Advancing All the Way

That afternoon, it was still Area E, Field 7.

Fang Yuan faced his second battle.

He had to admit that there were truly a lot of Rookie Trainers participating in the Little Phoenix King Cup. No wonder they needed so many fields running battles at the same time...

Without doing things this way, it would have been impossible to finish every match within a week.

"Your Pokémon is Eevee, right?"

"My condolences. My Pokémon is Machop, so I have the type advantage."

This time, Fang Yuan's opponent was a rather talkative Trainer with quite a talent for Trash Talk. If Fang Yuan had been the honest sort, he might have already felt some pressure.

But how could he possibly care about such a type disadvantage?

"Only a victory against type disadvantage can show how impressive we are," Fang Yuan said. "I'll be counting on you to make us look good."

The next moment, both of them released their Pokémon. At the referee's command, Machop formed a sharp hand-blade pose and chopped toward Eevee.

Whoosh!

On Fang Yuan's side, it was still just a simple command for Quick Attack. Eevee instantly vanished from Machop's sight.

"Your reaction speed is too slow," Fang Yuan said.

Machop's eyes simply could not keep up with Eevee's Quick Attack. By the time it reacted, its palm had already gone limp. A tremendous force had struck its waist, and its body completely lost balance.

Watching Machop get taken down so cleanly, Fang Yuan's opponent's expression instantly froze.

How was that possible? His Machop had spent an entire month using Karate Chop on punching bags...

A month of hard work had all gone to waste. It had not even lasted a single move.

"No. 444 Fang Yuan advances." The referee glanced at Fang Yuan.

The referee had also overseen Fang Yuan's match that morning. This field hosted many battles over the course of a day, so it was difficult for contestants to leave an impression on a referee, and referees did not deliberately try to remember them.

But Fang Yuan had done it. He had effortlessly defeated his opponents in one move for two consecutive matches. Eevee's battle instincts were truly eye-catching.

"Very good. Keep conserving our strength and advance all the way. We'll soon secure a spot in the Main Competition."

After just two battles, the advantages of Fang Yuan's special training for Eevee had already become apparent.

Their first opponent had clearly never trained at all, raising its Pokémon as nothing more than a pet.

Their second opponent's Karate Chop had looked fairly imposing, but it was full of weaknesses.

By comparison, Eevee could not be said to have no weaknesses at all, but it was definitely not so easy for an enemy to target.

After finishing the second match, Fang Yuan should have had no more battles today. He planned to head back early and practice Counter Shield with Eevee some more.

However, as Fang Yuan passed by another field, his feet stopped of their own accord.

"Hey, buddy, what's going on here?"

"Hm?"

The person Fang Yuan tapped on the shoulder froze for a moment before saying, "The girl in the blue tracksuit seems to be an apprentice from the Winter Dojo. I just got here too, but that move really gave me a scare."

"Oh, thanks." Fang Yuan looked toward the field.

One Icy Wind from Snorunt had directly frozen the Water-type Krabby into a block of ice. Its power was one thing, but there was also something special about the technique.

Icy Wind was a move that attacked by blowing freezing air at the opponent. It was generally difficult for it to directly freeze external objects, yet Krabby had been frozen in an instant... This Icy Wind was interesting.

"I wonder how Snorunt is in other aspects. If it's a fragile mage, that's manageable, but if its basic qualities aren't inferior to Eevee's, then facing her will probably be a hard battle. Still, a Pokémon like Snorunt... that probably isn't very likely."

Seeing Snorunt's Trainer leave, Fang Yuan did not linger either. He had not expected to spot such a formidable person with his own eyes so soon.

After leaving the Oriental Pearl Arena, Fang Yuan took a ride to a Public Battle Arena close to his hotel.

He and Eevee would continue their special training for Counter Shield there.

Although the opponents they had encountered so far could be easily defeated, Fang Yuan did not think everyone would be at this level.

The Official Forum for the Little Phoenix King Cup had already revealed many powerful Rookie Trainers, including that Dojo Apprentice. None of them could be underestimated.

"A dojo apprentice..."

"I just wonder how many people like that there are."

On the second day of the preliminaries, after Fang Yuan and Eevee finished warming up, they set off early once again for the Oriental Pearl Arena.

Their opponent today was a Rock-type and Ground-type Geodude.

Quick Attack alone might not be enough to instantly defeat such a tough, thick-skinned Pokémon.

"Against a Rock-type, Quick Attack's power is halved. Looks like we'll have to combine it with other moves." Fang Yuan was already prepared to reveal a little more of his strength.

The field was still the same old field, and the referee was still an old acquaintance. When it was time for the match, Fang Yuan walked into the Battle Arena with practiced ease.

This time, Fang Yuan's opponent was an academic-looking Trainer who did not seem good at talking. Since the other side did not take the initiative to speak, Fang Yuan racked his brains for a while but could not think of any Trash Talk to use.

Looks like I still don't have enough learning...

As Fang Yuan silently felt helpless, the referee had already announced the start of the battle.

"Eevee, start moving."

Without hesitation, Fang Yuan gave an order to seize the initiative.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!"

Though it was not using Quick Attack, Eevee was still far faster than Geodude. Geodude could only watch Eevee helplessly before following its Trainer's command and launching a ranged attack.

The attack was fierce, but its aim was a little lacking.

Not one of the rocks thrown at Eevee struck it. Eevee did not even have a chance to make use of its ability... It could react and dodge using its vision alone.

"Sand Attack."

Taking advantage of the gap after Geodude used its move, Eevee had already run beside it. With a light flick of its paw, a pinch of fine sand struck Geodude's eyes with perfect accuracy, preventing it from seeing its surroundings clearly.

"Keep using it," Fang Yuan said.

After several consecutive Sand Attacks, Geodude had no way to respond. Having lost its vision, moves like Tackle and Rollout became nothing more than blind attacks.

In the end, after being toyed with until it was utterly exhausted, Geodude was knocked out of the field by Eevee's Quick Attack.

Sand Attack really is dirty... Fang Yuan thought.

Sand Attack was most effective when aimed at the face in the first place. Yet after so much practice, Eevee's Sand Attack could hit not just the face, but the eyes every time, so long as its opponent was not too fast.

Hopefully this Geodude's eyesight would not be affected in its upcoming battles...

Before Fang Yuan left, the referee looked at him again. Fang Yuan looked back and greeted him as well.

"See you this afternoon."

"If No. 444 Fang Yuan wins his match this afternoon, he can be designated a Seed Player."

Watching Fang Yuan's departing back, the referee thought to himself.

Whether it was stamina, movement speed, reaction speed, move mastery, or mental fortitude, Fang Yuan's Eevee far surpassed the other Pokémon. Ordinary contestants would find it nearly impossible to seize the initiative or gain an advantage against Fang Yuan's Eevee, because their strength was simply not on the same level...

Moreover, across three matches, Eevee had only displayed Quick Attack and Sand Attack. It was probably still hiding much more strength. That was the most important part.