This Trainer Has No Sportsmanship

From this, it was clear that "Polymerization"-type Spell Cards possessed the powerful effect of greatly enhancing a Pokémon's abilities. Yet there were still very few users, because after a Pokémon underwent fusion evolution, its star rating often increased as well. Once it exceeded the Trainer's level, it could become disobedient.

Just imagine it—you had worked so hard to increase your Pokémon's strength, only for it to turn against you in battle. Wouldn't that be shooting yourself in the foot?

The star rating of a main battle Pokémon was often directly proportional to a Trainer's spiritual power. It was nearly impossible for an eight-star Trainer to use a two-star Pokémon as their main fighter, which made fusion-type Spell Cards rather awkward.

Low-star Trainers did not dare use them for fear of being betrayed, while high-star Trainers had no need for them. They could simply train their Pokémon to evolve naturally, without relying on Spell Cards for temporary power.

Testing the Waters

While others feared their Pokémon losing control, You Zhi had no such concerns. The day after obtaining "Scatter Fusion," he brought Gem-Knight Quartz out for a practical test.

Quartz seemed somewhat uneasy. Although her stone-carved face was almost expressionless, You Zhi still noticed it sharply and comforted her, "Don't worry. If you lose control, I'll go easy on you."

Upon hearing that, Quartz's unease became even more obvious. She could only keep reminding herself to uphold the spirit of chivalry.

You Zhi activated his spiritual power and forged the Spell Card "Scatter Fusion." The moment it was activated, evolution light shimmering with gemstone hues immediately blazed around Quartz.

Before long, a statuesque woman holding a rapier appeared on the spot. Her body was more slender and athletic than Quartz's, and the cape behind her had changed from red to blue. A diamond flower adorned one side of her helmet and each of her gauntlets, while diamond-shaped armor covered her body, making her glitter from head to toe.

[Gem-Knight Lady Rose Diamond (8 stars) EARTH]

[Lineage: Rock-type, Fairy-type]

[Level: 20]

[Talent: Ferocious]

[Attack: 2700 (2025)]

[Defense: 2400 (1800)]

[Fairy-Type, Trait: ① The "Gem-Knight" Pokémon on your field may negate one effect destruction. This trait can be used again after its cooldown; ② When the opponent activates a Pokémon trait, consume a certain amount of vitality and target one Pokémon or one Spell Card on the opponent's field; destroy that target.]

You Zhi asked, "How does it feel?"

Rose Diamond flicked her rapier, making several beautiful flourishes, then looked toward You Zhi with eagerness glittering in her eyes. In the end, however, she did nothing and merely said, "Lulu lu..."

Magician's Valkyria, looking thoroughly disappointed, translated, "She said she feels better than ever before."

"Lulu..."

"She wants to find a Pokémon to practice her moves on and adapt to her new state."

As Magician's Valkyria translated, she emphasized the word "Pokémon," then revealed an eager expression of her own.

However, You Zhi pretended not to notice. He summoned Divergent Lizard Yihao and ordered him to spar with Rose Diamond.

Compared with Magician's Valkyria, who excelled at nimble movement and fought more like an assassin, the thick-skinned Divergent Lizard Yihao was clearly better suited as a sparring partner. After all, if one could not hit the target, there would be no feedback, and there would be no way to adjust to the new state.

Rose Diamond first raised her sword in salute, then unleashed a storm of attacks. There were no corresponding Pokémon moves involved—only pure swordsmanship. Her technique focused on thrusting, and her sword was so fast that ordinary people would see seven or eight afterimages at once, unable to tell which was real.

You Zhi clicked his tongue. "She was clearly skilled at unarmed combat before evolving, yet she immediately mastered such exquisite swordsmanship after evolution. Pokémon really are amazing creatures."

Magician's Valkyria was a little disappointed that she had not gotten to fight, but she still watched intently from the side. The battle between the two was simply too spectacular.

A battle with an overwhelming gap in strength had no appeal. Only an evenly matched fight could truly be exciting. Rose Diamond's offensive and defensive values were nearly identical to Divergent Lizard Yihao's. Her swordsmanship was exquisite, and though she was still somewhat unfamiliar with it, she was adapting rapidly. Meanwhile, after You Zhi's training, Divergent Lizard Yihao was no longer a hulking brute that relied solely on raw power. His broad, forceful moves had gained a measure of skill.

