This Trainer Has No Sportsmanship

"Within a ten-kilometer radius. Beyond that, there's nothing I can do. You can set an alarm."

"Since you're interested, I can transmit the information on their spiritual energy fluctuations to you."

Morty looked tempted when he heard that, but after a while, he still relied on his strong will to tragically refuse. "Forget it. I pass those statues every day, yet they've never appeared before me. Instead, they showed themselves to you after meeting you only once. That proves I have no fate with them. Forcing it would be pointless."

Why was a Psychic talking about fate? Did he really think he was some kind of medium?

You Zhi held back his urge to mock him and put away the Pokédex.

After reluctantly bidding Morty farewell and leaving the Gym, he stopped by the bank to check his account. To his surprise, there was now a "1" in front of his 800,000 savings.

"Wow, that young lady really was generous."

You Zhi merely remarked on it and did not think much of it. He had understood in his previous life that people were never born equal.

What seemed like an enormous fortune to some people might be nothing more than pocket money casually given by elders to others.

"Come to think of it, I still haven't used the core gifted to me by the Mekk-Knights."

You Zhi found a secluded forest and took out a green orb. It was the core of Mekk-Knight Green Horizon, which he had brought out of the Spirit Realm.

He first summoned Neon Stone Sprite. By every consideration, Neon Stone Sprite was the Pokémon most likely to be affected by the core.

However, the ice-sculpture girl played with the green orb for quite a while and even put it in her mouth to bite it, yet she still failed to resonate with it.

Next, You Zhi summoned Gagaga Girl and Silent Magician, but it was still ineffective.

"I remember Alisa relaying that the fused Mekk-Knight believed this core would work on one of my Pokémon. Given the circumstances back then, there was no reason for it to deceive me. And as a mechanical life-form, it probably didn't even understand the concept of lying."

You Zhi summoned Demon Lizard Yihao, but it still did nothing. Refusing to give up, he had it evolve into Divergent Lizard Yihao, suspecting it might have something to do with its form. The result proved equally useless.

"Could this thing only work in the Spirit Realm? Does it stop functioning once it's taken to another world?"

You Zhi genuinely regretted it a little. If he had known, he should have used it on the spot regardless of the situation. He had wasted a perfectly good opportunity for nothing.

Clinging to a slim hope, he summoned the Goblin Attack Force and tossed the green orb over. The four Goblins immediately scrambled into a chaotic fight over it, shoving and squeezing one another in a lively mess.

It was not because they had noticed anything extraordinary about the orb. It was simply their nature. Even if You Zhi tossed them a ball, they would still fight over it without yielding.

The instant all four Goblins grabbed the orb at once, green light flared brilliantly. Intense spiritual energy surged outward, and under its influence, the four Goblins merged into one, transforming into an entirely new form.

A Pokémon with an emerald-like body appeared on the field. It wore a green pointed hat, held a shield in one hand, and wielded a square-headed hammer in the other.

[Knightmare Goblin (Link-2 [←][→]) Wind attribute]

[Lineage: Steel-type, Grass-type]

[Level: 21]

[Talent: Ferocious]

[Attack: 1300 (1333)]

[Fiend, Traits: ① When evolving into Link Form, may discard one Spell Card to randomly obtain another Spell Card; ② Pokémon in its linked directions cannot become targets of effects]

"Its attack actually dropped after evolving into a new form. Still, the Grass-type and Steel-type combination is extremely practical. Its first trait is a bit lackluster since it relies on luck, while the second is suited for group battles and useless in a duel."

You Zhi carefully assessed it, but what pleased him most was undoubtedly its changed appearance. It had finally gone from a group of vicious, ugly old men to a cute emerald statue.

Let him say it again: looks were a very important attribute!

Besides, the more he looked at it, the more it resembled a certain game protagonist who also wore a green hat and loved rescuing princesses.

"Since you look like Link, I'll call this form of yours Zelda from now on."

