LRAB Chapter 285 This is all thanks to the blessing of the God of Muscles
Chapter 285 This is all thanks to the blessing of the God of Muscles
Chapter 285 It's all thanks to the God of Muscles' blessing (6K, 5 bonus chapters)
After Ash won a brilliant victory, it was Misty's turn to battle for the first time.
Xiaoxia had been really looking forward to this vortex competition from the very beginning, and she took it very seriously in both the regular competition and the preliminary rounds.
Now that the official competition has finally arrived, of course I have to give it my all to show my opponents.
"Match number 9 in Zone B: Xiaoxia vs. Zhang Zao!"
Ash thought he'd misheard the name "Old Zhang" because he was surprised to learn that there were actually people from that family in the Pokémon world.
The player on the other side, named Zhang Zao, was a middle-aged man wearing a Hawaiian short-sleeved shirt and a straw hat. When he saw that the person on the other side was Xiaoxia, he immediately showed a disdainful smile.
"Haha, so the opponent is a little girl. Looks like this game will be easy to win."
"Let's talk big after the match. Bring it on, I'm full of fighting spirit right now," Xiaoxia replied confidently, taking a deep breath.
She has grown a lot now, and she is not annoyed at all even when provoked by her opponents.
"Go, Sun Coral!"
In this battle, Xiaoxia sent out her newest partner.
Because she has a big ambition for the Whirlpool Tournament: to defeat Ash!
—At least one Pokémon!
Therefore, Misty temporarily kept her other, stronger Pokémon in reserve for the upcoming battles.
However, this sun coral is also Xia's favorite, and she has taken great care of it.
Its battle ability is not bad, so Misty felt confident sending it out as the Pokémon for the first round.
Sun Coral did not disappoint Xiaoxia.
In the battle, they fought steadily and quickly cornered Lao Zhang's Thousand Needle Fish with Spiked Cannon and Earth Power.
Uncle Zhang Zao on the other side was really unlucky. His Thousand Needlefish's ability is Poison Sting, while Xiaoxia's Corsola just happens to have no contact moves.
This made the uncle very upset, as all the tactics he had planned could not be implemented, and in the end, the Needlefish was taken away by Misty's Coral Spike Cannon.
Xiaoxia successfully passed the first round.
"Hehe, I knew it would work! I love you, Sun Coral!" Xiaoxia jumped up and down in celebration, hugging Sun Coral.
After the match, Xiaoxia happily ran up to Xiaozhi and said, "How was it? We did pretty well, right?"
Xiaozhi always praises Xiaoxia when she asks for praise.
Although this time Corsola happened to be type-dependent and resisted the Poison-type moves of the opposing Uncle's Needlefish.
However, Misty's performance has indeed improved a lot, and she didn't win entirely by luck, so Ash decided to reward her with a tight-fitting catgirl outfit!
(Xiaoxia: Hey, this is obviously a reward for yourself!)
There's no way around it, Ash got to enjoy the Phantom Thief Sisters' night-time bodysuits a while back, and now he's starting to like them a bit.
·ω·。 ).
After the first round, the second round of the tournament will begin. During the draw, all the contestants who passed the first round will be shuffled and thrown into a large pool for random allocation.
Xiaoxia is now particularly worried about what to do if she runs into Xiaozhi in the second round.
"I don't think I'll be that unlucky—" Xiaoxia thought that as such a hardworking and beautiful girl, she would surely be blessed by the heavens.
"Please, God of Muscles, bless me!"
Xiaoxia kept her eyes closed and prayed while drawing lots at the Pokémon Center.
Then it seems that the blessing of the muscle god really happened. Maybe it was because the god saw that Xiaoxia was forcibly consuming excessive amounts of protein every day and then constantly training her jaw muscles. She was so hardworking.
So the God of Muscles took pity on her and let Misty draw not Ash, but another young man who was good at using Feraligatr.
Xiao Zhi drew a player named Gao Mei.
This is a tall, slender woman. If Xiao Gang were nearby, he would definitely jump up excitedly.
Before their official match, Gao Mei even came to greet Xiao Zhi.
"I admire your excellent teamwork with your Water-type Pokémon."
"I really look forward to playing against you on the field!"
