Chapter 119: Huo La VS Li Jia (3)

Pokemon: Meili Hua

Gender: Female

Level: Lv. 40

Qualification: S

Status: Healthy

Nature: Adamant

Type: Grass

Ability: Chlorophyll (Speed doubles under strong sunlight)

Height: 0.5 m

Weight: 5.8 kg

Held Item: None

Moves: Sunny Day (Proficiency 100%), Synthesis (Proficiency 100%), Petal Dance (Proficiency 100%), Solar Beam (Proficiency 100%)

Improvement Count: 0

Seeing the information pop up on the panel, Huo La couldn't help but narrow his pupils, his gaze fixed tightly on the newly appeared Meili Hua.

Qualification S, Ability Chlorophyll, and the move set fully max out the Grass-type's offense and endurance: Sunny Day, Synthesis, Petal Dance, Solar Beam—each move perfectly matches the ability, clearly making it one of Li Jia's mainstays.

"Chlorophyll with Sunny Day, and even Solar Beam... she's planning an all‑out speed attack," Huo La muttered softly.

He suddenly recalled that in his memory Li Jia, when battling Ash, only used Man Teng Guai, Kou Dai Hua, and Gloom, but that doesn't mean those are all her Pokemon.

Gym battles' 3v3 are never simple, especially the later Pokemon, which are more likely to be the Gym Leader's hidden counters set after the first two matches.

Most Trainers' tactical patterns are traceable; after the first two Pokemon appear, the subsequent responses often fall into a fixed mindset.

After Li Jia witnessed the high speed and tactical linkage of the Flying Mantis, she immediately sent out Meili Hua, which was undoubtedly an acknowledgment of his strength and a truly tough battle.

"Want to settle the fight quickly with an attack? Then I'll fight fast with you!" Huo La's eyes flashed; he decisively recalled the Flying Mantis, tossed another Pokeball, "Come back, Flying Mantis, it's your turn, Chou Ni!"

"Chou Ni~" The limp figure dropped onto the center of the arena, instantly spreading a strong foul odor that made the air feel viscous.

"Huo La! You actually sent out Chou Ni! This smell is going to make me faint!" Bilan in the audience immediately covered his nose, frowned, and shouted.

Li Jia, however, ignored the stench, instead staring at Chou Ni's blood‑red eyes, her brows tightly knit, her tone a little grave: "Your Chou Ni... something's off. Its eyes lack the spirit a Pokemon should have, as if they've been stripped of perception—what's happened?"

The Alola Yise Chou Ni and the Guandu Bendi Chou Ni have similar body colors; if not for those glaring blood‑red eyes, Li Jia might not have noticed the abnormality right away.

Huo La paused briefly, then spoke selectively: "It was modified by the Rocket Team. I happened upon it and rescued it. Now I travel with it—first to find a chance to cure its post‑modification side effects, second to let it gradually regain its Pokemon instincts."

He deliberately omitted the detail that the Rocket Team had actively given it—there was no need to lay it all out, and he believed that even if Bilan were reckless, he wouldn't tell Li Jia about it.

"Rocket Team..." Li Jia's eyes grew colder, her tone full of disgust, "Them again, a bunch of scoundrels who have done everything bad."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Li Jia readjusted her battle stance, her tone returning to combat seriousness: "Even so, I won't hold back—Meili Hua, use Sunny Day first!"

"Meili~" Meili Hua cheerfully called, rubbing its hands quickly in front of its chest, a warm red light slowly rose, enveloping the entire battlefield.

The sunlight suddenly intensified, the ground temperature rose noticeably, and even the air rippled with faint heat waves.

"Sure enough, starting with Sunny Day," Huo La had anticipated, thinking silently, "What a pity."

If Bulbasaur hadn't reached its evolution critical point, now would be just right to ride the Sunny Day effect.

"Chou Ni, don't give her a chance! Use Poison Gas, cover the whole field!" Huo La ordered immediately.

What he intended was to seal the arena with Poison Gas, so that even with Sunny Day, Meili Hua wouldn't dare approach easily, and to disrupt the rhythm of her subsequent Solar Beam output.

"Chou Ni~" Chou Ni suddenly flung its mouth open, thick black Poison Gas spewing continuously, spreading with the airflow, quickly intertwining with Sunny Day's heat wave, forming a grayish poison mist across the arena.

Although Meili Hua had Chlorophyll's boost, its speed doubled under the bright light, it was still blinded by the sudden poison mist; its pink petals instinctively curled slightly, clearly wary of the pungent toxin.

"Meili Hua, use Petal Dance to disperse the poison mist!" Li Jia decided on the spot.

She knew clearly that once entangled by Poison Gas, the subsequent Solar Beam couldn't be executed and would instead slowly drain its stamina.

"Meili~" Meili Hua responded, turning its body, pink petals swirling like a vortex, trying to blow away the poison mist.

But the modified Chou Ni's Poison Gas concentration far exceeded normal levels; the wind generated by Petal Dance not only failed to clear the mist but made the toxin spread faster, even drifting into the audience seats at the arena's edge, causing Bilan to cover his nose and retreat several steps.

Li Jia watched as the yellow‑green leaf‑skirt edge briefly flashed a faint burnt‑yellow Meili Hua; a trace of anguish crossed her eyes—Meili Hua was clearly poisoned: "Meili Hua, hold on! Use Solar Beam! We still have a chance!"

Meili Hua endured the poisoning pain and began gathering sunlight.

Sunny Day's effect persisted, the charging speed of Solar Beam was much faster than usual, and a dazzling beam quickly formed among the petals.

"Want to go for a final blow? Not that easy!" Huo La's eyes sharpened, "Chou Ni, use Big Flame Explosion!"

"Chou Ni!" The limp figure suddenly tensed, its body emanating scorching orange‑red light.

It didn't choose to dodge Solar Beam; instead, it gathered a massive "big"-shaped flame in front of it.

Li Jia's complexion changed abruptly, instantly grasping Huo La's intent: "No! Meili Hua, stop charging, dodge!"

But it was all too late.

"Boom—!!!"

The huge flame explosion, upon contacting the Poison Gas in the air, caused a violent blast that instantly swept the entire arena.

The thick black poison mist ignited, turning into towering fire waves; scorching gusts lifted the ground's stones, making the battlefield appear as a sea of fire.

Meili Hua, already at the center of the poison mist and frozen in Solar Beam's charge, couldn't dodge in time, was violently hurled by the explosion's shockwave, scorched black by the flames, and crashed heavily to the ground.

Solar Beam's charge was forcibly interrupted, the dazzling green light vanished instantly.

The explosion's aftershocks gradually subsided, the arena filled with a charred scent and lingering poison mist.

Chou Ni's body edges bore some melted marks, yet it could barely stand; Meili Hua lay on the nearby ground, its leaves curled blackened, the flower atop its head drooping, motionless, clearly having lost all combat ability.

Li Jia hurried to Meili Hua's side, gently retrieving it into a Pokeball, her tone tinged with a bit of sorrow but mostly acknowledging Huo La: "What a risky tactic, daring to use the huge flame explosion to ignite Poison Gas, putting even yourself in danger... your decisiveness is more decisive than I imagined."

She turned to look at the still panting Chou Ni, then at Huo La, and said slowly: "I lost this battle. You not only won in tactics, but also in the daring spirit to take risks."

Li Jia took the badge with a rainbow pattern from her pocket, handed it to Huo La, her gaze serious: "This Rainbow Badge is well deserved."