzee's hand, Dark-type energy clinging to the wound.

"Drowzee, use Rest!" White light particles suddenly appeared and entered the Drowzee's body.

The disgusting Dark-type energy on the Drowzee's wound was completely expelled. The wound scabbed over in an instant, then the scab fell off, revealing smooth, new skin.

"Drowzee, use Calm Mind, then Meditate!" Lian Ji gave up on trying to immobilize Golbat.

Golbat's speed was simply too great. Lian Ji decided to boost her stats first before attacking.

"Golbat, use Snarl to interrupt Drowzee's Calm Mind!" Qing Wu wanted to prevent the Drowzee from successfully boosting its stats.

The Drowzee already had an advantage over Golbat. If the Drowzee managed to boost its stats, Qing Wu might just capsize in the gutter.

Golbat's Snarl erupted from its mouth, visible vibrations in the air.

The Drowzee's Calm Mind was directly interrupted by Golbat's Snarl. After the failed attempt, the Drowzee suffered a significant backlash.

"Damn it, Drowzee, use Shadow Ball!" With its stat-boosting move interrupted, Lian Ji was exceptionally angry.

She knew there were only two ways to escape Lan Ling's scrutiny: first, defeat Qing Wu honorably and regain Lan Ling's favor; second, defect to Qing Wu and leave Lan Ling's protection.

"If Qing Wu were strong enough, it wouldn't be impossible," Lian Ji was shocked by the thought that flashed through her mind.

"How could I do that? I'm a member of the Ice Rose Group..." Lian Ji shook her head, but if Qing Wu could crush her, Lian Ji felt she could accept it.

After all, the Team Rocket rule was to obey the strong. As for the pursuit she might face for defecting from the Ice Rose Group, Lian Ji pouted. If she couldn't fight them, couldn't she just run? As a Psychic-type, she could come and go as she pleased.

"Drowzee, use Double Shadow Ball!" Lian Ji gritted her teeth, looking at Qing Wu's smiling face.

The Drowzee clapped its hands together, and several Shadow Balls were condensed one after another. It pointed them in Golbat's direction, and the Shadow Balls shot rapidly towards Golbat.

Golbat looked disdainfully at the streaking Shadow Balls. With a flap of its wings, several thick Wind Blades were released, directly confronting the Shadow Balls.

With a boom, the Shadow Balls exploded, creating a huge gust of wind and smoke that caused both Qing Wu and Lian Ji to unconsciously step back.

As the smoke cleared, Golbat saw a massive Shadow Ball break through the haze and fly directly towards it. This was the Drowzee's hidden trump card.

"Golbat, be careful, use Wing Attack!" Golbat took a deep breath and infused its wings with Flying-type energy.

Golbat's wings became as hard as iron. Golbat used all its strength to aim Wing Attack at the Shadow Ball.

The Shadow Ball collided with Golbat's iron-hard wings. The Drowzee watched as Golbat struggled against the Shadow Ball, a cunning smile appearing on its face.

The first few Shadow Balls the Drowzee condensed were feints; the real killing blow was in the last Shadow Ball.

"Golbat, send the Shadow Ball back," Qing Wu said calmly, as if victory were assured.

Golbat nodded and, using all its strength, successfully sent the Shadow Ball back the way it came.

The Drowzee's smile lasted less than three seconds before freezing. It looked in panic at the Shadow Ball flying towards it.

"Drowzee, use Protect!" The Drowzee was a bit stunned, but Lian Ji wasn't. Lian Ji made the correct call. A white barrier rose around the Drowzee, blocking the Shadow Ball outside. The two attacks cancelled each other out.

Before the Drowzee could breathe a sigh of relief, Golbat's next attack arrived.

Golbat vanished silently into the air, reappearing behind the Drowzee the next second.

"Drowzee, use Light Screen!" A Light Screen appeared behind the Drowzee, but it was useless.

Light Screen was effective against special attacks, but Golbat was using Quick Attack's speed boost to ram the Drowzee. Light Screen had no effect against such a purely physical attack.

Not all Pokémon were like Musashi's [Ninjask], which could reflect all attacks.

"Drowzee, use Confusion to dodge!" Lian Ji was getting anxious now, shouting at the Drowzee with a very worried expression.

Even if Lian Ji wanted to defect to Qing Wu, she wanted to show sufficient combat prowess to gain his attention, not be defeated so easily like this.

Unfortunately, Lian Ji's command came a bit too late. Just as the Drowzee was covering its body with Psychic energy, it was hit in the back by Golbat.

The impact was so strong that it not only scattered the Drowzee's newly condensed Psychic energy into blue light particles but also sent the Drowzee flying out of the battle arena.

The Drowzee was covered in scrapes and fell to the ground, unconscious.

