Cheng Feng was a top‑10 finalist of the Hunan Provincial High School Trainer Tournament.
When he saw Lin Yu — the tournament champion — stepping up to challenge him, he was stunned.
Wait a second, you're the champion of Hunan… and you're messing around in the qualifiers?
Have some self-respect, would you?
"Uh, Rotom — my Ampharos needs to rest and recover! I'm not accepting any battles right now!"
"Rotom? Trainer Cheng Feng declines the challenge from Trainer Lin Yu!"
The floating Rotom-phone announced the result at once.
Lin Yu: "Huh?"
Lucario: "Lucario?"
Lin Yu leaned over curiously. "Why not?"
Cheng Feng recalled Ampharos and said loudly:
"C'mon, Mr. Champion — don't farm my points! I'm also from the Hunan tournament.
Your Lucario might look low-level right now, but if it goes all out, my Ampharos'll get destroyed."
"I see."
Lin Yu glanced around. The other Trainers who'd looked eager to battle a moment ago
now scrambled to avoid him after hearing that.
"Oops! Forgot how famous I am.
Larvitar, Lucario — let's head back first."
Half an hour later,
Lin Yu returned to the square wearing his Transform Mask,
which made everyone see him as just an ordinary stranger.
He shouted across the square:
"Who wants a qualifier battle? I'll only use Larvitar or Lucario!"
Just like that,
the other contestants swarmed over like cats smelling fish.
Showing your Pokémon upfront gave opponents a huge type and move advantage,
but Lin Yu didn't care.
Larvitar, Rock/Ground-type,
was weak to Water — everyone knew that.
"Hey, buddy — you really only using those two?"
A guy with a stylish wolf-tail haircut walked up.
"Yeah. I'll pick one of them for every fight."
Lin Yu gestured to Larvitar and Lucario beside him.
Larvitar immediately planted its hands on its hips and puffed out its chest, acting tough.
But standing only about 0.8 meters tall,
it looked more silly than intimidating.
"In that case — let's battle! I'm Liu Feng!"
"Alright. Call me… Mask!"
Qualifier contestants were allowed to use code names.
A Rotom-phone zoomed down between them.
"Registering Trainers: No. 666 Mask vs. No. 2854 Liu Feng!
Selected Pokémon: Larvitar vs. Charmeleon!"
Huh?
Lin Yu's eyes lit up.
His opponent was using a Charmeleon!
[Pokémon: Charmeleon]
Ability: Blaze
Gender: Male
Potential: Master-tier
Level: 31
Moves: Growl, Tail Whip, Scratch, Fire Punch, Fire Spin, Flamethrower, Ember…
"Roar!!"
Charmeleon burst out with fierce fighting spirit, flames flaring from its mouth and nostrils.
"Larvi?" (How is it so much weaker than the boss?)
The "boss" it meant was, of course, Lin Yu's Charizard.
"Ahem… it hasn't evolved yet."
"Battle begin!"
At Rotom's call,
Larvitar tensed up instantly.
"Smokescreen!"
Liu Feng struck first. Charmeleon spat a thick, hazy smoke into the air, covering the whole field.
"Larvitar — Screech!"
Lin Yu smirked.
Smokescreen barely bothered him and Larvitar.
At most, it made Larvitar's nose itchy.
Thanks to Wave Guiding Aura,
Charmeleon had nowhere to hide in the fog.
This Charmeleon had trained its perception well — it could still track Larvitar even in smoke.
Larvitar rubbed its claws together and let out a sharp, piercing sound wave
that cleared some of the smoke around it.
[Screech]: Harsh sound sharply lowers the target's Defense.
"Flamethrower!"
"Stone Edge — then another Screech!"
"ROAR!!"
Charmeleon unleashed a thick, barrel-sized Flamethrower that cut through the smoke.
But the attack was blocked by a jagged stone pillar erupting from the ground.
Moves weren't just for attacking — they worked great for defense too.
"Huh?"
Liu Feng let out a surprised noise.
When the smoke cleared,
Larvitar was completely unharmed.
Charmeleon, however, had taken two Screeches,
its Defense crushed.
"Our turn. Larvitar — Rock Slide!"
"Larvi!" (Heh heh…)
Energy gathered in its hands, forming a huge boulder
that it hurled at Charmeleon.
"Charmeleon — Fire Punch!"
A blazing Fire Punch shattered the rock,
but the shrapnel still dealt splash damage.
"ROAR!"
"That strong?"
Liu Feng couldn't believe it.
There was a whole Elite–Gym tier gap between the two Pokémon. Even with type advantage,
this shouldn't be possible!
"Weird — this Larvitar's only Elite-tier, but it's fighting Charmeleon evenly!"
"What a tough Larvitar!"
"Shame we couldn't see what happened in the smoke."
Trainers at this level knew how rare and expensive Larvitar was to raise.
"Fire Spin!"
Charmeleon launched another fiery attack.
"Tank it. Mud Shot!"
"Larvi!" (Bring it on!)
Thick globs of mud slammed into Charmeleon at the exact same moment Fire Spin hit Larvitar.
[Thorn Armor] activated.
Charmeleon took double damage instantly.
But then Charmeleon's tail flame flared bright!
Blaze activated!
"Perfect! Use Flamethrower with Blaze —"
Liu Feng's eyes lit up… then went cold.
The blazing flame suddenly died down by 30%–70%.
[Judgment] Entry activated:
Cancels 30%–70% of the target's stat boosts.
Lin Yu smiled faintly.
He'd planned for this before the battle
and had given Judgment to Larvitar on purpose.
"Charge in. Iron Head — finish it!"
Larvitar, having tanked Fire Spin, only grew more excited.
Charge!
Slowed by Mud Shot, Charmeleon couldn't dodge in time.
"Charmeleon is unable to battle! Winner: Trainer No. 666! Replaying battle highlights…"