Chapter 753

As for the second stage, the little sister Indeedee, the intensity clearly began to ramp up.

It's not that its own combat power is particularly strong; apart from the troublesome Expanding Force, the power of its other moves is quite average.

But this cute-looking little darling is actually an extremely dark-hearted bad guy inside, perfectly suited to Mr. Feather's tactics!

It's one thing that it's good at using all sorts of cheap moves to mess with people's mentalities, but it seems it also uses the negative emotions on its side to secretly brew a one-time ultimate move, instantly taking out the opponent on the field.

In other words, this stage tests the challengers' mentalities.

Although there is a theoretical possibility of using Dark-type Pokémon to directly immunize against Expanding Force and winning through an all-out offensive strategy, no student has managed to do so yet.

After several battles, Qingyu hasn't really consumed much state, but the students' mentalities are starting to crack.

Among these challengers, there was indeed one who managed to forcibly break through Indeedee by trading damage for damage.

However, when facing the Sylveon in the next stage, he quickly fell into despair.

By now, Qingyu's lineup had been roughly guessed by the students.

Hakamo-o, little sister Indeedee, Sylveon, Lucario, Ogerpon.

The Heavenly Kings of the Paldea Victory Road generally carry five Pokémon; even if it's not a full team, five mainstays at the Heavenly King level are already troublesome enough for newcomers.

Not to mention that the subsequent Pokémon are one more absurd than the last...

Setting aside the out-of-the-ordinary Ogerpon, Sylveon has not only learned many strange moves but also has a "Blood Moon" ultimate move that can change the surrounding aura, with combat power far exceeding little sister Indeedee.

Lucario hasn't appeared yet, but it's said that some students have seen Qingyu and Lucario training Mega Evolution outside the Gym; maybe he can pull off another big one for them.

The only thing to be thankful for is perhaps that Mewtwo is not on the list, which at least provides the students with a theoretical possibility of clearing it.

"Are there any others who want to challenge?"

After commanding Indeedee to easily defeat the opponent again, Qingyu looked at the students who had surrounded him at some point and spoke with a smile.

However, at this very moment, his smile looked incredibly terrifying in the eyes of the students.

Croak! I don't want to challenge Mr. Feather!

Most of the students took a step back in unison, using their actions to show their determination.

Regarding this, Qingyu was clearly a little troubled.

He should have gone easy enough... if they can't even pass the Indeedee stage, what are they going to do about his real mainstays later?

Moreover, he is only one of the examiners responsible for assessing them on the Victory Road; the real difficulty has never been any single Heavenly King, but the five-battle gauntlet including the Elite Four and the Champion.

When challenging a Gym, they can go all out to defeat him, but on the Victory Road, they have to conserve their strength as much as possible to face subsequent challenges in good condition; only then will they have a chance to pass.

It seems he needs to whip them into shape a bit more.

Just as Qingyu was looking around, preparing to randomly pick a lucky audience member to be his opponent, an arm suddenly raised outside the crowd.

"Me! Mr. Feather! I want to challenge!"

The energetic girl's voice, like silver bells, made Qingyu feel inexplicably familiar, even causing him to freeze in place; it took two seconds before he subconsciously turned his head to look.

Among the crowd of watching students, a girl wearing casual sportswear with healthy wheat-colored skin quickly squeezed in.

When she made eye contact with Qingyu, a brilliant smile immediately appeared on her face, and she waved excitedly in Qingyu's direction.

"Mr. Qingyu, long time no see!"

"Nemona?"

Qingyu subconsciously blurted out the girl's name, his expression also very surprised.

After accidentally running into Nemona and the others in Kitakami last time, it seemed he hadn't seen Nemona for a long time.

As the first apprentice of the Sunny Gym, Qingyu had taught Nemona many interesting tactics targeting the Pokémon she had captured before the start of the semester.

However, since the new semester at Naranja Academy began and Nemona officially enrolled, they hadn't met again.

