Chapter Fifteen: Chibana: Pachilitz Can't Do Anything!

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Xia Chi’s starting Pokémon were the Blazing Roaring Tiger and the Fierce Jaw Land Shark, while Qibana chose Tyranitar and Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon as his starters. Tyranitar opened with Sandstorm, and Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon was prepared as a countermeasure against the possible appearance of Sylveon. A very solid opening.

But Xia Chi was cunning; Sylveon wouldn’t reveal itself so easily. He clearly understood that Sylveon’s presence in the backline served as a far greater deterrent than any role it could play on the field at the start.

The battle officially began.

With a flash of light, the Tiger God appeared. Its intimidating aura naturally spread, causing Tyranitar and Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon, who had just entered, to hesitate in their attacks. The latter was less affected since it primarily relied on special attacks. Tyranitar, however, was hit hard; its attack power dropped significantly.

Meanwhile, Tyranitar’s Sand Stream ability activated, instantly summoning a raging sandstorm.

Qibana’s lineup seemed chaotic but was actually well planned. Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon, Desert Dragonfly, and even the Dustproof Scarf-Tail Dragon could all ignore the sandstorm’s effects.

“Blazing Roaring Tiger, use Fake Out on Tyranitar! Fierce Jaw Land Shark, return!” Xia Chi gave a command that left all spectators bewildered right after the battle started. He was pulling back Fierce Jaw Land Shark so early? What was this move?

The situation on the field quickly explained Xia Chi’s decision.

The Tiger God struck fiercely, slapping Tyranitar just as it was about to use Rock Slide. At the same time, the purple energy flames glowing in Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon’s mouth signaled its impending move—Meteor Mash!

Fortunately, Xia Chi had anticipated all this. The countered Fierce Jaw Land Shark was withdrawn, replaced by Sylveon, which could effortlessly endure the terrible move that would have severely injured Fierce Jaw Land Shark, thanks to its Fairy-type immunity to Dragon-type attacks.

Xia Chi muttered with some relief, “Tsk, so it really read my Earthquake directly. Hakina, you’re sly as ever!”

Meanwhile, in a villa in Galar’s Knuckle City, a dark-skinned athlete lying on the sofa, eyes fixed on the game screen, clicked his tongue.

“Tsk... Qishu not only changed his team composition but seems to have switched his brain too?”

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Galar and Padia regions are geographically close, with frequent exchanges between them. Moreover, both Qishu and Qibana are gym leaders and popular streamers who know each other well. Joking about such trivial matters wouldn’t be taken seriously.

At this moment, the chatroom messages during the livestream reflected this atmosphere. Most were teasing Qishu lightheartedly, while a few reminded that Qishu had previously swept away a notorious “fishy” streamer. From that perspective, yes, he had indeed “switched brains.”

Yet, no chat participant could have predicted what would unfold minutes later. Qibana’s demeanor would no longer be as relaxed.

———

In a student dormitory at Shanghai University in the Donghuang region, a booster quickly explained, “The strategy here is that if Qibana is on the first level, he’ll have Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon try to suppress Fierce Jaw Land Shark with the high-power counter move Meteor Mash.”

“Plus Tyranitar’s Rock Slide, which could severely cripple my main attacker Fierce Jaw Land Shark right at the start.”

“My countermeasure is simple: just switch to Sylveon.”

“But if Qibana anticipates this and uses the counter move Flash Cannon, Sylveon just entering the field would suffer a devastating blow.”

“However, if I predict Qibana’s prediction, I can have Fierce Jaw Land Shark use Earthquake, tanking a relatively harmless Flash Cannon, then hit two weak ground-type Pokémon, which is a great gain!”

“But if Qibana predicts that again...”

Well, in truth, it wasn’t so convoluted. The main point was that Qibana couldn’t afford to let Fierce Jaw Land Shark use Earthquake, which was a Ground-type move matching its type.

He’d rather have Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon bear the side effect of significantly lowered special attack after using Meteor Mash than allow Fierce Jaw Land Shark to unleash Earthquake.

Of course, if Xia Chi stubbornly refused to switch, that was even better for Qibana.

“Too bad, I’m still one step ahead!” Xia Chi chuckled, “Blazing Roaring Tiger, use Taunt on Tyranitar! Sylveon, use Hyper Voice!”

Though Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon and Tyranitar weren’t known for their speed among the pseudo-legendaries, they still outpaced the relatively slow Blazing Roaring Tiger and Sylveon.

Before Xia Chi’s moves were completed, Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon’s Flash Cannon and Tyranitar’s Rock Slide had already targeted the Sylveon, which posed the greatest threat to Qibana’s entire team.

Ordinarily, Sylveon’s physical defense and durability are quite average, making it difficult to withstand a double attack from two pseudo-legendaries, even in a game like Champion’s Road, where Pokémon have significantly more HP than in past versions.

Yet, after the Intimidate effect from Blazing Roaring Tiger and the special attack reduction from Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon’s Meteor Mash, Sylveon stubbornly endured.

It then retaliated with Hyper Voice.

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The Sylveon Xia Chi brought had the ability Pixilate, which transformed a Normal-type move like Hyper Voice into a Fairy-type attack, boosting its power by 20%.

However, the two hulking beasts’ durability was terrifyingly high, especially since Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon had Steel typing for additional resistance.

Thus, under the impact of Hyper Voice, the two countered Pokémon lost only about half their HP.

Xia Chi sighed in regret. This was the charm of stats.

Meanwhile, Blazing Roaring Tiger began its next move. A few battles ago, Xia Chi had swapped out Agility for the more devious Taunt, which was now proving its worth.

After a string of snarls and curses, the Tiger God left Tyranitar with a lowered attack stat as a parting gift and smoothly retreated back into its Poké Ball.

The Pokémon sent out next was none other than Xia Chi’s last reserve—Pachirisu!

———

In Galar’s Knuckle City, Qibana was so shocked to see Pachirisu leap from the Poké Ball on the TV screen that he nearly sprayed his just-opened soda.

“Is she really sending out Pachirisu? Does she look down on me that much?”

His loud exclamation caught the attention of the resting Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon and Desert Dragonfly in the yard. Having accompanied Qibana for over a decade, they had never seen him shout so wildly over a game.

But Qibana quickly calmed down in the living room. Winning was about pride, not just bread. After being so “insulted” by “Qishu” in the first match of the livestream, his competitive spirit was fired up to win this battle.

Despite being at a disadvantage, Qibana saw Qishu’s arrogance as an opportunity for a comeback.

Rubbing his chin, he muttered to himself, “What can Pachirisu do? Nothing at all!”

He decided to ignore this unknown Pachirisu for now and focus on eliminating the heavily damaged Sylveon first.

“Target Sylveon. Corrosion Steel Bridge Dragon, Flash Cannon! Tyranitar, Rock Slide!”