This older sister speaks gently, making a good first impression, but Xiao Zhi won't go easy on her just because she's a mature woman.
"Me too, but I will give it my all, 100%."
The two shook hands politely, giving off a sense of mutual respect between formidable rivals before a match.
"Damn it, let go! Where did this wicked woman come from?" Xiaoxia gritted her teeth.
"At least in Water-type Pokémon competitions, Ash's only real rival is Misty, the future Water-type Pokémon Master!"
"Xiaoxia, calm down—"
Serena, who was standing nearby, broke out in a cold sweat and struggled to pull Xia back.
When Ash and his friends returned to the players' dormitory, Suicune immediately jumped out and volunteered.
"Boss, boss, how about letting me play?"
"I'm a water-based character too~"
With such a large audience, Babaozhou was itching to take the stage.
Unfortunately, Ash rejected it without even thinking.
"Alright, sweetie, here's a bone for you to play with somewhere else." Ash took out a specially made meat bone stick, waved it in front of Eight Treasure Porridge, and tossed it aside.
"Awoo~"
Babaozhou only realized what had happened after it retrieved the bone that Xiaozhi had thrown.
"Pah! I'm not a dog!"
"Ugh! Why can't I play?!" Eight Treasure Porridge immediately started throwing a tantrum.
"This is a Water-type Pokémon tournament." Ash was afraid of its embarrassing performance.
"Right now, you only have Crunch and Extreme Speed available. What will you do if you encounter a Water-type Pokémon with high HP?"
Besides attribute advantages, Eight Treasure Porridge's previous victories were often achieved by leveraging its high speed and high defense, allowing it to stay on the field for as long as possible and slowly grind for victory.
Although it's not impossible for Ash to win, he still wants his legendary Pokémon to maintain their cool factor.
The upcoming matches will be broadcast live, so it wouldn't do if Babaozhou played too poorly.
Ash went to great lengths to protect the reputation of legendary Pokémon.
Another issue is that Babaozhou has very few skills, and during Lazy Dog training, he always tries to find ways to slack off.
Xiao Zhi needs to focus more on training it in this area.
"Since you're so eager to play, why don't we start training now?"
"Ah, no!"
It was too late. Just as Babaozhou turned to run away, he was caught by Supreme Xiaozhi and immediately threw himself into happy training.
Soon it was time for the second battle of the second day, and Ash and Mimi had arrived at the two sides of the battlefield, ready to fight.
In the second round of the Whirlpool Tournament, the rules changed to one-on-one battles using two Pokémon, with the other side winning when one Pokémon is completely defeated.
Gao Mei was the first to release her Pokémon. Contrary to her gentle appearance, the Pokémon she used was actually a Brutal Gyarados from the region.
But coincidentally, Ash's first Pokémon was also Gyarados.
Ash's beloved sword, the golden, goofy Gyarados.
"Wow, this battle is actually an internal war between Gyarados!" The commentator, as always, maintained his high level of enthusiasm for work and immediately began to give a lively commentary.
"Ash's Gyarados is a rare Shiny Gyarados, and it's even twice the size of Miss Komi's Gyarados!"
"I wonder how Miss Gao Mei plans to handle this?"
The people of the Whirl Islands have a particular fondness for Water-type Pokémon, so when a trainer brings out a rare Water-type Pokémon at a grand event like the Whirl Tournament, it elicits cheers from the crowd.
Not to mention Ash's extremely rare golden Gyarados, which the audience had never seen before, immediately garnered a warm response.
They were quite a group of dedicated Pokémon fans, taking photos and exclaiming in amazement as Ash's big, goofy self laughed uncontrollably.
Even when the Gyarados opposite it came over with a fierce and menacing look, it was both a little scared and happy as it twisted its body.
"Alright, stop being so awkward, we're battling now." Ash, being the hot-blooded type of trainer, naturally took the initiative to use an offensive move to greet them.
"Gyarados, use Waterfall!"
"Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!"
The contestant opposite me, Gao Mei, seems to be quite skilled as well.
Her Gyarados unleashed Hyper Beam, instantly evaporating a large amount of seawater simply by striking the surface.
However, hitting Ash's Golden Gyarados failed to stop its actions.
