A Challenge / Prelude ...

"Of course the sense of oppression is strong. This is the main Pokémon of the Battle Tower Grand Lord, Palmer. I heard that it's to promote the Battle Zone and attract more tourists, so they release their Pokémon to patrol around every day. Other Grand Lords' Pokémon are also there, but at different times."

Hearing the surrounding tourists' discussions, You Zhi realized that this Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon was Palmer's Pokémon, and not just an ace, but a main force. From this, he deduced that Palmer's strength was probably higher than that of an average gym leader, and the other four Lords were probably about the same.

"That's normal. The Grand Marshal is like the face of the Battle Frontier. If he's not strong enough, how can he be qualified to invite other trainers to battle? In this respect, he's fundamentally different from a Gym Leader."

The Gym Leader's role is to test, while the Grand Master's role is to oversee. The former will hold back, while the latter will only go all out to defeat the challenger, just like the Elite Four of a region.

You Zhi then toured the entire Battle Frontier. At each of the five corners of the plaza stood a building: a tower, a factory, a castle, a roulette wheel, and a stage, each with different battle rules.

Some are double battles, where trainers can send out two Pokémon at the same time. This requires considering the synergy between the Pokémon and the combination of their abilities. A typical example is Magician's Valkyria's ability to protect other Spellcaster Pokémon from battle damage. In single battles, this ability is practically useless, but in double battles, it can play an unexpectedly important role.

Some are type-specific competitions, requiring trainers to use Pokémon with a specific ability, similar to Gym Leaders.

Some are pure Pokémon battles, where trainers are prohibited from using Spell Card and can only command their Pokémon to fight.

Some are spell-restricted matches, requiring trainers to use only one type of Spell Card, or specifying the level of the Spell Card, or limiting the maximum number of Spell Card that can be used in a single match.

Some are star-level restricted competitions, requiring trainers to use Pokémon whose star level cannot exceed a certain threshold.

In short, all the rules that ordinary people can think of are here, and the different rules will make the Spirit Duel more interesting and subvert the common understanding of strength and weakness, thereby attracting more viewers to spend money to buy tickets.

Like the gyms, the Battle Frontier requires tickets. The plaza is open to the public and can be freely explored. There are also five large screens in the plaza broadcasting matches live. However, watching on a screen is far from the experience of being there in person. To truly feel the atmosphere of the matches, you must buy a ticket to enter the Battle Frontier.

In addition, trainers must pay a registration fee to participate in the competition.

Of course, the Battle Frontier is currently in the initial stage of attracting tourists and trainers, so as a grand opening promotion, admission and registration fees are waived.

You Zhi watched three matches, two of which were clashes between noobs and one was a complete rout. From the perspective of Spirit Duel, they had no entertainment value. However, due to the special rules, the two clashes between noobs were particularly interesting. The two players made fools of themselves from time to time, which made the audience laugh. It can be seen that they were very entertaining.

This is part of the initial chaotic phase, as trainers earn points by participating in competitions, and are then categorized into bronze, silver, and gold tiers based on those points.

Right now, everyone is at the bronze level, with masters and newbies mixed together, making it easy for one-sided matches to occur. As the number of matches increases and each trainer is assigned to a level corresponding to their own strength, they will engage in battles between trainers of the same level, which will increase the excitement of the matches.

In addition, trainers who win battles can earn Battle Points, which can be exchanged for Pokémon Battle Points in the shop. This is a method used by the Battle Frontier to attract trainers.

"Excuse me, what is this new rule competition with the question mark?"

You Zhi noticed a set of question marks that represented a series of rules in the game, so he asked the commentator about it.

"This is a brand new dueling mode that we're about to launch, different from anything we've done before. Please wait until it's officially announced..."

As the female commentator was giving her standard answers, a blond man interjected, "This entirely new form of dueling is called Riding Duel."

Chapter 165 Invitation to Battle

The one who interrupted was Palmer. He extended his hand to shake You Zhi's and smiled, saying, "Welcome to the Battle Frontier."

"I'm sorry I couldn't attend the unveiling ceremony as scheduled."

Since he had stood them up, You Zhi felt it was necessary to apologize in person.

"Don't worry about it. I heard that you and the gym leader next door encountered an accident."

Palmer easily dismissed the matter without asking You Zhi what kind of accident had happened.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, You Zhi inquired about the Riding Duel.

"This is a new type of dueling proposed by the young lady of the Crawford family. The rules are very interesting, and we all agree that this type of dueling is highly entertaining. As long as the promotion can keep up, it will eventually become a trend, and may even have the opportunity to become a mainstream dueling rule."

