This Trainer Has No Sportsmanship

[Gem-Knight Quartz (Level 4, Earth)]

[Lineage: Rock-type]

[Level: 20]

[Talent: Fierce]

[Attack: 1500 (1500)]

[Defense: 1500 (1500)]

[Fairy-Type, Effect: Omitted]

As a Rock-type Pokémon, Quartz's skin blended into the surrounding environment. Combined with what seemed to be some kind of camouflage technique, You Zhi had observed for quite a while, even with his cheat's reminders, before distinguishing her from the landscape.

"What brilliant camouflage. If I didn't have my cheat, I definitely would have been fooled into thinking she wasn't here. Judging by the direction she's facing, she must have been drawn here by the Celestial Gold Knight too."

You Zhi immediately summoned Magician's Valkyria and walked toward her position.

Gem-Knight Quartz did not move. She had great confidence in her camouflage and did not believe a mere human could see through it. She took it as a coincidence. If she moved, it would be no different from exposing herself.

However, when Magician's Valkyria came within ten meters, Quartz could no longer deceive herself. She had to admit that the human had discovered her. She immediately summoned a pile of falling rocks and hurled them at Magician's Valkyria, then turned and fled.

But Gem-Knight Quartz stopped after only a few steps, because Silent Magician used Teleport and blocked her escape route in advance. She could not help panicking.

"Rumble... rumble!"

Magician's Valkyria dodged the Rock Throw attack, then turned to You Zhi. "She says that if you don't stop, she'll Self-Destruct on the spot, and you won't get anything."

"Then ask her what it would take for her to let me subdue her."

In fact, Magician's Valkyria did not need to translate. Quartz understood human language and responded on her own, "Rumble..."

After hearing Quartz's words, Magician's Valkyria wore an odd expression, but she still translated. "She says she doesn't want to be subdued by a weakling who can only rely on Pokémon. Only a brave warrior who can defeat her with his own strength is qualified to earn her loyalty."

The Knight's Promise

After hearing Magician's Valkyria's translation, You Zhi hesitated.

He had only broken through to the fourth level of Strength-Weakness Mimicry last night. What if he failed to control his strength and hit her too hard, leaving her with psychological trauma?

Some might say that he hadn't held back when dealing with the Neon Stone Sprite, so why had he suddenly become so tender toward women?

Seriously, could voluntary surrender and being captured by force receive the same treatment?

When dealing with others, one had to be fair.

No matter what, since she had come to him of her own accord, You Zhi had no reason to refuse. He put Magician's Valkyria and Silent Magician back into their Pokémon Cards, then assumed a stance inviting her to teach him.

Quartz froze for a moment. She seemed not to have expected him to accept her proposal so readily. No wonder he is the Trainer favored by that lord. He truly has the spirit of a knight.

For the sake of such bearing, she had to hold back a little and let him lose with some dignity.

With that thought, Quartz first gave him a verbal warning, then struck with Karate Chop. It was thirty percent weaker than usual, and she did not aim for a vital spot, deliberately leaving room for him to evade.

According to her plan, they would exchange two or three evenly matched moves, and then she would "luckily" win in the end. That would preserve his dignity while allowing her to retain her freedom.

I really have thought of everything!

Before that smug thought could fade, a hand suddenly appeared in Quartz's field of vision and rapidly enlarged, instantly blotting out everything like a stone mask pressed against her face.

The next instant, heaven and earth overturned, and her consciousness went dark.

After an unknown amount of time, Quartz slowly awoke from her coma.

"What happened...?"

Just as she was about to recall what had happened before she passed out, she suddenly heard fierce fighting. Looking toward the sound, she saw a blue-skinned giant lizard clad head to toe in steel armor and a young girl holding a magic staff joining forces to attack their Trainer.

Steel-Armored Lizard was immensely powerful, like a chariot. Any stones it struck scattered like dandelion seeds, while a sweep of its tail could leave a clear, rugged crack in the hard rock wall.

The Spellcaster girl clearly had a staff, yet she kept it slung behind her back and fought only with her fists. Sometimes flames burned around them, sometimes electric light flashed, and sometimes cold air spread out. Her movements were agile, and she advanced and retreated in perfect order.

Quartz instinctively compared herself to them and felt that she would have little chance against either one, let alone the two Pokémon together. With strength and agility combined, their power far exceeded the sum of their individual abilities.

Yet against the human Trainer, even such an outstanding combination could only be taught a lesson.

"Being strong is a good thing, but you can't rely on strength alone. Especially when facing someone stronger than you, the best approach isn't to throw every punch with full force. On the contrary, reserving twenty percent of your strength for adjustments can make you even more effective."

"There's nothing wrong with liking close combat, but don't neglect your talent. No one says Psychic moves can only be used at range. And when learning moves, don't focus only on damaging ones. Skills without offensive power, like Flash, can also have tremendous effects when used properly."

You Zhi easily received the attacks of the two Pokémon while pointing out their shortcomings.

