Under the bright lights, the black silhouette slowly revealed its true form.
It was an eagle resembling a Braviary, with a crest of three red-brown feathers tipped white on its head, and a tuft of white down behind its neck. Its powerful wings had reddish-brown coverts, while the chest, belly, legs, and undersides of its wings were navy blue. The tail feathers were reddish-brown, ending in interwoven bands of yellow and blue.
Braviary.
Among Flying-type Pokémon, it was unquestionably a handsome standout.
At this moment, atop the back of this Braviary stood a man holding a microphone.
He was tonight's host.
How could such an exciting battle lack passionate commentary?
The host guided Braviary into a circling flight high above the arena.
After five or six full minutes of circling, the host's voice finally echoed throughout the battle arena through his microphone:
"Welcome everyone to tonight's incomparable match at the Pokémon Battle Arena!"
"My name is Yao Bin, and I am delighted to be your commentator tonight!"
"I believe everyone here is already familiar with the two trainers competing tonight, so I won't dwell on their introductions."
"Now, let us warmly welcome our first competitor—retired Elite Four Fire specialist—Mr. Lie Ke!"
Yao Bin stood firmly on Braviary's back, dramatically waving his free left hand.
Immediately, the spotlights followed the direction he indicated, illuminating the competitors' tunnel.
"Lie Ke!"
"Lie Ke!"
"Lie Ke!"
For a moment—
The entire audience erupted, chanting Lie Ke's name in waves.
As a former Elite Four member, even though Lie Ke had retired, he still retained a large fanbase.
Without exaggeration, nearly two-thirds of the audience believed Lie Ke would emerge victorious tonight.
After all, for those without insider knowledge, fame was often their best guide in predicting outcomes.
Precisely because of this—Tonight's gambling odds were set at 2.5:1 for Guo Yi to win, and only 1.1:1 for Lie Ke.
Amidst the deafening cheers of the crowd, Lie Ke finally emerged from the passageway.
Holding his cane, Lie Ke calmly walked toward the battlefield, completely unaffected by the crowd's roaring cheers.
As a former Elite Four—Lie Ke had long grown used to scenes like this.
Back in his prime, the crowd cheering his name had been more than twice this size.
After Lie Ke took his position, Yao Bin maneuvered Braviary toward the opposite end.
"Now, let's welcome our second competitor—Guo Yi!"
"Guo Yi!"
"Guo Yi!"
"Guo Yi!"
Compared to Lie Ke, Guo Yi's cheers were notably weaker.
However—
When the audience finally saw the figure stepping out of the competitors' tunnel, their cheers abruptly stopped.
"Xiao… Xiaoxue?!"
In the VIP room, Ye Qing was startled to see that familiar figure, unable to suppress a gasp.
She had never imagined that the one stepping onto the battlefield would be her own daughter.
Tang Rong, equally confused, asked immediately, "Sister Qing, you didn't know Xiaoxue would be competing tonight?"
Ye Qing slowly shook her head.
Indeed, she had absolutely no idea that her daughter would be substituting for Guo Yi.
Tang Rong furrowed her brows deeply, muttering softly, "What's Guo Yi playing at?"
"With Xiaoxue's current abilities, there's no way she can command Pokémon at this level of battle."
Even if Su Qingxue was exceptionally talented, Tang Rong—herself possessing Elite Four–level Pokémon—understood clearly how demanding battles of this tier were for trainers.
A single miscommand could spell defeat.
Sending Su Qingxue up was utterly reckless!
However—Ye Qing seemed to have realized something, and slowly spoke up:
"Maybe… Guo Yi is sending Xiaoxue onto the field purely to humiliate Lie Ke."
"As for the battle itself… perhaps it doesn't even require a trainer."
Tang Rong's eyebrows knitted tightly, disbelief flickering in her eyes.
"No trainer needed?"
"That's impossible!"
"Are you saying Guo Yi's teacher has Champion-level Pokémon?"
A Champion?
How could that be possible?!
A trainer of that caliber would be known far and wide in the Dragon Country.
Yet she had never even heard rumors of such a figure!
"Champion level, huh?" Ye Qing murmured softly, recalling the visceral fear her own Nidoqueen had once shown towards Guo Yi's Ninetales.
In that case—maybe it really wasn't impossible!
...
Meanwhile, Bai Cai, Leng Yue, and Shu Xinni also found themselves equally shocked by Su Qingxue's sudden appearance.
"You're still confident in your guess?"
"How could someone like this possibly be my idol's disciple?"
Shu Xinni curled her lips disdainfully, looking at Su Qingxue on stage.
This person didn't even dare show up for battle personally—
In her eyes, someone like that becoming the disciple of her idol would be an outright insult!
Yet—Bai Cai had a completely different perspective.
"Xinni, you've got it wrong."
"Su Qingxue's appearance makes our theory even more credible."
"Knowing Guo Yi, he wouldn't casually send his own disciple into battle unless he was certain the outcome was already decided."
"To him, it doesn't matter who steps onto the battlefield tonight—the result has long been fixed."
