Pokémon: Master System.

On the stage where the quarterfinals are held.

With Charizard unleashing its final burst of heat, Xia Yu, displaying absolute strength by defeating three opponents at once, advanced to the top 4 in Starlight City and secured a spot in the main tournament.

…………

After leaving the battlefield, Xia Yu went to a private room to watch the next match.

Zhao Ruohan versus Wang Qingli.

Looking at Zhao Ruohan, who stood gracefully on the battlefield with a cool and aloof expression, Xia Yu found it hard to reconcile her current beautiful and aloof appearance with the gentle and charming look she had just six months ago.

He never expected that Zhao Ruohan would be able to make it into the top eight, considering that Zhao Ruohan became a trainer two months later than him.

Although Bug-type Pokémon grow the fastest of all Pokémon, Zhao Ruohan has only undergone a maximum of five months of training so far. Even with the strong support of her father and the intensive training in the Grass and Bug Secret Realm, it is still quite impressive that she was able to enter the top 8 in Starlight City.

…………

Inside the private box, Xia Yong looked at Zhao Ruohan on the field with a hint of pride on his face. He said to Xia Yu with a smile, "Son, look at your dad's last disciple. What do you think? Pretty good, right?"

"Very impressive," Xia Yu praised sincerely, "Only a little bit worse than me."

"You rascal." Xia Yong was quite satisfied with his apprentice Zhao Ruohan, and he couldn't hide the smile on his face. Because as long as Zhao Ruohan could win this match, she would be able to enter the provincial main competition.

So, the top four in Starlight City are his son and his apprentice. Half of the top four are related to him. Just thinking about it makes him feel proud. Look at the prestige of the Bug-type Gym.

Looking at Xia Yu, and then at the many young people on the field, Xia Yong realized that he really was getting old.

As the Xia brothers, Xia Luo and Xia Yu, grew up and the Xia family prospered, his interest in training Pokémon diminished considerably.

Besides, he's already in his fifties or sixties. Asking him to try to become a Champion-level trainer is too tiring. It's better to leave the opportunity to the younger generation. Xia Yong feels that he should just be a Bug-type Gym Leader.

Xia Yong is now just hoping that Xia Luo's child will be born soon so he can take care of his grandson.

Therefore, Xia Yong basically handed over all the Bug-type Pokémon that Xia Yu gave him to Zhao Ruohan, and began to focus on training Zhao Ruohan, wanting to take a backseat.

"Game start!"

As the referee's voice rang out, Xia Yong and Xia Yu turned their attention back to the battlefield, where both sides released their Pokémon.

Zhao Ruohan dispatched Oulupu, whose strength was at the peak of the elite level. (Above image)

On the other side, Wang Qingli sent out a Clamshell with Lord-level strength. Unfortunately, this Clamshell's characteristic was not continuous attacks, but rather hard shell armor.

"Xiaoyu, who do you think will win, Zhao Ruohan or Wang Qingli?" Xia Yong asked his son.

Xia Yu glanced at the two Pokémon's moves, and suddenly he frowned. He saw a strange move in Orup's move pool.

Take the baton.

Baton Pass has always been a powerful move in Pokémon battles. It allows you to switch Pokémon with the Pokémon on your back, and the switched Pokémon inherits the changes in the Pokémon's abilities.

The skill of baton passing has also led to the development of extremely famous baton passing tactics. However, with the rise of skills such as blow away, roar, black mist, and taunt, baton passing tactics have become increasingly difficult to implement.

However, in battles of this caliber, relay tactics still have great potential. It's quite clear that Zhao Ruohan is currently employing a relay tactic.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ruohan's Orup happens to have learned the skills Meditation and Iron Wall. Combined with the Light Wall and Reflect Wall skills that Orup can learn on its own, as well as Orup's strong defense and special defense, if it is strengthened and replaced by Edelweiss, it may actually be able to sweep the team and defeat Wang Qingli.

Especially since the opponent's spiky clams haven't learned the skill of hatching, their threat level is significantly reduced.

"I think Zhao Ruohan will win," Xia Yu said.

"Oh? Why?" Xia Yong was surprised. As Zhao Ruohan's teacher, he naturally knew that Zhao Ruohan's Europique technique also contained a baton-passing tactic.

Why did Xia Yu think Zhao Ruohan could win?

"Support my classmate."

…………

Just then, the match began.

"Europa, reflector!"

Facing Cloyster, which primarily uses physical attacks, Zhao Ruohan calmly responded by having Orop use Reflect to reduce the physical damage received.

"Spiny Shell, Ice Cone!"

Wang Qingli, having the attribute advantage, naturally sent Cloyster to attack. Several ice spikes condensed in front of Cloyster and flew towards Orpheus. However, facing Orpheus, which is known for its dual defenses, and with the damage reduction effect of Reflect, Orpheus suffered very limited damage.

"With Europ, Iron Wall!"

Iron Wall can greatly increase defense. A large amount of Steel-type energy surged in front of Orp, and his skin shone with a metallic luster, greatly increasing his defense.

After being enhanced by the Iron Wall skill, Eulupu is now an impenetrable fortress.

Cloyster's attack, even with type advantage, was like a mere scratch on Orpheus's body.

