Chapter 898

(Armor-plating before the show: Although I can also reach Master Ball tier, my team is usually just a copy of the lineups from various content creators. My understanding of competitive play isn't ignorant, but I wouldn't call myself an expert. The lineups proposed in the following plot are purely mental imaginings required by the story; they have no data support, so please do not overanalyze them.)

At the Ho-Oh Arena, the battle was at a stalemate.

After Li Xiao finished his phone call with Su Hao, Zhao Yun reported his name.

During the time Su Hao was sleeping, Jiangcheng University had gone through two more rounds of matches. The opponents' strength wasn't particularly outstanding, so Zhao Yun even had the leisure to arrange for substitutes to go on stage with the starters to gain experience.

Unexpectedly, in the fourth round of the elimination tournament in the afternoon, they ran into one of the universities that Mu Yao had specifically mentioned in the meeting—Luodu University.

In the first round, Zhao Yun sent out two starters, Xu Qin and Long Ningyan, along with one substitute, intending to test the opponent's strength.

Unexpectedly, Luodu University sent out a Fairy-type specialist trainer who hadn't appeared on stage yet and whose strength differed greatly from the data.

Meanwhile, Jiangcheng University had Xu Qin, a Fighting-type specialist, Long Ningyan, a Dragon-type specialist, and... a Dark-type specialist substitute.

Although Long Ningyan had long since systematically learned how to deal with the Fairy-type, the natural enemy of Dragon-type Pokémon, that was only when she had the advantage in Pokémon matchups.

Even though she fought back with all her might, Luodu University still used Jiangcheng University's substitute as a breakthrough point, taking out both the substitute and Xu Qin in one go, leaving Long Ningyan alone and unable to turn the tide.

Helplessly, they let the opponent take the first game.

Losing a match wasn't a strange thing; everyone would inevitably experience it, and Zhao Yun didn't blame them.

If anyone was to blame, it should be her, the head coach, for not thoroughly investigating the opponent's background.

After comforting her disappointed team members, Zhao Yun immediately sent out the combination of Li Xiao, Lin Daoyi, and Xia Xiaoguang.

She had assumed Luodu University would send out their ace lineup to press their advantage at the match point, but who knew they had actually arranged their ace for the third game.

After Li Xiao's Ceruledge, Lin Daoyi's Maushold, and Xia Xiaoguang's Wobbuffet easily secured the victory.

The third game was about to begin.

There were ten minutes left in the arena preparation period.

Under Zhao Yun's frequent looking up and peering around, Su Hao's figure arrived as promised.

She didn't blame Su Hao for arriving late because he "overslept."

After all, she was long used to Su Hao's harmless habit of dropping the ball on unimportant occasions; as long as he arrived and could compete normally, it was fine.

Nodding as she made eye contact with Su Hao, Zhao Yun called the three people who would be competing next—Su Hao, Mu Yao, and Jiang Chengcheng—to the side, intending to briefly go over the information she had collected once more.

"Let me start with my conclusion. Based on the lineup configuration of the members Luodu University has sent out so far, we can roughly infer the strong team lineup they intend to use to secure victory in the third game."

Zhao Yun took out her tablet and enlarged an image to show the three of them.

Mu Yao stared straight at the image, thoughtful, and said: "Trick Room Sandstorm team...?"

Su Hao blinked. He had only heard of the Trick Room Torkoal Eruption team, which was famously said to be playable by one's grandmother in Los Angeles to reach Master tier, but what on earth was a Trick Room Sandstorm team?