Chapter 287: The True Strength Of The Dragon Girl!
He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but Lu Li always felt that the girl opposite him was targeting him.
“No no no, this must be one of life’s three great illusions: that she likes me.” Lu Li threw that unrealistic thought out of his mind.
Then he carefully examined the opponent’s Charmander. From Charmander’s fur and the burning flames, it was clear that this Charmander had been nurtured quite outstandingly.
After seeing Lu Li send out Charmander, the annoyed Li Ning frowned and said, “Just Charmander? Not even Tropius.”
Hearing this, Charmander instantly became displeased.
What do you mean? Looking down on me?
The equally angry Charmander glared fiercely at the opponent’s Charmander.
“Fire”
（Your trainer is pretty arrogant, huh? I’ll break you in a bit!）
“Charmeleon~”
（You?）
The two little guys started trash-talking each other on the battlefield.
“Your Charmander has quite the personality,” Li Ning said with a teasing smile.
Lu Li forced a smile and replied, “You too.”
This battlefield was a rock field. To make the match more exciting and complex, the school used a random field draw mode.
The rock field was fair for both sides, but Charmander might be better suited to the rock field than Charmander, since Charmander was a monkey and naturally agile and versatile.
“Rock field, battle begin!”
As the referee announced the start of the match, the flame on Charmander’s tail suddenly flared up high, and Charmander demonstratively pounded its chest, sparks flying everywhere.
“Charmander, Leer!” The girl struck first.
Charmander’s eyes glowed red, and invisible pressure came rushing in.
Lu Li keenly noticed Charmander’s hind leg muscles slightly contracting, and its tail uneasily swung twice.
Leer was a fear-type transformation move, with the effect of making the opponent fearful and lowering defense.
Neither side was modest; both were vying for the initiative.
“Second rock from the right rear.” Lu Li lowered his voice.
Charmander suddenly turned, Metal Claw flashing with cold light. A three-meter-high rock pillar collapsed with a boom, and the flying debris forced Charmander to interrupt its skill and retreat hastily.
Using the field to reverse the situation wasn’t shameful; it was a required course for trainers.
In the audience seats, Long Ying, arms crossed, commented, “This guy’s commanding skill is improving just as unbelievably fast as his Pokémon.”
Her previous two failures were basically due to brute force defeats. Lu Li’s previous commanding skill could be said to rely entirely on numerical values with no technique at all.
But now it was different. Lu Li had learned to factor in environmental elements in battle, and Long Ying believed this was definitely not his only progress.
“Charmander, use Smokescreen!” Lu Li commanded during the opening.
Suddenly rising black smoke engulfed half the battlefield, and the girl stared intently at the energy readings on the screen.
The smoke concentration exceeded the normal value by 40%, meaning Charmander’s skill control far surpassed Pokémon of the same level.
Seeing this, Li Ning shouted, “Use Spark to suppress!”
Dozens of fireballs came in a fan shape, and Lu Li was pleasantly surprised instead of alarmed.
Charmander’s ability was Ignite, and fire-type moves were a great supplement. Lu Li, with his lips slightly upturned, commanded, “Three o’clock direction, grab directly.”
The sound of claws slicing through the air came from the smokescreen. Charmander had just leaped into mid-air when it was hit in the back by Metal Claw and slammed heavily onto the jagged rock platform.
The damage meter on the referee’s stand instantly turned red. Although Charmander was best at flame conjuring technique, under the enhancement of pills, the power of his other skills also far exceeded peers of the same level.
Li Ning, failing again, began issuing chaotic commands: “Quickly pull back the distance, then use…”
Before she finished speaking, the flame on Charmander’s tail suddenly surged, and a fire ring rising from the ground precisely sealed off all escape routes.
Flame Vortex confinement version, its effect being to summon flames to block the enemy’s retreat. If the opponent wanted to break free, they had to first endure flame damage.
The temperature of each fire ring was precisely controlled by Charmander at 1200℃, just enough to burn Charmander’s fur without harming the flesh.
Li Ning looked at this scene somewhat panicked, then gritted her teeth and shouted, “Charge out! Can’t be…”
Hearing the command, Charmander charged headlong into the fire ring without hesitation. Charmander’s miserable cry was filtered by the protective barrier into a muffled echo.
