Urban Pokémon

"Nidorina!"

Even though Ling Yun's Graveler held a clear type advantage over her Pokémon, Su Qingxue's expression remained perfectly calm.

"Nido!"

With a confident cry, Nidorina stepped onto the battlefield to face Graveler directly.

In truth, this was Nidorina's first time battling in front of such a large audience, and her nerves were understandably frayed.

Su Qingxue, possessing the Power of Viridian, immediately sensed her partner's anxiety and encouraged softly:

"Nidorina, there's nothing to fear. Just battle the way we trained. We can't let Teacher down!"

However to the spectators, her encouragement seemed more like fearful bravado.

"Look, that Nidorina is shaking already!"

"No surprise there. Just look at the size difference; Graveler can easily crush her."

"If you ask me, the bet should've been reversed. I doubt Nidorina will last three moves."

"Nah, she's still at the Veteran-Tier, despite the type disadvantage. She won't lose that fast."

"True, credit where it's due. Miss Su's still young and has already trained a Veteran-Level Nidorina. She'd have amazing potential…if only she'd chosen a better teacher."

Soon enough, whispers spread through the crowd, lamenting that Su Qingxue had picked the wrong Pokémon teacher.

In their eyes, if she'd trained under a renowned master, the battle's outcome might still be uncertain.

Yet they had no idea—

The single most important factor behind Nidorina's rapid growth was actually Guo Yi's Perfect-Grade Pokéblocks, a privilege no one else could provide.

"Su Qingxue, let's end this quickly!"

Ling Yun struck what he thought was a cool pose, commanding loudly, "Graveler, use [Rollout]!"

[Rollout].

For trainers of Pokémon like Geodude and Graveler, [Rollout] was practically a standard opening move.

Although Ling Yun's mentor was a retired Fire-type Elite Four trainer, he'd extensively studied Ground and Rock-type moves as they strongly countered Fire-type Pokémon.

After all, knowing your enemy thoroughly was essential for victory—a basic principle for any skilled trainer.

As a result, this Graveler was certainly no pushover.

With a booming rumble, Graveler tucked in its limbs, curling into a giant rocky ball that barreled straight toward Nidorina.

Though Rock-type [Rollout] wouldn't deal super-effective damage to Nidorina, its power increased exponentially if allowed to build momentum.

Boom! Rumble!

Graveler's massive frame, weighing over 100 kg, thundered across the battlefield, shaking the very ground like a rolling tank.

Everyone expected Su Qingxue to command Nidorina to dodge.

But instead, she shouted an entirely unexpected command:

"Nidorina, use [Ice Beam]!"

[Ice Beam]?!

The audience gasped collectively, bewildered.

Could Nidorina actually learn such a move?

[Ice Beam] was an Ice-type attack. Why would a Poison-type Pokémon like Nidorina have such a skill?

Moreover, once evolved into Nidoqueen, Nidorina would gain a Ground-type attribute. Could a Ground-type Pokémon really wield [Ice Beam]?

The idea seemed absurd!

Yet, the next scene utterly shattered their preconceived notions.

"Nido!"

Nidorina confidently let out a fierce cry, a dazzling icy-white beam erupting from her mouth, aimed precisely in front of Graveler's rolling path.

The freezing beam surged forward—

Crack! Crack!

A few crisp crackles echoed through the arena.

Instantly, Graveler's entire side, including the ground beneath, froze solid, halting [Rollout] completely.

Trapped in ice, Graveler's eyes widened in panic. Its Ground-typing left it particularly vulnerable to Ice attacks, causing clear discomfort.

The entire audience stood slack-jawed, shocked into silence.

"My god, it really was [Ice Beam]!"

"Nidorina can actually learn [Ice Beam]?! Am I still dreaming?"

"If Nidorina can learn [Ice Beam], maybe my Ekans can too? It already knows [Ice Fang]—I should definitely try it!"

Meanwhile, the young men who'd made the bet with Guo Yi suddenly looked extremely nervous.

"What now? How's this Nidorina so ridiculous that it knows [Ice Beam]?"

One man anxiously whispered. If they lost, each would owe roughly a million yuan. While he could pay, he'd have to survive on instant noodles for over a month afterward. What he'd thought was easy money now seemed painfully uncertain.

