Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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Opening Four Rounds.

From Li Xiang's perspective, the Pokémon he faced seemed to exceed the typical standard for beginner trainers.

Their quality didn't quite match what one would expect from rookie-level competitors, but for Li Xiang, this was a good thing.

After all, growth comes from challenges.

Unfortunately, by the fifth round, the level of his opponent dropped significantly.

Throughout the match, the opponent only used Scratch and Growl—a ridiculously basic approach.

Li Xiang was a bit dumbfounded.

Shouldn't the competition get tougher as it progresses?

Why was it becoming easier?

By the sixth round, he found the same pattern repeating.

The opponent's Pokémon were so basic they seemed like they belonged to a completely different tournament from the first four rounds.

Still, after winning the sixth round, Li Xiang advanced to the quarterfinals.

At this stage, even losing would still earn him a large box of PokeBlocks as a prize.

So, he stopped dwelling on those inconsistencies.

The final three matches remained.

The skill level of his opponents returned to a "normal" standard.

...

Quarterfinals.

Li Xiang's opponent was a boy with a Skarmory.

This medium-sized, steel-armored Pokémon resembled a medieval knight clad in silver, with wings sharp as blades. It let out a raspy cry upon entry.

Its imposing presence put a lot of pressure on Litten.

Its intimidating size and fierce appearance made it far more terrifying than the Miltank he had faced earlier and its piercing gaze made Li Xiang immediately suspect its ability was Keen Eye.

At the same time...

This match turned out to be the most difficult for Litten yet.

The opponent was cunning and sly, fully aware of Litten's formidable firepower. The Skarmory leveraged its ability to fly, avoiding direct confrontation and striking from behind whenever possible.

It was infuriatingly sneaky.

Li Xiang almost couldn't resist revealing Litten's secret trump card.

Fortunately, Litten proved up to the challenge. When Skarmory swooped down to use Peck, Litten seized the opportunity, nimbly leaping onto its back and delivering a close-range Heat Wave.

Being doubly weak to Fire, Skarmory couldn't withstand the scorching blast and was knocked out of the air, crashing to the ground with Litten still on its back.

Though Skarmory cushioned the fall, its metallic body didn't absorb much of the impact. Litten hit the ground hard.

After the match...

Li Xiang experienced his first ambush by TV reporters. They shoved microphones in his face, forcing him to do an impromptu interview.

To be honest, he found it quite boring.

Especially when they asked questions like, "Why did you use Fire-type moves?"

How was Li Xiang supposed to take that seriously?

Would anyone in their right mind avoid using Fire moves in favor of Normal ones?

Surely no trainer would enter a competition without memorizing the type matchups.

Maybe in his previous life, there were some clueless players who thought Rock resisted Electric, Ice beat Rock, or Poison trumped Bug in the early generations.

But in this world, such mistakes were highly unlikely.

.....

Semifinals.

The difficulty ramped up again.

The audience's enthusiasm reached an all-time high. Outside the venue, people screamed like it was the World Cup.

Both Li Xiang and Litten felt a bit out of their element.

Then...

Trouble arrived.

For the first time, Li Xiang faced a Pokémon with a clear advantage over Litten.

A blue-furred otter with beige shells hanging from its waist, exuding the aura of a ninja—Dewott.

—The evolved form of Oshawott, the fifth-generation Water starter.

To make matters worse, it wasn't just an Oshawott—it was an evolved, second-stage Pokémon!

This was absurd.

For a rookie trainer to have a second-stage Pokémon, there were only a few explanations:

- They were one of the aforementioned early bloomers.

- They had exceptional talent.

- They bypassed daycare channels and got lucky, acquiring a Pokémon that was ready to evolve.

Regardless of the reason...

It meant that this battle would be extremely challenging for Litten.

Had Lin Feng not warned him in advance, allowing Li Xiang to prepare, he might have been caught completely off guard.

This was when the importance of intel became apparent.

With information pieced together by "Tool #1" Lin Feng and "Tool #2" Lin Lan through observations and conversations, Li Xiang deduced the following:

- Dewott's level was no higher than 15. This was based on the trainer boasting about its early evolution.

- Dewott's primary offense involved using its shells to execute Air Slash, relying on ranged tactics. It lacked any high-powered Water moves.

- Its Torrent ability had already been triggered.

These points allowed Li Xiang to relax.

Since this Dewott didn't know Brine, Water Pulse, or Razor Shell, Litten still had a good chance of winning.

Its stats might be a bit higher, but it was no different from facing a Miltank.

Besides, Li Xiang had been feeding Litten attack candies recently, saving the Speed and Special Attack boosts for later.

As expected, the battle unfolded just as Li Xiang predicted.

Aside from its type advantage, Dewott wasn't much stronger than the opponents Li Xiang had already faced.

While Air Slash was fast, Dewott's starting animation was slow.

Compared to the Infernape back at the dojo, whose reflexes were lightning-fast, Dewott was far less of a threat.

Litten's month-long training with Infernape in dodging maneuvers had finally paid off.

Attacks like this could be avoided with careful observation and timely reactions, and Litten did just that.

The surrounding crowd erupted in gasps of amazement.

