Chapter 752

If we count the Hakamo-o that appeared just now as the appetizer served first...

Then after putting on the Cornerstone Mask, Ogerpon is undoubtedly the toughest main course in this challenge, and for an opponent who specializes in a Sun team, it seems a bit too tough.

Ogerpon was originally one of the most powerful Pokémon in Mr. Feather's hands; this has already become a consensus among the students after the Master Tournament.

After all, when it gets serious, it seems that no matter who the opponent is, it only takes one Ivy Cudgel to resolve the majority of them.

As for those it can't resolve, then just gift them a few more Ivy Cudgels.

And what's even more absurd is...

It's not just that the stats are high and it's a pure steamroll; Ogerpon's mechanics are also extremely absurd.

Judging from current intelligence, Ogerpon possesses a total of four masks of different types, and gains the power of the corresponding type when wearing them.

Grass, Water, Fire, and Rock—theoretically, there are no coverage blind spots, and it can flexibly switch according to different lineups.

Among them, the Cornerstone Mask is precisely the harshest "Big Daddy" for Sun teams.

Not only does it heavily counter the Fire type, but even when facing the Grass-type Pokémon that Sun teams use for defensive synergy, Ogerpon can use Fighting-type moves to forcibly break through, completing a team sweep in an instant.

It left the audience and the challengers completely stunned.

Even Mewtwo and the other challengers on the other side of the field stopped their battles in unison, focusing their attention entirely on Qingyu and Ogerpon.

"666, Mr. Feather isn't even pretending anymore, right? You've already pulled out Ogerpon; what newcomer can possibly pass your trial now!"

"To be honest, is Mr. Feather perhaps choosing Hakamo-o as his lead just to save us some face..."

"It really is, giving up a point as a matter of 'jianghu' etiquette, and the following Pokémon are Mr. Feather's true level?"

"But this Hakamo-o doesn't seem very legal either. If it evolves later, I feel like it'll be another 'Big Daddy' that's impossible to beat!"

Several watching students have already taken out their notebooks, recording the performance of Hakamo-o and Ogerpon just now.

As the vanguard of Team Star, their purpose for coming to the Sunny Gym, besides challenging "Heavenly King Mr. Feather," also includes the idea of recording his Pokémon habits and battle style.

Unlike ordinary challenges where you could get a Gym Badge after giving your all to earn Mr. Feather's recognition, there is only one way to climb higher on the Victory Road—

Defeat all the Heavenly Kings blocking your path, and then defeat Chairman Geeta!

Therefore, compared to previous Gym battles, the difficulty of every battle on the Victory Road rises by several levels.

But because of the appearance of Qingyu, this X-factor, it actually gave them a relatively favorable opportunity.

Heavenly King Mr. Feather's assessment is difficult, but being able to start challenging from the end of March is an opportunity that has never existed before; this means they can start adapting to the difficulty of Heavenly King battles very early.

There is still plenty of time, and they still have a lot of room for improvement. Once they get used to Mr. Feather's intensity, challenging the Victory Road will also become much easier.

However... can we really adapt to Mr. Feather's intensity?

After finishing the first battle, which could be called a steamroll, many students quickly became unconfident.

After the first challenger was defeated at light speed, Qingyu looked at this slightly mature student, smiled, and stepped forward to summarize:

"For a newcomer, this level of strength is actually quite rare."

"If my current status were Sunny Gym Leader, this battle just now would definitely be worth a Gym Badge."

"However... the requirements for the Victory Road assessment are much higher than before; after all, only the newcomers with the most potential in the entire Paldea region can earn Chairman Geeta's recognition."

"In other words, if you want to become a Champion, you must become the 'strongest' in every sense of the word."

"So in the coming time, let's make improving the level of your Pokémon the main goal, and at the same time, think more about how to coordinate with them to unleash greater combat power."

"Looking forward to your next challenge."

This time, Qingyu did not give the newcomers clear suggestions on breeding direction and lineup selection after the battle ended, as he had done in previous assessments.

Since the challengers are all excellent students who have already obtained multiple badges, they basically already have their own direction and future plans on the path of a Trainer; at this stage, Qingyu's suggestions don't have much meaning.

So it's better to encourage them to trust their partners and come back to challenge him after becoming stronger.

"I understand..."

The burly challenger lowered his head, looking very frustrated.

After all, after graduating from Mr. Feather's first stage, he had captured six Gym Badges in one go; clearly, he could be considered a "heavenly pride."

If Gym Leader Tulip hadn't also gone to participate in the Psychic Master Tournament, perhaps he would have already collected seven badges by now, with only Gym Leader Grusha on Glaseado Mountain left.

The continuous victories made him a bit arrogant, feeling that Gym Leaders were nothing special, and that with some effort, he might even be able to take down a Heavenly King or Champion.

But only when he reached the moment of battling Heavenly King Mr. Feather did he finally realize that his level might still be far off.

To clear the Victory Road, Mr. Feather is only the first hurdle...

It seems he still needs to work even harder.

The next few battles, as expected, were easy victories for Qingyu.

For the challengers, Mr. Feather's lineup has a clear gradient; the difficulty rises sharply after defeating each Pokémon.

The Hakamo-o leading the charge is at the beginner difficulty; although it looks intimidating at first glance, its moves are limited, and as long as you are well-prepared and dodge its Headbutt counter and Dragon Breath, you can easily take it down.