He did not know how other Trainers cultivated feelings with their Pokémon, but he had always connected with his Pokémon this way. At the same time, he could give them targeted training, achieving several things at once.

After connecting with them for a while, You Zhi spotted an opening. He knocked Magician's Valkyria down with one palm strike, then kicked Divergent Lizard Yihao more than ten meters away and into the mountain wall, finally ending the spar.

He turned around and saw Quartz standing there in a daze. He was not surprised and casually said, "You're awake."

Quartz nodded blankly.

"Your reaction's a little slow. Did you suffer some internal damage to the head? But I clearly held back a bit..."

You Zhi did not think much of it. Pokémon bodies were made of spiritual power anyway. At worst, he could use Spirit Reconstruction; even severe injuries could heal. He took out a Pokémon Card and handed it to her sincerely. "That ended too quickly earlier. If you're unconvinced, we can fight again."

Quartz stared blankly at the Pokémon Card for a while, then sighed audibly. "Rumble..."

Magician's Valkyria translated from the side. "She says that as a knight, she must keep her word. But she still has a group of subordinates. If she suddenly disappears, there will definitely be chaos. So she hopes Master will let her leave for a while. Once she settles her personal affairs, she will return to serve Master."

You Zhi asked in confusion, "Can't you leave your mark first and then go?"

"Rumble..."

"She says her subordinates are all fools. If she returns after becoming a Trainer's Pokémon, none of them will listen to her commands."

After relaying this, Magician's Valkyria added, "That is indeed how it works. Pokémon can tell whether another Pokémon has been subdued by a Pokémon Card. Once subdued, they are no longer regarded as the same kind. Even if they used to be the leader, they lose the right to give orders."

You Zhi nodded and said readily, "Fine, then go. I'll wait for you here for six hours."

"Rumble."

Quartz turned and left.

"She says thank you... Does Master really intend to let her go? She might just be using this as an excuse to leave. Once she goes, she may not come back," Magician's Valkyria warned.

"If she doesn't come back, then she doesn't come back. A Pokémon that breaks its word is useless no matter how talented it is. If she does return, that proves she is trustworthy. Using such a simple method to see a moral trait that even my cheat can't appraise is an incredible bargain."

Magician's Valkyria seemed to understand, yet she said nothing.

Four hours later, just as You Zhi was considering whether to hunt some wild game to fill his stomach, Gem-Knight Quartz returned. She was injured and appeared to have fought someone.

Quartz walked straight up to You Zhi, then dropped to one knee, just like a knight swearing loyalty.

Unfortunately, You Zhi did not understand that whole Western knighting ritual. Otherwise, he could have played along to heighten the atmosphere. As things stood, he could only take out a Pokémon Card and place it before her.

Quartz did not mind the anticlimax. She stretched out a hand and pressed it against the Pokémon Card, voluntarily leaving her mark. A flash of light followed, and she was drawn into the card.

At last, You Zhi could use the Pokédex to confirm her true traits.

Gem-Knight Quartz had two traits. The first was similar to the Neon Stone Sprite's: she could automatically summon an Instant-Activation Spell Card, but the card's name had to contain "Polymerization" and have a continuous effect.

Her second trait was that when she evolved into Fusion Form, she could gain the power bonuses she had possessed as an unevolved Gem-Knight.

"So Polymerization Spell Cards really exist in this world. But what are they for? Pokémon can undergo Fusion Evolution on their own. They don't need Spell Cards to help them."

You Zhi was puzzled. After thinking for a while, he decided to summon a Polymerization Spell Card and test its effect himself.

(Author: No saved chapters left.)

A Pile of Meaningless Cards

"The principles of all heaven and earth, the origins of rise and fall, the recompense of virtue and evil, the tales of gods and ghosts, the laws governing Pokémon, answer my summons!"

Inside the inn room, You Zhi set up the ritual and began summoning Spell Cards.

However, instead of using the newly subdued Gem-Knight Quartz as a medium to attempt summoning an Associated Card, he placed an E-rank Summoning Stone on the altar. Only by stockpiling a large number of E-rank Spell Cards could he better utilize Silent Magician's attack-boosting trait.

The success rate for summoning E-rank Spell Cards was extremely high. Even beginners had an eighty percent chance of success, and experienced Trainers almost never failed. You Zhi had always been lucky since transmigrating, and this time was no exception.

As the hexagram summoning array glowed, a Spell Card slowly formed at its center. But after You Zhi used the Pokédex to identify its effect, his expression turned awkward. He finally understood why people called E-rank Spell Cards meaningless cards.

[Instant-Activation Spell: Pot of Generosity]

[Effect: Return two Spell Cards in your hand to the Spirit Realm]

The card effect of this Spell Card was to return two cards from one's hand to the deck. In Card Duel terms, it was essentially losing three cards for one. In reality, it became returning Spell Cards to the Spirit Realm.