When Magician's Valkyria usually sparred with Divergent Lizard Yihao, her disadvantage in attributes and size meant that she tended to fight like an assassin. The two simply fought their own ways, their styles utterly incompatible.

Rose Diamond did not appear much stronger than Magician's Valkyria, but her actual strength was only slightly inferior to Divergent Lizard Yihao's. Furthermore, her body was not made of flesh and blood, but diamond. It was far sturdier than it looked, and she did not fall behind in a head-on clash.

"Who does Master think will win?" Magician's Valkyria watched with relish.

You Zhi thought for a moment. "If they only compete in martial skill, Divergent Lizard Yihao has the attribute advantage and will definitely win. But he has no trait support, while Rose Diamond has the advantage in that regard. In the end, the outcome will depend on luck."

At first, Rose Diamond had wanted to rely on her sturdy defenses to trade blow for blow and seize the upper hand. But after taking an elbow strike from Divergent Lizard Yihao, she immediately became more cautious. Her combat style also began to resemble Magician's Valkyria's, focusing on evasion in defense.

The reason was simple. Her dual Rock-type and Fairy-type lineage was four times weak to Steel-type attacks. Her seemingly decent defense could not withstand the impact of Steel-type energy at all.

One side feared no damage trades, while the other retreated after being hurt. Divergent Lizard Yihao quickly seized the advantage and pressed Rose Diamond fiercely.

Forced to use a defensive style she disliked, Rose Diamond's offense was also affected. Under the pressure, her swordsmanship became disordered, and even her afterimages were cut in half.

Even Magician's Valkyria could see it. If the battle continued, Rose Diamond would undoubtedly lose.

But just then, a phantom rose from Rose Diamond's body. It was Quartz before her evolution, and Rose Diamond's abilities instantly increased in every aspect. Her strength and speed surpassed Divergent Lizard Yihao's, and she reversed her disadvantage in the blink of an eye.

Rose Diamond's two traits were useless against the blank-slate Divergent Lizard Yihao, and both were passive traits. Therefore, this enhancement came from her previous form—Gem-Knight Quartz possessed a trait that boosted her own abilities after evolution.

However, after taking several sword thrusts, Divergent Lizard Yihao's ferocity was stirred. He became increasingly savage and violent, while Rose Diamond had no intention of yielding. The battle immediately entered its most intense stage.

A moment later, the outcome was decided. Rose Diamond relied on her higher star rating and greater stamina to wear down Divergent Lizard Yihao, who had grown agitated and wasted his energy recklessly. Even so, she herself was covered in wounds, and several sections of her diamond armor had been shattered. It could only be considered a narrow victory.

Thus, after winning, Rose Diamond remained as respectful toward You Zhi as ever. She showed not the slightest trace of arrogance, much less any sign of turning on her master.

When You Zhi dismissed the Spell Card "Scatter Fusion," Gem-Knight Lady Rose Diamond reverted back into Gem-Knight Quartz.

"Fusion through a Spell Card lets one obtain evolved strength in advance, and there are no other restrictions. In comparison, natural evolution not only requires an Evolution Stone, but also has level requirements. Without the concern of losing control, the former's practical combat value is actually not low."

Unfortunately, not everyone possessed You Zhi's strength, nor did every Pokémon possess Rose Diamond's chivalric spirit. These two fatal factors ensured that the public would not use fusion-type Spell Cards.

"You're tired too. Get some proper rest now."

You Zhi returned Quartz to her Pokémon Card, deciding to let Silent Magician help her integrate into the team later.

He mounted his bicycle and sped toward Violet City, arriving in less than half a day. He then took out the address Morty had written through Thought Writing and asked around for directions.

However, whether his luck had suddenly soared or run out entirely, You Zhi found his target quite smoothly, only to hear bad news from the man.

"The Pokémon 'Cyber Dragon' has already been traded away?"

Fate

Onix corresponded to Cyber Dragon. Although one was Rock-type and the other Steel-type, their appearances were rather similar. You Zhi was not surprised by this and even found it quite reasonable after thinking it over. Still, he had finally encountered a cool-looking non-humanoid Pokémon that could also serve as a mount, only to miss out on it just like that. It really was a pity.

It would have been better if it had been traded for a female Pokémon instead!

That would have made You Zhi feel a little better.