The imposing golden body propelled the water currents that surged towards its opponent, who was trying to hide behind a pillar on the field.
The golden Gyarados snapped the pillar in two, slamming the opponent's Gyarados hard onto the large platform in the center of the battlefield.
Then, Ash's Golden Gyarados immediately lashed out with its tail, sending it flying back into the water.
"My goodness, what incredible power! Ash's Gyarados is displaying terrifying strength commensurate with its size!"
"Gao Mei seems to be at a disadvantage."
"Gyarados, hang in there! Use Thunderbolt!" Gao Mei shouted loudly towards the water.
The Gyarados in the water immediately responded to its trainer, leaping out and beginning to charge its whiskers with electricity.
"Is that Gyarados on the other side going for a Special Attack build?"
Ash was a little confused by the fact that it was both a destructive beam and a 100,000-volt attack.
However, this is, after all, a Water-type Pokémon tournament, so it's normal for trainers to bring some skills or abilities to deal with Water-type Pokémon.
After all, some people might sneakily bring Pokémon with the Water Absorption ability to participate in the competition.
Gyarados's natural Special Attack is relatively weak, less than half of its Physical Attack, so its Thunderbolt attack is generally not very powerful.
But coincidentally, her opponent this time, Ash, also sent out Gyarados, so it was a kind of intelligent matchmaking.
For Gyarados, which is four times weak to Electric, even a Thunderbolt attack used by another Gyarados would be enough to cause considerable damage.
Therefore, Ash doesn't intend to let the big guy take the hit head-on.
"Gyarados jumps back to the surface of the water, then flies up to dodge and uses Dragon Dance!"
Don't forget that Gyarados is also a Flying-type; in fact, it can fly.
The giant golden dragon used its tail to leap nimbly into the water, while Gao Mei's Gyarados naturally wouldn't give up on its target so easily.
100,000 volts immediately chased after it and attacked, and then the big, dumb creature immediately opened its mouth wide, inhaled, and flew into the air, swaying its body.
At this moment, Gyarados's 100,000 volts of electricity tried to follow up, but it suddenly shocked itself.
The electric current flowed through Gyarados's entire body, causing considerable damage.
"Oh no, how could this happen?"
"A little physics tip: Seawater can conduct electricity."
This is a victory of wisdom. The reason Ash made Gyarados try to jump back into the water was to guide the opposing Gyarados to use Thunderbolt to attack the surface of the water.
This time, the Gyarados, which was four times weaker to Electric, was successfully shocked by its own Thunderbolt.
Taking advantage of the fact that the big guy was now flying in the air and had been enhanced by Dragon Dance, Ash immediately launched an attack.
"Gyarados, attack from the air with Water Tail!"
Gyarados, which was flying in the air with its mouth wide open and body swaying like a carp streamer, immediately raised its tail upon hearing Ash's command.
A ring of water swirled around its tail and swiftly struck the head of the electrified Gyarados.
Although it is a bit clumsy and simple-minded, it will obey Ash's commands 100%.
At the same time, it has a strong ability to imitate. At this moment, the way it uses Water Tail is just imitating Pikachu's Iron Tail.
And he always hits people on the head; he's learned bad habits from Pikachu.
This extremely violent water jet created a giant wave over ten meters high, causing Gao Mei's Gyarados to float belly-up and lose its ability to fight.
"Well done, Gyarados!"
"Roar~~"
The Golden Gyarados's naive mind was instantly filled with confidence, and its attack power increased.
[Ding! Gyarados: Affection +2; Friendship +2]
"That big oaf's Senses are almost full, just a little bit more away," Ash thought to himself. Maybe one more win and he'd reach 0.
Gyarados, keep fighting!
Komi immediately sent out her second Pokémon, which turned out to be a Golduck.
The blue duck is the evolved form of Misty Psyduck.
"Please, Golduck."
"Gotha!"
Unlike Xiaoxia's unreliable Psyduck, this Golduck's eyes are full of wisdom and reliability.
"Gyarados, use Waterfall again!"
"Goldfish, water jet!"
Both moved at the same time, but the Golduck on the other side was faster.
