Pokémon: Master System.

…………

Xia Yu stayed in the hotel, reviewing the information of each contestant. From the start of the main competition, it was obvious that the strength of the opponents had increased dramatically.

At least Xia Yu saw that the weakest of the seeded players from other cities had Lord-level Pokémon, and the vast majority had Overlord-level Pokémon.

On the table in front of him was a girl's profile. She was Li Shiyu, the champion of Tiandu City this year, and also the most popular candidate for the champion of Xishu Province.

If nothing unexpected happens, this girl will be Xia Yu's biggest rival in the provincial championship. Her ace Pokémon is a shiny Gyarados, which is especially good at Water-type Pokémon.

…………

The three-day competition flew by, and the competition between Wu Pangzi and his two companions ended on the first day. Unfortunately, they were all eliminated in the first round.

There was nothing that could be done about it. Compared with the contestants from other cities, the contestants from Starlight City were far too weak. As a result, Xia Yu was the only remaining representative from Starlight City.

The residents of Starlight City were already used to or had expected this result, as Starlight City was inherently weak and the situation had been the same in previous years.

However, the emergence of Xia Yu this year has raised everyone's expectations. After all, Xia Yu delivered a near-dominant performance in the preliminary rounds in Starlight City, proving himself a worthy opponent for the other contestants.

…………

It was 3 p.m. under the blazing sun.

Xia Yu stood backstage, taking deep breaths and doing warm-up exercises, preparing to go on stage. It was his turn to play in the next match.

Hearing the deafening shouts outside, Xia Yu's heart raced, and he felt a surge of excitement.

He put on his Starlight City battle uniform, looked in the mirror, and gazed at the three Pokémon beside him.

Lizard King, Fire-Breathing Dragon, Buzzbat.

These are the three Pokémon Xia Yu used this time. Among them, Sceptile's strength has reached the Overlord level, while Charizard and Nombat are only one step away from the Overlord level, and their strength is quite good.

However, the opponents he was facing were even stronger, almost all of them being Totem-level Pokémon, and some even being Gym Leader-level Pokémon, which made Xia Yu a little nervous.

Every match from now on will be extremely difficult for Xia Yu.

"Xia Yu, get ready to go!" Hearing the staff's reminder, Xia Yu took out a Poké Ball and put the three Pokémon back into it, ready to go at any time.

…………

"Dear viewers, the next match is going to be very exciting. Seeded player Shang Hongxin from Zizhou City will face off against seeded player Xia Yu from Xingguang City! What kind of sparks will fly in this duel between two seeded players? Let's wait and see. Please welcome the two players to the stage."

As the host's voice faded, the platform slowly rose, and Xia Yu and Shang Hongxin faced off simultaneously.

The battlefield was vast, and due to the distance, from Xia Yu's side, it was difficult to see Shang Hongxin's face clearly on the other side.

The terrain still uses a combination of water puddles, ground, and rocks, which gives water-type Pokémon room to perform.

"You should all be familiar with today's two contestants. Xia Yu is a Dragon-type trainer, and Shang Hongxin is a Poison-type trainer. However, although Xia Yu is a Dragon-type trainer, we all know that his main Pokémon, Sceptile and Charizard, are not Dragon-type." The commentator in the stands was Cheng Taiheng, the official commentator of Xishu Province TV station and also the most popular commentator in Xishu Province. He said jokingly.

Almost every time there's a competition, Xia Yu's identity as a Dragon-type trainer gets brought up and discussed.

"Shang Hongxin from Zizhou City is a Poison-type trainer. His signature Pokémon is a Gengar, as well as a Toxtricity and a Crystal Blossom. Judging from their apparent strength, Shang Hongxin is definitely stronger. I predict that Shang Hongxin will win the match 3-1 or 3-2. Jiang Yao, who do you think will win this match?"

Sitting next to Cheng Taiheng was a young and beautiful woman, none other than the official female commentator Jiang Yao: "Then I will support Xia Yu and guess he will win the game 3 to 2."

