Dirty Tricks

"Did you record it?"

After the battle ended, Fang Yuan returned to the platform and found Lin Jing staring at him with a dazed expression.

"I recorded it, but what were you saying to your opponent the whole time?"

"Just asking a few questions." Fang Yuan explained the idea behind Trash Talk.

"In the end, the opponent just didn't have a balanced mindset. I'm giving young Trainers a lesson. It'll benefit them in the future."

Fang Yuan had already accepted Du Ai's line of reasoning.

Battles were not Pokémon's responsibility alone. Trainers had to bear half the responsibility as well.

Calm judgment, decisive reactions, correct commands, keen observation, extensive knowledge, foresight, and strong mental fortitude were all qualities a qualified Trainer needed.

Fang Yuan himself needed to stay alert too and train his mental resilience.

"Yeah, like I'd believe that nonsense," Lin Jing said.

"I hope my future opponents are all like you."

"Why?" Fang Yuan asked in confusion.

"Because villains die from talking too much."

Fang Yuan: "..."

That made some sense too. Talking too much depended on the occasion.

Speaking of throwing an opponent off balance and making them misjudge the situation, Fang Yuan thought of a certain Pokémon.

It could be called the ancestor of Trash Talk.

Chatot.

It possessed an Exclusive Move called Chatter, which used extremely irritating, nonstop sound waves to attack opponents and confuse them. Anyone who heard it would be tormented to the point of madness.

For a period of time, game players could use Chatter to record unpleasant remarks and play them during battles. Before the recording function was removed, Chatot had always been banned from the Global Battle League and several other Battle Tournaments. That showed just how terrifying Trash Talk could be.

However, battles in this world had never experienced the terror of being dominated by Chatot. That was interesting.

After Lin Jing sent over the video of Eevee's battle, Fang Yuan began reviewing the match.

Eevee used Quick Attack to move at high speed, then casually used Double Team while moving. The afterimages created that way were much more deceptive.

This was the tactic Fang Yuan and Eevee had agreed on before taking the field.

"Judging from the video, four afterimages are still far too easy to see through."

Fang Yuan's thoughts stirred. He wondered when Eevee would be able to create over a dozen copies. Then, if it coordinated them with a Sand Attack ambush, it would be even dirtier.

Speaking of dirty—

The final battle of Group D began, and Fang Yuan got to see the battle of Lin Sen, the Seed Player of this group.

His Beginner Pokémon was Ivysaur. As Bulbasaur's evolved form and one of the Starter Pokémon in the games, its growth potential was unquestionably among the best of all Grass-type Pokémon.

The moment the battle began, Ivysaur's flower bud released a fragrance as it used Sweet Scent.

Once inhaled, this Sweet Scent could affect the opponent's senses to a certain degree, leaving them dizzy and disoriented.

Faced with this unavoidable Sweet Scent, Ivysaur's opponent fell for it before long. Ivysaur then bound it with a Vine Whip, turning it into a stationary target that had to endure the following Leech Seed and Sleep Powder.

"Sleep Powder plus Leech Seed. This Lin Sen guy is so dirty."

Fang Yuan said it unconsciously.

"You two are birds of a feather. But Ivysaur's Sweet Scent seems really hard to deal with. What are you going to do?" Lin Jing looked worried.

"If it were a Flying-type Pokémon, it would be easy. It could just blow the Sweet Scent away."

"You don't need to worry about that," Fang Yuan said.

"I already have a strategy."

After several more battles—

Fang Yuan turned to Lin Jing and said,

"Group E is over. It's time for you to get ready too."

"Mm." Lin Jing nodded, feeling somewhat nervous.

During the preliminaries, there had only been the referee and a scattered handful of people around, so it had not been too nerve-racking.

But in the upcoming battles, the stands would be packed with spectators. The thought of battling under so many eyes was terrifying.

"Um..." Lin Jing suddenly said, "Can I borrow your hat for a while?"

"What's wrong?" Fang Yuan froze.

"I saw that you performed pretty well. Maybe wearing a hat really can ease nervousness," Lin Jing said.

You silly girl, I only said that casually.

My main purpose is to gain exposure, so I can advertise later.

"Fine, take it."

Fang Yuan handed her the hat. "Pull it down a little and focus on the field. That way, you won't feel the audience's eyes on you."

"Thanks." Lin Jing took it and put it on.

In the twenty-third battle, Lin Jing took the field. Her opponent's Pokémon was Ekans. Its type matchup against Growlithe was even, so neither side held much of an advantage.

"Whoa."

The moment the battle began, Lin Jing's Growlithe made Fang Yuan look at it in a new light.

It looked incredibly wild. Its instantaneous explosive power was definitely among the best Fang Yuan had seen in any Pokémon. It truly deserved to be a product of the Police Dog Training Camp's special training.

After the two sides traded blows for roughly two minutes, Growlithe successfully slammed Ekans away with Flame Wheel. The crackling flames scorched its snake skin, making Ekans give up struggling.

However, Growlithe did not come out unscathed either. It had probably been hit by Ekans's Acid. Its expression was pained, and its fur had begun to shrivel.

One had used fire to burn, while the other had splashed strong acid. The two Pokémon had successfully hurt each other.

"I'm taking Growlithe to get treated first."

After the battle ended, Lin Jing sent Fang Yuan a message.

"Go check on it quickly."

Fang Yuan replied, but he felt like something had gone wrong somewhere.

"This is bad. Lin Jing swiped my hat." Fang Yuan fell into deep thought.

"Forget it. I'll ask her for it this afternoon."

Once the tournament reached Group H, the morning matches came to an end. After the guests gave a brief summary of the morning's battles, the spectators left one after another to have lunch.

As a contestant, Fang Yuan was provided with a nutritious lunch by the organizers. His boxed meal contained four vegetable dishes, two meatballs, and a fried egg. The taste was fairly ordinary, but it was enough to fill him up.

Even Eevee received a serving of Pokémon Food.

That afternoon, Lin Jing returned, intending to continue watching the day's matches with Fang Yuan.

"Now that you've made the Top Sixty-Four, the class group chat has become a lot livelier," Fang Yuan said.

"If I expose you, it'll become even livelier," Lin Jing said.

"No need."

"I've decided. Once I'm eliminated, I'll sell you out. That should be tomorrow. My next opponent is the Seed Player of Group F." Lin Jing wore a miserable expression, clearly lacking confidence.

Fang Yuan said nothing.

The Seed Player of Group F had a Pokémon that had already evolved into its Final Form: Beedrill, a Bug-type Pokémon.

Although Growlithe held the type advantage, that Beedrill clearly was not something that could be dealt with through type advantage alone.