Name: Slowpoke (Slowbro) Gender: Male Type: Water/Psychic Ability: Own Tempo. Effect: Immune to Confusion and the negative effects of Intimidate. Known moves: Howl, Water Gun, Confusion, Water Pulse, Zen Headbutt, Ice Beam Egg Moves: None Rank: Late intermediate Evolution progress: None (final evolution reached)
"Cannon fodder?"
Looking at the pink Pokémon standing on two legs, with a spiral-shaped creature clamped onto its tail, Ye Lan's instinctive tension vanished.
This dopey-looking Pokémon was infamous among competitive battlers as the pink demon.
Its Water and Psychic typing gave it six resistances and five weaknesses. On paper, that sounded fairly ordinary.
But it resisted three popular types—Steel, Psychic, and Fighting—and its 490 base stat points were distributed exceptionally well.
Its base Defense was a full 110. After Mega Evolution, that rose to an absurd 180, making it the Pokémon with the highest physical Defense among Water and Psychic types.
Add its versatile move pool, and it had become a favorite of countless competitive battlers in his previous life.
But with stats like those, this one had been raised so poorly that Ye Lan could hardly bear to look.
"Servine, use Iron Tail!"
White Steel-type energy gathered around Servine's tail. Its tail muscles tensed, and it vanished from Slowbro's sight.
Slowbro's pupils contracted. Before it could react, everything went black, and it lost the ability to battle.
The audience fell silent for a moment, then erupted in thunderous cheers.
The gap in strength was too great!
After eating the Pokémon Physique Candy, Servine's Iron Tail had grown several levels stronger.
And as its physical strength increased, training moves it had rarely used before, such as Bind and Slam, had also moved up the schedule.
Now, whether attacking from a distance or fighting up close, Servine was entirely in its element.
"A late-intermediate Slowbro couldn't even survive one move from Servine. Just how strong is Ye Lan's Servine?"
In the front rows, the students of Mianzhou No. 1 High School stared in shock at Servine's fierce strike. Even Liu Yan, who had been prepared, showed a flicker of surprise.
"Even for a Pokémon at the peak of the intermediate rank, that explosive power is terrifying. It's already fully comparable to an early-advanced Fighting-type Pokémon."
The battles continued. By the end of the fourth match, Servine had barely spent any stamina. Even though its opponents had reached peak intermediate rank starting with that match, none had lasted through a single Iron Tail.
Watching his opponent recall Linoone into its Poké Ball and turn to leave, Ye Lan knew what was going on.
The earlier contestants had not been particularly strong. It was as though they had been probing Servine's battle style. Only now were they gradually getting serious.
"Too bad Servine can't learn Leaf Storm at the intermediate rank. Paired with Glare, it would be perfect for a gauntlet!"
Ye Lan shook his head regretfully.
Leaf Storm was one of Serperior's most commonly used finishing moves after evolution, but Servine could not learn or master it yet.
In that sense, Snivy's evolutionary line was a prime example of one that bloomed late.
"Please welcome our fifth contestant! Can Servine keep up its fierce momentum and defeat its opponent in a single strike?"
On the floating platform, the host who had been brought in as a last-minute replacement worked hard to stir up the crowd. Between battles, he also had to read the ads.
"Bright Brand Pokémon Nutrition Supplement! One sip and your newborn Pokémon will run! Two sips and its moves will win in a flash! For supplements, pick Bright Brand—it tastes mighty grand!"
Who wrote this awful ad copy? Why is there dialect in it, too?! Little Li cursed inwardly.
Seriously, he was still an intern. Being dragged into a match with this many spectators on his very first day had already pushed him to the limit of what he could handle.
And now the ad copy had dialect in it? He could barely get his tongue around the words.
Senior, where on earth did you go? Little Li was on the verge of tears.
The senior who normally hosted the intermediate arena had insisted today that his female Machamp was about to give birth, so Little Li would have to host instead.
Before leaving, he had patted Little Li on the shoulder and said warmly, "Little Li, I'm giving you this opportunity. Make the most of it!"
Then he had walked straight out of the arena without looking back.
Today's crowd was enormous. If he failed to handle it, his superiors would definitely hold him responsible.
What was he supposed to do in a situation like that? Send in the intern, of course!
By the time Little Li finished the ad, the fifth contestant had reached the arena. At the referee's signal, he threw the Poké Ball in his hand.
White light flashed, and a Pokémon appeared before the crowd. Black energy seeped from its body, and two sinister claws floated in front of its inverted-triangle frame.