From their perspective, Litten's movements looked incredibly daring. Even Dewott's trainer was left dumbfounded.

Only a select few—and Dewott itself—understood that Litten's success wasn't due to some miraculous skill.

The real reason was that the attacker's moves were far too predictable and easy to read.

Honestly, anyone could have dodged them.

Afterward, the opponent switched tactics, abandoning Air Slash in favor of Water Sport and Water Gun to frustrate Litten.

It was surprisingly effective.

As the air grew damp and the battlefield became littered with puddles, even the summer-loving Litten began to struggle.

Facing an opponent capable of altering the battlefield's environment, especially with its limited move set, Li Xiang realized he didn't have an immediate solution to deal with Dewott.

Out of options, Li Xiang resorted to the simple yet reliable strategy of creating a mist by exploiting water vapor explosions to obscure the field of view.

Using this cover, he instructed Litten to take a stealthy approach, sneaking around for a surprise attack.

To be fair, this strategy worked every time.

After all, these trainers and their Pokémon were far too straightforward.

When they lost sight of their opponent, they'd just stand there blankly, waiting for an attack from behind.

Normally, you'd expect them to at least move around or retreat from the mist, like in the animated battles.

But no, these rookie trainers preferred to let their Pokémon stay put and wait cluelessly.

It would've been a waste if Li Xiang didn't exploit this.

In the end, the plan succeeded.

Litten took a direct hit from Dewott's Water Gun during its counterattack but retaliated with two powerful Crunch strikes, bringing Dewott down for good.

The 15-minute-long match finally concluded.

Li Xiang advanced to the finals.

....

"The Qingcheng tournament is way harder than the Xiangcheng one," Lin Feng muttered while munching on a sugar biscuit.

"But the rewards are so meager."

A Porygon and three evolutionary stones couldn't even be compared on the same scale.

At the mention of this, Lin Lan sulked.

Her father had refused to let her adopt a Pokémon early, insisting their family was honest and law-abiding, not ones to cut corners.

He told her to be patient and wait.

With the head of the household putting his foot down, Lin Lan had no room to argue.

Even if Li Xiang had offered to trade the evolutionary stones and his runner-up prize for an Eevee egg, it wouldn't have mattered.

In the breeder market, an Eevee egg typically sold for around 10,000 PokeDollars, sometimes even as low as 6,000 or 7,000.

Trading three evolutionary stones for one? A no-brainer.

......

Meanwhile, Li Xiang silently reviewed the match footage Lin Feng had recorded on his camcorder, capturing his final opponent in action.

He had to admit...

Reaching the finals wasn't just luck for this trainer.

Their Pokémon was a species unfamiliar to Li Xiang.

—A Scorbunny with the ability Libero.

This rabbit Pokémon had white fur, orange accents on its limbs, ear tips, and neck, and bandage-like fur patterns on its nose and feet.

So, what was Libero?

This ability allowed the Pokémon to change its type to match the move it used, effectively transforming its type before attacking.

Was it strong?

Absolutely. Because moves of the same type as the user gain a damage bonus, this ability essentially ensured Scorbunny always hit with boosted attacks.

In Li Xiang's memory, after Libero Cinderace was released in Sword and Shield, it dominated the competitive scene, climbing the rankings at an astonishing pace to claim the top spot within days.

Of course, it later fell off due to balancing adjustments.

The reason was simple: it was just too strong.

In the competitive environment of Sword and Shield, this Pokémon's power was extraordinary.

In short, Libero was a game-changing ability.

Li Xiang never expected to encounter such a Pokémon under these circumstances.

Moreover, based on the footage, this Scorbunny was sharp and quick-thinking, making the match even more challenging.

Luckily...

The opponent's Scorbunny hadn't yet reached its evolution stage.

Its revealed move set included High Jump Kick, Sand Attack, Quick Attack, Ember, and Growl.

No Sucker Punch. Thank goodness.

Li Xiang sighed in relief.

This particular move, with its conditional usage, could be incredibly annoying, often denying opponents their turn to act.

But with only the revealed moves, Litten could still hold its ground.

However, relying on long-range tactics wouldn't work here. With Quick Attack boosting its speed and agility, Scorbunny wouldn't allow any distance to be created. Persisting with ranged moves would only give it unnecessary opportunities.

...

"Meow~"

Feeling Li Xiang's fingers stroking its back, Litten shifted its posture for a more comfortable position.

"Think you can handle it?"

Lin Feng, having wandered over at some point, asked curiously.

"Of course," Li Xiang replied, handing the camera to Lin Feng. "No point overthinking it. It all comes down to battling properly."

At worst, he'd have to reveal Litten's trump card. It wasn't exactly a secret technique, after all.

With the power boost from that hidden move, even Scorbunny, despite being Fire-type, would likely be unable to withstand the attack.

The difference in strength was just too great.

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Bonus Chapter Schedule:

100 Power Stones - 1 Bonus Chapter

250 Power Stones - 2 Bonus Chapters

500 Power Stones - 3 Bonus Chapters

750 Power Stones - 4 Bonus Chapters

1000 Power Stones - 5 Bonus Chapters