Chapter 603: Elite Four: Cynia

"As you can see, I, Cynia, am the one leading the charge for the Elite Four."

The blue room was lined with special materials designed to absorb the explosions, shockwaves, and energy surges generated when moves collided.

A few days ago, Cynia, serving as Nemo's interviewer with her hands in her pockets, stood before Nemo as the first obstacle on the path to the Champion Test.

"."

A flicker of surprise surfaced in Nemo's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure as fighting spirit surged within her.

After all, she had already heard from Peony about Interviewer Miss Cynia and her status as one of the League's Elite Four.

The other party was bold, even attempting to hack into the League database to investigate Elite Four Pokémon data for her, but Nemo had earnestly declined her kindness.

Still, she had managed to glean the information from Peony that Cynia was indeed a member of the Elite Four.

"Elite Four Cynia, I look forward to working with you today!"

After bowing deeply with boundless energy, Nemo tightened her gloves, brimming with fighting spirit.

"... I will love you dearly, so give it your all and do your best."

Having recited the signature line she had painstakingly prepared to match her own style, Cynia, who considered herself inept at dealing with serious, hot-blooded idiots like Nemo, chose to proactively advance the proceedings.

After all, this was a live broadcast; that idiot girl Iono was still critiquing her, and Cynia had no intention of leaving too many incriminating traces.

"I'm leaving the first battle to you, Dugtrio."

A flash of Bai Guang occurred, and Dugtrio, the triplets, appeared on the battlefield, instantly burying half its body underground with a speed even the cameras failed to capture.

"Even I, as its Trainer, have never seen the half of Dugtrio that hides underground."

Cynia made a self-deprecating remark, then fixed her sharp gaze on Nemo, awaiting her first Pokémon.

"Ground-type."

Realizing Cynia specialized in a specific type, Nemo, unlike her reckless deployment of type-disadvantaged Pokémon during her special training at Luo Mu's farm a few days prior, tossed out a Poké Ball.

"Go, Tauros!"

"Moo!!!"

Accompanied by a slight tremor in the Elite Four room, Nemo's vanguard general, the indomitable Tauros, raised its head and roared with full fighting spirit.

It was just that Nemo's motion of throwing the Poké Ball was somewhat ungraceful; she couldn't even manage to make the ball bounce back, and it was only because Tauros bumped it back to her that she didn't have to bend down and pick up the Poké Ball in front of the live audience.

"A Water-type, huh? An expected counter-choice."

A curve lifted the corner of Cynia's mouth as she issued her command at almost the exact same time as Nemo.

"Sandstorm!"

"Aqua Jet!"

Dugtrio skillfully gathered a massive amount of gravel from the Kong Dong beneath it; accompanied by swirling gales, a torrent of sand and wind erupted, surrounding it to form an overwhelming sandstorm!

Within the high-speed rotating dust storm, Dugtrio's clear figure seemed to become blurred.

At that moment, fierce water jets were already spraying from the tips of Tauros's large horns, enveloping its body; coupled with its frantic charge seemingly etched into its genes, it transformed into a roaring water dragon, plunging with swift speed into the dark, oppressive dust storm.

"Oh, oh, oh! Challenger Nemo has chosen to launch a direct fierce attack; what a bold style of play~"

"But if it's just a fierce attack, Iono thinks it won't be able to do anything against that cunning woman Cynia~"

"Eh? You're asking why Iono says that? Guh... asking further would be rude, you know."

At the Pingdie Town farm, listening to the interaction between Iono and the audience on the live stream, Luo Mu remained expressionless.

Since Cynia dared to have Dugtrio activate sandstorm weather right in front of a Water-type Tauros that posed such a threat to it,

it also meant that the other party had the confidence to retreat unscathed.

This Dugtrio's Ability was likely Sand Veil, making it a weather setter specifically serving Cynia's team.

Reality was not a turn-based game; relying on this Ability, Dugtrio could accomplish many things once the sandstorm was activated.

"Baa?"

Beside Luo Mu, Volcarona lifted its head, curiously voicing its question.

Oranguru conveniently helped translate.

Volcarona was asking Luo Mu why he said Dugtrio's Ability was "likely" Sand Veil.

Clearly, Luo Mu should have battled against it last year.

Asked this question by Volcarona, Luo Mu exchanged a glance with the Swampert in the living room, waved his hand, and said, "Because it got punched by Swampert right at the start and was nearly unable to get up."

"Even after Cynia recalled it, when it appeared again, it was immediately strangled by Torterra's Frenzy Plant; I truly wasn't sure."

Luo Mu wore an utterly innocent expression.

