Chapter 169: The Shock Brought By Tropius
Whether Charmander takes the field or Tropius takes the field, Lu Li has a sure Grasp of victory, but switching to Tropius is the greatest respect he gives to his opponent.
Gib looked at the Tropius in front of him and sincerely exclaimed, “Tropius! I heard this is your Starter Pokémon. You’re truly remarkable.”
“However, thank you for thinking so highly of me!”
“I will go all out!”
Gib stared at Tropius with focused expression, his entire being filled with Fighting Spirit.
With Gib’s experience, he naturally knew Tropius’s true Strength.
And precisely because of this, Gib thanked Lu Li.
Although everyone lost before, there is still a Gap between losses.
Previously, others lost even when Lu Li held back, but the Lu Li he faced was in full victory form!
This was Gib’s excitement and gratitude at this moment.
“Tropius! Elite Level Tropius!”
The Commentator’s hysterical shouts echoed throughout the arena, his tone filled with disbelief and excitement.
What does it mean for a Novice Trainer to pull out an Elite Level Tropius? This is the concept of breaking the world record!
You must know that Lu Li’s Tropius was not Nurtured in advance; it had only been trained for less than two months! Two months!
Achieving a Realm in just two months that others might not reach in a lifetime—what else could this be but a monster?
Not only was the Commentator excited; the reactions from the Spectators in the Audience Seats were even more explosive, since they didn’t know that Lu Li’s Tropius had been Nurtured for less than two months.
“Elite Level Tropius? Arceus above! Is this Pokémon really legal?”
“Protest! This Match is completely unfair. This Tropius was definitely Nurtured in advance.”
“How can this be allowed? Can pre-Nurtured Pokémon participate in Matches?”
Some Spectators unaware of the Truth had already started shouting; most of them were those who had bet on Gib to win before the Match.
An Elite Level Tropius—how could a Pokémon of this Strength appear in the Grand Festival?
Not only could the Spectators not accept this setup; even the other Trainers who made it to the Top Ten couldn’t accept seeing this.
Some unaware of the Truth even directly contacted an Investigator, reporting cheating at the Grand Festival.
Ducat was the most prominent example, because his afternoon Match opponent was Lu Li.
“According to our Investigation, Player Lu Li has not engaged in any cheating. Player Lu Li’s Tropius was indeed hatched just one month ago.”
Hearing the cold voice from the phone, Ducat trembled with anger.
As a member of the Poison Attribute Family, one of the Eighteen Great Attribute Families, it was his first time encountering someone daring to manipulate behind-the-scenes dealings targeted at him right in front of him.
He had played behind-the-scenes dealings before—Gib facing Lu Li early was the result of his Family’s efforts behind the scenes—but targeted dealings against himself? He had truly never seen that.
Ducat didn’t object to behind-the-scenes dealings; he objected to ones targeted at him.
Trembling with anger, Ducat gritted his teeth and said, “Do you know who I am? My surname is Du! The Du that doesn’t die!”
“Even if your surname is Long, like Dragon Champion Long Du, it won’t help. I already said there’s no cheating. Just because you can’t do it doesn’t mean others can’t!”
After the person on the other end of the phone finished speaking, they cursed again, “If you’re weak, train more. If you can’t play, don’t play【】”
Ducat was not a Direct Descendant of the Du Family, but he was still considered a Core member. He didn’t believe Lu Li could Nurture an Elite Level Pokémon in just two months.
But facing the busy tone on the phone, Ducat was powerless.
Reporting didn’t work; it seemed he could only get his Family behind the scenes to exert pressure. If unlucky, he might not even make the top five.
Thinking of this, Ducat hurriedly took out his Phone to contact his uncle, the current Du Family Patriarch.
…………
Realizing the Spectators might riot, the Commentator hurriedly explained loudly, “Everyone! The Commentator can responsibly tell you that Player Lu Li’s Tropius is absolutely compliant and legal!”
The Spectators’ clamor was about to lift the Gymnasium’s ceiling. If a riot really happened, just the trampling could kill many people.
If such a thing occurred, he as the Commentator would be in trouble too.
……………
VIP Audience Seats.
“I remember the Information mentioned this young man has a pre-Nurtured Pokémon, seems like an Elite Level Milotic?” The Southern Region Minister turned to ask his Secretary.
“Yes, that Milotic is already Mid-Elite Level, and reportedly not far from Late Stage.” The Secretary nodded.