Palmer offered a few sincere compliments, then mentioned the biggest drawback of Riding Duel: "The only problem preventing us from launching this type of duel is its extremely high requirements for the venue. It requires a circular track, which we plan to build in the inner circle of the plaza. However, this requires meticulous design to minimize the impact on other buildings."

You Zhi asked curiously, "You think so highly of Riding Duel?"

Although he was the one who suggested Phile promote Riding Duel, he didn't believe that verbal descriptions alone could convince others.

Palmer didn't hide anything, stating frankly, "Having faith in the project is one thing, but the cost of building the track will be borne by the Crawford family is another, and the family head Pegasus, has promised to help with promotion."

It turns out it's a risk-free business; no wonder he agreed so readily.

If the promotion is successful, the Battle Frontier will have another place to attract tourists; if the promotion fails, they will not suffer any losses and can even get free publicity.

Of course, for Phile, the Battle Frontier platform allows him to promote Riding Duel to the trainer community in the shortest amount of time. Without this platform, the same amount of money would only yield worse results.

"By the way, we also have a pet storage service here, offering free training for Pokémon. Would you like to give it a try?" Palmer enthusiastically recommended.

"Storage service? Free Pokémon training? You're not planning to breed Pokémon, are you?"

You Zhi immediately thought of the Breeding House in the Pokémon Yugi. The Breeding House allows you to store Pokémon for free. Every time the player controls the protagonist to take a step, the Pokémon stored in the Breeding House will gain 1 experience point. In addition, if the two stored Pokémon of different genders and belong to the same egg group, they can breed the next generation.

Ditto can breed with any non-legendary Pokémon to produce eggs, thus earning it some strange titles.

However, the Pokémon in this world are made of spiritual energy and cannot reproduce. You Zhi had specifically investigated this beforehand and found that the breeding center located in Goldenrod City in the Yugi's setting does not exist.

After Palmer explained, You Zhi finally understood what was going on.

In the Battle Frontier, there is a tournament format called Random Duel. The rules are that participants do not use their own Pokémon, but can only choose three Pokémon from six randomly provided by the organizers to participate in the duel. After each victory, participants can choose one of the Pokémon used by their opponent to replace one of their own Pokémon.

This duel rule tests the trainer's flexibility and command ability, and excludes the training of Pokémon, which is very fair in a sense. It narrows the gap between commoner trainers and noble trainers, and is therefore very popular with the audience.

To host such a competition, the organizers must provide a sufficient number of Pokémon and constantly add new Pokémon to their inventory. Otherwise, once the number of competitions increases, everyone will know which Pokémon are available and can prepare corresponding tactics in advance, rendering Random Duel unviable.

So the operators of the Battle Frontier came up with a solution: inviting professional trainers to deposit their extra Pokémon with them.

It's important to know that professional trainers have caught countless Pokémon. Even excluding those with low talent, they usually use between 10 and 20 Pokémon for battle. In addition to their main battle Pokémon, they also have a bunch of reserve Pokémon to deal with special situations.

This can easily lead to a situation where the reserve team's Pokémon's level can't keep up with the main battle Pokémon, leaving them far behind. After all, trainers have limited energy and can't attend to everything.

This service in the Battle Frontier is exactly what I need. If you don't have time to train your Pokémon, you can leave it to someone else. Since they are just trainable Pokémon, you don't expect them to become very powerful. As long as they can level up, it's a win.

In addition, trainers who participate in Random Duel can come into contact with Pokémon that they wouldn't normally have access to, thereby gaining relevant information. In a world where knowledge is monopolized, this is definitely an invaluable asset, which is why ordinary trainers are very enthusiastic about participating in such competitions.

The organizers, the trainers who store their Pokémon, and the trainers who participate can all benefit from this, making it a win-win situation.

However, for Yusho, who possesses Pokédex and can Cheat Appraisal You Zhi using cheat codes, this kind of duel is not very appealing.

"I'm sorry, my standards for catching Pokémon are very high, and I always strive for perfection, so the number I catch is not large, at least not to the point where I can't keep up with it."

"It's alright, just leaving an impression is enough."

Palmer believes that once You Zhi becomes a Pokémon Master, he will have so many Pokémon under his command that he won't be able to take care of them all, and he will think of them then.

Even a celebrity's Pokémon, or a trainer's Pokémon, is a huge draw. Ask any trainer, who wouldn't want to command Lance's Pokémon?

Moreover, many trainers believe that their failure is mainly due to their impoverished background and the mediocre Pokémon they have captured. They argue that if they had acquired a few exceptionally talented Pokémon, they could have become masters just as well, and that the mediocre Pokémon have hindered their excellent command abilities.

Random Duel allow these trainers to see the truth.

