Name: Charmeleon Gender: Female Type: Fire Ability: Blaze. Effect: Move damage increases when HP is low. Moves: Scratch, Ember, Smokescreen, Flamethrower, Dragon Breath, Fire Punch, Metal Claw, Dragon Claw Egg Move: Frustration Rank: Intermediate, peak Evolution progress: 47%
"Charmeleon?" A gleam flashed through Ye Lan's eyes as he looked at the Data Panel.
Back then, it had been Snivy against Charmander. Now it was Servine against Charmeleon. Ye Lan couldn't help thinking of Lin Yan.
I wonder how he and Charmander are doing. Oh, right—and that Wartortle.
Sensing that Charmeleon was about to attack, Ye Lan shook his head and pulled himself out of his thoughts.
Knowing Lin Yan, he was certain neither trainer nor Pokémon would have fallen behind, wherever they were.
"Servine, Glare!"
"Ssser!"
Before Fire Punch could reach Servine, strange patterns lit up across her body.
With a hum, Charmeleon's mind went blank and her body went numb.
By the time she came to, Vine Whip had bound her limbs tight, and Leech Seeds had fastened themselves firmly to her body.
Servine stopped attacking. She circled Charmeleon, keeping clear in case her opponent suddenly lashed out.
"Roar!"
Charmeleon's pained roar rang out. Her trainer's face darkened at the sight.
His opponent clearly didn't take him seriously. Instead of knocking Charmeleon out, Ye Lan was using her to restore Servine's strength.
"Don't underestimate me! Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
Charmeleon's tail flame surged. With Blaze activated, fierce fire engulfed her body and burned away the Vine Whip and Leech Seeds.
"Why do people always think Fire types are guaranteed to beat Grass types?"
At Ye Lan's command, Magical Leaves streamed out around Servine, sending waves of air through the arena and forcing back the surging flames.
Giga Drain took the last of Charmeleon's strength. Servine landed gracefully, the haughty look in her eyes sharper than ever.
Too weak. Far too weak. This Charmeleon hadn't put her under nearly as much pressure as the Charmander from before. She couldn't get excited about this fight at all.
"Congratulations to Ye Lan on his sixth consecutive win!" the host announced as the referee finished the count.
"Everyone knows what you're going to say, but the rules require me to ask: Ye Lan, are you sure you want to keep challenging?"
"Of course!"
On the arena's big screen, Ye Lan smiled at the camera. His usual laid-back air was gone, replaced by the confidence of someone certain he would win.
"He's like a different person when he battles," Chen Yang marveled from the stands.
Who would have thought this spirited young man was the same scruffy homebody who could spend a whole week indoors playing handheld games without even changing his underwear?
"Ye Lan! Ye Lan!"
Cheers rose through the stands again. Some spectators who had come only because friends invited them were astonished that an intermediate trainer could draw such a crowd.
"Why am I so excited? You must be new here. Ye Lan's only sixteen! He'll definitely compete in this year's provincial tournament, and he might even make it to the national tournament when he's in college!"
"If we support him now, we'll be fans from the very beginning!" a red-faced middle-aged man replied excitedly.
"And someone so young and strong has got to be from Jindu. We're supporting one of our own!"
A woman in office clothes gazed at Ye Lan's smile, her eyes shining.
To be fair, as long as Ye Lan didn't reveal his weirder side, his age and that confident, easygoing air really did catch some women's attention.
More than a few female trainers and office workers watching the matches felt the urge to become his "mom" fans.
"Go get 'em, baby Ye! Mom will always be here for you!"
Her voice was so piercing that nearby spectators covered their ears. It even carried through the arena's protective barrier and reached Ye Lan.
"?"
Ye Lan's expression froze. He scratched his cheek awkwardly, then waved toward the voice.
She was his fan, after all. Even if... well... he didn't know what to say.
Starting with the seventh match, the prize pool's base had grown large enough that the rewards would begin rising rapidly.
The first six matches together were worth only 31.5 points, but winning the seventh would bring the total straight to 63.5!
That was also why most contestants fell in the seventh match.
After six consecutive battles, both Pokémon and trainers had worn themselves down to varying degrees. Some lost because they were exhausted or their Pokémon's injuries were too severe.
The greater danger was the thought that crept into many contestants' minds as the points were about to double: Win this one, then stop.
There was nothing wrong with that thought. It was sensible.
But it also made them afraid to take risks with their tactics. They tried to secure the match by playing it safe.
Too much caution cost them more in the end, and they lost the war of attrition.
Ye Lan studied Servine's condition. His expression settled, without a trace of impatience.
Aim high and you might reach the middle. Aim for the middle and you might end up at the bottom.
Ye Lan was aiming for fifteen consecutive wins. So far, everything was under control.
Thanks to the restorative effects of Leech Seed and Giga Drain, Servine still had plenty of stamina.
As for Ye Lan, the battles hadn't been particularly demanding. Servine had handled most things on her own, and his occasional commands had barely taxed him.
So the next four matches passed without many memorable moments.
Servine was far stronger than other Pokémon at the peak of the intermediate rank, both in the power of her moves and in her mastery of them.
Not one Pokémon had taken a full Iron Tail from her and stayed on its feet without serious injury.
The arena officials seemed to have noticed. Each of her opponents in those four matches favored wearing foes down over attacking.
Even with Grassy Terrain, Leech Seed, and Giga Drain restoring her strength, Servine began to tire and pant heavily.
Her physical injuries were minor—just a few small scratches that were already healing under the flow of Grass-type Energy.
It was the mental fatigue from using move after move for so long that had left her well below the condition she'd been in at the start.
"Ye Lan has achieved the goal he set earlier: ten consecutive wins, a feat we haven't seen in the intermediate arena for a long time! Will you keep challenging?"
By now, the atmosphere had swept up not just the crowd but Little Li, the host, too. It felt as though a fire burned in his chest.
Ten consecutive wins! Over the arena's long history, others had done it at the intermediate, advanced, and even professional levels.
But this contestant was only sixteen. That was what made it so astonishing.
"I choose to continue!"
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