Tracking Along the Road

You Zhi had initially thought the Goblin's new form was extremely underwhelming. Although it gained two usable traits, they were far from enough to make up for its attack being nearly halved and its inability to use the Self-Destruct strategy. However, actual tests showed that was not the case.

Zelda Form did not require four-in-one fusion. Even if only one Goblin remained after the Goblin Attack Force used Self-Destruct, it could still evolve into Knightmare Goblin. Its maximum health would merely be reduced to one-quarter.

From that perspective, Zelda Form could not serve as a main combat form, but it was quite good for reinforcement at the right moment.

Incidentally, Knightmare was the Superior Form of the Attack Force. Therefore, only the Attack Force could evolve into Knightmare. To revert Knightmare, it had to be recalled into its Pokémon Card first.

With everything in Ecruteak City settled, You Zhi set out for Violet City, intending to find the Trainer who wanted to trade an "Onix."

However, as he passed through the intersection between three cities, the Pokédex sent an alert. The alarm rang.

You Zhi hurriedly opened it and discovered that Celestial Gold Knight, one of the Legendary Beasts, was nearby. For a moment, he hesitated, unsure whether he should follow the icon to find it.

It was not that he did not want to capture it. He simply knew his limits and understood that even if he found it, he would not be able to capture it.

This was not because he feared that it was too powerful. In terms of strength alone, even if he could not beat it one-on-one, could he not send several Pokémon to gang up on it? This was not an official Trainer Duel.

Taking a step back, even if they could not beat it through a group fight, he could personally join the battle. It was not as if this was his first time personally capturing a Pokémon.

There was only one situation he feared: it had legs and could run.

Just like in the Pokémon games, the difficulty with the Legendary Beasts was not encountering them, but catching them. They ran the moment they appeared. No matter how strong the player was, there was nothing they could do unless they threw a Master Ball.

After thinking for a while, however, You Zhi still decided to look for it.

"Although I don't have a Shadow Tag trait that prevents enemies from fleeing like in Pokémon, as long as I activate Final Assault Order the instant I see it and force it into a battle state, I can achieve the same effect."

There was nothing to lose even if he failed. He would be unwilling to accept it if he did not try.

You Zhi decisively followed the Pokédex's directions, searching along the route while watching the map. Along the way, he could not help regretting that he had not captured a mount Pokémon. Although he had bought a bicycle, an inanimate object could never compare to a living creature in convenience, much less a Flying-type Pokémon capable of ignoring terrain.

Moreover, after he chased it into the wilderness, even the bicycle became useless. The ground was full of pits and uneven slopes, forcing him to climb on foot. Yet because he spared no effort, his traveling speed actually became faster.

After ten minutes, when the Pokédex showed that they were less than five hundred meters apart, You Zhi decisively stopped. He would wait until he had forged the Spell Card Final Assault Order before slowly approaching.

Why did Trainers usually stand still while commanding Pokémon in battle?

Because maintaining an already-forged Spell Card was a highly demanding task that tested one's control over spiritual energy. Once the flow of spiritual energy went wrong, the Spell Card would dissipate on its own. The higher the grade of the Spell Card, the greater the control required. Thus, in Temporary Duels, few Trainers held a whole stack of Spell Cards in their hands. They usually selected suitable Spell Cards according to the battle situation, forging one and using one.

As a C-rank Spell Card, Final Assault Order required You Zhi to watch over it with extreme care at his current level of spiritual energy. He looked like someone holding a candle in the night wind, afraid that walking too fast would cause the wind to extinguish the flame.

If it were an E-rank Spell Card, he could have kept running without concern.

After another twenty minutes, You Zhi finally caught sight of Celestial Gold Knight.

It could not be helped. The other party was not a statue and could move as well. Though they had only been five hundred meters apart, You Zhi had actually traveled over two thousand meters. Several times along the way, he considered dismissing the Spell Card and summoning it again once he was within a hundred meters. But he felt that would be wasteful, so he agonized over it the entire way.

