This Trainer Has No Sportsmanship

"May I ask why you moved me up in the order?"

"Because you're very strong. If we followed the original order, a lot of Pokémon wouldn't be able to take the field against you due to stamina issues. That won't do—I have to make sure the audience gets an exciting duel."

Whitney was remarkably candid.

You Zhi did not hide anything either and asked directly, "Am I famous? Why do you think I'm so strong?"

"I watched the video of your match at the Plasma Hotel training grounds. I have to admit that both you and the opposing Trainer were already beyond the level of four badges."

You Zhi immediately understood where his fame had come from. So his duel with Dio that day had been recorded and uploaded online.

Gym duels expressly prohibited spectators from taking photos or recording videos in order to protect Trainers' privacy, but nobody really cared about such rules in private.

"If that's the case, couldn't you just give me the badge directly? I heard a Gym Leader's responsibility is only to test Trainers, not necessarily to duel them."

"That won't do. We still have to follow the process. Besides, I'm also looking forward to dueling a Trainer like you."

Whitney tightened her clenched hand slightly, expressing her determination.

Naturally, You Zhi had nothing more to say.

Both sides took their positions. Whitney slapped her forehead. "I almost forgot to mention it—the rules are 3v3. Whoever has three Pokémon defeated first loses. No problem, right?"

Gym challenges increased in difficulty according to the number of badges a Trainer had earned. You Zhi knew that much common sense, so he immediately drew a Pokémon Card from thin air and said, "Bring it on."

"Let me remind you first: you'd better take this seriously. If you fail to get the badge in the end, don't blame me."

Whitney giggled, drew a Pokémon Card, and said, "You might recognize my first Pokémon. Go, Goblin Attack Force!"

Sure enough, there was a flash of light, and four familiar green-skinned monster uncles appeared on the battlefield.

You Zhi could not help but pause when he saw them. It was not that he was surprised by the Pokémon itself—Goblins were hardly rare Pokémon, and there was no rule saying he was the only one in the world who could have them. But he clearly remembered that Goldenrod Gym specialized in Normal-type Pokémon, so why had she sent out a Dark-type Pokémon?

Whitney herself did not think there was any problem with that. She naturally misunderstood You Zhi's surprise and said, "It's not over yet. Special Evolution!"

Light appeared again. The four originally fierce and sinister Goblins transformed into cartoon versions. Their body lines became soft—so soft they were almost distorted.

[Toon Goblin Attack Force (Level 4) EARTH]

[Lineage: Dark-type, Fairy-type]

[Level: 28]

[Attack: 2300 (2760)]

[Defense: 0 (0)]

[Warrior-Type, Effect: This card cannot attack during the turn it is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned. When "Toon World" on the field is destroyed, destroy this card as well. If "Toon World" is on your field and your opponent controls no Toon Monsters, this card can attack the opposing player directly. When this card attacks, change it to Defense Position at the end of the Battle Phase, and its battle position cannot be changed until the end of your next turn.]

At first, You Zhi had been puzzled when he heard her order an evolution. Wouldn't it have been more convenient to directly summon the Altered Form? Why go through the extra trouble? But upon seeing the effect description, he finally understood. She had done this to avoid the restriction that prevented it from attacking on the turn it was summoned.

"This is your Goblin Attack Force's Altered Form. Isn't it adorable? You can train your Pokémon in this direction in the future too," Whitney recommended with a smile.

You Zhi did not agree. He thought the Zelda Form Goblin was cuter. If he had not already sent the Goblin to Professor Elm, he would not have minded competing against her.

"You'll be up first. Go, Magician's Valkyria."

Magician's Valkyria appeared on the field with a staff in hand and a sharp gaze. Facing the four cartoon Goblins, she showed not the slightest fear.

"Oh, not Goblin Attack Force? That's a bit of a shame."

Clearly, Whitney had similar thoughts, but she quickly entered dueling mode and commanded, "Take them down in one go! Use Sucker Punch!"

The four Toon Goblins immediately charged forward. Magician's Valkyria was about to meet them head-on when she heard You Zhi say, "Stay where you are. Use Protect!"

