Pokémon: Master System.

Her gaze darted back and forth between the two of them, and only when she saw the mischievous smile on Long Yanning's face did she realize that she wasn't dreaming.

It's embarrassing, really embarrassing.

"You...you two?" Chi Hanqing looked at the two uncertainly: "Are you really...dating?"

"Yes." Xia Yu nodded and reached out to take Long Yan Ning's hand: "It's the real deal, we just officially confirmed our relationship today."

Listening to Xia Yu's words, Chi Hanqing silently plopped back down on the sofa, her feelings a mix of emotions.

Thinking that her words of criticism against Xia Yu had been heard by the real Xia Yu without missing a single one, she felt her face burning. This was practically a major social disaster.

What hurt her even more was that her best friend was dating someone behind her back!

What's even more upsetting is that her best friend is dating a handsome 18-year-old young man who is also the champion of the Sichuan Provincial University Cup and the most talented researcher.

To put it another way, one day you suddenly discover that your best friend has fallen in love with a young, beautiful, and wealthy woman, and the very next day she gives him a sports car.

Chi Hanqing had only one thought in his mind: You fucking deserve to die, it's worse than killing me.

Chi Hanqing was so angry she almost ground her teeth to powder. Why did she even bother chasing after him? It was just asking for humiliation.

…………

Xia Yu actually knew Chi Hanqing; he mentioned Chi Hanqing's name and background when Elder Lin arranged an assistant for him.

Actually, his original intention was to have Chi Hanqing as his assistant. After spending the past few days with him, Xia Yu found that Chi Hanqing was really easy to use.

He possesses strong professional skills and a high level of theoretical knowledge. He is far superior to Xia Yu, a half-baked pseudo-researcher.

Xia Yu had seriously considered that the technology involved in Z-Moves and Mega Evolution was not actually that advanced. The core of these two experiments was Z-Crystals, Evolution Keys, and Mega Stones. As long as the core items were available, Mega Evolution and Z-Moves would be discovered sooner or later.

However, the remaining two, Dynamax and Mega Crystallization, are much more technologically advanced.

Dynamaxing requires Eternatus's energy, Wishing Star to be made into a Dynamax Band, and a field to be built in a fixed location with a large amount of Dynamaxing energy.

Each of these items requires advanced technology; it's not something Xia Yu could have accomplished by himself.

Secondly, the core of the Tai Crystallization, the Tai Crystal Bead, is also artificially manufactured. Manufacturing the Tai Crystal Bead is not a simple matter, and even now, Xia Yu does not know how to make the Tai Crystal Bead.

However, Xia Yu does have a Tai Crystal Bead, a reward from the system. If used properly, it might be possible to reverse-engineer the manufacturing process of the Tai Crystal Bead. But this is not easy, and it is absolutely impossible for Xia Yu to complete it alone. Therefore, it is necessary to find two professional experimental assistants.

Since Chi Hanqing intends to continue serving as her experimental assistant, and given her powerful background, she is undoubtedly one of the best candidates to be the experimental assistant.

"Ms. Chi," Xia Yu said with a smile, "Our previous collaboration was very pleasant. Your professionalism and theoretical knowledge have been of great help to my experiments, and I hope you can continue to serve as my experimental assistant. However, this experimental project of mine will not be launched in the short term; it will only begin after I finish the University Cup. I wonder if you would be willing?"

Chi Hanqing nodded without hesitation. She thought Xia Yu would refuse her, but she didn't expect Xia Yu to take the initiative to invite her to be an experimental assistant.

Mountain darkly, vista.

"It's a deal. Come on, I'll treat you to drinks." Hearing Xia Yu's agreement, Chi Hanqing felt relieved and immediately offered to treat Xia Yu to drinks.

…………

Chapter 286 National Finals of the College Cup

After a night of heavy drinking, immersed in a sea of ​​alcohol, when Xia Yu woke up the next day, he felt dizzy and had an unbearable headache.

Sitting on the soft bed, looking at the clothes she had changed into, Xia Yu fell into deep thought.

He tried hard to recall what had happened the night before, but found his memory to be somewhat confused and blurry.

Xia Yu vaguely remembered that last night, Chi Hanqing warmly invited him and Long Yanning to his house for drinks. The three of them decided to go to Chi Hanqing's house, cook hot pot, have a late-night snack, and drink some wine.

At first, the three of them were quite restrained, but as they drank one glass of wine after another, they gradually let loose and started chatting.

Chi Hanqing put one arm around Long Yanning's shoulder and the other around Xia Yu's shoulder, addressing Xia Yu as a brother and praising him, especially his talent and ability in scientific research.

Under the influence of alcohol, Xia Yu also made a bold statement: the new experimental project, if not surpassing Mega Evolution, should at least be on par with Mega Evolution.

Under the adoring gazes of Chi Hanqing and Long Yanning, and amidst their constant praise, Xia Yu became drunk, completely unconscious.

Xia Yu couldn't remember anything after that. His alcohol tolerance was just too low.

…………

The National Finals of the University Cup are about to begin, with 68 contestants from 34 provincial-level administrative regions across the country competing for the final championship.

Of the 68 contestants, 4 are national seeded players who can directly advance to the top 8.

These four seeded players will be selected by votes from all participating players, officials, judges, the four kings, and the audience.

The remaining 4 contestants will be selected from the remaining 64 contestants through four rounds of elimination.

Amidst much anticipation, the four seeded players were finally announced three days before the start of the finals.

Without a doubt, Xia Yu, with his outstanding performance and unprecedented Mega Evolution, has become one of the top seed players this year with a huge advantage, and is also a favorite to win this year's High School Cup.