Gambling really is risky. You really can't touch it! he thought bitterly.

Another quickly tried to comfort him:

"It's fine! [Ice Beam] only deals double damage. Even if Graveler's at a disadvantage, it should last three rounds."

"Exactly! It's not a Water-type move—he'll definitely survive a couple more hits!"

Now, they could only pray Graveler held out.

Ling Yun was equally stunned by [Ice Beam]. Yet, with no other options, he gritted his teeth and continued fighting.

"Graveler, break free, then use [Magnitude]!"

Clearly, using [Rollout] again was useless now. Ling Yun bitterly thought how easily a long-range move like [Ice Beam] neutralized [Rollout]'s advantages.

Yet if Guo Yi knew this thought, he'd laugh openly. If [Rollout] were trained to perfection, moves like [Flamethrower] or [Water Gun] could be easily deflected.

Miltank from the Goldenrod City Gym was a prime example.

However, Su Qingxue had no intention of letting Graveler escape so easily.

She hadn't forgotten her teacher's wager.

"End this now! Nidorina, use [Water Pulse]!"

"Nido!"

Another dazzling orb, this time a surging wave of water, condensed in Nidorina's mouth and blasted Graveler head-on.

Struck directly by [Water Pulse]—with quadruple weakness—Graveler's defenses instantly crumbled.

With spinning eyes, Graveler collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"Graveler is unable to battle! Miss Su wins!" announced the referee decisively.

The battle ended abruptly after just two moves.

"Two…two moves?"

Ling Yun, his shixiong Sula, and all the spectators stood stunned, utterly blindsided by the swift defeat.

They'd expected Ling Yun might lose, but never this decisively.

If they hadn't known Ling Yun was the Flying Eagle Gang's young master, openly hostile toward Su Qingxue, they'd have suspected he'd purposely thrown the match.

"How...how is this possible?"

Ling Yun stared at his fallen Graveler, mind collapsing in disbelief.

"My Graveler couldn't have lost. How can your Nidorina know both [Ice Beam] and [Water Pulse]?!"

"You cheated! You definitely cheated!"

Unable to accept reality, Ling Yun descended into hysteria.

"Calm down, Xiao Yun," Sula reprimanded sternly from nearby, his brows furrowed. Although the moves indeed caught them by surprise, defeat was defeat. Ling Yun's tantrum only humiliated himself.

"Right, calm down...calm down." Ling Yun gradually recovered his senses.

Su Qingxue stepped forward, giving him no face at all:

"Ling Yun, you lost. Time to fulfill your promise."

Ling Yun's face darkened drastically. Admitting publicly that the Flying Eagle Gang was inferior to the Azure Dragon Society was too humiliating.

Luckily, Sula intervened smoothly:

"Miss Su, you're mistaken. The Pokémon battle was just part of our wager. You still need to prove the [Moon Stone]'s quality. Only then will the bet be fully valid."

Ling Yun seized this lifeline desperately, echoing immediately:

"That's right! The wager was about whether the [Moon Stone] was truly Perfect-Grade! The battle alone isn't enough!"

This stone was Ling Yun's last hope—he could only pray it wasn't actually Perfect-Grade.

Su Qingxue smirked disdainfully:

Fine. If you refuse to admit defeat, I'll crush your last hope entirely.

"Nidorina, catch!"

Without hesitation, she tossed the [Moon Stone] directly to Nidorina.

"Nido!"

Leaping up, Nidorina caught the stone in her mouth.

The next instant, a dazzling white glow enveloped her body.

Evolution had begun.

Ling Yun clenched his fists tightly, staring unblinkingly at Nidorina's evolving form.

Inside, he desperately prayed:

Please don't be Perfect-Grade!

It can't be Perfect-Grade!

It absolutely isn't Perfect-Grade!

Unfortunately...

A mighty roar shattered his final hope.

As the dazzling light faded, a towering, imposing Nidoqueen appeared before everyone, clearly far surpassing normal standards for her species.

But even more astonishing was Nidoqueen's newly revealed strength.

"A-Ace Tier!"

An amazed shout burst from somewhere in the crowd, instantly igniting the entire audience.

"Ace Tier?! Her strength really skyrocketed!"

"She jumped straight from Veteran to Ace Tier!"

"Miss Su is only nineteen! A Pokémon at Ace Tier at her age? Her future is boundless!"