At this moment, in the footage, just as Luo Mu had predicted,

Tauros broke through the dust storm with unstoppable force and plunged deep inside, but in merely the time it took to blink an eye, where in the drifting yellow sand was there any sign of Dugtrio?

Tauros looked around in bewilderment, its immense strength finding no outlet.

Nemo reacted quickly; realizing Dugtrio had hidden using the sandstorm or perhaps burrowed underground, she declared without hesitation: "Earthquake!"

"I won't give you that chance, you know."

Cynia raised her right hand, on which a pure black glove fit seamlessly, pinching a Poké Ball between her fingers!

"Return, Dugtrio."

"Go, Torterra!"

Two consecutive beams of red light burst forth; amidst the sandstorm, a Torterra identical in appearance to Shinji's Torterra, yet far more seasoned in both form and gaze, landed heavily.

In a standard Champion Test, the Elite Four, as the challenged party, cannot actively switch Pokémon, much like Gym Leaders.

But now was a different matter; theoretically, in the Champion Gauntlet that would decide the new League Champion, they had no scruples, no restrictions, and were going all out!

Switching Pokémon and utilizing type advantages to avoid unacceptable costs was also permissible!

This was the tactical instinct Cynia had cultivated after resolving to learn from her painful experience a year ago, when she had nearly lost a Pokémon right at the start against Luo Mu.

At this moment, Tauros's "Earthquake" had also finished charging, transforming into an earth-yellow shockwave that swept outward in all directions.

Bolstered by the sandstorm, these shockwaves even carried enough grit to slice through skin.

But such minor skirmishes were meaningless to the Torterra whose ability was "Sturdy Shell."

Amidst Kiku's excited commentary in the livestream, the Torterra tanked the Earthquake from the Aqua Breed Tauros!

"Now it's our turn to counterattack. Seed Bomb."

Xin Li snapped her fingers with a flourish, drawing screams from countless female fans watching before their screens.

"Next, Iron Head!"

Having failed with one strike, Hearing Nimo did not freeze; instead, she immediately ordered the Tauros to move, carving a path forward right in front of the deep green bombs released by the Torterra!

Watching the fierce battle on the television, Luo Mu stroked the thick, fluffy fur of his Volcarona, pondering in his heart.

In this Champion Gauntlet, there was a disadvantage unique to Hearing Nimo that even she herself had not noticed.

Hearing Nimo's proficiency in controlling the convenient tool known as the Poké Ball could only be described as catastrophic.

Nine out of every ten times she threw a Poké Ball, she was liable to miss completely.

Furthermore, the hand speed necessary for rotating Pokémon, along with the accuracy required to dodge an opponent's deliberate interference and precisely find the gap to recall her Pokémon with the beam, was also extremely poor.

In the broadcast, after strengthening itself once with "Iron Defense," the Torterra had already used the move "Body Press."

Its fierce charging posture, and even the leaves trembling on its shell, were deliberately blocking the direction Hearing Nimo was aiming her Poké Ball.

Xin Li clearly intended to rely on the Torterra's type advantage and its formidable physical defense to forcibly keep the Tauros on the field, preferably knocking it out directly.

The overwhelming sandstorm was also assisting the Torterra, blinding the Tauros's vision and subtly whittling down its stamina.

As one of the Elite Four, a trainer standing at the pinnacle of a League, how could Xin Li possibly lack any desire for victory?

Without even being present at the scene, Luo Mu could tell exactly what Xin Li was thinking.

It was nothing more than this: she wanted to stop Hearing Nimo all by herself.

It was a pity that Xin Li had been working under the table for Geeta for too long; she did not know that in this world there existed a kind of trainer who simply could not be judged by common sense.

Ash, who grew slower but fought steadily, counted as half of such trainers, those two Battle Legends counted as the whole, and Hearing Nimo was currently replicating the path they had once walked.

Even if it remained unclear whether she could reach their High Realm in the future, at least for now, Hearing Nimo would not be so easily stopped.

As if echoing Mu De Xiang Fa, in the footage, the Tauros, which was being fiercely suppressed by the Torterra, seemed as if a vital point had been struck; its eyes turned blood-red, and a tremendous power erupted.

Caught off guard, the Torterra nearly got flipped over directly by the Tauros's horns.

Even though it stabilized its stance with a Mud Shot fired in the opposite direction, what the Torterra would face next was the fully unleashed "Raging Bull."

Under the Tauros's frenzied "Close Combat" assault, the Torterra, unable to believe it had actually been taken down at close range, lost consciousness.