Lian Ji's Pokémon was no longer able to fight. At this point, Qing Wu had no intention of letting Lian Ji off the hook. After all, Lian Ji's actions had successfully disgusted Qing Wu; the smell on his wrist had not yet completely disappeared.

"Go, Golbat, attack Lian Ji," Qing Wu commanded.

Before Cang and Coach Frostwolf could react, Golbat attacked Lian Ji without mercy.

Golbat turned into a blue streak, flashing beside Lian Ji at a speed that tore through the air.

"No!" Lian Ji's pupils contracted. Just then, a gentle breeze swept past, and Golbat's sharp wings brushed against Lian Ji's hair, slicing her pink hair in two.

Lian Ji felt a lightness on her head as countless strands of pink hair fell to the ground. The Lian Ji who once had hair down to her waist now had only short hair reaching her ears.

Lian Ji felt a jolt, like an electric shock, coming from her hair tips. Her well-defined fingers touched her new ear-length hair.

A blush spread across Lian Ji's fair face, and even the tips of her ears, as white and pure as jade, turned bright red.

"This is what falling in love feels like," Lian Ji murmured. She had already decided to pledge her allegiance to Qing Wu.

"This is your punishment," Golbat returned to Qing Wu's side.

This battle hadn't cost Golbat much effort. Only its wings had sustained some minor damage when it used Wing Attack on Shadow Ball.

Lian Ji remained slumped on the ground for a long time, unable to move, her heart pounding.

"…Good thing no one died," Cang and Coach Frostwolf simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

Lian Ji was the daughter of a Team Rocket executive and could be considered a relative of Athena.

If Lian Ji had been harmed here, it would have been difficult for Cang and Coach Frostwolf to explain.

Having her hair cut off was far better than losing her life.

"Qing Wu versus Lian Ji, Qing Wu wins," Coach Frostwolf announced the final result. Only then did Qing Wu turn and leave with Golbat.

Several battle stages were still engaged in fierce combat. Qing Wu walked to a corner of the plaza to observe the duels on the other three stages.

Kaminari was fighting Lan Ling. As expected, Kaminari used Meowth, while Lan Ling used Jynx.

Jynx, skilled in psychic and ice-type moves, inflicted considerable damage on Meowth. Furthermore, Jynx wasn't using its full power, instead toying with Meowth like a cat playing with a mouse. Overall, Meowth was at a disadvantage.

Ailian was fighting Yellow Hair. Ailian's Pokémon was the evolved Houndoom, while Yellow Hair's was a Grimer. This battle, if no surprises occurred, had a very high probability of Ailian winning.

Elvis was fighting Kuraki. This match surprised Qing Wu greatly. Elvis had sent out Machamp, while Kuraki had sent out Arbok. That Machamp actually caught Arbok's scythe-like tail bare-handed.

However, from the grayish-blue expression on Machamp's face, Qing Wu could tell it had been poisoned.

With a preliminary judgment made, Qing Wu sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes to rest, and no longer paid attention to the match. Golbat also landed on the ground, conserving its energy for the next battle.

A short while later, the match results came out. Kuraki and Ailian had undoubtedly qualified for the next round.

But what Qing Wu found unbelievable was that Lan Ling had lost. Kaminari's Meowth had won.

Kaminari's Meowth was very clever; it had secretly poisoned Jynx. Moreover, Kaminari's Meowth could also use Flamethrower, which allowed it to make a comeback and secure a spot in the next round.

Qing Wu glanced at Lan Ling, who looked dejected and listless.

Lan Ling had been aiming for first place, but unexpectedly stopped at the quarterfinals. The drastic drop had made it impossible for Lan Ling to accept this reality.

Lan Ling's thoughts were too complicated, preventing her from dedicating her energy to Pokémon training. Furthermore, this Jynx was likely not Lan Ling's own Pokémon, resulting in a lack of synergy. This gave Meowth an opportunity.

Lan Ling had placed too much faith in Jynx's strength, but her own trainer skills hadn't matched up.

Qing Wu had changed the outcome of the previous generation like a butterfly. If Qing Wu hadn't healed Kaminari's poisoned Meowth and given Kaminari a Spinarak with deep green potential, Kaminari would likely have stopped at the quarterfinals with only an Electrike.

The pairings for the semi-final challenge were announced shortly.

Qing Wu versus Kuraki.

Kaminari versus Ailian.

Regardless of the outcome, three members of Qing Wu's team had entered the top four, which was a testament to the strength of Qing Wu's team.

Qing Wu and Kuraki exchanged glances. Qing Wu saw ambition in Kuraki's eyes.

"I've been looking forward to this day for a long time, Qing Wu," Kuraki murmured.