"By the way, we're planning to hold an open tournament tomorrow, inviting powerful trainers to duel to attract more attention. Would you like to participate?"

Palmer took the initiative to extend an invitation to You Zhi.

"I'm just a trainer who just earned my fifth Gym Badge. Are you sure you want to invite me to a competition? What if the battle isn't exciting enough? It could damage your reputation."

"Of course, I trust my judgment. You not only have a promising future, but you are already a trainer worthy of serious consideration."

You Zhi suddenly recalled the image of the Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon he had just seen and said, "I can't refuse your compliment, but I have one request. I hope you will be my opponent in tomorrow's duel. I want to see how far I am from the top trainers."

Palmer hesitated for a moment, then nodded emphatically, "No problem."

Chapter 166 Prelude

Having made a duel with Palmer, You Zhi lost interest in continuing his wanderings. After parting ways with Guanglang, he returned to the inn to rest and recuperate. He didn't bother to cram for Spell Card at the last minute. After summoning a few spirits for a brief spar, he went to bed and slept until dawn.

Perhaps due to the open tournament, You Zhi noticed that there were significantly more tourists visiting the Battle Frontier today than yesterday. While not exactly shoulder-to-shoulder, the crowd density was comparable to that of popular tourist attractions.

Thanks to the organizers' frequent events, the popularity of the Battle Frontier has not declined since its official opening; in fact, it's booming. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that its future is bright, and it's only a matter of time before it becomes a hit across the entire region. Trainers from the Kanto Region will eventually be attracted here as well.

You Zhi had a VIP card, so he didn't need to queue with ordinary tourists and was quickly greeted by staff and arrived at the VIP box of the Battle Factory.

After a while, Palmer also entered the private room. After calmly greeting You Zhi, he did not speak again and sat in his seat without saying a word, completely different from his enthusiastic attitude yesterday.

As the audience gradually took their seats, the atmosphere became increasingly lively. When the 28,000 seats were nearly full, the host made a dazzling entrance riding a Fire Lion, spewing wreath-shaped Flame along the way, instantly raising the atmosphere to its peak.

The host first introduced the history of the Battle Frontier, then introduced the five Battle Buildings including the Palmer, and finally introduced the owner, a middle-aged man named Scott who wore sunglasses, was pot-bellied, and was approachable.

In a friendly voice, Scott recounted his initial motivation for establishing the Battle Frontier, the hardships he encountered along the way, and also looked ahead to the future. When the audience's appetite and patience had reached a critical point, he decisively announced the official start of the Open Tournament.

Accompanied by a bolt of lightning that ripped through the sky, a black dragon descended from the heavens. Amidst the surging lightning, a slender woman leaped off the dragon's back. It was none other than Dahlia, the female leader of the Battle Roulette. She had beautiful long hair and wore a crop top, looking like a dancer performing on stage.

"Goddess of Roulette!"

"Goddess of Roulette!"

The audience started chanting Dahlia's name, many of whom were actually staff members in disguise. However, with the atmosphere building up, the rest of the audience joined in the cheers. After all, beautiful women tend to receive preferential treatment, and a burly man might not have the same effect.

"In the first open tournament, the contestant from the Battle Frontier is none other than Ms. Dahlia, known as the Goddess of Roulette. Her elegant curves and graceful figure make one want to set aside the competition and watch her dance on stage... Well, those trainers whose minds are only on Spirit Duel probably won't agree. So, who will Ms. Dahlia's opponent be? Everyone, look up!"

At the commentator's startling reminders, the audience looked up and saw a huge black shadow descending from the sky, like Ultraman Gaia making his appearance, stirring up waves of dust as it landed.

It was a giant ape-like monster covered in fur, with thick, black braids flowing from its wild, long hair. It had a ferocious appearance, and it lowered its hand to the ground. A stern-faced man stepped out from its palm.

"Let's give a warm round of applause to Norman, the Gym Leader of Petalburg Gym in the Hoenn Region! Norman's journey begins with courage; he is a man who pursues great power. Let's look forward to the fierce battle to come!"

The audience was mostly from the Johto Region and Kanto Region. Not many people recognized Norman, but his status as a gym leader still earned him applause.

"I didn't expect you to actually bring this person here."

You Zhi immediately straightened up and focused intently on watching the game.

Others may not know Norman's identity, but he knows that this Pokémon. He is one of the strongest gym leaders and is very responsible for his work, neglecting his family in the process. People around him often describe Norman as "he was born for Pokémon".

Palmer said, "The Battle Frontier was first established in the Hoenn Region, so we have certain connections with the local trainers."

