There's Something Off About My Pokémon. [59]
"Chengcheng, mom thinks you should join Alibaba!" Lu Cheng's mom exclaimed excitedly, "I'm a big fan of Jack Ma. If you work there, maybe you can get me an autograph!"
Lu Cheng's dad was equally happy but still scoffed, "Women, so short-sighted."
"A big company like that doesn't lack talent. Chengcheng, you should join Raiden Tech. That company has a bright future!"
"Dad, Mom!" Lu Cheng said with a wry smile, "I still need to go to college. It's too early to talk about this now!"
Both parents suddenly realized and gave an "oh" in unison, but behind the scenes, they continued to bicker.
"Alibaba!"
"Raiden Tech!"
Watching his bickering parents, Lu Cheng shook his head, smiling bitterly. He couldn't feel any joy at the moment. Instead, he felt a tremendous pressure. Whether it was Hu Sheng or Ding Chong, their situations weighed heavily on Lu Cheng's shoulders. And on top of that, his next opponent was also a major challenge.
"Su Xiangrou, huh?" Lu Cheng muttered as he opened the U20 tournament interface. "Next round, let's go with Grovyle."
The tournament allowed for three Pokémon to rotate in, and having Grovyle compete would help it get used to the match environment. At the same time, Lu Cheng knew this would also prepare them for the eventual battle with Wang Yingjie.
---
As the tournament entered the top 16, the hype surrounding the event was even more intense. Tickets for the live matches were nearly impossible to get, and scalpers were taking advantage of the situation, raising prices. However, even these tickets were quickly sold out. In this era, a thrilling Pokémon battle was as popular as any other major sporting event.
At the entrance for participants, Lu Cheng greeted Su Xiangrou. "Good luck in the match later," he said with a smile.
Su Xiangrou adjusted her glasses without saying a word, simply giving a quiet nod. Feeling a little awkward, Lu Cheng scratched his nose and made his way into the players' tunnel. He thought to himself that this was probably what they meant by "getting cold-shouldered." But he quickly shook it off, refocusing as he stepped onto the battlefield, smiling and waving to the crowd.
His parents and Mu Mei couldn't attend this time due to work, leaving his fan base consisting mainly of those loyal supporters dressed in black Ninetales jackets.
"Go, Vulpix! Vulpix for the win!"
Making it into the top 16 had earned Lu Cheng a solid fan base. Especially in his last match, where he had graciously allowed Kevin's Ralts to evolve during their battle, creating a sharp contrast to Wang Yingjie's ruthless approach. This garnered Lu Cheng significant positive attention, with fans often praising him when criticizing Wang Yingjie. Unknowingly, this had provided Lu Cheng with a growing following.
However, it wasn't Vulpix who would take the field this time. Lu Cheng reached for the Pokéball on his belt, holding the evolved form of the Treecko he encountered in Yulin. Now fully evolved into Grovyle, Lu Cheng could feel the excitement radiating from the Pokémon inside the ball.
He tossed the ball forward, shouting, "Go, Grovyle!"
With a flash of green, Grovyle made a dramatic entrance, slicing through the air with its leaf blade in hand, looking every bit as fierce and majestic. The audience erupted in gasps of awe!
"Lu Cheng has sent out Grovyle, a Pokémon that has yet to make an appearance in the tournament!" the commentator announced. "According to the competition rules, contestants are allowed to rotate up to three Pokémon, and it's clear that this Grovyle is Lu Cheng's ace!"
Grovyle is incredibly rare in Jiangcheng, and many spectators had never seen one before, sparking a wave of murmurs throughout the audience.
"What kind of Pokémon is that? I've never seen it before."
"It looks like a Grass-type. I thought this contestant's Pokémon was Vulpix?"
"Not sure, but that Grovyle looks pretty awesome!"
"Go, Grovyle!"
Even the fans of Vulpix quickly switched gears, cheering enthusiastically for Grovyle instead.
"Grovyle, huh?" Su Xiangrou frowned slightly, murmuring, "It wasn't in the intel…"
"But it's not too late to gather information now. Go, Porygon!"
With a flash of light, the strange, blocky form of Porygon appeared in front of Lu Cheng. Porygon's body was a bizarre assembly of blocks, haphazardly thrown together, with red and blue magnetic pieces that made it look like an irresponsible designer had built it out of spare parts. Its vacant eyes looked as though someone had lazily drawn them on with a ballpoint pen, expressionless and completely unfocused.
Seeing Porygon's somewhat silly appearance, Lu Cheng couldn't help but think that at least it looked relatively normal compared to the eerie Grovyle, whose bone-like features and reptilian face showed no emotion as it silently observed its opponent.
At that moment, the system's magnifying glass revealed Porygon's data:
PorygonNature: Relaxed
Abilities: Download, Analytic (Hidden Ability)
Moveset: Psybeam, Tri Attack, Barrier, Thunder Wave, Magnet Rise
As Lu Cheng analyzed the data, he instinctively furrowed his brow. This Porygon, like Grovyle, had a second hidden ability! He remembered that Download raises Porygon's stats, while Analytic boosts the power of its moves by 30% if it attacks last!
The combination of these two abilities made Porygon incredibly tricky to deal with. Just then, the system issued a new task:
Ding—New task discovered: 'Data Analysis'
Task Objective: Defeat Porygon in your battle against Su Xiangrou
Task Reward: 3 Potential Points, item 'Upgrade Data,' and a new 'Analysis' function for the system.
Meanwhile, Su Xiangrou quickly analyzed Grovyle's data using her AE system, muttering to herself, "High explosive power in the legs, well-developed arm strength—focused on speed and attack power, huh?"
"But Porygon is just the kind of Pokémon that counters this type," she added with a glint of determination in her eyes. She swiftly commanded, "Porygon, use Barrier!"
Su Xiangrou wasn't in any rush to attack. Porygon could steadily boost its stats with its Download ability and Barrier, and its Analytic ability would kick in when it struck second, increasing its attack power. However, Grovyle's lightning-fast form had already reached Porygon before the Barrier could be activated.
Quick Attack!
Lu Cheng's voice followed closely behind: "Follow up with Fury Cutter!"
Su Xiangrou felt a sense of alarm. Fury Cutter's power increased with each consecutive hit—if it built up, even Porygon's Barrier wouldn't be able to hold against it!
But in the next moment, Su Xiangrou regained her composure and shouted, "Thunder Wave!"
Before Porygon was even created, her uncle had told Su Xiangrou that its psychic-type capabilities paled in comparison to its potential in electric-type moves, due to the rarity of psychic data. Thus, training Porygon in electric moves was the better choice. Porygon hadn't disappointed, mastering Magnet Rise and Tri Attack.
With its ability to analyze data, Porygon's Thunder Wave had reached an extraordinary level of accuracy—nearly guaranteeing paralysis of its opponents!
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T/N: Okayyyy I know it switches from task to mission, but I assumed you guys wouldn't mind. If you guys do mind I'll make sure to keep it consistent! Haha...
If there are any mistakes let me know!
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