Kiku's frantic commentary was nearly spraying spittle everywhere, and the Torterra's defeat, along with the Tauros's eruption, seemed like the opening shot for Hearing Nimo's Champion Gauntlet; the Dugtrio and Donphan that Xin Li sent out one after another all fell beneath its ferocious offensive.

If not for Hearing Nimo considering the subsequent battles in the gauntlet and choosing to recall the opponent to prevent the Tauros from overexerting itself, Xin Li would have paid an even heavier price to deal with such a frenzied Raging Bull.

However, Hearing Nimo would also face the situation where the Tauros would likely be unable to take the field in the next few battles, or might even accidentally get knocked out.

After the Aqua Breed Tauros left the field, facing Xin Li's Clodsire, Hearing Nimo sent out her Decidueye.

Under the Decidueye's exquisite Xiao Jian Fa, the Clodsire, with its Unaware ability and slightly sluggish movements, became a living target.

And this time, Hearing Nimo actually applied what she learned flexibly; borrowing techniques she had picked up from Xin Li, she had the masterfully controlled Decidueye use Shadow Sneak to pin the Clodsire's shadow, preventing Xin Li from recalling the Clodsire.

After the Clodsire fell, Xin Li's fifth Pokémon was the Fire and Ground-type Camerupt.

Before the rolling thick smoke spewed by the opponent could obscure her vision, Hearing Nimo fumbled to recall the Decidueye and swapped in Ursaluna.

Always wearing its strength on its sleeve, and being the second veteran general in Hearing Nimo's team, Ursaluna's fighting style could be described as ferocious, yet it did not lack crucial rationality.

Wrapping itself in peat capable of insulating against heat, Ursaluna charged straight into the thick smoke mixed with Xiong Xiong fierce flames spewed by the Camerupt; with one hundred thousand horsepower, every punch landed flesh-to-flesh—if the Camerupt also had the "Anger Point" ability, it might have had a chance to resist.

Unfortunately, its ability was "Magma Armor"; although hitting Ursaluna felt scalding hot, it could not provide the Camerupt with an opportunity to break free from Ursaluna's fierce assault.

Once the thick smoke was sucked away by the room's special air purification device, the fallen Camerupt caused the danmu in Kiku's livestream to scroll even more frantically.

Many people found it unbelievable that merely a ten-something-year-old Miss had defeated five of the Elite Four's main forces with unstoppable force, at the cost of only two Pokémon sustaining minor injuries and one needing to rest for a while!

Inside the Naranja Academy, which was already on holiday and undergoing renovation in preparation for the coming spring.

Gathered in the battle stadium, using the equipment inside to watch the livestream, Nemona and the others cheered with excitement.

"At this rate, we're very close to breaking through the first stage!"

Shizuka's expression was filled with immense joy; watching Hearing Nimo's active figure, she felt honored as well.

Shinji silently stroked the red-and-white Poké Ball in his hand.

Xin Li, the Paldea League's Ground-type Elite Four member, had raised her Torterra completely beyond his imagination, making him realize just how far he still was from that domain.

Yet even so, the reality of her impending defeat was fast approaching.

Hearing Nimo simply could not be understood by common sense.

"It will get even harder from here; the opponent is an Elite Four member, and will absolutely struggle until the very end."

Momo whispered softly, having still not been able to resist hacking into the Paldea League database.

Xin Li's ace had not yet appeared, and the "that thing" equipped by the Paldea League for its Elite Four members had not been used either; Hearing Nimo still needed to make a final charge to break through this stage.

In the livestream footage, facing the Goodra that Hearing Nimo had sent out again, Xin Li's laughter, transforming from silence into heartiness, rang out.

"Hahaha! Very impressive! As expected of that person's student, you are indeed quite interesting!"

A year later, once again forced to the edge of a cliff, Xin Li not only showed no hesitation but instead threw the Poké Ball she had already prepared in her hand with a look of fanaticism.

"This is the genuine final battle. I leave it to you, Clodser!"

A flash of Bai Guang passed, and a Pokémon with an obese dark brown body, a back darker than its belly featuring six white spots, two black-dot-like eyes, and a large mouth appeared on the field.

Some people watching the livestream in the Kanto region strangely discovered that this Pokémon somehow remarkably resembled their region's Quagsire!

"Watch me take you down! Clodser! Erupt!"

Still dutifully speaking her lines, Xin Li pulled the Terastal Orb from her pocket; accompanied by a shining light, the brilliance of Terastallization bloomed above Clodser's head.

In the living room of Luo Mu's home, perhaps noticing that the light was similar to its own, Terapagos, still maintaining its withdrawn state inside its shell, opened its bright big eyes and looked at the scene on the television with some curiosity.

(End of Chapter)