Water Jet is a move that always has priority and greatly increases the speed of the Pokémon when it uses the move.
Golduck, completely submerged in water, slammed into Gyarados's belly like a water bullet.
But the fool doesn't feel pain. Gyarados's Waterfall attack didn't hesitate at all and continued to press aggressively towards Golduck.
Under its body, the Golduck had almost nowhere to hide, and absorbed all the damage from the Waterfall skill.
Moreover, the Golduck that was hit seemed to shrink back and began to stand there blankly.
In that case, Ash wouldn't miss the perfect opportunity to attack.
"Gyarados, use Crunch now!"
"Gotha duck, hang in there!"
Gyarados's gaping maw bit into Golduck's arm; given Golduck's stamina, it would have been defeated by now.
But then, Komi on the other side suddenly revealed a triumphant expression: "Goldfish, use brute force!"
Golduck didn't fall. Its earlier cowering seemed to be an act to lure Ash into attacking. The "Hold On" move was successfully activated.
But then Golduck's eyes immediately shone with white light, enveloping Ash's Golden Gyarados.
Gyarados immediately showed a pained expression.
"What? Playing such dirty tricks?" Ash expressed his strong condemnation.
Passionate Pokémon trainers should fight fair and square!
"Oh no! Ash's Gyarados is suddenly in big danger!"
"Why is it that Golduck's attacks don't seem very strong?"
In the stands, Serena, hearing the commentator's words, asked Xiaoxia in confusion.
"Hold On is a move that allows a Pokémon to retain the last bit of stamina when it reaches its limit."
"The effect of the brute force move is that it can instantly change the opponent's Pokémon's HP to the same level as your own."
As a former gym leader, Misty naturally knew these things, so she carefully explained them to Serena.
"Ash's Gyarados has reached its limit, just like Golduck on the other side."
"And Golduck on the other side has the priority move Water Jet, so Gyarados is indeed in danger."
Sure enough, as soon as Xiaoxia finished speaking, Gao Mei on the other side immediately had Golduck use Water Jet.
Before Gyarados could react, it was hit by the sudden attack and fell down, losing its ability to battle.
"Not bad, you actually managed to defeat one of my Pokémon."
Ash returned Gyarados to its Poké Ball and, unusually, praised his opponent.
But Ash hates people who use dirty tricks the most, unless he's the one doing it.
Now he needs to teach Gao Mei a lesson.
"I've chosen you, Eight Treasure Porridge!"
It's just a preemptive skill, I have that too!
"Oh my god, Ash's second Pokémon is the legendary Suicune!"
"This is the first time in the nearly 100-year history of the Whirlpool Tournament that a Legendary Pokémon has appeared!"
This was so rare that the commentator became even more excited than usual.
The audience erupted in cheers, and even the high priestess Maya, who was sitting on the platform, couldn't help but stand up and move forward to get a closer look at Suicune.
Meanwhile, the elegant and noble Water Lord in the public's impression was pacing excitedly on the platform with an annoying smile on his face.
"Haha, it's time for me to take the stage again!"
The cheers from the crowd made the Eight Treasure Porridge stand tall and unable to lower its head.
"You went too far before the match, but you still need me, don't you!"
"Alright, enough talk, use Extreme Speed!" Ash gave the command, barely suppressing the urge to rush onto the battle stage and beat up Eight Treasure Porridge.
"Goldfish, water jet!"
Even when Suicune appeared, Takami did not give up the fight.
Although Golduck's stamina was like a candle flickering in the wind, this was a blow to his dignity.
Unfortunately, although both are preemptive skills, the attack speed provided by Divine Speed is still much stronger than that of Water Jet.
The decisive blow to uphold dignity was not delivered.
Babaozhou gathered his strength and transformed into a streak of light, violently slamming his opponent away before the water jets from Golduck could even appear.
"Golduck, unable to fight!"
The referee decisively waved the flag and declared victory, with Ash successfully winning the second round.
"I'm not disappointed that I lost to a trainer who used a legendary Pokémon."
After the match, Gao Mei still politely shook hands with Xiao Zhi.
"It was a great match, thank you, Ash."
"You're very capable too, thank you as well."