With the strongest support Noivern, plus Mega Sceptile and Mega Charizard, such combat power is quite explosive even on a national scale.

Moreover, Xia Yu also has a Gym Leader-level Dragapult as a trump card. After learning moves such as Flamethrower and Thunderbolt, its strength has increased dramatically.

Putting aside Mega Evolution, Dragapult is undoubtedly Xia Yu's strongest Pokémon right now, a Gym Leader-level Pokémon in a class of its own, with near-Master-level potential, and will undoubtedly be the absolute main force in Xia Yu's team.

With this amazing team lineup, Xia Yu just wanted to shout to the heavens, "Who can stop me?!"

However, while others might not be a match for Xia Yu, Su Muzi, a Fairy-type, is still capable of fighting him. Fairy-types are natural counters to Dragon-types; this is a type disadvantage that cannot be changed.

However, once Su Muzi is eliminated, the others are no threat. We need to come up with a strategy to crush Su Muzi.

Strategically, we should despise the enemy; tactically, we should take the enemy seriously.

Besides himself, Xia Yu also paid close attention to the information of the other three seeded players. The first one was an old acquaintance of Xia Yu's, Su Muzi from Shanghai. As a Fairy-type trainer, she had a Dragonite and used the Extreme Speed ​​move to directly defeat her opponent.

Su Muzi's popularity is second only to Xia Yu. In the finals of the Magic City competition, Su Muzi's Dragonair successfully evolved into Dragonite. With the powerful strength of Dragonite, she swept her opponents and easily won the Magic City championship.

It's very tricky.

The third seeded player is Chen Yuze, a Water-type trainer from Mingzhou City, whose signature Pokémon are Ferrothorn, Pelipper, Swampert, Kingdra, and a host of other Water-type Pokémon.

Xia Yu wasn't worried about Chen Yuze. His Charizard could Mega Evolve at any time, taking over the weather and giving him an absolute advantage. His core Pokémon, Ferrothorn, was completely countered by Charizard and was nothing to worry about—just a weakling.

The fourth contestant is a bit troublesome. He is Zhang Zheng, an Electric-type trainer from Haijin City, whose signature Pokémon is Jolteon, making him a difficult opponent.

There was originally another player, Li Yang, from the Never-Night Market. He was also very strong and a popular candidate for the top four. However, Xia Yu's sudden emergence took away his spot as a seed player, and now he can only rely on himself to fight his way up step by step.

Besides these strong players, there are a few others that Xia Yu needs to pay close attention to.

The first to be affected is Li Shiyu, who lost in the finals of Xishu Province. Even though she lost to Xia Yu, she is still not to be underestimated.

If she hadn't met Xia Yu, and hadn't encountered Xia Yu's cheating Mega Evolution, she would definitely have been one of the top contenders.

Besides Li Shiyu, there is also Xiang Hanli, the powerful Flying-type trainer who defeated Xia Yu. He is also very strong, and his signature Pokémon, Salamence, is very memorable.

Finally, there is Yi Yu, an Ice-type trainer from Shangjing City. Compared to the others, he is not particularly famous, but his battle record is extremely impressive. His Pokémon team is also very good, with a group of powerful Pokémon such as Ninetales, Abomasnow, and Mamoswine.

These eight are also the top eight candidates in the eyes of the audience. Each of them has at least one Gym Leader-level Pokémon. The strength and level of this year's contestants are the highest ever.

This year's University Cup is also being hailed by the organizers as a year of dazzling stars, as the official promotional poster features these eight players along with the championship trophy. The core figures are Xia Yu and Su Muzi.

…………

As time went on, Xia Yu's fame grew, and he became busier as well. In the past few days, people frequently came to visit him. Xia Yu naturally tried to turn them away whenever possible. He could ignore the head of the guild, but if it was one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Xia Yu would never refuse them entry.

What's more, there are quite a few champions among them.

Given these people's backgrounds and identities, he truly had no way to refuse; this is what they mean by being caught in the web of power and having no choice in the matter.

After several days of social engagements, with the start of the High School Cup Global Finals, Xia Yu finally had some free time to train his Pokémon and devise strategies.

Because Xia Yu is a seeded player, his match will start in a week, and he will have a week to prepare.

His opponent in the quarterfinals is very likely to be Xiang Hanli, and Xia Yu is full of expectations for this match.

You were the one who broke my winning streak a few months ago, weren't you?

Things change, and now let me see just how strong you really are.

Besides his signature Pokémon Salamence, Xiang Hanli also has a troublesome Corviknight and a Grass-type Serperior.

Although it looks intimidating, Xia Yu's Mega Charizard Y, relying on Fire-type moves, can easily defeat Corviknight and Serperior.

As for Salamence, it really is a bit tricky.

…………

Chapter 287 Battle of Revenge

A week later.

After a week of competition, the top eight teams in the national finals have been determined.

The list of the top eight contestants was exactly as predicted by the official sources, without the slightest deviation. These eight players represent the highest level of this year's graduating class.

Xia Yu, Su Muzi, Chen Yuze, Zhang Zheng, Li Yang, Li Shiyu, Xiang Hanli, Yi Yu.

Starting today, the quarterfinals will officially begin, and the final celebration of the University Cup is about to begin.

In order to attract viewers and boost ratings, the organizers deliberately placed the popular contestant Xia Yu as the first to appear.

Tickets for this match sold out immediately upon release. Tickets that originally cost 600 yuan were sold for ten times that price by scalpers, and they were still extremely difficult to obtain.

Before the match even started, the stands were already packed with people, with no seats available.

Nearly two-thirds of the people in the stands were wearing Starlight City's battle uniforms, holding up their support signs and cheering for Xia Yu.