The opposing teams took the stage, and when the Liu Ling Dai side revealed Chu Xiao Die was their first contender, the Ming Yi Da team was crestfallen. They had spent considerable time strategizing, unanimously believing Liu Ling Dai would deploy Tan Yue's Steelix in the first match of the elimination rounds. To their surprise…
The Ming Yi Da coach took several deep breaths. "It's alright, she's just a freshman. We just need to watch out for flying-type moves. It won't be an easy win for her."
As both sides sent out their Pokémon, the first-mover, Ming Yi Da, chose a Toxicroak. Upon seeing it, the Liu Ling Dai group chuckled. "This is like sending a lamb to the slaughter. Xiao Die can handle this."
Chu Xiao Die also felt a surge of excitement upon seeing the Toxicroak. "Go, Butterfree!"
Before the battle even commenced, the Ming Yi Da player noticed something odd. Their Toxicroak seemed to be in an unusual state, as if it had already been hit by Toxic Spikes. However, before they could figure it out, Chu Xiao Die initiated her attack.
"Butterfree, use Sleep Powder and Stun Spore!"
This move seemed to have become Butterfree's standard opening. Regardless of the opponent, Butterfree would begin by releasing a mixture of two powders, though the specific powders would often need adjustment depending on the opponent. It was precisely for this reason that Xia Hu Nao had purchased a significant number of Heart Scales from the Rainbow Star Mall, so that Chu Xiao Die's Butterfree could change its moves.
This time, facing a poison-type lineup, the Sleep Powder and Stun Spore were naturally included in the dual powder whirlwind.
"Toxicroak, dodge!"
The Ming Yi Da player quickly commanded Toxicroak to evade the range of the powder attack.
"Toxicroak, use Sludge Bomb!"
Toxicroak puffed out its cheeks and then spewed all its accumulated venom in a single burst.
"Butterfree, fly higher to avoid it!"
Butterfree urgently ascended, evading Toxicroak's Sludge Bomb, and then flapped its wings, flying towards Toxicroak.
"Butterfree, get behind it and use Dual Powder Whirlwind again!"
Butterfree flew behind Toxicroak, and Toxicroak turned to follow, needing to keep an eye on Butterfree to avoid the powder attack. This turn, however, proved to be its undoing. Butterfree happened to be positioned in the direction of the sun, and Toxicroak, looking up, was momentarily blinded. It was during this instant that Toxicroak failed to dodge the Dual Powder Whirlwind and was hit squarely.
"Butterfree, now, use Dream Eater!"
Butterfree flapped its wings and approached Toxicroak, delivering a gentle Dream Eater to its head. Toxicroak then collapsed.
"Four times super effective. You couldn't ask for a better combination."
Seeing Toxicroak fall, the Ming Yi Da player recalled it and returned to the waiting area. The Ming Yi Da team, gathered in the waiting area, urgently conferred. "What do we do now?"
"First, we need to figure out how to deal with that blasted Butterfree. Does anyone have a Pokémon with a move that counters Butterfree?"
They looked at each other and collectively shook their heads. The Ming Yi Da coach, seeing this, randomly pointed to a student. "You go. Remember, you must stall for time so we can figure out a counter-type Pokémon. Do you understand?"
The student nodded. The player who had just used Toxicroak spoke up. "Be careful. My Toxicroak took some unexplainable damage as soon as it came out. I suspect it might have been Stealth Rock or Spikes."
"When?"
"It must have been during the previous match, used under the cover of a Sandstorm."
"What? Didn't the referee clear the field?"
"Idiot, are you stupid? If they cleared the field, we'd have to re-arrange it too."
"Then what do we do?"
"We'll just have to do our best. Let's take down Butterfree first."
Xia Hu Nao watched the Ming Yi Da team frantically strategize, but he himself was unhurried. He even started a bet with Li Qiufeng and the others. "Want to bet on how many Ming Yi Da players Chu Xiao Die will be able to take down?"
Lu Bingming immediately responded, "Sure! I bet she'll take down four!"
Zhu Feng also chimed in, "I also bet on four."
Everyone offered their opinions. Lu Bingming turned to Li Qiufeng. "Captain, what do you think?"
Li Qiufeng pondered for a moment and replied, "I'm guessing three. Since the competition doesn't prohibit the use of TM's, they might use them to prepare specific counters for Chu Xiao Die."
After getting Li Qiufeng's answer, Lu Bingming turned back to Xia Hu Nao. "Coach Xia, as the bookie, what's your take?"
Before Xia Hu Nao could speak, Wei Chiting interjected, "I'm with Coach Xia, the bookie. I bet on all five."
Everyone was stunned. Lu Bingming asked incredulously, "Vice-captain, are you serious? You really think Chu Xiao Die can take on all five?"
He then pointed to Guo Shuang'er. "It's understandable that Shuang'er believes this, being a freshman classmate and close friend. But why are you caught up in sentimentality?"