A clear look of pleasant surprise quickly appeared on Qingyu's face, and the students also began to discuss this strange classmate named Nemona.

"Who is she? How come I don't seem to have seen her at school?"

"I have a slight impression; it seems she used to be an apprentice at the Sunny Gym, but after school started, she disappeared as if she had evaporated."

"I ran into this classmate Nemona when I was challenging the Levincia Gym; she is simply a superhuman, even Mr. Larry wasn't her match and was easily taken down!"

"So, she's very strong? Then why isn't she in Team Star?"

"I guess true powerhouses don't need to group up; by the time we find a walkthrough, she's already cleared the Gym..."

Regarding Nemona's identity, the students quickly began to discuss in low voices, and the cacophony of voices reached Qingyu's ears.

It seems Nemona's growth will exceed his expectations.

While Qingyu was sighing with emotion, he quickly smiled.

"Welcome back, Nemona."

"Mm-hmm! I'm back!"

Nemona nodded repeatedly, her excitement evident, and continued speaking.

"Mr. Qingyu, I've been getting stronger this whole time! I've already defeated the other seven Gym Leaders, and the only thing left to collect all the badges is our Sunny Gym!"

"So, I've returned from my training to challenge you!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the students immediately grasped the point of her statement.

Defeated seven Gym Leaders???

In Gym assessments, wanting to defeat a Gym Leader is a very difficult thing.

Because there is a cliff-like gap in Trainer level, even if the Gym Leader sends out baby Pokémon of equivalent strength to go easy, the difficulty for a newcomer is still very high.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, as long as you perform well and prove that you are a qualified Trainer, the Gym Leader will recognize you and issue the corresponding Gym Badge.

In the entire Paldea region, only Gym Leader Grusha is a maverick; it seems there is only one way to get a badge, which is by defeating him, even if Mr. Feather occasionally goes easy to give the students some hope.

It's already difficult to defeat one Gym Leader, let alone Nemona saying she defeated the other seven...

Just thinking about it is terrifying!

Could it be that without us knowing, a prodigy was born quietly in our Naranja Academy?

If the intelligence is true, it doesn't seem impossible for her to defeat Mr. Feather!

After quickly reacting, the surrounding students began to look forward to this high-level duel.

"That's amazing, Nemona."

Qingyu also smiled and praised her.

"Hehe~"

Nemona scratched her head, and while showing a silly smile, she didn't forget the real business of her trip to the Sunny Gym.

"Mr. Qingyu, do you remember our promise back in Kitakami?"

"Having experienced the trials of seven Gyms, I should now be qualified to see Mr. Qingyu go all out, right!"

When she spoke, Nemona's pupils were incredibly bright, as if her conviction had already filled her body.

"..."

Qingyu shook his head helplessly.

Other students are begging for him to go easy, but only this stubborn Nemona keeps thinking about having an all-out battle with him.

It was the same back in Kitakami; at that time, his team only had Sylveon and Riolu, but now his strength is definitely worlds apart from back then.

However, since it's Nemona, maybe her rate of progress during this time is equally absurd?

After all, Nemona is the Champion designated in the game's plot; the strength to win the championship in one year is indeed worth his serious treatment.

I wonder if, under his influence, Nemona can still follow the original trajectory, clear the Victory Road again, and become the honorary Champion of the Paldea region?

Thinking of this, Qingyu looked at Nemona again and nodded gently.

"Of course."

"Although you haven't challenged the Sunny Gym this year, Nemona, I believe that with your strength, obtaining the badge won't be difficult."

"So... I'll just skip the Gym Leader step and directly test whether you have the qualifications to become a Champion."

"If the opponent is Nemona, I've also been looking forward to this battle."

As soon as these words were spoken, the gazes of Qingyu and Nemona immediately collided.

According to the unwritten rule of Pokémon...

The moment Trainers make eye contact is the signal for the battle to begin!