Get Stronger by Pleasing Pokémon? Who Needs to Be a Trainer!

"Uh… suit yourself."

Lin Feng didn't bother explaining further.

People's perceptions are different.

And if you want to break through someone's assumptions…

There's only one way: prove it with facts.

"Hahaha… I got the bye!"

Beside him, Qin Shu was waving a blank slip of paper, laughing triumphantly.

Even Lin Feng couldn't help giving her a silent nod of praise. "That's some impressive luck."

All he could think was, some people really are blessed by sheer dumb luck.

"Attention, Trainers. Please proceed to your designated battlefields according to the numbers you drew."

Li Bing's voice boomed from the speakers high overhead.

Lin Feng headed toward the combined Fields 1 and 2, with Snivy at his side.

Walking alongside him, naturally, was Xu Kun with his Torchic.

The moment they stepped onto the battlefield, Xu Kun's expression grew solemn.

Although he'd casually said back in the seating area that he'd "go easy" on Lin Feng…

In reality, he was taking this battle more seriously than ever before.

Other people might not know Lin Feng well but he did.

First in liberal arts, first in simulated Pokémon battles, frequently devising brilliant strategies…

Lin Feng had been the standard everyone measured themselves against back in school.

And now, seeing him emerge from the group stage…

It was obvious that his Snivy was no ordinary Pokémon.

When facing someone like that, you had to underestimate them strategically but take them deadly seriously tactically.

"The battle begins!"

No sooner had the announcement ended than Xu Kun gave his first command. "Torchic, Quick Attack, followed by Ember!"

"Chii! Chii!"

Torchic, legs quick and slender, shot forward with astonishing speed. Under the boost of Quick Attack, it was already moving as fast as any human athlete Lin Feng had ever seen in his previous life.

And even more impressively, despite moving so fast with Quick Attack, Torchic was still able to accurately unleash Ember.

Lin Feng's brows rose in surprise.

Because in all the earlier matches…

He'd never once seen Torchic pull off such a combo.

It was obvious now that Xu Kun had been holding back.

Though Lin Feng couldn't quite figure out why Xu Kun had chosen to reveal his hidden skills the moment he faced him.

Dozens of fiery sparks erupted like jets from a toy water gun, fanning out toward Snivy.

In the next moment, Lin Feng calmly issued his command. "Dodge the first wave of Ember, then close the distance and use Leaf Blade!"

Even with Quick Attack, there was still a gap of two battlefield lengths between them.

That distance might be nothing for Gym-level Pokémon just a few strides, really.

But for two tiny creatures less than a meter tall…

It was definitely a bit of a trek.

Dodging the initial blast of Ember was easy for Snivy, who immediately understood Lin Feng's intent.

[Quick Attack: Charges toward the target with blinding speed to deal damage.]

Torchic was impressively able to merge Quick Attack and Ember so seamlessly, transforming what was normally a single spark into a barrage of scattered flames.

But there was also a major drawback.

Torchic could only launch attacks from the sides and had to rely heavily on predicting the opponent's movement.

Otherwise, the embers could end up hitting Torchic itself during its high-speed rush.

So ironically…

The more Snivy tried to dodge the flames, the more likely it was to get engulfed.

Sure enough.

Once Snivy pivoted and rushed forward instead of backing away, Torchic's Ember pattern grew increasingly chaotic. Eventually, it didn't dare fire any more sparks at all.

And then came Snivy, leaping high into the air.

It twisted gracefully, spinning a full 180 degrees. Its clover-shaped tail glowed bright white as it came crashing down on the speeding Torchic.

Wham!

The impact sent both Pokémon sliding backward.

But Snivy had only been lightly buffeted by the collision's residual force.

Torchic, on the other hand, was sent tumbling across the ground in complete disarray.

Lin Feng hadn't expected that even without tapping into his Verdant Force, Snivy would be able to understand his tactics so perfectly.

Still, the battle wasn't over.

He gave another crisp order. "Don't give it any breathing room. Vine Whip!"

Two bright green vines instantly lashed out from Snivy's back, whipping through the air toward Torchic.

"Get up, Torchic!" Even though Xu Kun was rattled by how quickly Lin Feng had found a way to counter his strategy, he immediately barked out new commands.

Especially when he saw those two vines about to wrap around Torchic, his voice grew louder. "Torchic!"

It was as though some hidden strength or perhaps pure determination coursed through Torchic.

Despite trembling all over, it managed to stagger to its feet.

But by then, the vines were already upon it.

They coiled around Torchic's legs and lifted it off the ground, suspending it upside down and slamming it repeatedly into the arena floor.

"Torchic!"

Xu Kun's voice grew even more intense.

But by then, Li Bing's voice from above had already declared the match's outcome. "This match is over. Torchic is unable to battle. Victory goes to Snivy!"

After all, this was just the Baobao Cup.

There was no need to keep battling until one Pokémon was completely knocked out. A situation like this was more than enough to determine the winner.

Unless, of course, some miracle evolution happened…

But Torchic, now laid gently back on the ground by Snivy, showed no further signs of movement.

"Well done."

Lin Feng gave Snivy an approving nod as it trotted over.

"Sni-vy!"

Snivy's lips curled upward slightly.

It wanted to say it was all thanks to Lin Feng's great commands but the words got stuck before they could come out.

Xu Kun came over, putting Torchic back into its Poké Ball. With a wry smile tugging at his lips, he said:

"I knew it. You're still too strong. I always felt like, back then, if you didn't take first place, it wasn't because you couldn't but because your mind was never really on coming first in the first place."

Lin Feng neither confirmed nor denied it. He just shrugged. "Drop by my place sometime. Neighbourhood Breeding House in Wutong Town. Classmates get a 20 percent discount."

"Uh… sure. I'll definitely swing by if I get the chance." Xu Kun waved goodbye, then turned to leave with Torchic in tow.

He'd have to get Torchic treated and he'd definitely be remembering that name.

...

Up in the stands…

Chi Heng watched Snivy effortlessly defeat Torchic and felt his expression darken.

He'd spent so much time, effort, and money pulling strings to host this Baobao Cup.

Now, though, an unexpected variable had appeared…

And that was something he simply could not allow.

"This won't do. I need to have a talk with him."