Into the Quarterfinals

The two of them had battled once after receiving their starter Pokémon, but that match had ended in Charmander's victory. Starter Pokémon raised by a Gym Leader really were a cut above the Pokémon mass-produced at a breeding center. After more than two months, however, whether Charmander could still beat Froakie was anyone's guess.

"Charmander, Smokescreen!"

"Taunt!"

As soon as their Pokémon took their positions, both Pokémon Trainers gave their Pokémon commands. With those two moves pitted against each other, Ye Ling clearly had the advantage.

Smokescreen was a move that required a sustained release, taking time to build up enough smoke to have an effect, whereas Taunt took effect immediately. Halfway through releasing smoke, Charmander abruptly stopped and charged furiously at Froakie.

"Waterfall!" Ye Ling shouted at once.

During their two months of training in the seaside Secret Realm, Popplio and Feebas had not been the only ones practicing Waterfall. Froakie had worked on it as well. Since Froakie was being trained primarily as a physical attacker, even more effort had gone into practicing Waterfall, making the move more powerful than Popplio's.

"Hmph! Don't think I don't know Froakie has learned Waterfall! Taking down Charmander won't be that easy! Charmander, use Thunder Punch!" Shen Yue shouted. They trained together every day, so of course she knew Froakie had mastered Waterfall. Naturally, she had also prepared a way to counter Water-type moves, the greatest weakness of Fire types. Thunder Punch, the only Electric-type move Charmander could learn, was her answer.

Learning this move was no easy task for Charmander, and it could not be particularly powerful either. Still, having such a move posed a serious threat to Water-type Pokémon, Charmander's natural enemies. At the very least, it provided a means of fighting back.

Bang! Both Waterfall and Thunder Punch were quick to execute. Barely had Shen Yue's voice rung out before the two Pokémon collided, then bounced sharply apart.

"Rooar!" "Froooak!"

Charmander, struck by a Water-type move, and Froakie, struck by an Electric-type move, both cried out in pain. Thunder Punch and Waterfall were both highly damaging moves, and with the type advantage added in, it would have been no surprise if a slightly weaker Pokémon had been knocked out in a single hit. Only the sturdy bodies these two had developed through careful training allowed them to get back up and keep fighting.

"Charmander, keep it up! Use Dragon Breath!" Seeing Charmander stand, Shen Yue shouted both encouragement and a command.

"Fling! Then follow up with Bubble!" Ye Ling gave her commands as well. Froakie had little stamina left and could no longer manage anything too demanding. The simple moves Fling and Bubble were the most practical choices now.

Sure enough, while Charmander was still gathering energy for Dragon Breath, Froakie had already picked up a pebble from the ground and flung it at Charmander.

"Rooar!" The flung pebble did little damage, but it was enough to interrupt Charmander's Dragon Breath. The Bubble that followed immediately wiped out what strength Charmander had left.

"Charmander!" Seeing her Pokémon collapse, Shen Yue did not stubbornly try to keep fighting. She swiftly recalled Charmander into its Poké Ball and ran toward the medical staff nearby...

After Ye Ling, Shen Teng, Yu Lin, and Si Le defeated their respective opponents, becoming the first to advance to the quarterfinals. Si Le was the one who had previously mocked Xiao Ran for not having an Evolution Stone for his Eevee. Although Xiao Ran disliked his behavior, making it into the top eight showed just how strong his Snivy was.

Once the first round of matches ended, it was Xiao Ran's turn in the second round. His opponent was a Cyndaquil, whose Pokémon Trainer was also a classmate of theirs, a boy named Liu Jin. Apparently, his father worked at a government agency, which had given him the opportunity to receive a starter Pokémon.

Cyndaquil resembled a shrew. Apart from its long snout, its head was round, and that long snout was one of its most distinctive features. Four small red openings on its back released pillars of flame when it fought, was attacked, or became frightened. Pokémon Trainers therefore could not touch its back just after catching it, or the flames would burn them.

Cyndaquil had a well-balanced Base Stats distribution. Its final evolution, Typhlosion, could hold its own against Charizard in a head-on fight. Its only shortcoming was being a pure Fire type, with no secondary type to make up for its weaknesses. That did nothing to diminish Typhlosion's strength, however. It was a Pokémon that took the release of fire to the absolute limit.

Facing this Cyndaquil, Xiao Ran nearly suffered an upset. His Water-type Popplio had been dominating the fight, and victory had seemed imminent, only for the opposing Cyndaquil to reveal that it had inherited Reversal, a fantastic move for turning the tables. Fortunately, Popplio specialized in ranged attacks and rarely got close, so the move never had a real chance to work. Otherwise, the final outcome would have been hard to predict.

I'll have to be more careful in the matches ahead! Xiao Ran thought as he stepped down from the battle platform.

