Chapter 16

Seeing someone step forward to challenge him, Wang Tao asked with appreciation in his eyes.

"My name is Liang Liang Wenshan, and my starter Pokémon is Squirtle."

"Very well, follow me to the competition arena." With that, Wang Tao led Liang Liang Wenshan to the center of the field.

"Principal Yu, could I trouble you to serve as the temporary referee?" Wang Tao asked with a smile.

"No problem." Yu Dong walked over.

"The competitors are Wang Tao and Liang Liang Wenshan. Both trainers are ready; begin the match!"

At the referee's command, both sides immediately sprang into action.

"Vulpix, use Sunny Day!" Wang Tao swiftly issued his order.

Upon hearing the command, Vulpix immediately unleashed its move.

"Vul!" Vulpix cried softly, and the air in the arena instantly became dry and hot.

Sunlight from above streamed through the open roof, illuminating the field.

Squirtle couldn't help but raise a hand to shield its eyes, seemingly unable to keep them open against the glare of the sun.

"Use Fire Spin to surround Squirtle."

[Fire Spin: Traps the opponent in a fierce vortex of flames.]

At Wang Tao's command, Vulpix unleashed its move once more.

Its body glowed with red light, and the center of the arena immediately turned into a sea of fire.

The flames raged fiercely, forming concentric rings.

They encircled Squirtle completely, leaving it nowhere to escape.

"Squirtle, Squirtle!"

Standing in the heart of the flames, Squirtle cried out anxiously.

Although it was a Water-type Pokémon, being roasted alive in the center of the fire was unbearable.

"Squirtle, ignore him and use Water Gun straight ahead!"

Although Squirtle couldn't see Vulpix clearly through the flames, Liang Liang Wenshan had a perfect view.

He immediately ordered Squirtle to attack in Vulpix's direction.

Trusting its trainer's words, Squirtle spat a Water Gun straight forward.

The stream of water pierced through layers of fire, moments away from breaking through to strike Vulpix.

"Ride the momentum of the flames; Vulpix, use Ember to meet it head-on!"

Facing Squirtle's attack, Wang Tao did not have Vulpix dodge; instead, he ordered a direct confrontation.

Vulpix opened its mouth and spat out a ball of fire.

As the flame entered the ring of fire surrounding Squirtle, it seemed to gain extra fuel, suddenly expanding to twice its size!

The empowered Ember collided with the Water Gun, resulting in a stalemate!

It should be noted that Ember is normally weak against Water Gun, and Vulpix and Squirtle were nearly the same level.

Under these circumstances, the fact that Ember could cancel out the Water Gun was proof enough of its power!

After one failed Water Gun, Squirtle already began to feel dehydrated.

Roasted by the encircling flames, its stamina was draining several times faster than usual.

Moreover, under the effect of the fire, its shell grew increasingly hot, making Squirtle feel even more miserable.

"Now is the time; Vulpix, use Ember!"

Once again, Vulpix released its Ember.

This time, upon contacting the flames in the center of the field, the Ember expanded once more.

The empowered Ember struck Squirtle squarely.

"Squirtle!"

Letting out a cry of pain, Squirtle collapsed in the center of the arena.

"That's enough, Vulpix; dispel the Fire Spin."

Once all the flames had vanished, Squirtle was seen lying motionless there.

It had clearly lost the ability to battle.

Seeing the match conclude so quickly, the students below were momentarily stunned.

Although they knew Wang Tao would win, they hadn't expected such an easy victory.

020: Explaining Tactics, The Generous Senior

Throughout this match, from start to finish, everything had proceeded entirely according to Wang Tao's rhythm.

From the initial Sunny Day to Squirtle's subsequent struggle within the flames.

Liang Liang Wenshan had clearly been thoroughly outmaneuvered by Wang Tao.

Is this the strength of a Gym Leader?

All the students were deeply shocked.

Even with a type disadvantage, a trainer's commands can turn the tide of battle!

Seeing the pitiful state of Liang Liang Wenshan's Squirtle, the students below all breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it wasn't them who had stepped onto the field earlier; otherwise, they would be the ones lying in such a sorry state now.

"Squirtle is unable to battle; therefore, the winner is Wang Tao!"

Wang Tao recalled Vulpix into its Poké Ball and handed it to Yu Dong.

After the previous battle, his Vulpix had also consumed a significant amount of stamina and still needed to recover using a healing machine.

Yu Dong took the Poké Balls containing Squirtle and Vulpix and went to have them healed.

Wang Tao slowly walked over to stand before Su Yu and the others.

"Fellow juniors must have seen that in the match just now, my Vulpix won very easily against the Squirtle, whose attributes were countered."

"The reason for this is that my Vulpix possesses two crucial field-control skills."

"One is Sunny Day; I had Vulpix unleash it the moment it entered the field, which not only slightly weakens Squirtle's strength,"

"but also amplifies Vulpix's Fire-type attacks."

"Then, by using Fire Spin, Squirtle was firmly trapped in place, forced to constantly expend its stamina."

"My Vulpix can also utilize the flames generated by Fire Spin to further empower Ember, maximizing its destructive power!"

"Therefore, this is the key to field-control skills: even when at a disadvantage, one can still achieve victory by manipulating the battle environment."

Wang Tao explained his strategy in detail, hiding nothing.

His words brought sudden enlightenment to many.

Many students had only ever read about the so-called field-control style in books, but had never witnessed it in actual combat.

Wang Tao's match served as a harsh and valuable lesson for them.

Even Su Yu gained significant insight from it.

In his previous life, the Pokémon games he played featured turn-based battles.

Even if field-control skills existed there, they merely served to boost one's own attacks.

However, reality differs from games; it cannot be measured by simple statistics alone.

In a game, it is impossible to link every skill together seamlessly to achieve an effect where one plus one equals more than two.

Yet Wang Tao had clearly achieved exactly that in reality.

"No wonder he is a Gym Leader."

Su Yu praised inwardly, thinking that in this world, no one who becomes a powerhouse is simple.

Each possesses their own unique understanding.

Unfortunately, this configuration is somewhat unsuitable for Torchic; otherwise, Su Yu could have copied the technique.

Su Yu still preferred to develop Torchic into a speed attacker, relying on unmatched velocity to launch rapid assaults.

As the saying goes, "In all martial arts under heaven, only speed is invincible."

Su Yu wanted Torchic to become precisely such a quick-draw expert!

Although this set was unsuitable for Torchic, Su Yu still carefully digested the information.

It might prove useful when he acquires other new Pokémon in the future.

"Senior Wang Tao explained that wonderfully."