"Haunter!"
Name: Haunter Gender: Male Type: Ghost/Poison Ability: Levitate. Effect: Immune to attacks from Ground-type moves. Known moves: Hypnosis, Lick, Shadow Ball, Astonish, Sucker Punch, Ice Punch Egg Move: Will-O-Wisp Rank: Peak intermediate Evolution progress: 48%
"A Haunter?" Ye Lan frowned as he looked at the Data Panel.
It was not that he doubted he could beat it. Winning would simply drain too much of Servine's stamina and cause trouble in the matches to come.
"Haunter, Shadow Ball!"
Haunter seized the initiative. A Shadow Ball formed between its claws and hurtled toward Servine.
Two Vine Whips lashed out and crossed in front of Servine, blocking the Shadow Ball's path.
Grass-type energy collided with Ghost-type energy. But instead of the expected explosion, the resilient vines sent the Shadow Ball bouncing straight back!
The first Shadow Ball had barely been deflected when a steady barrage followed, blasting the Vine Whips to pieces.
I can't let it get close to Servine. Its close-combat ability is monstrous. Haunter's trainer, a thin young man, made up his mind.
Perhaps because he spent so much time with Ghost-type Pokémon, the man with the afro always gave off an eerie air.
Though the barrage of Shadow Balls destroyed its Vine Whips, Servine showed no panic.
As it glided across the Grassy Terrain, Magical Leaves poured toward Haunter like rain.
Shadow Balls burst like balloons pricked by needles. Servine moved swiftly in circles, drawing closer to Haunter all the while.
Like a venomous snake steadily limiting its prey's movements, Servine left Haunter less and less room to dodge. Haunter realized its intent.
It spat purple Will-O-Wisp flames that gave off intense heat, scorching the Grassy Terrain in an attempt to halt Servine's advance.
After dodging another volley of Magical Leaves, Haunter had no time to breathe a sigh of relief. Servine's Iron Tail broke through the purple flames and struck toward its belly.
Seeing Servine close in, the man with the afro hurriedly shouted, "Haunter, use Hypnosis at full power!"
An eerie light flared in Haunter's eyes as it stared straight at the approaching Servine.
But Servine's Iron Tail did not slow in the slightest. It slammed hard into Haunter's body, which resembled a mass of purple gas.
(Note: Everything below is the author venting. It has no bearing on the story, so feel free to skip it!)
Because I post each day's two chapters a day in advance, it was only when I clicked publish on this chapter that November truly began for me.
I started serializing on October 8, and now it's November. I haven't written all that many words yet, but I've made a lot of friends.
Xu Hantian Who Likes Sanqi Flowers, Luo Hong Who Loves Loofah and Lean Pork Soup, Dai Yan from Yingkou, Man Mo, User, Bai Wanling, Wang Zongyan the Yumen Taoist
This group of readers has been following the story from the start. Xu Hantian Who Likes Sanqi Flowers most of all—I see them every day. If they show up too late, I get briefly restless, and only relax when I finally see them.
Reader Man Mo also left a deep impression on me. No matter how I try to type your name, I can never get it to come out right. It's been giving me such a headache, hahaha!
Even Gods Envy My Jiang Bao, Wait for Me, Grow Up, User, User, Ji Ji Ji Ji Ji Ji Bro, Yun4345, User
This group started following around the middle. Among them, Even Gods Envy My Jiang Bao not only follows regularly but has also tipped the most. What generosity!
Wait for Me, Grow Up and Yun4345 follow every day too. Seeing you both each day makes me feel so close to you. I always think, "Ah, they're still here. That's wonderful."
Readers "", "", and "" — surprised? Even though you haven't changed your names and only have system codes, I can recognize you at a glance now. You haven't felt like changing your names, yet you still take the trouble to click follow every day. Thank you so much for staying with me all this way!
Bro Ji, if you have more questions next time, I'll reply as soon as I can!
Azure Wasteland Cultivator, End. Void, Want to Play Almost Enough, Yue Xin'er Who Loves Tofu Shrimp Cakes
These readers have started following recently. The one who left the strongest impression was Want to Play Almost Enough, whose avatar is an adorable Sylveon! I love Sylveon too!
Although that little bastard Ye Lan has no way to catch a Sylveon, I've already planned out the later plot...
Ahem, no spoilers here. Keep reading!
Many readers don't have the habit of clicking follow, but that doesn't mean I don't know you're there. Every one of you is just as important. Because of each and every one of you, Ye Lan's story will go on for a long, long, long time...
Before you continue