Last time, it had moved too quickly for him to see it clearly. This time, he could finally use his cheat to gather its basic information.

[Celestial Gold Knight (Level 10) LIGHT attribute]

[Lineage: Fairy-type]

[Level: 40]

[Talent: Frenzied]

[Attack: ? (0)]

[Defense: 2500 (2250)]

[Warrior-Type, Effects: ① Omitted; ② This card's attack increases by 500 for each card in both players' hands; ③ Can only be activated by discarding one card. Destroy all face-up cards on the opponent's field of the same type as the discarded card (Monster, Spell, or Trap).]

You Zhi froze when he saw that its actual attack was only 0. Only after reading the second effect did he understand. It possessed a trait similar to Silent Magician's, except its scope was broader and even included the opponent's Spell Cards. However, that also meant Celestial Gold Knight had no offensive power when facing wild Pokémon and could only endure attacks with its defense.

The third effect theoretically had to be used together with a Trainer to reveal its power. As for what effect it would become when converted into an actual trait, he would only know after capturing it.

"No matter what, this means it possesses a destruction effect and fully capitalizes on its high level advantage."

You Zhi had long discovered through summarizing the numerical formulas that, at the same level and with the same base stats, the higher the level, the lower the actual attack.

At first glance, level seemed to be a negative attribute, but it actually affected two other abilities.

The first was the well-known life force. The higher the level, the greater the health.

The second was trait power. In Card Duels, once a destruction effect was activated, a monster either was destroyed or was not. But Pokémon possessed the concept of life force. Sometimes, being hit by an effect that caused destruction merely deducted a portion of their health rather than killing them outright. As for how much damage it dealt, that depended on level. The higher the level, the stronger the power.

According to experimental tests by forum experts, when both level and rank were the same, activating a destruction trait once could remove half the opponent's life force.

In other words, unless their level exceeded 40, no Pokémon below five levels could withstand even one trait-based destruction from Celestial Gold Knight.

"This is bad. I've never tested the maximum range of a Spell Card. If I activate Final Assault Order from here, can it affect it?"

He only had one chance to act. If he failed, the other party might flee. You Zhi hesitated over whether to move closer before activating it.

Furthermore, because of its appearance, he felt like a criminal stalking a woman all the way through the wilderness, intending to commit some wrongdoing after approaching his target.

Humanoid Pokémon were bad in that regard. They made it too easy to project human assumptions onto them.

After thinking in place for a while, You Zhi sighed and dismissed the Spell Card. Then, no longer hiding his presence, he openly walked out and called loudly to the other party, "We only met briefly last night. Do you still recognize me?"

An Unintended Gain

You Zhi chose to face it directly rather than launch a sneak attack, but it was not because of any guilty feelings. After all, he had twice been judged as an unjust person in the Spirit Realm. His sense of morality was not that strong, and his bottom line was quite flexible.

Why could he not ambush a female Pokémon? Would that not be unfair to male Pokémon and non-humanoid Pokémon?

He had been the one to tell Yuan Ying not to judge Pokémon by appearance. Not much time had passed since then, so he was not about to undergo such a dramatic change in temperament.

In the end, it was one of the Legendary Beasts. Showing it some respect was only natural.

He could not exactly throw a fishing net over it and catch it, could he?

If he failed, he would only humiliate himself. If he succeeded, the audience would mock him to death and turn him into an unforgettable joke.

Of course, the most important reason was that after encountering the Legendary Beasts last night, he had trained while browsing the forum. He read quite a few posts about capturing legendary Pokémon, and the post by a user named Ice-Stricken Elder left the deepest impression on him.

The post said that when dealing with legendary Pokémon, the best method was to win them over rather than capture them.