Wei Chiting pointed to the Ming Yi Da waiting area. "Lu Bingming, tell me, what do you see over there?"
Lu Bingming blinked. "That's the Ming Yi Da waiting area. What's wrong?"
Wei Chiting continued, "How many people do you see?"
"Of course, all..."
Lu Bingming's words caught in his throat. "No, no, it can't be, Coach Xia. You can't be a bookie like this. Playing word games like this will ruin your reputation."
Xia Hu Nao spread his hands. "What are you talking about? I didn't say it was a word game. That's Wei Chiting's version. I'm not responsible for that."
Lu Bingming realized. "Right, this is the vice-captain's version. Vice-captain, don't tease me. Be serious."
Wei Chiting glanced at the confident Xia Hu Nao. "Then I'll bet on five as well. Chu Xiao Die has already taken down one. Even in the worst-case scenario, it shouldn't be a problem for her to achieve a four-for-three trade with her remaining four Pokémon. You should study the competition rules carefully, and perhaps study Coach Xia carefully as well."
Hearing Wei Chiting's explanation, everyone suddenly realized that while the competition rules limited a single person to one appearance in a free-for-all match, in the elimination rounds, a person was allowed to bring five Pokémon to complete the entire challenge.
Lu Bingming and the others looked at Xia Hu Nao, who then began to laugh it off. "Ah, closing shop! Closing shop! Gambling isn't a good habit, everyone should avoid it."
The others: ...
Lu Bingming: "Vice-captain Wei, you're really learning bad habits from the coach."
...
The second contestant from Ming Yi Da could truly be said to have emerged after much anticipation. To buy time for his teammates, the moment he sent out his Pokémon, he commanded it to use Smokescreen to obscure Butterfree's vision.
"Butterfree, use Silver Wind to blow away the smoke screen!"
The smoke screen dissipated, and the player then commanded his Pokémon to flee. This student was truly a master of evasion. After several turns, Chu Xiao Die hadn't found any particularly good opportunities.
"Darn it, Butterfree, let's not chase him anymore. Let him run. Let's just watch the show."
Hearing this, Butterfree slowly hovered in place, watching the exhausted Ariados panting as it ran.
Seeing Butterfree stop, the Ming Yi Da player subconsciously glanced back. When he saw his coach's relaxed expression, he also breathed a sigh of relief. "Ariados, use Scratch."
Ariados, following its trainer's command, moved its legs towards Butterfree. Just as Ariados raised a foreleg to attack, Chu Xiao Die spoke, "Now, use Dual Powder Whirlwind!"
The approaching Ariados, after landing its first hit on Butterfree, was immediately dusted with powders and the second strike it intended to deliver had to be aborted.
Watching Ariados fall asleep on the ground, Chu Xiao Die smiled. "Butterfree, use Dream Eater!"
The crowd below also let out a collective sigh of relief. "Xiao Die is really lucky."
"Yeah, if it weren't for sleep, it would have been troublesome."
Thus, Chu Xiao Die successfully defeated her second opponent. The third opponent didn't make her wait long, directly entering the battle arena and sending out their Pokémon. "Go, Nidoking!"
The third elimination round began:
"Nidoking, use Flamethrower!"
"Butterfree, dodge!"
Seeing the flames spewing from Nidoking's mouth, Chu Xiao Die was also startled. She understood she was being targeted, but she wasn't intimidated. "Butterfree, create distance and look for an opportunity."
"Nidoking, pursue and compress her escape space."
Nidoking, using its massive body, relentlessly closed in on Butterfree, forcing Butterfree to fly even higher.
At this moment, the referee signaled Chu Xiao Die, informing her that if Butterfree continued to evade, it would be judged as passive play. Although Chu Xiao Die was annoyed, she remembered Xia Hu Nao's warning not to give the referee an excuse, so she reluctantly had Butterfree descend slightly.
"Flamethrower!"
"Butterfree, Dive!"
Dive was not a skillful move, but simply a way for Butterfree to temporarily abandon its flight ability to achieve rapid descent.
When the Ming Yi Da player saw Butterfree using this method to evade Flamethrower, he was delighted. As long as Butterfree landed, this match would be more than halfway won. But plans often go awry. Just as Butterfree was about to touch the ground, Chu Xiao Die shouted:
"Butterfree, use Silver Wind on the ground!"
Using Silver Wind on the ground created an upward force from the ground, allowing Butterfree to take off again, lifting off the ground.
Seeing that Butterfree hadn't landed, the Ming Yi Da player grew anxious. "Nidoking, use Flamethrower!"
"Butterfree, to the left, then use Dual Powder Whirlwind!"
Butterfree's movements were faster than Nidoking's attack. It easily dodged Nidoking's Flamethrower and then blew a whirlwind laced with sleep powder into Nidoking's face.
Chu Xiao Die, with a flourish, achieved her third consecutive victory.