Chapter 14: An Encounter with the Formidable Raihan, Giving It My All...
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Xia Chi had no interest in the chaotic barrage of comments flooding the screen. He didn’t rush to start the next match either. Clearing his throat, he said, “Ahem, is Teacher Qishu here? Um... boss, settling the debt?”
A high-level match began with Parchliz entering the arena—and victory followed.
Logically, with such strict conditions where only two out of three could be met at most, Xia Chi had somehow managed to complete a grand slam.
Even Qishu, who was secretly observing behind the scenes, had to admit that Xia Chi’s peculiar tactics were somewhat impressive.
After sending out a Master Ball, Qishu typed back, still unconvinced, “Let’s just say it was for feeding to Kartigou. Carry on.”
It wasn’t mere stubbornness; after watching just one match, Qishu had vaguely sensed the strength of these Pokémon—not the kind of brute force output typically expected, but a sort of maddening, tooth-gnashing power.
She was genuinely curious about the upper limits of Xia Chi’s lineup.
The moment Qishu surfaced from her lurking, a flood of comments followed suit, making it hard for Xia Chi to ignore.
Excitedly rubbing his hands together like a buzzing fly, he wasn’t thrilled because of the insults, but because he knew...
“Shiny Leaf Meow, we’re going to make a fortune!”
Xia Chi picked up the Shiny Leaf Meow warming itself on the computer case and took a deep breath, chuckling softly.
With Teacher Qishu’s generous real-money rewards spurring him on, Xia Chi threw himself into the game with renewed vigor.
And the team itself was incredibly strong: the fiery Roaring Tiger and the Thunderous Silverback’s dual slap ambush in rotation;
the Angry Sporecap and Mushroom Spores’ powerful crowd control;
the fierce output of the Fierce Jaw Shark and Fairy Eevee;
and, of course, Parchliz’s... well, Parchliz’s enthusiastic cheering.
In short, over the course of half the evening, Xia Chi, using Qishu’s account, went on a six-win streak, pushing her rank from Advanced Ball Stage Four almost into the Master Ball tier.
Among the opponents were gym leaders like Matsuba from the Johto region and Kazuro from Unova.
During this, the viewers also learned about the quirky bet between Xia Chi and Qishu.
Every time Xia Chi sent out Parchliz to snag a victory, the comment section exploded with messages.
“Teacher Shui, how can you cheat Qishu out of her Master Ball like this? Doesn’t your conscience hurt?”
“Fierce Jaw Shark MVP! Parchliz is a lucky mascot!”
“Stop it, soon Laoshui will be whitewashing Parchliz again, oh my, why do you all care so much about this damage dealer~”
“...”
Comments like these poured in relentlessly.
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Teacher Qishu wasn’t stingy with the Master Balls and even helped with the showmanship—truly a great person! Xia Chi thought to himself.
Unconsciously, time slipped by amidst the winning streak, approaching ten o’clock.
“All right, all right, this really is the last match for today. If I win this one, I’ll hit Master Ball rank and then sign off!”
Xia Chi pressed the queue button, massaging his temples.
No kidding, this game, The Road to Champion, was truly brain-draining. If he had to compare, it was like a MOBA game controlling two heroes simultaneously.
It required the reflexes and real-time operation of League of Legends, as well as the split-second judgment and big-picture vision of Dota.
But precisely because of that, it was rich and thrilling enough to attract so many top trainers.
For example, the last match of Xia Chi’s stream tonight:
Qishu Qishu versus Dragon Storm!
Dragon Storm? That nickname sounded familiar...
Xia Chi thought for a moment, then glanced at the suddenly flooding comments again.
“That ID—is that Kiba Na?”
“Ahhh, I got matched with my husband!”
“Master Ball rank 13, it really is Kiba Na!”
“Yeah, it’s Kiba Na. He just went live, and the first match is against Laoshui hahaha!”
“Kiba Na has gotten strong too, now able to face Teacher Shui.”
“Isn’t that the Galar region’s Fighting-type Gym Leader who’s said to have the skill of a champion from other regions?”
“Heh, that’s just Galar pride talking. You want to see him face off against Dodo or Adak?”
“You mean the Dodo Bird who almost got wiped out by Dan Di’s three Pokémon? Don’t make me laugh.”
“Who’s laughing? Isn’t it your Galar folks who pulled dirty tricks to block Charizard’s visa?”
“Come try your luck in Kanto, then?”
“...”
———
Looking at the messy flurry of comments, Xia Chi was speechless.
Seems like regional rivalries existed in every world...
Though the comments had veered wildly off-topic, Xia Chi was certain of one thing: the opponent he was about to face was undoubtedly—
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Dan Di’s rival, the Fighting-type Gym Leader, the strongest Gym Leader, Galar’s current top fighter, the Dragon-type master, Dragon Storm, Kiba Na!
Though the many titles made one want to say, “Sorry, there’s no room for so many here,” Kiba Na’s strength was undeniably solid.
Among all Gym Leaders, placing in the top three was hardly a stretch.
Well, not counting the special episode where Xia Bo caught Mewtwo, Sakamaki was first, Nasi second, and next should be Kiba Na.
Just by looking at his lavish preparation bench—Aluminum Steel Dragon, Desert Dragonfly, Tyranitar, Salamence, Goodra, and Dragapult—
Five out of six Pokémon were demi-gods. On the surface, the stats looked superb, but there was also a hidden sandstorm team synergy.
In short, this was the strongest opponent Xia Chi had faced so far.
As they entered the lineup selection phase, Xia Chi glanced at the comments, noticing that, somehow, the crowd suddenly flooded the screen with messages.
“Fight hard this match! If you win, we’ll send ten Master Balls!”
No need to guess, that was copied from some generous sponsor’s message.
Xia Chi’s curiosity was piqued. Did Qishu and Kiba Na have some grudge?
Though in the game and animation, Xia Chi had no memory of interactions between these two characters spanning two generations.
Still, he wasn’t sure if they had any connection in the real world.
But now was clearly not the time for gossip. Xia Chi made a firm promise: “No problem, Teacher Qishu, I’ll definitely win this match!”
Then, without hesitation, he selected the lineup of Fiery Roaring Tiger, Fairy Eevee, Fierce Jaw Shark, and... Parchliz.
The final pick of Parchliz caused many viewers to raise question marks, with quite a few suspecting Xia Chi was forcing this little mascot in for show.
But was that really the case?
Well, yes, it was.
This was just a typical ranked match; losing wouldn’t be a big loss, winning would be a huge gain.
Moreover, on a deeper level, neither Thunderous Silverback nor Angry Sporecap was well-suited for this battle.
Firstly, the opponent’s entire team was Dragon-type, so Kartigou’s proud Grass Slide was ineffective.
And although Angry Sporecap was tricky, the opponent’s Dragapult most likely had the ability “Clear Body,” immune to Mushroom Spores.
Its impact might not even match that of Parchliz.
As for whether Parchliz could replicate the legendary feat from the Pokémon World Championship—resisting two dragons as the white demon and slaying gods—that was up to fate.
Amid the lively and chaotic comment discussions, both sides finalized their lineups, and the match officially began.