That was because legendary Pokémon often possessed extraordinary intelligence, with some even smarter than humans. Moreover, they had their own values. When they encountered a Trainer they looked down on but could not defeat, they would rather slit their own throats and die than allow themselves to be captured.

This was also the difference between Pokémon in this world and Pokémon from the Pokémon games. When game Pokémon were defeated and captured, even if unwilling, they would eventually be caught by endless Poké Ball attempts. But if Pokémon in this world were defeated, they could simply kill themselves. They would be revived as good as new in a few days anyway. If they could revive, what the hell did they have to fear? Better die than submit, understand?

Low-level Pokémon might not understand the intricacies, but high-level Pokémon all possessed excellent talents and great intelligence. They understood what it meant to fake their deaths and escape.

But as long as one could win them over, even an ordinary Pokémon Card could easily capture them.

Of course, not everyone agreed with Ice-Stricken Elder's view. A user named Earthly Profundity argued that as long as one was strong enough, they could capture a Pokémon before it killed itself. Alternatively, they could use Spell Cards to prevent it from committing suicide. Once the deed was done, even legendary Pokémon would have no choice but to submit obediently.

You Zhi believed both sides had valid points. But since he was not strong enough yet, the former method was naturally more advantageous for him.

Celestial Gold Knight turned at the sound and nodded. "Young man, we meet again. Have you come for me?"

Just as expected. You Zhi knew there was no point hiding his purpose before a Pokémon like this. He took out his Pokédex and said, "This machine recorded your spiritual energy fluctuations. When you appear nearby, it displays your location. I merely followed the signal here."

"If so, why did you not attack earlier?"

"Because I want you to become my companion, not my pet. For a companion, I should naturally earn your submission through virtue."

Celestial Gold Knight stared at You Zhi for a long while, as if trying to distinguish truth from lies. Finally, it said, "You are not ready yet."

You Zhi persistently asked, "Then what must I do to gain your recognition?"

Celestial Gold Knight fell silent for a moment, then turned to the southwest. "Before long, a disaster that affects many people will occur in that city. If you can resolve that disaster, I will give you an opportunity to fight me fairly."

"Which city are you talking about...?"

Before You Zhi could ask for details, Celestial Gold Knight had already transformed into light and vanished.

"Forget it. It wasn't a complete loss. At least it gave me a chance to undergo a trial. Looks like I made the right bet this time. It truly appreciates straightforward methods more."

You Zhi turned toward the southwest. "That direction leads to Goldenrod City, right? Then the disaster it mentioned is practically obvious."

If this followed the game's plot, Team Rocket remnants would occupy Goldenrod City and use radio broadcasts to call for their boss, Giovanni, hoping he would appear and lead Team Rocket once again. Unfortunately, Giovanni never appeared in the end.

If it followed the plot of Pokémon Adventures, the mastermind would be Pryce, the Ice-type Gym Leader. But the thought was dismissed by You Zhi as soon as it arose.

The reason was simple. Pryce in Pokémon Adventures turned evil because, when he was young, an accident in the ice fields caused him to lose two carefully raised Lapras. Pryce believed it was his fault and constantly blamed himself, eventually deciding to capture the mythical Pokémon Celebi and travel through time to make up for his past regret.

But in this world, Pokémon could be revived after death. That fundamentally eliminated the possibility of Pryce turning evil.

After thinking it over, You Zhi decided to head to Goldenrod City to prepare after trading for the "Onix." But just as he took a step forward, he suddenly sensed something strange.

"Wait, this place looks familiar."

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. You Zhi hurriedly took out the blueprint Morty had created for him through Thought Writing. After comparing it with the surrounding terrain, he confirmed that this was the place.

"So there should be a Pokémon here corresponding to the 'Sudowoodo.'"

He looked around, yet did not see even a trace of a Pokémon. After thinking for a moment, he simply climbed to the top of the slope to observe from above—and he really did find it.

More precisely, he did not find it himself. His cheat detected its presence.