Now that things had come to this, there was no use overthinking it. You Zhi could hardly grab the man by the collar and demand why he had not saved it for him. As a straight man, he neither possessed nor had the nerve to use such a shameless technique of ignoring the facts.

And thinking back, of the two Pokémon Morty had divined for him with Psychic power, the Onix he had thought was certain to be his slipped through his fingers, while the Sudowoodo he had thought nearly impossible to find appeared because of a coincidence. In a sense, it was a loss in one place and a gain in another.

He could only sigh at the unpredictability of fate and the impossibility of forcing destiny.

What else could he do? Turn back time, or reincarnate and steal someone else's opportunity?

If he had that ability, wouldn't it be better to capture legendary Pokémon?

"Sorry for making you come all this way for nothing."

Cyber Dragon's former Trainer was a young man close to thirty. He wore an apron and had just finished cooking lunch for his family.

You Zhi waved his hand. "Not at all. There was no appointment. I was the one who came to disturb you unannounced."

The young man sighed. "It's a pity you came one day too late. Otherwise, I might have kept the Pokémon for you."

"Oh? Why?"

You Zhi did not think his charm was that great, especially not with another man.

"Because you're like me—a commoner Trainer."

The young man sighed again and simply invited You Zhi to sit down for a meal.

Most people would probably politely decline, since this was the home of strangers they were visiting for the first time. But You Zhi had never understood what being overly polite was supposed to mean. Since the man had invited him and he did have a need for food, why refuse his goodwill? After greeting the young man's wife and one-year-old child, he sat down without ceremony.

The young man did not show any surprise that You Zhi had actually accepted. Calmly, he set out an extra bowl and pair of chopsticks for him. As they ate and chatted, he explained the reason.

It turned out that the young man had once been a Trainer who aspired to become a Pokémon Master. By chance, he obtained an exceptionally talented Pokémon, Cyber Dragon Core, and after carefully raising it, it evolved into Cyber Dragon.

With that Cyber Dragon, he stood out among rookie Trainers and successfully earned three Gym Badges.

"For commoner Trainers like us, it isn't exactly common to obtain a talented Pokémon through luck and stand out among our peers, but it does happen every year. Still, one Pokémon alone can never make someone a Pokémon Master. At best, it lets you earn a living in this field.

"Of course, there are some geniuses who use that Pokémon as their starting point, repeatedly defeating three opponents alone with their commanding talent. After gaining fame and wealth, they strengthen their other Pokémon, or perhaps their luck strikes again and they encounter a second exceptionally talented Pokémon. Once a team has two pillars, it gains the confidence to compete against the children of wealthy and noble families.

"Unfortunately, I had neither that kind of ability nor extraordinary luck. I was only a Trainer whose luck was a little better than average. I participated in the city Pokémon tournament three times. I failed to pass the qualifiers the first two times, and the third time, I barely made it through, only to be eliminated in the first round. Then I understood—that was my limit. Being a Trainer was good, but perhaps it wasn't right for me. Besides, I was getting older."

Despite his words, a trace of unwillingness still showed in the young man's eyes.

You Zhi consoled him, "If the gap in Pokémon strength is too great, even superior command ability cannot make up for it."

The young man shook his head. "If it had truly been as you said, I would not have been unconvinced. We often say that the rich can buy Pokémon with money, but Pokémon with exceptional talent have always been priceless and scarce. Ordinary wealthy people cannot possibly assemble an entire team of them. Usually, they can only bear to buy one for their child. Only the truly top-tier rich can spend without blinking, but there are too few of them. I never considered them competitors on the same track as me.

"The opponents I encountered in my three losses were not much stronger than me. Their command ability and the strength of their Pokémon teams were about the same as mine. But I basically did not recognize the Pokémon they used, while they knew everything about mine. They understood their traits, abilities, and lineages perfectly, allowing them to devise targeted tactics.

"So I realized that challenging Gyms and competing in Pokémon tournaments were completely different. In the former, I could gather intelligence beforehand and learn the abilities and attributes of the Gym Leader's commonly used Pokémon. But in the latter, I was the Gym Leader."

"...My condolences."

"Haha, it's not that serious. My life is still quite happy now. If I had continued being a Pokémon Trainer, I might not have the stability I have today. I have some regrets about the past, but no dissatisfaction with the present."