If Pot of Generosity's effect had been to return two Spell Cards in the opponent's hand, it would unquestionably have been an A-rank card. But returning one's own Spell Cards... A Trainer could simply stop supplying spiritual power and let the Spell Cards dissipate on their own. There was no need to refine another Spell Card for that.

After thinking it over, You Zhi figured that this card could only be useful in one situation: when a Trainer had refined two Spell Cards but missed the timing to activate them, leaving them in hand to consume spiritual power for nothing.

If the Spell Cards were allowed to dissipate, that would amount to using them to no effect. Since Spell Cards had cooldowns, if a situation requiring them arose afterward, the Trainer would have no cards to use. By using Pot of Generosity to return the Spell Cards, however, there would still be a chance to refine them again.

"I might never use this in my life."

Since he only wanted it to increase his stockpile, You Zhi could not be bothered to think about its specific use. He replaced the Summoning Stone and continued the ritual.

[Spirit-Accumulating Spell: Goblin's Half-Hearted Effort]

[Effect: Sacrifice part of a Pokémon's life force to negate an Instant-Activation Spell Card activated by the opponent and return it to their hand]

The effect of the second Spell Card was just like its name: utterly half-hearted.

If it negated and destroyed an Instant-Activation Spell Card, it would indeed be useful. But it only returned the card to the opponent's hand. Wouldn't the opponent just use it again?

If it targeted a Spirit-Accumulating Spell Card, it could at least buy time or waste the opponent's spiritual power. But Instant-Activation Spell Cards could be activated at any time and required no additional spiritual power. What was the point of interrupting the opponent's activation?

"It isn't completely useless. If a Pokémon has a trait that raises its attack when its life force decreases, it could work with this card to automatically drain health."

Even You Zhi felt that what he said was unreliable. He put away Goblin's Half-Hearted Effort and continued summoning the third E-rank Spell Card.

[Spirit-Accumulating Spell: White Hole]

[Effect: When the opponent activates the Spell Card "Dark Hole," protect your Pokémon from being destroyed]

How should he put it? Using one E-rank Spell Card to cancel out an opponent's B-rank Spell Card was naturally a huge profit. But the key was, how would you know the opponent was going to activate Dark Hole?

Even if you gathered intelligence beforehand and knew the opponent possessed the Spell Card Dark Hole, there was no guarantee they would use it in battle. You couldn't possibly keep White Hole in your hand forever after refining it, could you?

"This card needs to be paired with the ability to see the future to be most effective."

After three cards in a row with subtle effects, You Zhi completely gave up investigating the practical value of E-rank cards, especially without Silent Magician's support.

Calling E-rank cards meaningless cards was indeed perfectly apt. It truly came from experience.

The following summons produced Spell Cards such as Inspection, Humble Sentry, Dice Shock, Pincer Attack, and Double Trap. Among them, the ones with a little practical value were Fiend's Curry and Mars.

The former card restored 200 life points to the player, while the latter reduced the player's life points by 200. After becoming Spell Cards, their effects became "restore/deal one point of life force to a Pokémon."

Although the amount restored or damaged was very small, they were only E-rank cards, and the spiritual power consumed to refine them was negligible. From a cost-performance perspective, they were barely acceptable. More importantly, they were broadly useful and could be used in most situations.

He had summoned ten E-rank cards in total without a single failure. That was more than enough stock for increasing Silent Magician's attack.

You Zhi sensed the remaining spiritual power in his body. He had consumed very little, so it would not affect the next summon. He immediately placed Gem-Knight Quartz's Pokémon Card on the altar as a medium and chanted the summoning incantation again.

Before long, a shining C-rank Spell Card slowly formed. Its artwork clearly depicted a shattered gem.

[Spirit-Accumulating Spell: Bright Flame]

[Effect: ① When a "Gem-Knight" Pokémon on your field is destroyed by the opponent, the opponent suffers damage equal to that "Gem-Knight" Pokémon's original attack value; ② While this card is on cooldown, consume one "Gem-Knight" card to refine this card again]

In Card Duel terms, consuming one card meant sending it to the graveyard.

"The second effect is useless to me. The first is basically a last-ditch counterattack."

This Spell Card could only work with Gem-Knights, and its usefulness was merely passable. You Zhi did not pay much attention to it and immediately carried out his second C-rank summon. Unfortunately, he failed this time. The Spell Card automatically shattered halfway through forming.

After making a slight adjustment, he performed a third C-rank summon. This time, not only did he succeed, but the summoned Spell Card's name contained the word "Polymerization."

[Instant-Activation Spell: Scatter Fusion]

[Effect: Cause one non-Rock-Type Gem-Knight Pokémon to undergo Fusion Evolution. When this card is destroyed, the Pokémon exits its Fusion Evolution state. While this card is on the field, your other Pokémon cannot undergo Fusion Evolution]

After seeing the Spell Card's effect description in the Pokédex, You Zhi immediately understood the purpose of Polymerization-type Spell Cards.

A Pokémon's evolution was permanent, while Polymerization-type Spell Cards allowed Pokémon to temporarily possess evolved abilities.