“What an impressive young man.” The Minister sighed.
After sighing, the Minister ordered, “Post this matter on the official website. Otherwise, the public won’t believe our explanation.”
“But…”
The Secretary hesitated to speak.
Leaking a Trainer’s Information privately like this was something Trainers themselves greatly disliked.
The Minister knew his action was a bit excessive, so he added, “Let him enter the Region Treasury to pick one item as Compensation.”
Hearing this, the Secretary finally nodded.
Not just anyone can enter the Region Treasury. Fewer than ten Trainers enter the Treasury to pick items each year—only those who made outstanding contributions to the Southern Region qualify to pick Pokémon Secret Treasures.
The lowest Value items inside are Pokémon Secret Treasures, and there are even Divine Items. The Secretary felt that with such Compensation, Lu Li would surely understand.
The Secretary reminded, “Should we discuss this with the Fairy Heavenly King?”
“Heavenly King Qu will surely agree. After all, he hinted both openly and secretly that we should take good care of this Youth.” The Minister said meaningfully.
Hearing this, the Secretary’s eyes flickered.
The Fairy Heavenly King personally said to take care of a Youth—and this Youth, before even revealing his Strength.
This meant that Youth definitely had something special, far beyond just Talent.
…………
Although Lu Li knew Tropius would cause a big shock, he didn’t realize the shock from Tropius was far greater than he imagined.
“Nidorino, Toxic Spikes.”
Gib, who clearly knew the Gap between Normal Level and Elite Level, directly commanded Nidorino to use his killer move.
“Starting with a Secret Technique?” Lu Li smiled as he watched this.
Toxic Spikes—from the name, it’s known as a Fusion Secret Technique, fusing two Skills of the Pokémon together to produce a 1+1>3 effect special technique.
Gib was born in a Secret Realm in the Deep Jungle of the western Jungle. Due to terrain issues, the material Resources Gib enjoyed were far inferior to those of Trainers from great Families, but only limited to material Resources.
Every village in the Secret Realm had its own unique Secret Technique; otherwise, they couldn’t survive in the Secret Realm.
“Tropius, use Protect!” Lu Li commanded.
An invisible force shielded in front of Tropius, and Nidorino’s Toxic Spikes all fell to the ground upon touching that invisible force.
But precisely because of this, a layer of Toxic Spikes appeared in front of Tropius.
“Toxic Spikes on the ground? My Tropius can Fly.” Lu Li chuckled lightly.
“Tropius, Fly.”
As soon as Tropius took off, a glint flashed in Gib’s eyes.
Gib excitedly shouted, “Nidorino! Use Mean Look.”
Mean Look: Puts the Target into Mean Look state, during which the Target cannot move or release Skills.
In other words, Tropius became a sitting duck.
But Mean Look succeeding has a prerequisite: both sides having equal Strength.
But Tropius’s Strength was much higher than Nidorino’s, so Nidorino’s Mean Look only made Tropius pause for a moment.
And what Gib pursued was this “moment”!
“Now! Poison Jab!” Gib shouted excitedly, as if seeing the dawn of victory.
Poison Stings glowing with eerie light shot toward Tropius like a rain of cowhair needles.
Seeing this, Lu Li hurriedly shouted, “Tropius, use Razor Leaf to block them.”
Tropius’s Skill release Speed was much faster than Nidorino’s. Even though he started releasing his Skill late, when Nidorino’s Poison Jab was already in front of it.
But Tropius still used Razor Leaf to sweep away all the poison, and continued flying toward Nidorino without losing momentum.
Razor Leaf is a Grass Attribute Skill, dealing only 1/2 damage to Nidorino, but it was enough.
After all, the Strength Gap was there.
“Nidorino, dodge it!”
Gib used the Dodge Divine Skill.
Unfortunately, the Strength Gap between both sides was too great; the dodge miracle didn’t work.
Hit by Razor Leaf, Nidorino turned into a “rolling mole” under the Impact force of Razor Leaf.
Rolling on the ground several times, Nidorino gritted his teeth and tried to Stand Up.
Tropius also watched the Nidorino in front of him with great interest.
He was happy to give the opponent a chance to Stand Up.
Unfortunately, Nidorino’s endurance wasn’t up to it.
“I declare, the winner of this Match is—Player Lu Li!”
With the excited Referee announcing the Match result, this lopsided Battle officially ended.
