Pokémon cross over into the real world

"Next round, Mr. Santo's Typhlosion will face off against Mr. Akbo's Sea Lion. 10 minutes for betting, everyone hurry up!" the host shouted into the microphone, while the odds for the two Pokémon were displayed on the big screen.

"Fire type versus water type, the latter is countered and the odds are so low?" Jia Wencheng nudged a black guy next to him and asked in English.

"Are you new here?" The black man looked Jia Wencheng up and down. "Santo is a Silver Pillar, and the Sea Lion hasn't fully evolved yet, so of course he's eyeing the Firestorm Beast."

"Silver Pillar?" Jia Wencheng asked, pinching two hundred-yuan Union coins between two fingers.

The Black man's initially disdainful and impatient expression changed, and he smiled warmly, accepting the Alliance Coins. He patiently explained, "The rules here are different. A 'pillar' is essentially a champion. Three consecutive wins earn you an Iron Pillar, five a Bronze Pillar, ten a Silver Pillar, and twenty or more a Gold Pillar. The appearance fee varies depending on the level. Once a winning streak is broken, you lose the title and start over. You can also directly challenge champions of each level. If you challenge a Bronze Pillar and win, you'll be promoted to Iron Pillar; if you challenge a Silver Pillar, you'll be promoted to Bronze Pillar, and so on."

"Not bad, that's quite interesting."

On the arena, Typhlosion was indeed far stronger than Sea Lion. Even after being hit by a water gun, it relentlessly charged forward, its fiery vortex causing Sea Lion to roar in pain. However, in Wang Qiyi's eyes, these Pokémon were all weak, probably only at the early Master level. They might not even be able to get a ticket to the Dragon Kingdom National University League.

Amidst the cheers of the audience, Typhoon defeated Sea Lion, securing its thirteenth consecutive victory. The host asked Santo if he wanted to continue defending his title, and Santo roared, prompting Typhoon to unleash a long stream of flames into the sky, signaling its intention to continue the fight. The audience grew even more excited.

"So, shall we place a bet or take on the challenge?" Wang Qiyi asked the three of them.

“Let’s not gamble. I’ve tried it, and it’s easy to get hooked,” Jia Wencheng said. “Nine out of ten gamblers lose, but if you’re going to gamble, gamble on a sure-win situation.” He looked at Jiang Zining and Li Yaoyao with a wicked grin.

"What? You want us to take on the challenge, and you'll place the bet?" Li Yaoyao immediately guessed Jia Wencheng's intentions.

"I'll give you 30% of the winnings."

"I get seven, you get three."

"Is this how you divide money? You have money yourself, so you can bet on yourself. Why are you trying to cheat me out of my share?"

"I just can't stand that I do the work while you make the money. If you're so capable, go do it yourself."

"How about a 50/50 split?"

"Deal. I have 5000 Alliance Coins here. Bet them all on yourself later." Li Yaoyao handed over all the cash she had to Jia Wencheng and left to register.

"Mr. Santo has a new challenger, a young and beautiful girl—Musashi!" As the host introduced her, the audience looked at Li Yaoyao as she entered the stage. Her red hair, slender figure, and youthful face caused a group of men to shout excitedly, with various whistles rising and falling.

Li Yaoyao wasn't intimidated and threw out her Poké Ball—Fire Marowak. Green flames ignited in Marowak's eyes, and it twirled its bone club, which then burst into flames. Most people have only seen the common Ground-type Marowak; Fire Marowak only exists in a few secret realms in the Eagle Country, and they generally live in groups in volcano craters, rarely leaving these realms.

Furthermore, since its species strength isn't top-tier, no one would risk going to a volcano to catch a Flame Marowak, so most people have never seen what Flame Marowak looks like. At this moment, Marowak wields its Flame Bone Club and performs its species-specific dance, exciting the audience.

Santo's expression changed. He was a seasoned trainer; sometimes, he could judge a Pokémon's strength or weakness without even fighting it, just by looking at it. This Marowak was clearly extraordinary, judging from the fluidity of its movements and the heat emanating from its flames.

