Bagon

Yingnan looked into Xinhai's determined eyes, snatched away the snack Xinhai had just taken a bite of, dumped all the remaining food into his mouth, and said through a muffled mouthful, "Dat's right, I'll definitely surpass them someday."

Xinhai looked at the now-empty snack bag, then at Yingnan, pretending to step forward and settle the score. "You bastard, you could've at least left me some!"

Yingnan dodged nimbly with a grin. Xinhai did not actually chase after him, and before long, both of them turned their attention back to the center of the arena.

At that moment, a thrilling chase was unfolding.

A Meditite was relentlessly pursuing a Torchic. The Torchic's agile body let it evade Meditite's attacks with the blistering speed of Quick Attack and the fierce offense of Flame Charge.

At the same time, it occasionally used Ember and Sand Attack to continually disrupt its opponent.

Meditite and its Trainer gradually became irritated by the constant harassment, and their attacks began to grow disorganized.

Seeing this, Torchic's Trainer curled his lips into a confident smile and decisively gave the order, "Torchic, Quick Attack into Blaze Kick!"

In an instant, dazzling white light erupted around Torchic's body. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, it shot toward Meditite at lightning speed. The moment it closed in, raging flames ignited around its claws, and it unleashed a kick with overwhelming force.

Meditite hurriedly used Confusion in an attempt to block it, but Torchic's attack was simply too fierce and broke straight through the psychic defense.

Meditite took the Blaze Kick head-on and was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Meditite is unable to battle! The winner is Torchic's Trainer!" the referee announced after stepping forward to inspect it.

The spectators around the arena burst into applause. Yingnan sighed in admiration. "That Torchic is so fast! It must've received some seriously professional training."

Xinhai nodded. That Torchic's Quick Attack was incredibly fast, and its control over its moves was also excellent. Moreover, Torchic rarely learned Blaze Kick in reality, so it was most likely an Egg Move. Finally, the power behind its kicks far exceeded that of an ordinary Torchic. It must have undergone harsh specialized training.

Yingnan looked at the Torchic in the arena and said, "That Torchic's developed really well too. Its meat looks nice and plump."

Xinhai could not resist teasing him. "Oh! Yingnan, you could actually tell? Not bad, you've improved!"

Yingnan's face immediately darkened. "What are you talking about?! I've always worked hard, okay?!"

After trading a few more jabs, the two continued watching the following matches. Xinhai kept recording information on the Pokémon that appeared in the arena until it was finally his turn to battle.

"Next match: Trainer Bai Mu versus Trainer Asakawa! Both contestants, please enter the arena!"

After putting away his notes, Xinhai looked at Yingnan. "I'm up."

Yingnan flashed a wide grin. "Good luck! Don't embarrass me."

Xinhai smiled and shook his head before striding into the arena. His opponent was a lavishly dressed young man with an extremely arrogant expression.

Trainer Asakawa casually tossed a black Luxury Ball in his hand, a relaxed smile on his lips. "Xinhai Bai Mu, right? You're pretty capable! But today's match, victory is definitely mine."

Xinhai frowned but said nothing, merely waiting quietly for the referee's signal.

Seeing that his opponent ignored him, Trainer Asakawa snorted coldly and did not say anything else.

Once both sides were ready, the referee shouted, "Trainers, send out your Pokémon!"

"Go, Torchic!" "Defeat it, Bagon!"

The other side released a blue Pokémon with exposed teeth on either side of its mouth, a hard skull, and two tiny arms. It appeared in the arena.

Xinhai was somewhat surprised upon seeing his opponent's Pokémon, his brows knitting tightly. It's actually Bagon. This is troublesome!

The moment Trainer Asakawa sent out Bagon, the audience erupted.

"Oh my god! It really is Bagon! I'm not seeing things, am I?"

"Who is this guy? He actually has a Bagon!"

"I never thought we'd see one of those famously late-blooming Dragon-type Pokémon in a competition like this."

In the real Pokémon world, there was no term such as Pseudo-Legendary. However, Pokémon of this kind were well known for their long growth cycles and tremendous potential, so people called them late-blooming Pokémon.

The referee was not surprised to see Bagon. He had already heard from another referee in charge of the third arena that one Trainer's starter Pokémon was a Bagon. They had not met in the first two rounds, but they had run into each other today.

Listening to the audience's cries of amazement, Trainer Asakawa raised his chin even higher. He glanced at Xinhai and saw that he still wore a calm expression, which secretly irritated him. Let's see if you can stay this calm after you lose!

After the brief surprise passed, the referee blew his whistle and raised his flag high. "Battle start!" He then brought the flag down sharply.

