Chapter 306: Zhurong Xun
"Meganium is unable to battle!! Arbok wins the match!!!"
"All three of Contestant Wang Xian's Pokémon are unable to battle!! Congratulations to Kenji for securing the victory!!!"
The referee's flag dropped, signaling the end of the round.
At that moment, the audience exploded into a deafening roar.
Wang Xian had fallen.
A veteran who had fought his way into the Top 400 of the last Huaxia League Conference had just been eliminated in the qualifying rounds.
And he had been defeated by a young rookie making his debut in the senior circuit.
Wang Xian's defeat made Kenji's true strength even more of a mystery to the public.
A black "Shiny" Arbok that could effortlessly take down a Champion-level Mega Meganium and tank an Apex Solar Cannon without a scratch.
An Electivire and a Gyarados capable of one-shotting high-level Elite-tier Pokémon.
A Slaking that deleted opponents with a single punch.
And a Serperior whose strength was easily in the Elite tier.
Kenji's roster was nothing short of legendary. Every single one of the five Pokémon he had shown so far possessed terrifying power.
But what was even more frightening to the analysts was that, as of now, Kenji had only revealed five Pokémon in the entire tournament.
Did he have a sixth partner? Was there a hidden trump card even more horrifying than that black snake?
The internet was a hive of activity. Kenji had officially shed the "Dark Horse" label and entered the ranks of the Championship Favorites.
With at least three Champion-level Pokémon in his hands, he was more than qualified to fight for the throne.
...
The qualifiers continued.
A few rounds later, it was finally Namgung Xi's turn.
She seemed to have luck on her side, drawing an opponent of roughly her own skill level for the final qualifying match. After a fierce, back-and-forth struggle, she managed to secure the win.
She had officially earned her spot in the main tournament.
...
Two days later, the final round of the qualifiers concluded.
The official roster for the Southeast District was set. In three days, the qualifiers from all five districts would gather in the Capital City at the Phoenix Nest Battle Arena for the final showdown.
In the brief window before the main event, the hype reached a fever pitch.
Out of the 1,500 official participants, netizen discussions and expert analyses had narrowed down a list of the Top 15 Championship Candidates.
Kenji was on that list, and his rank was surprisingly high—he was placed at #7.
However, when Kenji's eyes scanned this "authoritative" list, his expression turned incredibly strange. He immediately dismissed it as a "clout-chasing" ranking.
The main reason? Besides himself, another familiar name had made the list through the other district qualifiers.
Grandma Liu.
Competing under the alias Elder Venom, she had secured a spot on the candidate list based on her qualifying performance.
Unfortunately, the analysts clearly didn't know who she was. They placed her at the very bottom, at #15.
The ranking's justification stated that while this mysterious "newcomer" had achieved several 1v3 sweeps, her opponents were of mediocre quality, and thus her true ceiling was questionable.
Kenji couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
No one would ever guess that this "rookie" named Elder Venom was a sitting Elite Four member from a hundred years ago.
Based on her real strength, the moment her Master-rank Gengar hit the field, she could probably solo the entire Huaxia League.
In all of Huaxia, the only people who could probably give her a real fight were the current Champion, Zhurong Yun, and Kenji himself.
As for the current Elite Four? Her Gengar would likely eat them for breakfast.
Despite the hilarious ranking of "Elder Venom," Kenji admitted the rest of the list had some reference value.
The trainer ranked at #5 was a woman whose signature Pokémon was a Lopunny capable of Mega Evolution. This Lopunny was a master of various martial arts and grappling techniques, and its level was rumored to be extremely high.
Ranked #4 was a man named Hu Ren, hailing from the Hu Clan—the guardians of the Garchomp line. His Ace was a Mega Garchomp with power described as "catastrophic."
Ranked #3 was a legendary veteran in his seventies. Though this was his first time entering the League Conference, he was a powerful psychic in his own right, and his Ace was a world-class Alakazam.
Ranked #2 was Li Xisheng, the winner of the last Huaxia League Conference. His Ace was a Mega Gallade. Three years ago, he had narrowly lost his challenge against the Ice-type Elite Four member of the Northeast. Now, he was back for a second attempt at the title.
And finally, ranked #1.
Even just the surname was enough to pique Kenji's interest.
The person considered the absolute favorite to win it all: Zhurong Xun.
A scion of the Zhurong Clan.
In Huaxia, the Zhurong family was known as the "House of Champions."
Essentially, whenever a Zhurong entered a tournament, they were playing for the gold. But a Zhurong entering the League Conference wasn't just aiming for the Conference trophy—they were aiming for the League Championship itself. They were there to replace Zhurong Yun.
Of course, that didn't mean Zhurong Xun was necessarily stronger than the current Champion. Zhurong Yun had to challenge the previous Champion twice before taking the seat.
This was Zhurong Xun's first appearance at the Conference.
So far, Xun hadn't even revealed his signature Pokémon. Throughout the entire qualifying stage, he had used nothing but a single Darmanitan to 1v3 every opponent.
The Zhurong Clan had a strict tradition: only trainers who had received the Blession of Ho-Oh were permitted to represent the family in the Huaxia League Conference.
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you