"This is getting interesting—Ling Yun has no excuses left now!"

"Sigh! How did Ying Tou produce such a worthless son?"

"Truly, a tiger father breeds a puppy son."

Seeing Nidoqueen confidently standing at Ace Tier, Ling Yun felt his last shred of hope crumble to dust.

Right now, all he wished for was to disappear quietly from the hotel.

But Su Qingxue had no intention of letting him off that easily.

"Ling Yun, I think it's time for you to fulfill your promise."

Her voice was cold, completely devoid of sympathy.

If you dared cause trouble, you had better be ready to pay the price!

Ling Yun's expression turned ugly, but he forced himself to respond:

"Su Qingxue, you win this round. But we'll see what happens next time!"

Ling Yun glared at her bitterly, then reluctantly lifted his head and shouted:

"The Flying Eagle Gang is inferior to the Azure Dragon Society!"

"The Flying Eagle Gang is inferior to the Azure Dragon Society!"

"The Flying Eagle Gang is inferior to the Azure Dragon Society!"

Having fulfilled his humiliating promise, Ling Yun stormed out of the hotel without looking back.

Meanwhile, Sula shot a meaningful glance toward Guo Yi amidst the crowd before silently turning to follow Ling Yun.

After this battle, all the hype Ying Tou had built around his son suddenly became a stepping stone for Su Qingxue instead.

In truth, Ling Yun had already become Elite Four member Lie Ke's disciple half a year ago, yet Ying Tou had intentionally kept this secret until recently.

His first aim had been to more easily swallow the Azure Dragon Society. The announcement had unsettled some of Azure Dragon's allies, making Flying Eagle's maneuvers smoother.

Secondly, he'd wanted to use this momentum to thrust Ling Yun onto the main stage, consolidating his son's reputation once the Azure Dragon Society fell.

Yet now...

The first phase of swallowing the Azure Dragon Society had failed completely, thanks to Ye Qing and her significantly strengthened Nidoqueen, bolstered by Guo Yi's help.

This had caught Ying Tou totally unprepared, shattering his carefully laid plans.

After today's humiliating defeat, even his backup plan to use Ling Yun as a symbol of strength collapsed completely.

If both father and son are weaker than the Azure Dragon Society's mother-daughter duo, what hope does the Flying Eagle Gang still have?

Now, the Flying Eagle Gang would have a much harder time launching aggressive attacks as they had before. Of course, they wouldn't simply give up either.

From now on, both sides would rely heavily on strategy and tactics behind the scenes.

While Su Qingxue had settled her affairs, Guo Yi's side of things was just beginning.

At that moment—

Woof! Woof! Woof!

The urgent barking of a dog echoed from the crowd.

He Yongsen, alongside his Arcanine, quickly chased down a young man attempting to slip away.

"Teacher, you were right—someone tried to run off!"

He Yongsen and Arcanine easily blocked the escape route.

Seeing this, everyone regarded Guo Yi with newfound respect. This seemingly ordinary young man had hidden depths!

Curiosity filled their eyes—Who exactly is this man?

Guo Yi calmly approached the young men, contract in hand.

"Gentlemen, time to pay up."

One of them sighed helplessly.

"Alright, we admit defeat. Name your price."

Aside from the one who'd tried to flee, the others all had wealthy families. Losing a million yuan or so wouldn't trouble them too much. Even paying for a high-grade Fire Stone would sting but be manageable.

Guo Yi smiled pleasantly.

"Relax, it's not too expensive." He paused dramatically. "Just six million yuan each."

As soon as his words fell, the group exploded in outrage.

"What?!"

"Six million each? That's sixty million total! Why don't you just rob us instead?!"

"Yeah! Sixty million would mean your [Fire Stone] is Perfect-Grade—wait…"

The arrogant man's voice abruptly cut off as reality dawned on him.

Could that Fire Stone actually be Perfect-Grade?

After all, Guo Yi had just casually produced a Perfect-Grade [Moon Stone]. Was it really impossible?

An unpleasant suspicion crept into their hearts.

Guo Yi took out the blazing [Fire Stone] once again, stepping closer with a gentle smile.

"My apologies," he said calmly, "but this Fire Stone really is Perfect-Grade."

"So…time to pay up."