Although Magician's Valkyria belonged to the type that excelled in combat, she immediately changed her actions. She held her staff before her as spiritual power surged and formed an invisible protective barrier.

The Toon Goblins swung their spiked clubs down on it, only to be bounced away.

"Oh my, how cautious. So you're trying to stall for time and wait for Goblin Attack Force's trait to activate. But I'm not unprepared either. Activate the Spell Card, 'Toon World'!"

Whitney refined the Spell Card in less than five seconds and activated it on the spot.

[Instant-Activation Spell: Toon World]

[Effect: Pay a certain amount of life force to summon a Toon World book.]

This was undoubtedly an E-rank Spell Card. It had no effect at all; the summoned Toon World book was merely decoration, and it even required a cost. Yet given the situation on the field, it could not be called poor value.

Nearly half of the Toon Goblins' life force was deducted. Then, a cartoon book appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the battlefield. When it opened, a castle appeared on its pages.

Because the life force had been deducted evenly, none of the four Toon Goblins disappeared. In any case, they were all extremely fragile; they would basically explode from a single hit, so however much life force remained did not matter much. They continued their attack.

"Dodge!"

Magician's Valkyria did not hesitate in the slightest at You Zhi's command. She decisively gave up maintaining the barrier and rolled backward to evade the attack.

Whitney sighed. "What a shame. It seems you weren't completely unprepared either. You knew that when Toon World is on the field, Toon Goblins gain piercing, allowing them to ignore all defenses."

Chapter 98: You're Not Just Making That Up, Are You?

Toon Goblin Attack Force with piercing was practically a god of slaughter. Four high-attack Pokémon that ignored defense rushing in together would have a chance to become dragon slayers even against Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Naturally, Magician's Valkyria would not stubbornly take them head-on. After all, she had a group of Goblin teammates herself and had sparred with them plenty of times. Though these four Goblins looked warped and bizarre, failing to meet the Goblin race's aesthetic standards, their fighting methods were not much different. Relying on her familiarity with them, she constantly shifted and dodged.

Once, when she truly could not evade, she used her staff to block. Yet under a single blow, both she and the staff were sent flying, and the staff itself cracked apart.

Seeing Magician's Valkyria surrounded with nowhere to run, You Zhi promptly activated the Spell Card Earthquake, which he had just finished refining.

In an instant, the ground shook violently. Magician's Valkyria and the Toon Goblins lost their balance together and fell flat on the ground.

Toon Goblin Attack Force was not Goblin Attack Force, so it did not receive the exemption.

Even Pokémon in the same evolution chain were treated as independent individuals in different forms, unless their traits specifically stated that one Pokémon was equivalent to another.

As a D-rank Spell Card, Earthquake lasted only a short time and could only be used as an emergency measure. It was not that You Zhi did not want to use stronger Spell Cards, such as the Spellcaster-exclusive Gagaga Shield, but the higher a Spell Card's rank, the longer it took to refine. There might not be enough time.

Just as Whitney had activated Toon World earlier instead of its superior replacement, Toon Kingdom. It was not that she did not know the latter was more practical, nor that she had not mastered the corresponding spiritual power formula. She simply did not have enough time.

Toon World was an E-rank Spell Card and could be refined in seconds, while Toon Kingdom was a B-rank Spell Card. By the time it was refined, several Toon Goblins would probably have already been blown apart.

Choosing the proper Spell Card according to changing battle conditions and distinguishing what was urgent from what was important were also major standards for evaluating a Trainer's ability.

Before long, Earthquake's duration ended, and the Toon Goblins' negative trait activated as well. One after another, they lost their will to fight and simply lay on the ground, too lazy to get back up.

Magician's Valkyria naturally would not miss the opportunity. She slung her damaged staff over her back, ignited Flame in both hands, and was about to rush forward and pummel her opponents.

However, as she threw a punch, the Toon Goblin lying on the ground twisted its body and avoided the attack in a C-shape.

Magician's Valkyria was slightly startled and hurriedly launched a flurry of punches. Yet the Toon Goblins seemed to have turned into dough, dodging in all sorts of unbelievable poses that completely defied the limits of biological skeletons. Only one out of every three punches landed.