"Alright, the match is about to begin. Let's turn our attention to the arena."

Chapter 224 Crystal Flower

Xia Yu stood on the field, looking at the audience around him and listening to the shouts coming from the stands, his heartbeat slightly quickening.

Even the most composed and calm person cannot remain calm when standing on a stage with tens of thousands of people, as the voices of the surrounding audience rush into his ears.

"Xia Yu! Go for it!"

"Xia Yu, for the glory of Starlight City, we will win!"

"Go, Shang Hongxin!"

"Zongzhou City, invincible!"

"Brother Yu! You will win!" Wu Yaozu shouted loudly from the stands, her voice filled with fervor. Zhao Ruohan and Li Zhiqiang beside her waved their support signs, cheering for Xia Yu. Their shouts grew louder and louder.

…………

"Game start!"

As the referee blew his whistle, Xia Yu and Shang Hongxin threw out their Poké Balls almost simultaneously, and Charizard and Crystal Flower entered the fray at the same time.

The giant screen immediately split to display the two's official photos, while their first Pokémon scent lit up, showing images of Charizard and Crystal Flower.

"It's here! A black Charizard! Xia Yu's signature Pokémon!" Cheng Taiheng, the commentator, said passionately from the commentary booth: "It's not hard to see from the previous matches that Xia Yu's black Charizard is a special attacker, its ability is Solar Power, and it has learned the move Solar Beam. With the help of today's sunny weather, it may have an extremely impressive performance."

The beautiful commentator Jiang Yao added, "Shang Hongxin obviously guessed that Xia Yu would send out Charizard, so he chose Crystal Blossom. Crystal Blossom, with its Rock and Poison attributes, can pose a threat to Charizard with its powerful Power Gem and Rock-type moves."

While the two commentators were speaking, Xia Yu gave the order first!

"Charizard, Sunshine Flame!"

Under the bright sunshine, Solar Beam accumulated energy at an extremely fast speed. Almost the instant Xia Yu gave the order, the surrounding Grass-type energy frantically converged towards Charizard, and Solar Beam instantly took shape, shooting a beam of light like a laser cannon towards Crystal Flower.

"Crystal Flower, Invisible Rock!"

Unlike Xia Yu's choice, Shang Hongxin opted to have Crystal Flower use the Invisible Rock skill.

Stealth Rock is arguably one of the most effective moves against Charizard. Crystal Flower ignored Charizard's attack, its deep blue petals opening and gathering Rock-type energy. Countless small, sharp rocks floated in the air, restricting Charizard's movements.

At the same time, the blazing sunlight struck the Crystal Flower directly, instantly causing severe damage. The flower was sent flying a great distance before regaining its footing, and at the same time, its body sprayed purple poisonous spikes onto the ground.

If it weren't for the fact that Crystal Flower is a top-tier powerhouse, it might have been instantly killed by Charizard's powerful solar energy attack. This is the charm of Charizard under the combined power of the sun and a sunny day.

"Charizard, continuous Solar Beam!" Xia Yu frowned, then continued to give the order.

The poison spikes that the Crystal Flower just scattered are due to its characteristic of spreading poison everywhere.

The Poison Spikes ability is exclusive to the Crystal Blossom family. In the game, when Crystal Blossom takes physical damage, it sprays poison spikes from its body onto the ground, poisoning any Pokémon that enters the battle. Pokémon that are not on the ground are unaffected.

In reality, the Poison Spray ability means that Crystal Flower will spray Poison Spikes after taking a certain amount of damage. Even special attack damage can trigger this ability.

The Poison Field ability is an extremely powerful ability, one of the most powerful abilities, and it's a perfect fit for the Crystal Flower Spikes user.

However, compared to poison spikes, the real threat to Charizard is the Stealth Rock. As long as it flies in the air, it will inevitably collide with the Stealth Rock, causing high damage to Charizard, which is four times weak to Rock.