The 10-minute betting time was up quickly. Jia Wencheng returned to his seat with the tickets: "I didn't expect everyone to be so optimistic about Li Yaoyao's Gala Gala when she came out. The odds were only 1 to 1.3, but I also bought a 1 to 20 bet. I'll finish the battle in 1 minute."

"One minute?" Jiang Zining's eyes widened. "Is Yao Yao's Galaga that strong?"

"Yao Yao's Mara Mara made it into the main competition of the National Peak Tournament. Although it's only at the Master level, her Bone Club is strong. That thing is an eighth-level equipment, and it's her exclusive weapon that perfectly unleashes its combat power. Back when you were entangled by the Scarab Alliance in the Alliance Island Secret Realm, wasn't it also trying to steal Yao Yao's Bone Club? It's just that you later revealed the Mega Evolution Stone, so they turned their attention to the Mega Evolution Stone again."

"Aren't you afraid of flaunting your wealth?" Wang Qiyi said. "We've already said we'd keep a low profile today. If we expose the level-eight bone club here, we might attract the attention of some greedy guys."

"Haha, so be it. I was just worried that if no one caused trouble, we'd miss out on opportunities to hone our skills. But you're here to cover for us!"

Wang Qiyi shook his head in annoyance.

In the arena, Typhlosion and Marowak were already locked in battle. Jia Wencheng also pressed the stopwatch timer. He had bet all 5000 yuan that Yao Yao had given him on a one-minute battle. If he lost, he didn't know how Yao Yao would scold him.

Scorching flames erupted from the back of the Explosive Beast. It opened its mouth wide, and a thick jet of "flame" surged towards the Crawling Crawling like a torrent of lava. The moisture in the air was instantly evaporated, and the heat wave forced the audience in the front row to lean back.

Li Yaoyao said calmly, "Crackling sound, the bone club spins!"

Cala Cala gripped the bone club burning with green will-o'-the-wisps tightly in both hands. With a slight twist of his wrists, the bone club spun rapidly like a top, creating a green flame barrier in front of him. The flames that shot out crashed into the barrier not only failed to break through, but were instead drawn to both sides by the rotational force of the bone club, scorching two parallel black grooves into the ground.

"Damn it, why are you so calmly defending? Hurry up and attack!" Jia Wencheng looked at the stopwatch anxiously. Li Yaoyao's slow and deliberate fighting had already taken a minute!

"Secret Technique - Bone Club Whirlwind Shadow Bone!" Li Yaoyao's command came through.

Marowak charged forward, its spinning bone club gathering dark green energy. Will-o'-the-wisps and fire-type energy intertwined on the club, forming a twisted ring of flame. Marowak leaped into the air, swinging its bone club. Typhlosion reacted swiftly, flames erupting from its back as it curled into a ball of fire and rolled to one side to dodge the attack.

However, the bone club suddenly disappeared as it flew through the air. The instant Typhlosion stopped dodging, the bone club reappeared in front of it, striking it squarely in the face. With a muffled groan, Typhlosion was sent flying backward, rolling more than ten times on the ground before regaining its footing. While Typhlosion was still dizzy, the Crawling attack came again, the Ghost-type exclusive move—Bone Club Hammer.

"Guard!" Santo shouted hurriedly, but it was too late to dodge. The Fire Beast quickly used its super-level defensive skill—Guard—and its body was enveloped in a sphere of light. The bone club slammed heavily onto the sphere of light, forcing the Fire Beast's position into the ground, causing spiderweb-like cracks to appear on the ground.

"What a powerful attack!" Marowak's attack shocked all the spectators. In battles between opponents of the same level or even a higher realm, defensive skills can usually defend against an opponent's attack. Only a significant difference in realm or overwhelming attack power can break through an opponent's defensive skills. Santo's FireBeast was not weak, but Marowak cornered it in just a few moves after its appearance, demonstrating its formidable strength.

By now, those in the know had realized that the Crawling Beast's powerful attacks came entirely from its bone club, an absolute top-tier weapon. Wang Qiyi was right; many in the arena were already eyeing the bone club. However, what he hadn't expected was that one person was eyeing their entire team.