Chapter 353: Caitlin: The Weak Me of the Past is Dead!

Thursday, March 26th.

After a full day of preparation, the Psychic Master Tournament officially entered the main event stage.

Since the battle between Qing Yu and Caitlin was scheduled last today, Qing Yu was able to enjoy watching the other contestants' duels from the waiting room while resting and adjusting.

In the first match, Sabrina taught the greenhorn newcomer Dexio a lesson.

Although Sabrina herself was not actually very old—about the same age as Qing Yu—she was clearly far ahead of her peers on the path of battling.

Even though her most terrifying psychic powers could not be displayed due to tournament restrictions, the powerful Alakazam and Wobbuffet in her possession still put immense pressure on her opponent.

That's right, Sabrina's core team actually included a Wobbuffet...

When he saw this thing, even Qing Yu was stunned for a moment.

Is Wobbuffet strong?

Looking at its abilities alone, it's actually quite average; its base stats aren't high and are extremely polarized. It basically just sits there taking hits like a punching bag.

But what if you factor in its hidden ability and that outrageous move pool?

It's terrifying, brother.

Especially in singles, it's an existence that can drive opponents crazy.

First of all, it is the first Pokémon in the Pokédex to possess the "Shadow Tag" ability.

The value of this ability is incredible; it had appeared in Qing Yu's previous livestreams and caused him quite a bit of trouble.

In singles, once Shadow Tag traps an opponent, it's almost a fight to the death. Unless they use switching moves or have the Ghost type themselves, they have no choice but to break through Wobbuffet to escape.

Regardless, this Wobbuffet could provide stable returns.

If the opponent wants to run, they have to waste precious move slots; if they don't run, they have no choice but to bite the bullet and attack this "big punching bag."

Just like Dexio's choice.

And at this moment, Wobbuffet's move pool comes into play.

Its Counter and Mirror Coat can produce terrifying effects if you guess correctly, even directly using the recoil damage mechanism to finish off the opponent.

It might look like flipping a coin to guess heads or tails, leaving everything to luck, but in reality, it is exactly the opposite.

Because Sabrina is a psychic.

Although she cannot directly use psychic powers to amplify her Pokémon's combat strength on the field, it is not difficult for her to keenly perceive an opponent's energy fluctuations, resulting in a bug-like, terrifying predictive effect.

She only needs to read it correctly once; whether she follows up with Encore to force a move lock or continues to repeat the same strategy, it is an easy command for Sabrina to execute.

By the time Dexio finally managed to cripple this disgustingly annoying Wobbuffet, it used Destiny Bond to take his second Pokémon down with it...

As for his final Mega Alakazam, it was merely showing off before an expert in front of Sabrina.

The Gengar she sent out didn't even need to Mega Evolve to completely crush this "old rival."

After the match, although the score was 3:1, Dexio had actually lost quite miserably.

After the first battle ended, Qing Yu had only one thought—

Sabrina is just too cheap!

Leaving aside that Wobbuffet, the final Gengar was clearly a Mega-capable Pokémon she had prepared; she just hadn't revealed it to keep an ace up her sleeve.

Out of three Pokémon, two of them having Shadow Tag is just too perverted...

Qing Yu couldn't help but cover his forehead.

It's a good thing he wouldn't run into her for a while; that would be a matter for the finals at the earliest.

By the finals, everyone's trump cards should be exhausted, so it would just depend on whether she could prepare more interesting things.

And what he needed to do was relatively simple—

Make it to the finals first!

The results of the other two matches were even more one-sided.

As a fellow Psychic-type Gym Leader, Olympia was a pillar of strength in the Kalos region. If she weren't a bit older, she might have been the undisputed choice for the Elite Four, and her battle experience was naturally not something a child like Cheren could compare to.

Therefore, the battle between the two could be described as completely one-sided, to the point that Qing Yu couldn't even discern Olympia's tactics.

As for the battle between Lucian and Will before his own match with Caitlin in the afternoon...

One could only say there was indeed a gap in strength between an Elite Four member and a Gym Leader.

Even though Lucian was just a newcomer, his talent alone was among the best in all of Sinnoh, so beating Will was within Qing Yu's expectations.

Especially when he actually pulled out the Sunny Day Trick Room system he had used against him in online ranked matches, Qing Yu exclaimed that it was in the bag.

Youth meant greater plasticity, as well as a greater willingness to use new tactics.

As the second strong enemy after defeating Caitlin, Qing Yu held his tactical ideas in high regard.

However, before making targeted adjustments based on his tactics, he had to overcome his first hurdle.

After the three battles concluded, Qing Yu quickly set off toward the contestant tunnel.

Meanwhile, in the spectator stands.

"Come to think of it, hasn't Teacher Yu never revealed a second Psychic-type Pokémon? Will he use one today when fighting Caitlin?"