Charmander’s flames were almost substantial now. Unlike intangible flames, flames becoming tangible were thicker and harder to break through.
Lu Li raised his hand to check the time on his phone: one minute 54 seconds since the match started, just shy of two minutes.
This battle lasted longer than he imagined, which was a situation he deliberately restrained. For this kind of battle, Lu Li preferred to hone his commanding skill rather than let Charmander crush for victory.
Li Ning complexly recalled Charmander, then said to Lu Li via aura, “You’re not the real hero!”
After giving Lu Li a deep look, Li Ning turned and disappeared into the player tunnel.
Hearing this, Lu Li’s facial expression changed.
Aura?
Lu Li didn’t expect this woman to possess the legendary aura.
Aura was standard protagonist gear, and it was also one of the abilities most suited to trainers.
But compared to her having aura, Lu Li cared more about what she said.
Not the real hero?
Could this woman have seen through his identity?
“Li Ning…”
Lu Li noted this name in his heart.
He could ask Long Ying later about this woman’s information. Being able to tell he wasn’t the Rainbow Hero meant her background was definitely extraordinary.
After recalling Charmander, Lu Li also left the match venue.
In another lounge.
After applying healing medicine to Charmander, Li Ning nodded to the space beside her.
A black humanoid Pokémon emerged from the shadows. This Pokémon had pitch-black armor and deep blue dual blades.
Champion Level Pokémon — Ceruledge!
“Are you sure he has no other Pokémon around him? None in the Shadow World?” Li Ning asked.
Ceruledge nodded.
“Then my guess is correct. That person isn’t the Rainbow Hero, without a Pure Heart and lacking courage, skilled in scheming.” Li Ning sighed softly.
The family in the world that understood the Rainbow Hero best wasn’t the Ji Family, which birthed the first Rainbow Hero, but the Li Family, which also birthed a Rainbow Hero.
Through the battle and simple probing, Li Ning had already confirmed Lu Li’s true identity.
“However… that person does have a deity’s aura, and not just one.” Li Ning muttered puzzledly to herself.
Ceruledge asked, “Could it be a divine item?”
Li Ning shook her head. A divine item’s aura was different, and she could sense that.
Li Ning explained, “That’s also why I didn’t directly expose him. Whether he’s the Rainbow Hero or not, one thing is certain: a deity stands behind this man.”
“Alright, mission complete. I should go home. The energy content in this real world is too low; staying one more second is uncomfortable.” Li Ning stood up, clapped her hands, and called out, “Get someone to handle my withdrawal procedures.”
…………
In another lounge, Long Ying and Peng Kaka came to find Lu Li together.
Seeing the nimble chubby guy, Lu Li politely greeted, “Peng Kaka? Long time no see.”
Peng Kaka smiled and praised, “Long time no see, and your battle just now was brilliant.”
Lu Li asked Long Ying, “Do you know her identity? I feel she’s not simple.”
Long Ying nodded proudly, “Not many in this world know about the Li Family, but I happen to.”
“Li Family? The one from the Korean Region?” Lu Li guessed curiously.
“Impossible. Although the Li Family of the Korean Region is one of the Eighteen Great Attribute Families, it’s still a bit inferior to Li Ning’s Li Family.” Long Ying shook her head.
Long Ying asked, “Have you heard of Secret Realm Remnants?”
Lu Li nodded.
The so-called Secret Realm Remnants were the royalty from ancient dynasties who, after their dynasties were overthrown, had to hide in secret realms to survive.
The ancient Li Family was very strong. At that time, the Tang Dynasty nearly occupied half the world, and the rest were all vassal states subservient to the Tang Dynasty.
There is no eternal imperial power in the world. After the Tang Dynasty fell, the Li imperial clan fled into secret realms and has survived to this day.
Peng Kaka added from the side, “The Tang Dynasty’s Emperor Taizong was the last Rainbow Hero in history, and also the only hero cursed by Ho-Oh.”
Hearing this, Lu Li nodded in sudden realization.
No wonder Li Ning had aura and could tell he wasn’t the real Rainbow Hero.
