"Amazing, absolutely amazing. This Dragapult's attacks are simply impossible to defend against; Sceptile didn't even touch Dragapult once."
"If you get the chance, viewers, you absolutely must catch one. Dragapult, this pseudo-legendary, is too powerful. It feels even stronger than Kommo-o."
Seeing Dragapult win so easily, the commentator began to heap praises, and Dragapult's performance certainly deserved it.
The more one understood and comprehended this battle, the more one realized how formidable Dragapult was.
Its speed was too fast, its attacks unpredictable, plus its ability to turn invisible, the eerie nature of Ghost-type, and the power of Dragon-type—Dragapult possessed it all.
If all pseudo-legendaries were brought out, Dragapult would definitely hold its own.
"Both contestants, please take a ten-minute break. After ten minutes, the stage will change, and the match will continue."
The Dragon Ascent Cup Trainer Tournament, at this stage, had designated breaks and adjustment periods. This break was beneficial for contestants who had suffered losses earlier.
They could use this time to adjust their state. However, Lin Ning felt that even adjusting her state wouldn't help.
If their strengths were evenly matched, it would be one thing, but the gap between her and Jiang Chen was too vast. No matter how much she adjusted, she couldn't win.
Lin Ning had already lost confidence in winning.
"Gardevoir, do you want to participate?"
In the lounge, Jiang Chen asked Gardevoir.
"Gar~!"
Hearing Jiang Chen's question, Gardevoir shook its head, indicating that the opponent was too weak and it wasn't interested.
It was obvious that Lin Ning wasn't very strong, so Gardevoir couldn't be bothered to intervene. If Lin Ning were very strong, Gardevoir might still be interested in helping Jiang Chen defeat her.
Ten minutes passed quickly. Jiang Chen once again arrived at the competition venue. The stage had already changed; the previous stage was rocky, and it had now changed to a grass field.
"Exeggutor, go."
"Espeon."
Seeing Jiang Chen release Espeon, Lin Ning was somewhat happy. It wasn't Dragapult this time. Lin Ning truly couldn't find a way to deal with that Dragapult.
And facing Espeon, Lin Ning had no information on Jiang Chen's Espeon at all; she had only just learned that Jiang Chen even owned an Espeon.
This Espeon's strength wouldn't be too great, she thought; she should be able to handle it. Defeating just one of Jiang Chen's Pokémon would be enough.
Lin Ning believed Jiang Chen's Espeon wasn't strong, but she was mistaken. In reality, Espeon's combat power was even greater than Dragapult's.
Espeon's strength had long reached the Elite Four level. If Dragapult and Espeon were to battle, Dragapult would definitely not be Espeon's opponent.
It was just that Jiang Chen hadn't used Espeon much in battle, so its reputation wasn't high.
Pokémon like Milotic, Alakazam, Meowstic, and Sylveon were all quite strong, but people focused more on Jiang Chen's Dragonite, Gardevoir, Metagross, Garchomp, and Slaking.
"Exeggutor, use Extrasensory."
"You want to compare psychic power with my Espeon?"
Jiang Chen couldn't help but laugh. Competing with Espeon in its strongest area, Exeggutor couldn't possibly win.
Espeon also unleashed its psychic power, directly crushing Exeggutor's Extrasensory, and then directly took control of Exeggutor.
The controlled Exeggutor was completely unable to move, watching helplessly as Espeon attacked.
A Psybeam struck Exeggutor, directly knocking it out.
"Exeggutor is unable to battle. Please send out your next Pokémon."
"Oh my god, I never expected contestant Jiang Chen's Espeon to be so powerful, directly knocking out contestant Lin Ning's Exeggutor."
The commentator shouted loudly.
"Contestant Lin Ning is actually not weak. If it were in previous tournaments, contestant Lin Ning might even contend for the championship. But this year's Dragon Ascent Cup Trainer Tournament is too competitive." At the end, the commentator's voice expressed some regret.
Although the battle wasn't over yet, it was not far from ending. It was certain that Lin Ning would lose.