"Torchic, close your eyes and use Focus Energy!" "Bagon, use Scary Face!"

Torchic swiftly shut its eyes, and white energy began surging around its body as gusts of air circled it. Meanwhile, Bagon let out a ferocious roar. Its scarlet vertical pupils gleamed menacingly, the scales across its body rose, and a terrifying expression appeared on its face.

However, Torchic, with its eyes tightly shut, was completely unaffected by its opponent's intimidation tactic and continued focusing on Focus Energy.

Trainer Asakawa froze for a moment, but quickly recovered and hurriedly ordered, "Charge in! Use Dragon Breath!"

Having just used Scary Face, Bagon moved its thick hind legs and charged rapidly toward Torchic, which was using Focus Energy. However, before Bagon reached attacking range, Torchic had already finished using Focus Energy.

Xinhai reacted immediately. "Use Flame Charge to open up the distance!"

Orange-red flames rose around Torchic's body as it raced off to the side like a burning meteor. Bagon's Dragon Breath grazed its tail feathers, leaving a charred streak across the ground.

Trainer Asakawa frowned and raised an arm as he shouted, "Bagon, continuous Dragon Breath! Don't let it escape!"

Bagon tilted its head back and gathered energy, spewing mouthful after mouthful of purple energy flames toward Torchic. Wherever they passed, the ground looked as though it had been scorched by blazing fire, leaving blackened trails behind.

Xinhai stared intently at Bagon's movements. Seeing the attack coming, he shouted, "Quick Attack!"

Dazzling white light burst from Torchic's body as it dashed toward the edge of the arena at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow. The purple Dragon Breaths skimmed past its back, blasting shallow smoking craters into the ground.

Seeing how slippery his opponent was, Trainer Asakawa immediately changed tactics. "Bagon, use Dragon Dance!" As he shouted, he cast a provocative look toward Xinhai, as if saying, Let's see how you deal with this.

Upon receiving the command, Bagon stopped pursuing and began performing a strange dance in place.

Xinhai's expression darkened as he shouted, "Torchic, use Quick Attack to get close! Circle it and use Ember to interfere!"

Torchic nimbly braked and changed direction, swiftly closing in on Bagon with the speed of Quick Attack while continuously firing dense Embers around it.

Trainer Asakawa sneered and ordered, "Ignore it! Continue Dragon Dance!"

The Embers struck Bagon's body. Although pain showed on its face, it did not stop dancing. As Bagon continued its dance, the Dragon-type energy within it became increasingly active, and its movements grew faster and faster.

Xinhai found the situation extremely troublesome. Torchic's only long-range attack right now is Ember, and it's being resisted. Looks like I can only get in close and interrupt it! But if we're going in close, I need an extra safeguard.

"Torchic, use the move that won us our first battle," Xinhai said as he looked at Torchic in the arena.

Yingnan in the audience and Mudkip inside its Poké Ball both looked helpless. ╭(╯^╰)╮

The moment Trainer Asakawa heard that, he became alert and was just about to tell Bagon to be careful when Torchic made its move.

Torchic instantly understood. It moved in front of Bagon, lightly scratched at the ground with its claws, and sent a cloud of sand flying toward Bagon's face—it was Sand Attack!

The Sand Attack hit Bagon squarely in the face, briefly robbing it of its vision. Unable to see its surroundings, Bagon panicked, and its Dragon Dance showed signs of being interrupted.

Xinhai seized the opportunity and quickly ordered, "Flame Charge! Interrupt it!"

Spiraling orange-red flames ignited around Torchic's body as it charged directly at Bagon like a burning meteor.

Trainer Asakawa's expression changed as he swiftly commanded, "Use Dragon Claw to your right!"

Bagon wildly swung its Dragon Claw in its panic, but its obstructed vision caused it to grasp at empty air. Torchic's Flame Charge, however, hit Bagon solidly. The tremendous impact knocked Bagon onto the ground, and Dragon Dance came to an abrupt halt.

Trainer Asakawa's expression turned ugly as he shouted, "Bagon, quickly use Dragon Breath to counterattack!"

Bagon struggled to its feet, rubbing its eyes with its tiny arms as purple energy gathered in its mouth. It cracked its eyes open slightly and fired a Dragon Breath at Torchic.

But at the very instant it fired Dragon Breath, Xinhai shouted, "Torchic, use Quick Attack and circle to its side!"

With its vision already blurred, Bagon's Dragon Breath naturally missed. Meanwhile, Torchic circled around to Bagon's rear flank at astonishing speed, flames blazing fiercely around its legs...