Fearing Lu Li might take an interest in Li Ning, Long Ying warned, “I advise you not to get involved with these remnants. They’re people abandoned by the era; mixing with them leads nowhere good.”
Lu Li nodded.
If he really wanted to mix with Secret Realm Remnants, he would’ve taken up the position of Holy Son of the Life God Cult long ago.
After chatting a bit more, Long Ying hurriedly left the lounge: “Alright, gotta go. My match is about to start; I’m out.”
After Long Ying left, Lu Li looked at Peng Kaka with a half-smile.
As the saying goes, nothing comes without a reason. Lu Li didn’t think the other was here just to catch up; they weren’t that close yet.
Peng Kaka asked with a grin, “Do you know about the Divine Cult?”
Lu Li nodded.
He was no longer the newbie from three months ago; he’d even dealt with the notorious Divine Cult organization quite a few times.
“According to info from our informant, you’ve been targeted by the Divine Cult. If nothing unexpected, they want your DNA.” Peng Kaka said, pulling a document from his backpack and handing it to Lu Li.
“The Divine Cult has been carrying out a mad plan: trying to create human deities. They’ve completed the Pokémon part; next is the human part. Unfortunately, due to your outstanding abilities, you’ve made their list.”
Lu Li: “…”
Now Lu Li was certain that text message was from Lian Sheyi; this nailed it completely.
“If it’s just DNA, would hair work too?” Lu Li asked.
Peng Kaka nodded.
Hearing this, Lu Li breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him, “Got it, thanks for the heads-up.”
As a cultivator, Lu Li was very averse to handing his hair or blood to enemies.
There were countless curses in the Cultivation World, and spells using hair or blood were innumerable. Leaking those would bring endless trouble.
But in the Pokémon World, there was no need to worry. Even Ghost-type Pokémon curses couldn’t be triggered through hair or blood.
Still, it was always good to be cautious. Lu Li decided to cut his hair at home from now on.
At noon, Lu Li didn’t go back but ate in Kyushu University’s cafeteria. Despite qualifying so long ago, this was his first time eating there.
To be fair, Kyushu University’s cafeteria food was pretty good.
Lu Li deliberately sat in a corner, but weirdly, today’s female students seemed to all like this corner for some reason.
Lu Li was speechless inside; even eating a meal wasn’t peaceful.
Long Ying plunked her tray down opposite him and demanded bluntly, “Assuming no surprises, the finals should be us two. Can you show me your Tropius then?”
Lu Li looked at Long Ying speechlessly.
You can’t even beat Charmander, and you want to compare to Tropius?
“You sure? My Tropius is very strong now. Battling it, you might gain nothing.” Lu Li advised.
“Doesn’t matter; I just want to see the gap between us.” Long Ying finished and looked at Lu Li expectantly.
“Fine, since you insist.” Lu Li nodded in agreement, inwardly complaining, “If you really want to see the gap, shouldn’t you find Milotic?”
Honestly, Lu Li was also quite curious about Long Ying’s pre-nurtured Dratini.
If nothing unexpected, Long Ying’s pre-nurtured Dratini had probably evolved to the second stage, Dragonair.
Thinking of this, Lu Li simply said, “How about we tell the school and use pre-nurtured Pokémon for our match?”
“You sure?” Long Ying looked at Lu Li strangely.
Long Ying glanced around furtively, then cautiously reminded, “You might not know, but we all pre-nurture Pokémon, at least four years ahead, and I started nurturing my first Pokémon at 12.”
“What strength?” Lu Li asked curiously.
“Elite Level!” Long Ying puffed out her chest proudly.
Lu Li couldn’t help glancing. Hmm! Still as ample but not generous as before.
Eyes flashing with a gleam, Lu Li eagerly asked, “Late stage or mid-stage?”
Long Ying smiled confidently and answered, “Late stage!”
“Hiss~”
Lu Li inhaled sharply.
Others become rookie trainers at 16, and you’re already an Elite Level Trainer at 16?
Promised equal starting line, but you ran ahead? You wealthy family kids deserve to die! Wait, I’m one of those who ran ahead too? Oh! Then it’s fine.