Whitney smiled. "Surprised? But that's the shared trait of Toon Monsters. They can evade attacks by twisting their body structures, just like those cartoon characters who can pass through a hail of bullets without getting hit once."

"..."

You Zhi vaguely remembered that there really had been a similar scene in the original manga, during Kaiba's duel with Pegasus. But the card image did not mention that effect at all. You're not just making that up, are you?

Fine, Spirit Duels did not allow people to make things up.

You Zhi looked helplessly at the Toon World book on the field. As long as he destroyed that Spell Card, he could trigger the Toon Goblins' trait and destroy them as well. This was also the weakness of most Toon Monsters. Unfortunately, none of the Spell Cards he had mastered were specifically meant to destroy Spell Cards.

If he had a Mystical Space Typhoon right now, he could reverse the situation in an instant.

You Zhi silently made up his mind that after returning, he would summon this type of Spell Card no matter what.

But no amount of planning for the future could change his current disadvantage. After Magician's Valkyria launched a fierce assault, she only managed to blow up one Toon Goblin before the other three got through their negative trait and regained their fighting spirit.

Not only that, Whitney activated another Spell Card she had just refined.

[Instant-Activation Spell: Toon Rollback]

[Effect: Target 1 Toon Monster. For a certain period, double the damage it deals.]

A roll of cartoon tape appeared on the field and wrapped around the three Toon Goblins. Afterward, whenever the Toon Goblins moved, an afterimage appeared behind them. That afterimage repeated their movements and could destroy physical objects—it was not an illusion.

You Zhi glanced at the Gagaga Shield in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and did not activate it.

Facing three Toon Goblins with piercing and doubled damage, Magician's Valkyria fought with all her strength but was ultimately defeated. Even her greatest strength, her agile footwork, was hard to use while being surrounded. Before long, her life force was depleted, and she exploded into scattered light under a blow from a spiked club.

Whitney, who had won a round, showed no joy. Instead, she put her hands on her hips and said, "I warned you, didn't I? You need to take this duel seriously. If your next Pokémon are only at this level too, then don't even think about taking a badge from me today."

Although her words carried a hint of reprimand, You Zhi's self-esteem was not so fragile. He took a deep breath, drew a Pokémon Card, and said, "I'll leave the second round to you. Go, Icejade Aegirine!"

There was a flash of light, and a crystal-clear ice sculpture girl appeared on the field. At the same time, her trait activated. You Zhi did not choose the newly obtained Icejade Cradle and instead still chose Icejade Erosion, setting it face-down on the field.

At that moment, the Toon Goblins' negative trait activated again. They went limp on the ground one after another, slacking off, chatting and joking among themselves while refusing to heed their Trainer's commands.

Neon Stone Sprite took the opportunity to attack. This time, the Toon Goblins could not dodge as they had before, because Neon Stone Sprite used the area-of-effect move Icy Wind.

The ice sculpture girl puffed out her cheeks and blew hard, thrusting both hands forward. A chilling wind swept across half the battlefield, coating the ground in white frost. No matter how exaggeratedly the Toon Goblins twisted themselves, it was meaningless against this sort of attack. Frost began to appear across their bodies.

"My, my, you just finished boasting, and your weakness has already been caught."

Whitney stuck out her tongue. Her adorable appearance drew whistles from many spectators, but she immediately grew serious. "But I won't just sit and wait for defeat. Activate the Spell Card, 'Shadow Toon'!"

[Instant-Activation Spell: Shadow Toon]

[Effect: If "Toon World" exists on your field, target 1 Pokémon on your opponent's field; inflict damage equal to that Pokémon's Attack.]

The cartoon book floating peacefully on the field suddenly snapped shut, then opened again in the blink of an eye. A cartoon Ghost-type Pokémon emerged from within, transformed into Neon Stone Sprite's appearance, and slammed toward her at high speed.

This card's effect inflicted damage rather than effect destruction, so Neon Stone Sprite's resistance to effect destruction could not activate. But that was exactly what You Zhi wanted.