"Inside scoop: there's a bit of personal history between Teacher Yu and Caitlin. A long time ago, I ran into them in Mesagoza, along with the adorable Champion Cynthia. The way Caitlin looked at Teacher Yu back then... she might as well have been holding a knife."

"??? Could it be that Teacher Yu is actually a scumbag?"

"Pass it on, Teacher Yu cheated on Caitlin!"

The various gossiping voices around her were endless, causing Cynthia to subconsciously frown slightly.

However, she did not speak up to reveal her identity, instead lowering her head to think seriously about what they had just said.

"There's a conflict between Qing Yu and Caitlin? And it's because of romantic issues?"

"Why didn't I, as his childhood friend, know about this?"

Cynthia shook her head, feeling both annoyed and amused.

Honestly, why is it all such messy speculation...

It was clearly a very formal match, yet everyone's attention wasn't on the competitive state of the two people preparing to enter, but on some inexplicable gossip.

For the contestants participating in the tournament, that's just too disrespectful!

"Good luck, Qing Yu and Caitlin!"

With Cynthia taking the lead, most of the audience soon stopped gossiping about the relationship between the two and turned to cheering them on instead.

Soon, Qing Yu and Caitlin walked out from their respective halves of the contestant tunnel and arrived in front of the battle arena.

"The final match of the quarterfinals, the heavyweight showdown everyone has been looking forward to has finally arrived!"

At the commentary desk, Hu Tao, who had gradually adapted, began to output with passion once again.

"Will contestant Qing Yu, who swept the group stage perfectly and charged into the main event as a dark horse, continue to maintain his kingly posture and advance to the semifinals? Or will Caitlin, as a psychic, defend her glory and stop her opponent right here?"

"What will the result be? The answer is about to be revealed!"

After Hu Tao finished her opening, Lance quickly took over the topic.

"For Caitlin, the most important issue right now is... Qing Yu has only revealed Mewtwo as a Psychic-type Pokémon so far, and since this Pokémon hasn't even been recorded in the Pokédex, it is almost impossible for anyone to know about Mewtwo's various abilities."

"Therefore, it's equivalent to both of Qing Yu's STAB Pokémon being full of unknowns, making it impossible to handle them with targeted strategies."

"At this time, rather than thinking about how to counter, wouldn't it be better to just execute one's own tactics?"

"As for Qing Yu... let's look forward to how many cards he has hidden."

For Lance, commentating on Qing Yu's matches was definitely a painful yet interesting new experience.

On one hand, this kid's battles were truly full of spectacle, and one could clearly see the uniqueness of him as a Trainer; it's no wonder so many people became his loyal fans.

But on the other hand... how he was supposed to commentate was a very troublesome matter.

First was the information regarding Mewtwo; the less exposed, the better, so Lance tried to focus only on the moves when talking about it.

Fortunately, Qing Yu still had some sense of proportion; so far, Mewtwo hadn't used any power that was too far out of spec, which would have allowed the audience to spot something wrong at a glance.

... Of course, it might also just be that Mewtwo hadn't fully grown up yet.

Next was that Lucario, which was the culprit that made Lance's mouth twitch from time to time.

You tell me, what does it mean when Lucario uses an invisible punch + Wicked Blow to directly pierce through the opponent's defensive line?

The slightly younger audience members who didn't know much about Pokémon battling probably didn't even know these two moves were the signature techniques of Master Mustard, the holder of the "Battle Legend" title who had long since retired!

So he could only gloss over it.

Fortunately, most of the audience were die-hard fans of Qing Yu, so seeing him win all the way naturally made them happy from the bottom of their hearts, and they didn't pay too much attention to that aspect.

As for what else Qing Yu could pull out, Lance could only rack his brains to guess, so he wouldn't be so surprised.

If it wasn't Mega Evolution, then today's tactical core for Qing Yu should be that Psychic-type Pokémon that had been kept under wraps for a long time, right?

Thinking this, Lance turned his gaze downward again.

"We've known each other for so long, but this seems to be the first time we've stood on the battle arena as opponents, right?"

On the battle arena, facing Caitlin, who seemed to be on high alert, Qing Yu took the initiative to speak while flashing a polite smile at her.

For Qing Yu, although the relationship between the two had always been subtle, the time he had known Caitlin was indeed second only to Cynthia; strictly speaking, they could be considered half-childhood friends.

However, because of Caitlin's tsundere personality, he and Cynthia had loved to tease this cute little blonde girl since they were young.

As time went on, coupled with some other more complex reasons, Qing Yu ended up being held in a grudge by Caitlin...

"Hmph."

Caitlin subconsciously turned her head away, but upon realizing she was on the battle arena, she quickly turned back and looked at Qing Yu with a serious gaze.

"This time, I will prove to Cynthia who is the stronger one!"