The young man quickly laughed and waved his hand, then continued, "The Trainer who came to see me yesterday was a noble young lady. Originally, I did not want to trade Cyber Dragon to her, but she said that she had just broken with her family for love and would prove herself through her own strength in the future. Her words and actions reminded me of my rebellious youth. Then I dueled her and confirmed that she truly possessed outstanding Trainer talent, so I entrusted Cyber Dragon to her."

You Zhi clicked his tongue. "She really is rebellious. But leaving behind the environment that protected her for so long all at once, she'll probably suffer greatly. I hope she doesn't regret it in a few days."

"Judging by her eyes, she probably won't." The young man smiled and looked toward the television beside them. "I lost heart and confidence myself, but I couldn't drag Cyber Dragon down with me. If I can see it appear in a Pokémon League tournament on television someday, that would count as my dream continuing."

After the two chatted for a while longer, You Zhi was about to say goodbye when he suddenly saw a purple cat with a red gemstone at the tip of its tail leap onto the table. It licked its front paw, and upon seeing it, the child immediately giggled and reached out with both hands to grab it. The cat lightly dodged aside.

"This is Ruby Carbuncle?"

You Zhi recognized it at once.

"Sir knows it?"

"Yes. I have a friend who specializes in training Crystal Beast Pokémon."

"What a coincidence. This Crystal Beast was the Pokémon traded to me by that Trainer yesterday, and my child happens to like it very much."

You Zhi fell silent. One moment, the thought It can't be such a coincidence, can it? surfaced in his mind; the next, Everything matches up already, so what are you still doubting? followed. The conflicting thoughts tangled together.

"...The Trainer who traded Pokémon with you, she didn't happen to have golden hair, did she?"

"Eh? How did you know, sir?"

"Probably because of fate."

Hidden Item

At this point, if You Zhi still had not realized that the one who had snatched Cyber Dragon from him was Alisa, then his parents had truly wasted the effort of giving him a name.

But then again, what could he do even if he knew? He could hardly go to her and say that Cyber Dragon had been his target all along and demand that she return it to him.

Leaving aside the fact that they had fought side by side before, even if she were a complete stranger with no connection to him, he could not do something like that. Did he have no shame at all?

"Didn't she say she wanted to escape the life her family had arranged for her because of her dreams and freedom? How did it become love?"

You Zhi did not believe that Alisa had deceived him that day. There had been no need for it. If she had not wanted to talk, she could have simply stayed silent. It was not as if he had taken the initiative to seek her out for a heart-to-heart conversation.

Based on that premise, there was only one conclusion: the so-called love was a pretext.

Although he did not understand why Alisa had lied to her family, You Zhi keenly realized that the unlucky person used as that pretext was very likely himself. The one million transferred into his bank account earlier was probably her apology money.

When martial arts were not involved, his intelligence had always been reliable.

But even if he had guessed the answer, it seemed meaningless. He could not confront Alisa and demand confirmation. What if she really did have another lover, and the one million really was only a token of thanks? Wouldn't he become a laughingstock for being full of himself?

Conversely, even if Alisa had truly used You Zhi as a pretext, he would not care. At most, it was somewhat inappropriate that she had not informed him beforehand. The matter itself was no big deal, especially since she had even given him apology money.

Even if it were a stranger he did not know, if she proactively offered one million in exchange for using him as a pretext to draw her family's hostility, he would definitely agree without hesitation.

Why refuse free money?

Having cultivated Strength-Weakness Mimicry to the fourth level, he could not claim to be invincible across the world, but there were already very few people capable of threatening his life. Even if he encountered the legendary Three Egyptian Gods, he was confident he could escape.

Therefore, after bidding farewell to Cyber Dragon's former Trainer, You Zhi did not look for Alisa, who was very likely still in Violet City. Instead, he turned back toward Goldenrod City, both to prepare for the coming disaster and to collect his fourth Gym Badge along the way.

Traveling from Violet City to Goldenrod City, he inevitably had to pass through National Park, so You Zhi went in for a look around.

"Hello, sir. Are you here to participate in the Bug-Catching Contest?"

The receptionist recognized You Zhi as a Pokémon Trainer and proactively handed him an application form. It listed the requirements for joining the Bug-Catching Contest, the content of the competition, and finally the judging rules and prizes.

You Zhi glanced over it, then returned it. "I don't plan to participate for now. I'm just taking a walk around the park."

"Understood. Then please avoid the central area for the time being, so as not to disturb the contestants. You may visit all other areas freely."

"I understand. Thank you for the reminder."