"Now! I activate Icejade Erosion. Its effect lets me target one Spell Card or Pokémon on the opponent's field. One Icejade Pokémon on my field is destroyed, and the targeted object's effects are negated for a certain time."

Whitney could not help but freeze. "To negate my Shadow Toon, you're willing to destroy your own Pokémon? That's far too great a cost. You might as well not activate it."

You Zhi raised two fingers. "You got two things wrong. First, Neon Stone Sprite has the trait of not being destroyed by effects, so I don't need to pay the cost. Second, the target I want to negate isn't Shadow Toon—it's Toon Goblin Attack Force!"

Chapter 99: The Majestic Beast King

If Icejade Erosion's effect had been to target and destroy one card on the opponent's field, You Zhi would definitely have chosen to destroy Toon World. Once Toon World was destroyed, the Toon Goblins would be finished as well.

But Icejade Erosion's effect negated one of the opponent's cards, so choosing Toon World was meaningless. It had no effects at all. Its greatest value was its card name, and card names could not be negated.

Also, Neon Stone Sprite did not possess resistance to effect destruction. Rather, when she was targeted, she gained the ability to avoid being destroyed by effects once per turn. But there was no need to explain such things clearly to others.

Two streams of spring water gushed from the Icejade Erosion Spell Card. One surged toward Neon Stone Sprite and was blocked by an invisible force, while the other rushed toward the three Toon Goblins and washed away their trait effects.

At the same time, the ghost summoned by Shadow Toon passed through Neon Stone Sprite's body, dealing damage equal to her own Attack.

Fortunately, Neon Stone Sprite was a low-attack, high-defense Pokémon. That blow only reduced half her life force, making her frown slightly.

You Zhi said, "The Toon Goblins' traits have been negated, so they've lost their piercing ability. Take this chance and defeat them in one go."

Whitney said, "But that also means they're no longer burdened by their negative trait. And Toon Monsters' ability to alter their body structures is part of their physique, not a trait, so it won't be negated. Your Pokémon is already badly injured. In a direct confrontation, she is no match for the Toon Goblins. You made another mistake in this duel."

The Toon Goblins who had been lying on the ground slacking off climbed up one after another and charged at Neon Stone Sprite.

You Zhi remained unmoved and swept his hand forward. "I activate Ice Rink as well."

Whitney said disappointedly, "It's useless. Ice Rink's effect makes a Pokémon lose its will to fight when it is summoned. It has no effect on Pokémon that have already been summoned."

Her opponent's repeated mistakes made Whitney wonder whether the person in the online video and the one before her were really the same person. After all, even the summoned Pokémon were different. Could they be twin brothers?

You Zhi calmly said, "What I need isn't this Spell Card's effect. It's its ability to change the terrain."

Surging cold air spread from the Spell Card, and the battlefield's ground was immediately covered in a smooth layer of ice. The Toon Goblins had charged too quickly, their feet slipped, and they all fell flat on their faces.

As an Icejade and Water-type Pokémon, Neon Stone Sprite naturally adapted perfectly to the altered terrain. With a light tap of her little foot on the ice, she glided forward as if skating.

Whitney did not panic. Aside from a few rare exceptions, a Pokémon's base stat strength could generally be judged from its appearance. Combined with the result of Shadow Toon earlier, it was enough to prove that this Pokémon's Attack was not high. At most, she could destroy one Toon Goblin. As long as they endured this ambush, they could regain the advantage.

Just as she was making those calculations, the phantom of Steel-Armored Lizard appeared behind Neon Stone Sprite. Her Attack and Defense values instantly soared past 3000. When her small fist flew out, it actually caused the air to boom.

Perhaps due to the earlier Icy Wind, the attacked Toon Goblin had become sluggish and failed to evade in time. It was struck by the punch. Its pitiful 0 Defense could not withstand it at all, and it exploded on the spot!

Neon Stone Sprite's momentum surged as she threw both fists at the remaining opponents.

The two surviving Toon Goblins shrank their necks, directly retracting their heads into their bodies to evade the murderous little fists.