Chapter 43: The Strong Must Ruthlessly Humiliate the Weak (Please Continue Reading!!)

Standing on the battlefield, listening to the cheers echoing from the surrounding stands, Xia Chi couldn’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed. After all, this was his first time competing in front of tens of thousands of people, and the sensation was undeniably different.

But then again, hadn’t his livestream peaked at over ten thousand viewers just a few days ago?

Thinking it over, it didn’t seem all that extraordinary after all...

Meanwhile, in the official Hupao Cup livestream on P Station, many viewers were venting their frustrations about the just-concluded match.

“Wait, you can lose even with type advantage? Does that Fire Rock Mouse’s trainer even know how to play?”

“Another cloud trainer who only focuses on type advantages. If type advantages matter so much, then Pokémon battles are just rock-paper-scissors—whoever has the advantage wins!”

“Don’t you know Lin Lango? Daughter of the Guangfu Senqing Gym Leader. She’s no ordinary trainer.”

“Quiet down, quiet down, the next match is about to start.”

“Damn, this guy’s pretty handsome. He’s like 99% of my strength when I was young.”

“Isn’t that Shui Ye? He’s still competing in this baby cup? No shame at all!”

“Hold on, don’t be so quick to judge. He’s already out since yesterday. Our Shui Ga is a genuine seventeen-year-old pure-hearted young man. Just because he likes to use dirty tactics doesn’t mean he should be barred from the Hupao Cup.”

“Thinking about how Teacher Shui is actually a soft, delicate minor just cracks me up.”

“No wonder he didn’t stream last night—he’s out here making some extra cash.”

“Can the opponents go easy on him and knock him out so he can come back to streaming and making videos peacefully?”

“Seconded! Go, big brother Shui Ye!”

“...”

Behind Xia Chi, who was waiting for the referee’s signal to start the match, a sudden chill crept over him.

Why does it feel like someone’s cursing me...?

“Oi, kid!”

The dark-skinned, blond-haired guy across from him, wearing a white tank top, gave a sly whistle in Xia Chi’s direction.

“Is that... me you’re calling?”

Xia Chi shyly smiled, his rookie innocence on full display. “What can I do for you, Old Deng?”

The blond-haired guy twitched the corner of his mouth, clearly annoyed.

Old Deng? Who does he think he is?

Polite, huh?

But the trash talk had to continue.

“I heard you’re the only non-battle-specialized freshman? Lucky you. But once you face me, your luck ends here!”

Xia Chi was speechless. Didn’t I tell you if you’re short on words, don’t try to trash talk like others?

Is it a characteristic of you blond, dark-skinned jocks to be utterly clueless?

Alright, let me teach you a lesson.

“You seem like the kind of person who plays Pokémon Glory with someone they like, ends up with a 5-2-0 record, and then shows off their stats.”

“You seem like the kind who hopes to measure their height barefoot during a physical exam just to get a better look.”

“You seem like the kind who gets stuck on an ad page for two minutes and angrily gives out ‘Sexy Lip-Biting, Online Card Dealing.’”

“...”

Xia Chi’s clear and logically precise verbal assault left the blond-haired guy dumbfounded.

How do you... know me so well?

His sun-kissed face flushed deeper, resembling a Guan Yu figurine kicked hard by a muddy horse.

Even the referee beside them couldn’t stand it anymore and looked at the blond guy with pity.

Kid, I should stop this kind of trash talk, but you started it first.

This guy looks like a mischievous bomb about to explode, the referee immediately blew the whistle.

“Please send out your Pokémon. The match begins!”

The whistle seemed to open the floodgates of the blond guy’s fury as he immediately threw out the Pokémon he had prepared.

“Hitmontop, go!”

Xia Chi also released his Pokéball, calling out with a sense of ceremony, “It’s you, Sprigatito!”

Two beams of white light flashed, and on the battlefield, the two Pokémon took their positions.

Glancing at the opponent’s Pokémon—a brown creature whose long legs accounted for seventy to eighty percent of its body—information instantly popped into Xia Chi’s mind.

Hitmontop, a pure Fighting-type Pokémon, a typical case of high attack but low defense.

This wasn’t thanks to Brother Tongzi’s help but Xia Chi’s own understanding of Pokémon.

This Pokémon’s offensive power was indeed fierce, but it was also quite fragile.

“Hitmontop, Double Slap!”

The battle had just begun, and the frustrated blond guy commanded Hitmontop to launch a flying kick.

It was exactly Xia Chi’s favorite move when playing games—Double Slap.

Paw and slap are synonymous.

This kind of opening move, slapping you right on the forehead, was almost impossible to counter.

Unless the opponent had the “Inner Focus” ability that made them immune to flinching or was a Ghost-type immune to Normal-type moves.

Sprigatito could be a Ghost-type Pokémon, but only if it used a move first.

Though after capturing the Mimikyu, Xia Chi had unlocked the “Quick Attack” bond, allowing him to use moves faster.

Still, facing the lightning-fast Double Slap was a bit challenging.

Xia Chi didn’t bother giving commands; he let the opponent strike first.

He trusted Sprigatito’s autonomous battle sense to use Shadow Claw—switching to Ghost-type—after the opponent’s Double Slap and before the next high-powered Fighting-type move.

If he warned now, it might alert the opponent.

Smack!

Double Slap hit Sprigatito squarely, who was bracing itself.

The blond guy took advantage mercilessly and shouted, “Hitmontop, Flying Knee Kick!”

Hitmontop closed in like a spring, compressing its slender legs, then leapt high, its bent knee suddenly glowing white.

Then it came down like the weight of a mountain, striking Sprigatito hard!

Though Flying Knee Kick had the side effect of causing some self-damage if it missed, its power was formidable.

It was even slightly stronger than the most famous high-power Fighting-type move, Close Combat.

With this opening triple-threat, Hitmontop had crushed countless bug-catching boys’ Pokémon master dreams during the preliminaries.

Seeing Xia Chi still unresponsive, the blond guy snorted coldly.

“I thought you had some skill, but that’s all you’ve got!”

What should I say in my victory speech later?

“Big mouth, but only this much skill?”

Isn’t that a bit too harsh?

Harsh my ass. With that venomous mouth, no matter how much you trash talk, it’s never too much!

The blond guy was already imagining Xia Chi’s tearful defeat.

Suddenly, a roar of surprise came from the crowd.

Huh? No way it’s a one-hit knockout.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. After all, Sprigatito was still in its first-stage form.

It was reasonable for it to be unable to withstand Hitmontop’s Flying Knee Kick...

What?!

The blond guy looked closely and was shocked to find a Pokémon had indeed fallen.

But the one lying on its back, legs in the air, eyes spinning, was his beloved Hitmontop!

Beside it, the small, innocuous-looking grass-green cat calmly blew on its claw, which was still surrounded by dark purple Ghost-type energy.

Like a Western cowboy who had just shot down his opponent in a duel.

The dark-skinned blond jock stood stunned for a full thirty seconds before the referee reminded him to retrieve the now-fainted Hitmontop.

Clenching the now-shrunken Pokéball tightly, he bowed his head and gritted his teeth, “Capital, you win!”

(Next chapter coming soon.)