Although she uses dirty tricks, Gao Mei is strong enough that she seems like a player who could have made it to the finals if her opponent hadn't met her.
Ash never hesitates to give great respect to outstanding trainers.
After Ash's match ended, it was immediately Misty's turn to compete.
At the start, Xiaoxia's Wartrick defeated an opponent's lanternfish, but Wartrick was quickly defeated by the Alligator Crocodile.
The Feraligatr on the other side is very strong. It's the kind of Feraligatr that gets discussed by the audience during the Whirlpool Tournament, with the question of whether Ash's Feraligatr is the strongest in the tournament!
Xiaoxia's Wartortle was quickly defeated by his Feraligatr using Thunder Punch combined with Crunch.
"The opponent is so strong—" When Misty was battling this Feraligatr, she felt like she was facing Ash.
Her ace Milotic, which she had prepared, is going to be brought out early, and even if Milotic comes out early, it may still not be able to defeat her opponent.
"This is going to be a tough battle!" Xiaoxia clenched her fists, determined to go all out.
But just as Xiaoxia took out the Milotic Poké Ball, Psyduck somehow popped out of her backpack.
Then, the little one fell into the water and struggled frantically with its short arms, almost drowning. It took a lot of effort for it to finally climb onto the platform.
"Giggle!" It even turned around happily and gave Xiaoxia a peace sign.
"This Psyduck seems to be a landlubber—" the commentator said, sounding a bit incredulous.
A Water-type Pokémon drowning? Did he not sleep well during his afternoon nap?
The audience and Xiaoxia were all stunned.
"Why? Why don't you just pop out on your own?!"
Then the machine in the arena instantly recognized it, and Psyduck was sent into battle!
Xiaoxia was about to cry.
But there was no other way; Xiaoxia wouldn't give up easily, so she had to use Psyduck to fight.
"Psyduck, use Psychic!" Misty tried to get Psyduck to use its skill.
But as soon as Psyduck saw the ferocious look on the other side of the crocodile, it immediately quacked and covered its head in fear.
The little duck's bottom was trembling with fright.
"I knew it! Psyduck, get up already!" Misty shouted anxiously.
But Psyduck tilted its head, glanced back at the Graviton opposite it, and continued to crouch down with its head in its hands.
It's just a joke.
Seeing Xiaoxia's Psyduck perform like this, the opponent was overjoyed and urged his Garchomp to end the battle quickly. "Go! Garchomp, crush!"
This was also his kindness; he couldn't bear to see a beautiful young woman continue to embarrass herself in public.
But to his surprise, when the crocodile jumped next to Psyduck, bit its head, and swung it up...
The intense pain actually unleashed Psyduck's potential.
"quack!"
A powerful psychic force was released from Psyduck's mind, causing the seawater on the battlefield to suddenly begin to churn violently.
The surrounding stone pillars were also shaken by the impact, as if the battlefield were experiencing a major earthquake.
"What's going on?" Both the opponent and Xiaoxia were incredulous.
Using telekinesis, Psyduck and Crocodile were both moved into the air, and Crocodile was instantly blasted away by a powerful force.
After smashing through a thick stone pillar, it fell heavily onto the platform.
The bewildered referee stood there for a long time before reacting, then immediately ran over to check on the crocodile's condition before waving the flag.
"Mighty Crocodile is unable to fight; Xiaoxia has won this match!"
"Great! Psyduck!" Misty excitedly picked up Psyduck.
She rubbed her head against its silly face, and even Psyduck's usually goofy expression looked quite cute now.
So Ash wasn't lying when he said Psyduck had amazing potential.
The opponent accidentally bit the head of the duck god, which triggered Psyduck's potential and caused it to lose. Misty thus advanced to the third round.
"This Psyduck is so unscientific."
Ash, who had been watching from the sidelines and was secretly worried for Misty when he saw Psyduck enter the arena, couldn't help but make a comment.
"As expected of a Pokémon that is also called a god." It's hard to judge it by ordinary standards.
The following matches proceeded smoothly.
After Komi and the Feraligatr trainer who was previously defeated by Misty, it seems that there are no trainers stronger than them in the Whirlpool Tournament.
In the end, Ash and Misty fought their way through the competition and both made it to the finals.