In the wee hours of the morning, Fang Yuan had another late-night snack before returning to the Mo Da Player Village.
In one day, morning, afternoon, and evening, they visited six player villages. Although they only managed to find three people to battle, the gains exceeded Fang Yuan's expectations.
It's no exaggeration to say that if Liu Le's Raven Boss's experience provided to Monferno during the professional assessment was a 1, then the experience gained from today's battles was a 300, a world of difference.
When Fang Yuan came back, he found that many people had already gone to sleep, and the lights in the room were all turned off.
Tomorrow is the preliminary round of the National Competition in the East China Division. Although it's just the preliminaries, it's uncertain what kind of opponents one might encounter, so it's wise to rest early and regain one's energy.
Even if the players wanted to stay up late, the teachers wouldn't allow it.
Fang Yuan, who had been running around all day, was also exhausted. Once back in his own room, he took a shower and then flop onto the bed, drained of energy.
"This is only the first day, and we already had three battles! The National Competition will last for a while, and those professional mentors will definitely not leave. As for the masters, they will attend as guests during the main matches, so at the very least, they'll be online on that day, which means I still have many opportunities! The ones I didn't encounter today won't be able to escape."
With this thought, Fang Yuan drifted off to sleep.
However, after taking a shower, Eevee was still full of energy. Seeing that Fang Yuan had fallen asleep, it pulled out three smartphones from the backpack and started grinding away. For it, the night life was just beginning.
...
The next morning, close to nine o'clock, Fang Yuan was awakened by his smartphone Rotom.
At eight o'clock, there would be an opening ceremony at the White Deer Venue.
Obviously, he missed it.
Intentionally.
Fang Yuan didn't care to attend such a meaningless opening ceremony and decisively stayed in bed. After all, no one was going to bother him.
Within the school team, Fang Yuan had privileges that not even the team captain had.
If Fang Yuan didn't wish to go, the teachers could only let this top player do as he pleased, as long as he didn't miss the competition.
The regional competition of the National Competition also had a preliminary phase, followed by the main competition.
Fang Yuan had already anticipated that the level of his upcoming opponents would not be very high.
In terms of Pokemon strength, the mainstream was in the elite and senior levels, and Pokemon that had reached professional standard, including Eevee and the others, probably would not exceed a hundred.
Facing opponents not on par with their own level, even if there were a large number of battles, it would not benefit Milotic and the others much, unless there was a special method.
To make use of these battles and not waste time, Fang Yuan devised three special battle strategies for Milotic, Dragonite, and Eevee according to their combat styles.
That way, they would neither instantly knock out the opponent, denying them any battle experience, nor would his side gain nothing.
Milotic, Dragonite, and Eevee were the Pokemon Fang Yuan had decided to use in the National Competition lineup.
At nine forty in the morning, Fang Yuan received a call from Teacher Dongfang. By then, Fang Yuan was already at the White Deer Venue.
"Don't worry, I'm already at the venue now..."
Fang Yuan reassured Teacher Dongfang that he would not miss the match due to oversleeping, then hung up the phone with a headache.
So many spectators, so many players, noise all over the White Deer Venue... So noisy.
Massaging his temples slightly, Fang Yuan continued to have smartphone Rotom navigate him to the venue.
Fang Yuan's match was at 10 o'clock, at venue number 18.
Approaching the match, Fang Yuan wasn't late and hurried over through the player's passage.
"Fang Yuan, go for it!!!"
"Crush the opposition!!"
"Don't, don't, don't you dare hold back!!"
After arriving at venue number 18, Fang Yuan realized that among the surrounding spectator stands, there were a few acquaintances.
Battle Club Liu Le, Lin Sen, and others were among them.
"These people are here too."
After seeing them, Fang Yuan smiled and nodded towards them.
But what did they mean by not holding back? What deep grudge was there?
At the same time, Fang Yuan also saw his first opponent from the Su province Dongning University Trainer.
It was a skinny little white face.
Normally, facing a trainer from Mo Da during the preliminaries would warrant panic or despair, but Fang Yuan's opponent was composed, without any sign of nervousness in the battle, appearing quite confident.
"The battle rules are 3 versus 3, please send out your Pokemon simultaneously now, and begin the battle on my command," the Referee instructed simply.
After the Referee's instruction, Fang Yuan's opponent released his Poké Ball, and a Charizard appeared on the field.
"Roar~~~" Elder Spray flapped its wings to land, spewing a spark of fire, with a fierce expression.
Fang Yuan was taken aback for a moment, realizing his opponent had Masuda Papa, no wonder he was so confident.
But, it was useless... On Fang Yuan's side, he sent out Dragonite.
"Boo wu~~!!!" The large wings flapped, landing in the arena, and in the next second, the air around frenziedly surged, causing the Referee to glance sideways and Fang Yuan's opponent to frown.
