The next day, Chu Xin arrived at the arena bright and early. He would be facing a formidable opponent today-the strongest enemy he had encountered so far.
"Wow, you're Chu Xin, right?"
Chu Xin turned to look at the child beside him. Surprise flickered in his eyes for only an instant, and he answered instinctively.
"Yes, that's me."
"Wow, you're really strong! I've watched all your matches. That Dratini is your main fighter, right?"
"That's right. He's also my closest family."
The child nodded. Some Monster Handlers did treat their Monsters as family. After all, most raised their Monsters from an early age, and spending so much time together naturally built affection.
"That Dratini is so cool! Could I have your autograph? I'd like to keep it."
Chu Xin touched his face, feeling a little bemused. Was he already so famous that people were asking for his autograph?
Still, Chu Xin didn't turn the child down, partly to satisfy his own vanity.
"Here, all done."
Chu Xin handed the child his autograph and patted his head with a grin.
"Thank you, mister. We'll see each other again in a little while."
With that, the child ran off, grinning.
"Your milk tea, young master."
Aier held the milk tea in one hand and cradled Farfetch'd with the other.
"Quack, quack!" (I'm hungry. Got anything to eat?)
Aier frowned, took a Pokéblock out of a pocket, and slipped it into Farfetch'd's mouth.
Farfetch'd savored the Pokéblock with a blissful expression. These past few days had truly been paradise. He didn't have to fear for his life, he had more novels than he could ever finish, and he got delicious Pokéblocks every day. What a life!
Ignoring Farfetch'd, Aier looked curiously in the direction the child had left.
"Young master..."
"It's fine. He just came to check out his opponent. Looks like a kid with quite a mischievous streak!"
Chu Xin smiled as he watched the child's retreating figure. One punch would probably keep a brat like that crying for ages!
"Young master, are you sure it'll be all right?"
Chu Xin shook his head and looked at Aier confidently.
"It's fine, Aier. We've revealed quite a bit about Xiao Wu, but we've also kept a lot of his strength hidden. They can't trust all that information."
"Still, it's a good thing I took your advice. This opponent isn't going to be easy. Without advance preparation, Xiao Wu would have taken a serious beating too. This Monster Handler tournament isn't as simple as I imagined. Those sixteen seeded contestants probably have trump cards hidden away as well!"
Chu Xin narrowed his eyes as he looked ahead. He had to take this match seriously. His future was at stake, and he couldn't afford to be careless.
"All right, it's time for me to go out there. I'll be off, Aier."
After saying goodbye to Aier, Chu Xin followed the referee's directions onto the battlefield. Soon, that familiar little boy stood opposite him.
"Hi, mister! We meet again!"
The little boy across from him looked at Chu Xin with a broad smile.
"Nice to meet you, Bai Yuan."
"Oh, so you know who I am! Looks like I really made a fool of myself earlier."
Bai Yuan grinned at Chu Xin, not the slightest bit embarrassed at being exposed.
"Since you know who I am, you must know about my Monster too. Come out, Scyther!"
With a flash of white light from the Poké Ball, a powerfully built Scyther appeared on the battlefield. His imposing presence alone made his strength clear.
"That's certainly a powerful Pokémon."
"Pokémon? What's that?"
"Don't worry about it. It's just a little habit of mine. But with your Scyther, getting seeded shouldn't have been difficult, right?"
At that, Bai Yuan scratched his head helplessly.
"True, but how should I put it? My luck was a little strange. I only fought twice in the preliminaries, then got byes for both remaining rounds, so I wasn't chosen as a seeded contestant. I wanted a cool promotional photo too!"
Finally, the referee beside them couldn't stand it any longer and hurried them into position to begin the match.
"Your Scyther may be strong, but my Xiao Wu is pretty impressive too."
Xiao Wu emerged from his Poké Ball. Completely unfazed by Scyther's imposing presence, he stared at his opponent, brimming with fighting spirit.
"Begin the match!"
"Scyther, use Fury Cutter!"
Bai Yuan's Scyther moved with astonishing speed, leaving an afterimage behind. By the time Xiao Wu reacted, two streaks of white light had already struck him.
"Wu!" (That hurts!)
The damage from Bai Yuan's Scyther's Fury Cutter was truly absurd. It seemed that Scyther's Hidden Ability was Technician, which boosted the power of his weaker moves.
What a troublesome Ability!
But after learning about Bai Yuan, Chu Xin had already made preparations.
"Scyther, keep it up! Use Double Hit!"
Scyther unleashed his move at blistering speed, slashing into Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu simply wasn't fast enough to evade his opponent and could only endure the hits.
"Great! That's it, Scyther!"
He's no big deal at all! There's really nothing to him.
Just as Scyther was about to prepare his next move, Xiao Wu finally moved.
"Extreme Speed!"
A dark blur vanished from where he stood. What reappeared before Scyther was an enormous dragon's tail!
"Oh no! Double Team!"
Scyther swiftly used Double Team to evade the attack, but Dragon Tail still caught him in its wake. Seeing the floor smashed apart by Xiao Wu's heavy tail strike, both Scyther and Bai Yuan were stunned!
Th-that Dragon Tail would kill us if it landed!
Xiao Wu glared at Scyther with a dark expression, his face full of murderous intent. Weren't you acting all cocky just now? Come on, fight me head-on!
"Scyther, confuse him with Double Team! Whatever you do, don't take a hit!"
Scyther after Scyther appeared across the battlefield. Clearly, he no longer intended to face Xiao Wu head-on.
Blades shot from Scyther's wings, striking Xiao Wu and making him howl.
Damn this opponent!
But Bai Yuan's expression had darkened. He knew Scyther's strength well. In previous matches, a single move had been enough to defeat his opponents. Yet now, after more attacks than he could count, that Dratini was still so full of energy!
Chu Xin smiled at Bai Yuan. You're not the only one who knows how to use an Ability. Xiao Wu was carrying a Flame Gem, allowing him to activate Marvel Scale at any moment.
"Xiao Wu, finish this! Use Twister!"
A twister swept across the entire battlefield, covering every inch of it. Scyther's true body was soon exposed, and before long, a familiar, enormous tail appeared before him. Despite his desperate attempt to block it, he was still smashed into the ground.
"Scyther is unconscious! Dratini wins!"
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