"I'm not surprised by that, but I'm surprised you arranged for him to fight in the first match. As far as I know, given his personality, he wouldn't hold back in Spirit Duel, even if it's just an open tournament. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"This is exactly the effect we wanted to achieve, letting the audience know that we strive for realism in the war zone."

As they were talking, the two on the field began their duel, each commanding their spirit to launch probing attacks.

"Dahlia is using an Ampharos Super Thunder Dragon, a dual-type Ampharos, while Gym Leader Norman is using Normal-type Bigfoot. Both are level 8 Pokémon, and they don't have any type advantage against each other, which makes it even more challenging for the trainers to command them..."

With the commentator's eloquent narration, the two sides, after probing each other, immediately launched a fierce battle, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.

Just as You Zhi said, Norman didn't think about giving the host any face and went all out in the duel. He was slightly at a disadvantage at the beginning. Bigfoot, which is good at close combat, was helpless against Super Thunder Dragon, which was wrapped in arcs of electricity. Every time they made contact, he was inevitably paralyzed by the electric current, which greatly restricted his movement. However, as soon as he sent out his second Pokémon, the situation was quickly reversed.

The real purpose of this open tournament is to promote the performance, so both sides are required to use only three Pokémon. The six Pokémon used in the informal duels are a bit too long and not exciting enough for the audience.

Neither Dahlia nor Norman intended to put on a show for others, but they were both completely absorbed in their duel, exchanging blows in a spectacular manner that frequently drew cheers from the audience.

Norman defeated the Super Thunder Dragon with his second Pokémon, and then perished together with the second Pokémon summoned by Dahlia. The two sides were tied 2-2, with each having only one Pokémon left to use.

At this point in the fierce battle, Dahlia had completely forgotten about the purpose of the open tournament and only wanted to defeat her opponent. Therefore, she gave up the Pokémon that was originally scheduled to appear and instead summoned her ace Pokémon to fight.

"Shining across the sky and resounding across the earth, the God of Thunder Destruction reigns supreme! Appear, Thunder Berserk Thunder Star Thunder God!"

With a thunderous roar, a mighty warrior wielding a greatsword appeared on the field, exuding the aura of a seasoned warrior.

This is a Ten-Star Fusion Form Electric-type Pokémon with a powerful piercing ability and base attack and defense stats of 3000 and 2200, respectively.

Seeing this, Norman, with an expression of respect for his opponent, drew a Pokémon Card from the void. The moment everyone saw this Pokémon Card, their hearts couldn't help but pound.

"Formed from the power of the weak, with an ordinary body, you rival the gods. Awaken, Sleeping Giant Gudong!"

Chapter 167 The Duel Begins with the Debut

[Sleeping Giant Gudong (10 stars)]

[Level: 50]

[Genealogy: General]

[Attack Power: 0(0)]

[Defense: 0 (0)]

[Warrior-Type, Effect: ① Omitted; ② This card is unaffected by other card effects; ③: Activated during damage calculation when this card battles a monster. This card's ATK and DEF become the opponent's monster's ATK + 1000 during damage calculation.]

As soon as the blue giant appeared, an invisible mental pressure spread out, like a heavy mountain pressing down on everyone's hearts. The scene, which had been unusually noisy due to the cool appearance of Tyrant Thunderstar, instantly fell silent, leaving only the commentator excitedly introducing information about the Sleeping Giant Gudong —as the ace Pokémon of the Gym Leader, relevant information had already been leaked.

After listening to the commentator's introduction, the audience became increasingly silent, and even Dahlia, the opponent, showed an expression of being cornered and powerless to turn the tide.

Sleeping Giant Gudong possesses the strongest resistance. "Unaffected by the effects of other cards." This means that neither Spell Card nor spirit traits can affect it. Furthermore, its attack and defense stats are equal to the attack power of the spirit it battles plus 1000, meaning that no matter how strong the opponent's destructive power is, it will become stronger.

Based on these two points alone, even the Three Egyptian Gods would be terrified.

In Card Duel, Sleeping Giant Gudong can only be used for acrobatic entertainment because its summoning conditions are too demanding. However, in Spirit Duel, there are no summoning conditions. All elves appear directly, and their intimidation is no less than that of god-level elves.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Sleeping Giant Gudong is truly unbeatable. In Card Duel, even if the attack power is only 1 point higher, it's still a complete defeat for one side and a complete victory for the other. But in Pokémon Spirit Duel, even if there's a huge difference in attack power, as long as the skill hits, it can still deal damage to the opponent. Through a series of battles, you can completely deplete Sleeping Giant Gudong's health.

Because it is "unaffected by the effects of other cards", Norman cannot use Spell Card to restore Gudong's health.