Lin Ning also heard the commentator's words, and she indeed wanted to sigh.
If it were the previous tournament, even if she couldn't win the championship, she could at least get second place. But this year, she would at most reach the top thirty-two.
However, she was still young, only twenty years old. The Dragon Ascent Cup Trainer Tournament stipulated that anyone under twenty-four could register to participate, so she still had opportunities to compete in the future. Unlike Li Xuan, who was participating for the last time and only managed a top sixty-four finish after encountering Jiang Chen; he was truly unlucky.
"I'm completely convinced by losing to you," Lin Ning said to Jiang Chen.
"Are you conceding?"
Hearing Lin Ning's words, Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not, I definitely won't concede. But the current outcome is already a foregone conclusion."
Even if she didn't want to concede, the reality was that she was going to lose. Lin Ning knew she had no chance of turning the tables.
"Go, Ludicolo."
This Ludicolo's strength was similar to that Exeggutor's, so the outcome was naturally no different.
It was directly controlled by Espeon's psychic power, then a Hyper Beam hit Ludicolo, and Ludicolo was instantly rendered unable to battle.
"Phew, only you're left, Roserade."
Lin Ning's Pokémon were all Grass-type. If Jiang Chen had brought out Fire-type Pokémon, he would definitely have swept through her. But even now, he had swept through her.
This time, Jiang Chen didn't switch Pokémon, letting Espeon continue battling.
Espeon was excited to continue fighting. After all, it rarely battled, and even when it did, it was against wild Pokémon.
This was its first time on such a stage, so it naturally wanted to stay a little longer.
Therefore, Espeon didn't decisively defeat Roserade, intentionally holding back to prolong the battle.
"It seems there's hope, Roserade, use Hyper Beam."
Lin Ning seemed to see hope, her eyes slightly brightening, then she ordered Roserade to use Hyper Beam.
Its two rose-like arms raised, and a Hyper Beam was fired from the flowers, striking towards Espeon.
Espeon yawned indifferently, then used Light Screen. Light Screen could weaken special attacks, but because Espeon was much stronger than Roserade, Light Screen directly blocked the Hyper Beam.
The attack was directly blocked; it couldn't even penetrate Light Screen.
"It's over."
Lin Ning shook her head helplessly, knowing it was doomed.
The attack couldn't even get past Light Screen; it was directly blocked. How was she supposed to play now?
"Espeon, stop playing."
Jiang Chen said to Espeon.
Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Espeon no longer dragged it out. Its Psychic attack directly defeated Roserade.
"Roserade is unable to battle. Contestant Lin Ning's all Pokémon are unable to battle. Contestant Jiang Chen wins this match."
The referee announced after Roserade lost its ability to battle.
"Congratulations," Lin Ning said with a smile.
Anyway, she might not have won against others either. Losing to Jiang Chen was acceptable for Lin Ning.
"Thank you."
Jiang Chen and Lin Ning shook hands.
"A brilliant battle. This match was excellent. Although contestant Lin Ning lost, she also proved her strength," the commentator finally said.
Advancing to the top sixteen. After the top sixteen, there would be no weaklings. The opponents in the upcoming matches would probably be very strong, but Jiang Chen was not afraid.
Speaking of which, others should be afraid of him.
...days until it ends.
Ling Wanqiu and Xiao Luoxue's matches were on the second day, and Gu Shuangyue's match was on the last day.
Today, they sat in the audience, cheering for themselves. The next day, Jiang Chen sat in the audience, cheering for them. Ling Wanqiu and Xiao Luoxue successfully advanced to the top sixteen.
"I feel like advancing to the top sixteen is already enough."
Ling Wanqiu had a smile on her face.
For her, going any further would be difficult; it would depend on luck. If she was lucky enough to encounter a relatively weak opponent, she might even advance to the top eight.
But luck was the least reliable thing, so she had to prepare for the worst.
Even reaching the top sixteen had exceeded her initial goal. This year's Dragon Ascent Cup Trainer Tournament was just so competitive. In previous years, she might even have competed for the championship.
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