Upon hearing Zhao Ruohan's order, Wang Qingli frowned. It was unlikely that Cloyster could break through Orpheus's defenses with just Cloyster. Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, she chose to replace her Pokémon, recalling Cloyster and replacing it with Glaceon.

Despite Wang Qingli's substitution, Zhao Ruohan calmly executed her tactics: "Use Euclid, Light Wall."

Glaceon focuses on Special Attack, so even high Defense is useless. She still chooses to set up Light Screen first to reduce the Special Attack damage she receives.

"Ice Eevee, freeze-dried."

"With Eurypton, meditate."

Next, Glaceon continuously used Freeze-Dry to reduce Orpheus's HP, while Orpheus continuously used Calm Mind to increase its Special Defense and Special Attack.

Several minutes passed, and Zhao Ruohan's Eulupu hadn't used a single attack skill. Instead, she kept using the Meditation skill and endured several Freeze-Dry attacks.

After several consecutive freeze-dry attacks, Orp's injuries worsened to the point where he was almost at his limit, but at the same time, his special attack and special defense were stacked to a terrifying level.

"Take the baton, with Europ!"

With Normal-type energy surging from Orpheus, his body transformed into a red light and retreated back into his Poké Ball, replacing Frostwolf.

Snowflake Moth is the evolved form of Snow Swallower, and it is the Snow Swallower with near-Heavenly King aptitude that Xia Yu chose. It was born around the same time as Ya Ya.

Frostwolf is one of the weakest Pokémon before it evolves, but its evolved form, Frostwolf, possesses an extremely powerful ability: Ice Scale Powder.

Ice Scale Powder can halve the special attack damage received, which is equivalent to having a built-in Light Screen.

This Edelweiss is also at the peak of the Elite level. Although it is not as strong as Wang Qingli's Pokémon, Edelweiss is known for its Special Attack. With the boost from several Meditation sessions and the Iron Defense move, its Special Defense and Special Attack have reached an extremely terrifying level.

At this point in the game, Zhao Ruohan already has a significant advantage. If she can maintain her current momentum, she will likely win the match.

"The snowflake moth chirps!"

The pure white Snowflake Moth flapped its white wings, emitting a high-pitched chirping sound, instantly inflicting severe damage on Glaceon.

The next match will be Edelweiss's time to sweep the team. After several meditations, Edelweiss's special attack is more than enough to sweep the team.

As Xia Yu predicted, the match unfolded exactly as she had envisioned: Snowflake Moth successfully pushed her team aside, and Zhao Ruohan secured a spot in the semifinals.

…………

Chapter 193 Charizard vs. Snow Moth

Bug-type Gym.

The stadium was packed with audience members, and countless Starlight City residents in the stands were dressed in Starlight City battle outfits to show their support. The No. 25 Gym battle outfit was the best-selling, selling out as soon as it was released last night, and breaking the sales record for gym battle outfits in just one hour.

Because number 25 is Xia Yu's number.

As the music started, Xia Yu, Zhao Ruohan, Wu Yaozu, and Li Zhiqiang appeared on stage at the same time. Because they were going to broadcast the event live, all four of them wore light makeup and their Starlight City gym battle uniforms.

The Starlight City Gym Battle Suit is entirely black, symbolizing the endless starry sky. A bright star is drawn in the center of the suit, and there is a Bug-type Gym symbol on the chest.

As the four appeared, a huge cheer erupted from the crowd.

"Xia Yu! Xia Yu! I love you, I want to have your babies!"

"Zhao Ruohan, marry me."

"Wu Yaozu, ah! Wu Yaozu!"

"Li Zhiqiang, keep going, you're the strongest!"

…………

The shouts and cheers made Xia Yu blush slightly. She turned to look at Zhao Ruohan beside her and found that her face was also slightly red, clearly shocked by the fans' boldness.

Normally, Zhao Ruohan goes without makeup, appearing beautiful even without a face. But today, with light makeup, she radiates a dazzling glow, like a pearl glowing and a jade glowing. Even with just a fleeting glance, Xia Yu was amazed.

The key point is that Zhao Ruohan has an excellent figure and a well-proportioned body. She can maintain a curvy figure while keeping her waist slender, which is quite unreasonable and seems artificial.

After a brief appearance, Wu Yaozu and Li Zhiqiang will go offstage to rest. The first match of the semi-finals will be between Xia Yu and Zhao Ruohan.

Before stepping off the stage, Wu Yaozu walked over to Xia Yu and whispered a few words: "Go easy on him, we're all classmates."

"No." Xia Yu shook his head and refused: "Only by going all out can you show the greatest respect to the other person. Don't you think it would excite you to watch me beat up girls and see them crying their eyes out?"

"You're such a pervert." Wu Yaozu looked at Xia Yu with disdain: "But just thinking about it is exciting. I'll do that in the future too."

…………

Xia Yu and Zhao Ruohan stood on the battlefield, gazing at each other from afar. Their eyes met briefly before passing each other.

Today's battle arena is different from the small battle arena of the past. Today's battle arena is used by Gym Leaders, and it is not only larger in area, but also has a more open airspace, making it more suitable for Flying-type Pokémon to fight.

At the same time, the number of referees has also increased to three: one main referee and two assistant referees.

"Game start!"

As the referee raised the flag and blew the whistle, the match between Xia Yu and Zhao Ruohan officially began.