"Aren't you afraid of breaking the rules?"
Lin Yu tapped the girl lightly on the forehead.
The spectator stands had clear rules: no summoning Pokémon above the Normal tier.
The referees and Elite Four members on the platform had clearly seen the whole thing…
yet chose to act as if they hadn't.
Turning a blind eye, in its truest form.
"Hehe, they didn't notice~"
Ye Qingxue sighed in quiet relief, glad Lin Yu hadn't pressed for details about the boy who'd approached them.
"Mm…"
Lin Yu murmured in response.
He could only marvel inwardly —
this girl's influence ran even deeper than he'd imagined.
"Junior, it's your turn."
The name draw concluded, and Lin Yu's name was called.
"Right."
Lin Yu glanced toward the field; sure enough, the first match had ended, and he was set for the second.
He boarded a special Pidgeot and flew down to the battlefield.
That left only Xue Nai and Ye Qingxue on the stand.
A heavy silence hung between them.
In the end, Ye Qingxue spoke first.
"You've improved tremendously these past few months, senior."
"Once you have something to fight for, you have no choice but to push yourself," Xue Nai replied calmly. "But you, junior — you've left me truly shocked."
She'd expected Lin Yu's childhood friend to come from a powerful family.
She hadn't imagined this powerful.
But she would not give up.
"For Brother Lin Yu?"
Ye Qingxue blinked, her pale blue eyes fixed on Xue Nai.
A vague, unplaceable sense of unease welled up inside her.
"Yes. I like him. He saved me in the Ice Secret Realm… and he even saw me—"
Down on the battlefield, Lin Yu brushed past Qing Fei.
Meeting the other boy's provoking glare, Lin Yu let out a soft chuckle.
"Just wait, Lin Yu. I will defeat you!"
"Oh, good luck with that," Lin Yu replied evenly.
The calmer he acted, the more infuriated his rival would become.
Besides…
Lin Yu truly didn't see him as a threat.
"Wait and see!"
Qing Fei's chest tightened, and a blind rage flared up inside him.
Every time. Every single time, Lin Yu acted like he didn't care — as if Qing Fei was nothing but a weed on the side of the road, to be stepped on without a second thought.
"Our second match features Lin Yu, champion of the Hunan Provincial High School Tournament! Those of you from Hunan will know just how extraordinary his Pokémon are!
Against him — Cheng Feng, who fought his way out of the qualifiers!"
The randomly selected field was Grass.
Huh.
That name sounded familiar.
Lin Yu squinted across the battlefield — and sure enough, a familiar figure stood opposite him.
Cheng Feng's face had already twisted into a bitter grimace.
He'd barely scraped through the qualifiers,
excited for his first national-stage battle… only to run straight into Lin Yu.
He might as well forfeit right now.
"Hey, it's you again!" Lin Yu said in surprise. "I remember your Pokémon is Ampharos!"
"Go easy on me, man," Cheng Feng pleaded weakly.
"Battle begin!"
At the commentator's shout,
Lin Yu and Cheng Feng released their Pokémon at the exact same moment.
"Lucario!"
"Hitmonchan!"
[Pokémon: Hitmonchan]
Ability: Iron Fist
Gender: Male
Potential: Master-tier
Level: 38
Moves: Comet Punch, Revenge, Agility, Bullet Punch, Vacuum Wave, Quick Guard, Fire Punch, Ice Punch, Thunder Punch, Mega Punch, Counter
Fighting-type versus Fighting-type.
[Pokémon: Lucario]
Ability: Justified
Gender: Male
Potential: Champion-tier
Level: 34
Moves: Mega Punch, Extreme Speed, Work Up, Bone Rush, High Jump Kick, Ice Punch, Metal Sound, Swords Dance, Life Dew, Aura Sphere, Karate Chop, Brick Break, Bullet Punch
Equipped Entries: Combat Master (Fixed), Combat Leech, World King Fist (Fixed), Stacked Hidden Strength
"Hitmonchan, Bullet Punch!"
Already at a disadvantage, Cheng Feng focused every ounce of his attention on the fight.
Lin Yu didn't speak aloud. He simply sent a command through his Aura.
"Bullet Punch as well."
Up on the Elite Four referee platform,
the moment Lin Yu wielded Aura, several of them noticed at once.
"Aura?"
"Ye Rong, what's this kid's connection to your sister?"
"Aura Wielder… wasn't that the Elite Four member from ten years ago? His Lucario left quite an impression. You don't think they're related?"
"Cough…" Ye Rong cleared his throat. "No official connection yet. But I've got my eye on him."
The other Elite Four members stared in shock, their gaze locking onto Lin Yu.
Everyone knew how dearly the Ye family cherished their long-lost daughter.
And now Ye Rong was saying he approved of this boy?
"He's truly exceptional," Shui Rou added sincerely, with a faint smile. "They make a fine pair."
Their curiosity only grew — what had this teenager done to earn the praise of the two youngest Elite Four members?
On the battlefield, Lin Yu hadn't spoken a single verbal command.
The commentator hesitated for a second, then realized what was happening and burst out excitedly:
"Aura! Contestant Lin Yu is a wielder of this extraordinary power! Paired with Lucario, this is a match made in heaven!"
The previously quiet, confused stands erupted into a roar.
"What's Aura?"
"Are you kidding? Aura — the Aura Elite from ten years ago! His Lucario was unstoppable!"
"So what is Aura, exactly?"
"It's… it's just… really, really powerful, okay?!"
Bang! Bang!
Fist clashed against fist.
The raw physical exchange stirred both Pokémon into a frenzy.
But Hitmonchan was growing confused.
Their skill and speed seemed evenly matched…
yet with every passing second, each blow from Lucario hurt more and more.
**[Stacked Hidden Strength] had activated.
"Lucario!"
Lucario felt only exhilaration.
"He's not even using that form?"
Cheng Feng's expression soured even further.
As a fellow Hunan Trainer, he knew full well
this wasn't Lucario's full power.
That "burst" state could push Lucario to an entirely new level!
And yet, even now, Hitmonchan wasn't faring any better.
A bone staff materialized in Lucario's hands, and it lunged at Hitmonchan in a blur.
Bone Rush.
"Detect!"
Cheng Feng breathed a sigh of relief as the strike was blocked.
Knowing victory was hopeless, he shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Lin Yu! Have your Lucario fight at full power!"
"Very well. As you wish."