"Charizard, be careful, fly in the air, and unleash Solar Beam continuously." Charizard listened to Xia Yu's command, maintained its original posture, flew in the air, and once again unleashed Solar Beam, gathering Grass-type energy.

The dazzling beams of light shot towards the crystal flower like laser cannons.

"Power Gem, Crystal Flower!"

Faced with Charizard's blazing sunlight, Shang Hongxin showed no panic. He immediately had Crystal Flower use Power Gem to counterattack.

A surge of Rock-type energy erupted from the Crystal Flower, accumulating almost instantly. Then, the Rock-type energy burst forth with dazzling light, forming a beam of light that flew towards Charizard!

"Get away!"

Faced with the Power Gem of Crystal Flower, Xia Yu chose to have Charizard dodge in the air. With a fourfold weakness to Rock, Charizard would have a hard time withstanding the full-force attack from the Totem-level Crystal Flower.

However, this forces Charizard to crash into the invisible rock floating in the air.

"Roar!"

Charizard obeyed Xia Yu's command, flapping its wings and flying directly in the air, easily dodging the Power Gem from the Crystal Flower. However, while flying, the sharp and pointed Stealth Rock left countless tiny wounds on its body, with blood beads constantly seeping out.

At the same time, Charizard's Solar Beam covered Crystal Flower, and the dazzling beam of light struck Crystal Flower, knocking it off the field and instantly rendering it unable to battle.

Two powerful Solar Beams gave Charizard an early lead, but before it could leave the field, Crystal Blossom triggered the Toxic Spray ability again, scattering Toxic Spikes across the ground, which was now covered with a dense array of them.

"The Crystal Flower has lost its ability to fight!" As the referee's voice rang out, the crowd erupted in cheers and shouts, with countless people cheering for Xia Yu.

At the same time, the image of the Crystal Flower on the giant screen dimmed, signifying that it had lost its fighting power.

Xia Yu's fans and the audience in Starlight City erupted in cheers. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought that Xia Yu had won the championship. Who would have thought that Xia Yu had only won one small match?

Because in the eyes of the fans, Starlight City rarely produces players like Xia Yu anymore. In addition, Wu Yaozu and others were swept out a few days ago, and the residents of Starlight City have long been holding back their anger.

Now that Xia Yu has finally won a small match, they naturally want to vent their frustration.

Unlike the excitement of the audience, Xia Yu did not feel much joy, because the Pokémon Crystal Flower is not actually strong in one-on-one battles; its greatest strength lies in its ability to set up choke points.

Once Crystal Flower is paired with the Toxic Grounds ability to unleash a Stealth Rock and two Toxic Spikes, it has completed its mission and can be retired.

Shang Hongxin on the field also appeared very calm, seemingly unaffected by the loss in the first match.

"Go, Drapion!" Shang Hongxin calmly threw out a Poké Ball, releasing a Pokémon he had never used before, Drapion!

"Oh?" A gasp came from the commentary booth: "Drapion is a Pokémon that Shang Hongxin has never used since the start of the High School Cup. It seems that this Drapion must be his ace, otherwise he would not have chosen to send it out when the team is down 1-0."

"Roar!"

As soon as the Dragon King Scorpion appeared, it roared and glared fiercely at the fire-breathing dragon in the sky.

…………

Chapter 225 Dragon King Scorpion

Drapion, despite its name, is not a Dragon-type Pokémon, just like Charizard and Gyarados. Instead, it is a Poison/Dark-type Pokémon. This combination of types gives it only one weakness: Ground-type, making it very suitable as a defensive Pokémon.

The Dragon King Scorpion has a domineering appearance, a huge size, and an extremely fierce and brutal personality. Its entire body is covered with a hard shell, and its sharp teeth look very imposing.

Xia Yu frowned slightly as he looked at the well-developed Dragon King Scorpion. This battle was far more difficult than he had imagined.

It's a pity I can't use Iron Warrior. Otherwise, I could just let my opponent have two Pokémon and use only Iron Warrior to easily defeat these youngsters.