"The weak me of the past is dead; now that I am standing on this stage, I have only one goal, and that is—"

"To defeat you!"

For Caitlin, the priority of defeating Qing Yu was even higher than winning this Master Tournament.

Especially with Cynthia watching them from the spectator stands, she had even less reason to lose.

Plus, with the adjustments and targeting he had made for this match, as long as he brought his best competitive form, the scales of victory had already tipped in his favor before the battle even began!

Therefore, he would win!

Sensing Cattley's seriousness, Qing Yu could not help but shake his head helplessly.

This person... she doesn't seem to know that you shouldn't set too many flags for yourself before a match; why is she jinxing herself?

"Then, please take care of me."

After speaking, Qing Yu turned and walked behind him, standing at the edge of the arena to wait for the referee's signal.

"The battle begins!"

As the referee's voice and the whistle sounded, Qing Yu and Cattley each took out their first Poké Ball and threw them onto the field.

The moment the battle began, Cattley started to recall the patterns she had discovered after repeatedly watching recordings of Qing Yu's matches.

But because of this, as long as she dealt with it first, only Psychic-type Pokémon would remain on Qing Yu's side, and the threat would be greatly reduced!

"Go, Gallade!"

Gallade, a Psychic-type warrior with an appearance similar to Gardevoir and incredibly sharp arm blades, appeared on the field, immediately drawing Lance's attention.

"It's a Pokémon Cattley never used in the group stage. Could this be one of her trump cards?"

"Gallade's combat power is extremely fierce. It seems she intends to suppress her opponent with an aggressive strategy?"

At the same time, a flash of red light also shone from the Poké Ball on Qing Yu's side.

However...

Unlike the Lucario that Cattley had in mind.

The Pokémon that appeared this time was a horned Pokémon with a body primarily deep purple and white, and a stature much smaller than its opponent.

"It's out! It's the trump card that contestant Qing Yu has been hiding all along! So it's an Indeedee?!"

Hu Tao, at the commentary desk, quickly erupted with a passionate voice.

After all, Qing Yu had also never let the female Indeedee make a move during the group stage; both sides had surprisingly chosen to play their carefully hidden trump cards right from the start, clearly showing that both parties were very eager to win this match.

But the appearance of Indeedee left many in the audience puzzled.

"Indeedee? Why did Teacher Yu pull out a Pokémon like this? It feels like it's way too far behind the Mewtwo from before..."

"Besides helping with chores, can Indeedee actually be used in battles?"

"Teacher Yu does like using it in the games, but that's mostly in double battles. This seems to be the first time I've seen him send out an Indeedee in singles, whether offline or online!"

"Instead of a trump card... why does it feel like a compromise choice because he had no other options?"

"No, since Teacher Yu chose this, he must have his reasons. We should find out soon!"

Although many of Qing Yu's followers were confused, they patiently waited for Qing Yu to reveal the unique aspects of this Indeedee.

If it were anyone else, they might have thought this was a prank...

But since it was Qing Yu, it always felt like no matter what Pokémon he used, it would become something incomprehensible.

Hopefully, this time would be no exception.

"Um~"

As soon as it appeared, Indeedee shook its head.

At the same time, its naturally curved and drooping horns scattered some psychic energy, which quickly merged with the ground upon landing and showed a tendency to keep spreading outward.

"It's the Psychic Surge ability. A Pokémon with this ability will deploy a special Psychic Terrain upon entering the field. The effect is the same as the one Mewtwo used before, capable of effectively blocking priority moves from both sides."

"However... like weather, the effects of various terrains are bidirectional. Cattley's Gallade here can also receive the boost from the Psychic Terrain."

While Lance was subconsciously providing commentary, he saw Cattley on the other side of the arena silently clench her right fist, point toward Gallade, and reveal the ring on her hand embedded with a Key Stone.

"Gallade, show our most perfect power and crush the opponent with overwhelming force!"

Seeing this, Qing Yu understood instantly—

Good grief, besides wanting to suppress Lucario, did she also have the intention of using a Mega Evolution right at the start for a blitz attack?

If it were any other Pokémon, Qing Yu might have felt this setup was indeed a bit troublesome.

However...

Why did it have to be Gallade?

A smile quickly appeared on Qing Yu's face.

Perhaps Cattley's Gallade was indeed very strong, but what Qing Yu could be certain of was—

Cattley's understanding of the Mega Evolution phenomenon was not deep, so she didn't know:

Sometimes, not Mega Evolving is better; this doesn't just apply to a certain land dragon.

Before Mega Evolution, the damage output of a Sharpness-ability Gallade is indeed terrifying, but now~

Nothing to worry about!

So, after thinking for two seconds, Qing Yu spoke decisively:

"Indeedee, use Baby-Doll Eyes!"