After recalling the stubborn Nidorino, Gib praised admiringly, “You are the strongest Rookie Trainer I’ve ever seen. Nurturing an Elite Level Pokémon in two months is something I wouldn’t dare dream of.”
“Thank you for the compliment.” Lu Li modestly thanked him.
Then he teased, “But you should still dream about it. After all, anything is possible in dreams.”
Gib was amused by Lu Li’s words. After laughing, he said very seriously, “This time I lost, but next time I will definitely win it back!”
“I hope next time you can give me an even bigger surprise.” Lu Li smiled and extended his right hand.
The two lightly shook hands, and thus, the Youth’s Friendship was forged in Battle.
“Well done, Tropius!” Lu Li gently patted Tropius’s thigh, then recalled Tropius with a Poké Ball.
From this brief Match, it was clear Tropius hadn’t slacked off recently, especially in Skill training—Tropius had definitely trained secretly.
Otherwise, the Skills couldn’t be released so quickly and precisely, and most importantly, there was no issue of insufficient follow-up Energy output.
Lu Li had previously Worried that Tropius’s Speed improvement was too fast, leading to an unstable Foundation or something.
Now it seemed he had overthought it.
Though thinking about it, it made sense—after all, the vast majority of Pokémon could be said to be born for Battle.
Foreseeing he would definitely be surrounded by Reporters, Lu Li returned to the Lounge and planned to call someone for help.
Lu Li picked up his Phone but suddenly stopped.
He realized he had no friends in Nandu. The only one who could be considered a Friend was Yao Yifei, but having her come help would only lead to worse consequences.
Who was Yao Yifei? She was a globally renowned Coordinator, with more fans than those Worshipping the Dragon Champion.
Then tabloid magazines would run headlines like “Famous Coordinator dates Rookie Trainer,” and he wouldn’t be able to clear his name even by jumping into the Yellow River.
While Lu Li was pondering whom to ask for help, Yao Yifei’s call came in.
Lu Li quickly answered, “Hello, Sister Yifei.”
Yao Yifei hurriedly reminded him, “Go check the official news now! Your trump card has been leaked!”
“What trump card was leaked?”
Confused, Lu Li hung up and was about to check the news when Yu Lili’s call came in.
Lu Li could only helplessly answer.
“Lu Li, you’re famous! The entire Asian Alliance is talking about you!” Yu Lili’s excited voice came from the phone.
Lu Li was Confused.
Even if the Value of an Elite Level Tropius was high, it shouldn’t spread this fast—to the entire Asian Alliance?
“Famous how?” Lu Li hurriedly asked.
Yu Lili explained, “Your Strength, your background—all exposed by the officials. Lots of people are discussing you now.”
As Lu Li was about to ask more, Ekaterina’s call came in, directly cutting off Yu Lili’s line.
“Little Pudding, how come I never noticed you were such a high-profile person?” Ekaterina’s teasing came from the phone.
Lu Li was too exhausted to explain.
“Now I’m even more baffled. Honestly, I just had Tropius Battle one Match.” Lu Li Complained speechlessly.
Wasn’t it just one Elite Level Tropius? Was that so rare?
Lu Li was truly speechless inside.
Look at Ekaterina—she could challenge for Heavenly King in less than 10 years. What was his two-month Elite Level compared to that? Was the reaction really this big?
After hanging up with Ekaterina, Lu Li opened the news app. The top headline was the official statement.
Reading the statement on the screen, Lu Li’s face instantly darkened.
This group without martial virtue had actually leaked his Milotic.
Even more thoughtfully, the officials attached a very positive story, explaining why he had pre-Nurtured a Pokémon.
A kind Child born loving Pokémon discovers a dying Wailmer in a stinky ditch one day.
Out of Kindness, the Child who loves Pokémon takes the Wailmer home, and thus begins the encounter between Pokémon and Trainer.
Under the Trainer’s care and encouragement, the Wailmer miraculously Evolves into Milotic, completing the ugly duckling to swan transformation.
The whole story was very positive; it just portrayed the Pokémon as naturally kind too.
Lu Li couldn’t help touching his face reading it.
Are they talking about me here?
Lu Li was bewildered.
Though the story sounded nice, wasn’t directly exposing his background a bit excessive?
Lu Li silently noted this matter in his heart.
No choice—he was just a Commoner. Whoever authorized leaking his Information was definitely in a high position, not someone he could afford to offend now.
Thinking of this, Lu Li expressionlessly put down his Phone.
