The Strange Power Ape fell straight to the ground.
The Candlefire Butterfly fluttering in the air dropped with a soft thud.
The Golden Roar Lion, which had just凝聚 an energy ball in its mouth, lost control, and the energy exploded with a bang.
It blasted the few unconscious Pokémon flying outward.
The Water Scale Beast's horse-like face was stunned.
"Xilu~ Xilu!"
It was saying *so strong*!
Strike strong!
Super strong!
As expected of the big sister xilu~!
The slightly slow-reacting Fire Fluff Crow quickly chimed in.
"Caw! Caw caw!"
The Dream Mist Butterfly was very satisfied.
Dealing with entry-level opponents with elite-level strength was this easy and efficient, gu nuo~.
...
On the observation platform.
King Wu snapped his fingers. "Bring up those eliminated Pokémon."
Behind him, the Puppeteer shook its threads, and waves of invisible psychic power crossed the vast battlefield, landing precisely on each Pokémon that had lost its combat ability.
The next moment,
Whoosh!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
One by one, the fallen Pokémon vanished, and in no time, they appeared on various platforms.
The medical staff nearby immediately stepped forward, sprayed a burst of medical mist, and then took them away for treatment.
"Failed?"
"How could this be?"
"How long has it even been?"
The Spirit Masters of those Pokémon couldn't believe it.
They knew their own Pokémon's combat power wasn't strong among their peers.
They hadn't planned to challenge any upperclassmen either.
Before entering, they had all formulated a similar core strategy.
—Hunker down!
If you could hunker down, wasn't that a skill in itself?
Maybe it would catch a certain mentor's attention.
They all wanted to compete for resources and benefits!
But they simply couldn't hold out.
They were eliminated in no time.
"Those are only considered decent entry-level advanced Pokémon; the gap with elite level is too big."
"Yeah," another mentor said. "There's already a chasm between entry-level and elite level, let alone that any Pokémon breaking through to elite at this stage has been nurtured to near perfection.
"Even with equal power, it's easy to decide the outcome, let alone when there's a fundamental difference in strength."
The elimination of these Pokémon made the contestants who wanted to enter but hadn't yet, hesitate.
"Fat Ren, aren't you going?"
Liu Ren's pancake-like face was full of conflict. "Song Ting's Pokémon got wrecked so badly; my two would just be cannon fodder, right?
"It's not like participating guarantees credits; it's purely throwing an egg at a rock..."
He was naturally a bit unwilling.
But entering for two minutes and getting treated for a whole day—it looked like pure suffering.
Courage was important, but you also had to know how to assess the situation.
Many who knew they had no hope didn't send their Pokémon down, just watched from above.
From being the top students of their city to cannon-fodder freshmen, the sudden change made many newcomers clench their fists, firming their resolve to catch up and surpass.
...
On another platform near the simulated battlefield.
"Have you found the sophomore's Pokémon?"
The speaker was a fair-skinned boy, wearing clothes that looked expensive, with a confident smile on his lips.
He was looking at one person in his small team.
The Spirit Master with two flying Pokémon.
The boy's tone was excited. "Found it—it's a combination of a Cerberus and an Explosive Flame Bat."
"Good."
The wealthy young man's smile grew wider. "Everyone, give your Pokémon the orders. Approach and surround them according to the tactics we discussed beforehand. We must take down those two Pokémon."
"Alright!"
"No problem!"
"Take them down!"
Their small group had a full eleven people and twenty-six Pokémon.
Among them, the wealthy young man's ace Pokémon, the Winged Tiger, was even elite level.
With a gang-up, taking down the sophomore's two Pokémon, they had plenty of confidence.
"As long as we defeat one combination, all of us will catch the mentors' attention."
Of course, as the leader, he would be the most dazzling one.
The wealthy young man looked toward the observation platform.
The five King-level big shots were watching from there.
His eyes burned with passion.
'Maybe today, I'll have a chance to become a disciple of one of those professors!'
...
"Alliance? Hah!"
The boy in white shook his head, looking down on those people.
Indeed,
With only his three Pokémon, Bai Hongzhen wasn't confident he could defeat any senior's Pokémon combination.
"But a true big shot is a team unto themselves!
"Relying on schemes to win won't catch the eye of the truly strong. Only by showing your strongest side can you possibly earn a professor's favor!"
Not to mention King-level, even Master-level Spirit Masters, once their team was formed, rarely teamed up with others.
The Pokémon they contracted covered reconnaissance, assault, support... even healing.
Each one could crush an ordinary legion.
Bai Hongzhen took a deep breath and looked down below.
"My current Pokémon team lacks reconnaissance ability, but it's not really needed in the challenge round.
"I just need to wait for others to find the sophomore's Pokémon, then send Ice Six-Tails and the others over. That'll be enough."
...
Inside the simulated battlefield.
The Dream Mist Butterfly led the Fire Fluff Crow and the others, sweeping through everything in their path.
"Gu nuo nuo~?"
It flew forward.
A few Pokémon that were in the middle of a scuffle fell with a thud, thud.
This made the Water Scale Beast look pitiful.
Wasn't it not the mount today?
Wasn't it the only tank in the team?
But why...
Why did it not only get no kills, but not even a chance to deal damage?
Xilu~(ㄒoㄒ)
This can't go on xilu~!
"Gu nuo? →_→"
The Dream Mist Butterfly recalled the journey so far.
It seemed, maybe, indeed... all the Pokémon had been taken down by its illusions.
It was all its own fault for playing a bit too much... or those Pokémon were too weak~
It must be because they were too weak, gu nuo~!
"Gu nuo gu nuo~"
It circled above the Water Scale Beast's head.
Saying, fine.
It would let it have the next one, gu nuo~.
Suddenly,
The bushes rustled.
The Water Scale Beast got excited.
A flash of deep green shot out from the bushes.
The Water Scale Beast's hooves came down, and it charged instantly.
Boom!!
It smashed a thick tree to splinters, but didn't hit the deep green figure.
A blade-like shadow flickered.
"Xilu~"
The Water Scale Beast instantly stacked two bubble shields and retreated.
But the bubbles were still broken, leaving a small cut.
It was a Scyther.
Elite level!
It couldn't beat it!
Seeing the big sister and Crow Bro both charge in, the Water Scale Beast swallowed the words "Let me handle that Pokémon, xilu~" back down.
Boom!
The Scyther dodged clumsily, but the dreamlike, illusory eyes appeared before it. Its whole body trembled, and it was swatted down by the Fire Fluff Crow.
Its teammate, an entry-level advanced Blade Leaf Warrior, had already been taken down thirty seconds ago.
It went down peacefully.
But the Scyther, looking at the three Pokémon surrounding it, felt... it wouldn't be so peaceful.
It shrank back.
Tentatively begging for mercy, "Kazhi~?"
The Dream Mist Butterfly stopped, lost in thought.
Su Hao said there were still some strong Pokémon on the battlefield.
Sixteen in total.
It needed to defeat as many as possible.
But one god carrying two dead weights—the Dream Mist Butterfly felt the difficulty was considerable.
It stared at the Scyther, probing with its illusions.
Gradually, an idea formed.
"Gu nuo!"
"Kazhi?"
"Gu nuo!"
The Dream Mist Butterfly happily reached a consensus with the Scyther.
A dozen minutes later,
"Gu nuo~ (Charge duck)!"
The Fire Fluff Crow, the Water Scale Beast, and a bunch of newly recruited underlings surged forward with a roar.
————
(Another chapter coming later)