Dragonite?
Seeing Fang Yuan's Pokemon, the Charizard's trainer's calm demeanor suddenly became a bit shaky. The false dragon had encountered a true dragon.
...
"Dragon Dance! Tailwind!"
After the referee announced the start of the battle, Fang Yuan issued a simple command, Dragon Dance, and then he completely disregarded the rest.
The opponent's strength couldn't threaten Dragonite. Instant kills were too boring, so he preferred to limit Dragonite's strength and use different types of adversaries to hone Dragonite's skills.
For instance, airflow perception skills; Dragonite had just begun to learn them and was far from the somnambulant state.
In this battle, Fang Yuan restricted Dragonite to only use the moves Dragon Dance and Tailwind for the duel, planning to conquer the opponent with its sheer physical prowess.
By sealing most of its power, Dragonite wouldn't put too much pressure on the opponent. It could be said that the arrangement was beneficial for both sides.
Dragons be damned!
Right after Fang Yuan commanded Dragon Dance, the opposing trainer hastily ordered, Flamethrower attack!
Boom!!
However, the power of this Charizard was at most at the Senior level. Dragonite, in the midst of Dragon Dance, casually swept its tail, using the wind pressure to easily disperse the flames.
Watching the scattering sparks float in the air and sensing Dragonite's strength, Charizard's trainer's expression grew serious.
"This—" But the next second, he suddenly felt something was off.
This Dragonite's Dragon Dance looked very strange!
This trainer, being an elite from the National University, had seen Dragonite and Dragon Dance before. He hadn't eaten pork, but he had seen pigs run! However, a Dragonite performing Dragon Dance on the ground instead of flying was a first for him.
And that footwork...Butterfly Step and Courtesan Step?
Dragonite tiptoed, seemingly standing on the ground, but as the airflow intertwined, moved as nimbly as a fluttering butterfly.
Then, one foot drew a circle behind the other, with inward and outward characters alternating.
Using a special rhythm, Dragonite's Dragon Dance and Tailwind fused together perfectly, controlling the variations of the air currents...
Not only was the opponent shocked, but the referee and the audience were dumbfounded as well.
A Dragonite that can dance the Elysium?
Fang Yuan saw his opponent lost in thought and felt a wave of disappointment. When he participated in the Little Phoenix King Cup, he faced a bunch of trainers with poor psychological quality. Considering they were novices, it was understandable.
But now, facing a university elite, and still, the opponent was so flustered... no growth at all.
Seeing that his opponent had yet to command his Pokémon, too busy observing Dragonite's awkward dance, Fang Yuan lifted his head and said, "Do you all want to dance as well?"
Letting Dragonite grapple with Charizard up close, hand-in-hand guiding the opponent in the Elysium dance, might not be a bad idea...
"Get real!" The Charizard's trainer was startled, then quickly ordered, "Charizard, Dragon Claw!"
Woosh!
The command given, Charizard took off instantly, its claws enveloped in green light stretching out toward Dragonite.
Dragonite tried not to rely on its eyes and hearing as much as possible, slowly closing its eyes, sensing only the airflow.
Swish!
The moment Dragon Claw came down, Dragonite sidestepped, pushing Charizard's arm away with its palm, then its other fist, swirling with turbulent airflow, smashed into Charizard's belly!
But that punch didn't cause much damage, just enough to make Charizard retreat a few steps.
However, Dragonite reveled in it, enjoying the tactical arrangement given by Fang Yuan, where every battle was a form of practice.
Utilizing the Dragon Type Pokémon's excellent physical condition, Dragonite confronted the opponent without using any attacking moves.
Against a Pokémon like Rattata, this tactic by Dragonite was perfectly viable.
But Charizard was no pushover, which meant Dragonite also faced significant pressure.
Fortunately, it had the moves Dragon Dance and Tailwind to use, preventing it from being too overwhelmed.
Bang!
Two minutes later, Dragonite used its fists, empowered by the airflow, to punch Charizard to the ground. Gasping for air, Dragonite lifted its hand, declaring its victory.
Subsequently, the second and third Pokémon of the opponent became nutrients for Dragonite to practice airflow perception skills and to enhance its physical condition and combat experience.
From start to finish, Fang Yuan only gave two move commands.
The most frequent order he gave was "Quickly dodge!" to remind Dragonite after a wrong judgment was made.
"..." The opponent.
The battle ended, and Fang Yuan's opponent was completely disheveled, feeling as if he had lost inexplicably.
Even the watching students fell silent.
Then, frenzied discussions began.
"Is this really a Pokémon battle? It's more like a dance competition!"
"The senior lost so miserably, I've decided not to teach my Totodile the Water Gun. Better off dancing."
"Coach, I want to learn dancing."
The teacher from the National University glanced at the noisy students and said with a dark face, "No, get lost..."