By the time Xiao Ran came down, Xuan Yuan Nian had already been sitting below for quite a while. After asking the classmates around him, he learned that she had defeated her opponent, a Grass-type Bulbasaur, in less than a minute.

As one of China's most traditional starter Pokémon, Bulbasaur had an almost perfect training guide available online. Xuan Yuan Nian's strength, however, had gone somewhat beyond everyone's expectations.

Although Hatenna was a Psychic-type Pokémon, its early development leaned more toward support. Play Nice, Life Dew, Aromatherapy, Heal Pulse... Its healing capabilities rivaled those of Chansey, but no one had expected its Psychic powers to be so terrifying.

With the advantage of double damage, Confusion, Hatenna's only attacking move at this early stage, held Bulbasaur firmly in midair. No matter how hard Bulbasaur struggled, it could not break free, and in the end, it was mercilessly hurled out of bounds. It was the most boring, most one-sided battle imaginable.

After throwing Bulbasaur out of bounds, Xuan Yuan Nian calmly recalled Hatenna into its Poké Ball, then turned and left without sparing the boy opposite her another glance.

Although Xiao Ran had been mentally prepared, hearing how Xuan Yuan Nian's battle had gone still surprised him greatly. He had not expected this Hatenna's Psychic powers to be so strong either. Was this what it meant to be a Psychic Awakened? When training a Pokémon with this Psychic typing, her own assistance must have been indispensable. That was also the greatest advantage of the Awakened: they could help Pokémon with compatible types gain a better understanding of the energy of the Elements. Unfortunately, Xiao Ran's current Pokémon were all pure Water types, so he could not truly put the Power of the Moon to use yet.

Besides him and Xuan Yuan Nian, Qiu Feibai's Vulpix and a Torchic also made it into the quarterfinals. This time, Torchic's Trainer was not from Class One, but a girl from Class Two, just like Yu Lin. Her practical attire and outgoing personality had won her quite a bit of popularity.

With that, the Top 8 lineup was settled: Xiao Ran, Ye Ling, Xuan Yuan Nian, Shen Teng, Yu Lin, Qiu Feibai, Si Le, and Yin Jiao. Yin Jiao was the Pokémon Trainer of that last Torchic. The many clashes between Class One students had halved their numbers during the round of sixteen, but they still accounted for more than half the remaining contestants.

The matches after the Top 8 were scheduled for the afternoon and would be held one at a time. The group took the opportunity to head to the cafeteria for lunch and let their Pokémon get some proper rest. Ye Ling's Froakie, in particular, had suffered considerable injuries in its head-on clash with Charmander, making the lunch break the perfect time to take it to the school infirmary for treatment.

"Tsk, aside from Xuan Yuan Nian, neither of you has an easy opponent this afternoon. Think you can handle them?" Jiang Cheng asked Xiao Ran and Ye Ling as he ate.

The quarterfinal matchups had been announced before the morning session ended. Xiao Ran would face Yin Jiao's Torchic, while Ye Ling's opponent was Qiu Feibai's Vulpix. With five Class One students in the top eight, they could hardly all be placed in matches against their own classmates. Thus, each was paired against someone from another class, while the remaining Xuan Yuan Nian would face Si Le in an intraclass match.

"I think so! Shouldn't be much of a problem!" Xiao Ran said after giving it some thought.

This Torchic was very fast, which was Popplio's greatest weakness. As long as its Speed Boost had not been activated, however, that did not matter. A Torchic with Speed Boost was practically a combat chicken among chickens, an entirely different proposition. But handling a Normal Class Torchic like this one should not be a problem.

"Not difficult!" Unlike Xiao Ran, Ye Ling answered without even thinking. If Vulpix specialized in Fire-type moves, she might have needed to give it some thought. If it specialized in Psychic-type moves, however, there was nothing to consider. It would be a complete rout.

After all, Ye Ling's Froakie did not specialize in Water-type moves either, but in Dark-type moves. The type immunities from the games in her previous life did indeed exist, but that did not mean Dark-type Pokémon were truly immune to Psychic-type energy. Rather, Dark-type energy could cancel out the impact of Psychic-type energy. As long as Froakie brought its Dark-type energy into play, it would have nothing to fear from Vulpix's Extrasensory.

"Tsk, tsk. I love that confidence you two have!" Jiang Cheng said with a cheeky grin.

"Niannian, you should be fine too, right? That Si Le is pretty annoying. Teach him a good lesson!" Lan Yanxi said from beside Xuan Yuan Nian. Si Le's persistent attention lately had been irritating her to no end. They had only been at school for a few days, and instead of focusing on training his Pokémon, he was already thinking about chasing girls?

"Huh? It should be fine!" Xuan Yuan Nian paused, then nodded in reply.