Leng Yue nodded in agreement, clearly finding Bai Cai's reasoning solid.
If Guo Yi really was the "Bug Master's" disciple, then indeed, whoever competed in his stead wouldn't matter.
In a guaranteed victory scenario, letting his disciple gain some glory was entirely within Guo Yi's character.
"Is that really so…?"
Though Shu Xinni still had lingering doubts—
"Whether it's true or false, we'll soon see in the coming battle."
...
Meanwhile—
The audience below had already erupted in furious shouts:
"What the hell?! Guo Yi's too scared to fight himself, so he sent some little girl instead?"
"False advertising! Refund!"
"Yeah, refund!"
"Refund!"
For a moment—
The entire arena boiled over with indignation.
Especially the gamblers who had bet on Guo Yi—they screamed themselves hoarse with fury.
At the same time—Yao Bin, still circling above on Braviary, was momentarily lost for words.
Unable to think of anything better, he steered Braviary down towards Su Qingxue, speaking cautiously:
"Miss Su… where is your teacher?"
For Yao Bin to be entrusted with such an important event as commentator tonight—
His background, naturally, was no simple matter.
He certainly knew exactly who Su Qingxue and Guo Yi were.
Having already shaken off her initial nervousness, Su Qingxue now stood completely calm.
She explained serenely, her voice clear and confident through the microphone:
"That old guy over there once mocked my teacher, claiming he had no respect for the elderly."
"So, my teacher said that, to show proper respect—he'd let me handle this fight instead."
Su Qingxue's words echoed loudly throughout the entire arena via Yao Bin's microphone.
Hearing this, Bing Dehai raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Interesting."
"Guo Yi's confidence is really this high?"
"He thinks he can beat Lie Ke by handing over his Pokémon to a little girl?"
Shu Chengyi beside him chuckled lightly:
"Interesting indeed. This kid must hold quite a grudge against Lie Ke."
"If Lie Ke loses tonight, he'll become the laughingstock of his generation."
They all clearly understood the Pokémon Su Qingxue was about to command couldn't possibly be her own.
But outsiders wouldn't care about those details.
Especially those shameless media outlets who thrived off scandals—they would seize upon nothing but the headline:
Lie Ke Defeated by a Mere University Girl.
And from there, they'd launch a frenzy of exaggerated reports, milking the event dry for clicks and attention.
Of course—If Su Qingxue actually lost this battle, then Guo Yi's reputation would meet the same miserable fate.
Coward, deserter, spineless—the insults hurled at him would be endless.
Actually—the influential figures present clearly understood the situation:
Whether Guo Yi personally participated didn't truly matter.
What ultimately counted was whether the Pokémon Guo Yi had borrowed from his mysterious teacher were strong enough to decide this fight.
As the arena's cries for ticket refunds grew louder and more intense, the host Yao Bin's expression gradually turned awkward.
"Miss Su, isn't this... breaking the established rules?"
"This battle clearly was supposed to be—"
However—
Before Yao Bin could finish his sentence, Su Qingxue decisively cut him off with a counter-question:
"Is there any rule explicitly stating my teacher must personally take part?"
"Ah—!"
Yao Bin was momentarily silenced.
Because indeed, this match had never specified exactly who had to represent each side.
After all—from the audience's perspective, since this conflict was between Guo Yi and Lie Ke,
naturally, they assumed these two would settle it directly.
Of course—they had also imagined the possibility of Guo Yi's teacher personally stepping in to resolve his disciple's troubles.
But Su Qingxue?
This disciple of Guo Yi's was someone they'd never even considered as a possible contender!
Just as Yao Bin struggled for a proper response, Lie Ke's low, irritated voice carried over from the opposite side of the arena.
"It doesn't matter who steps onto the battlefield."
"After tonight, the Azure Dragon Society will have no reason to remain in Shanghai."
Although Lie Ke's expression remained coldly calm, everyone could hear the seething fury barely concealed beneath his words.
And frankly, it was understandable.
Even though Lie Ke himself clearly knew this match was never truly about which trainer faced him—but rather, which Pokémon his opponent would bring out—
Still, seeing Guo Yi sending a mere disciple in his stead stirred uncontrollable anger in his heart.
Guo Yi… since you've pushed this little girl into the spotlight tonight, I'll cripple her first.
Then—I'll settle my accounts with you!
A ruthless gleam flickered in Lie Ke's eyes as he spoke impatiently to Yao Bin:
"Stop wasting time. Hurry and begin."
"R-right away!"
With Lie Ke making his stance clear, Yao Bin dared not say anything else.
He quickly guided his Braviary back into the sky, resuming his role as commentator from above.
As for those screaming and demanding ticket refunds below—
Although their voices were loud and fierce, not a single one actually got up to refund their ticket.
After all, how much was a single ticket worth anyway?
Did they truly care about such a tiny sum?
Outside, scalpers were eagerly hoping for someone—anyone—to surrender their ticket.
Because right now, countless people were waiting outside, desperately willing to buy tickets at sky-high prices just to enter and watch the battle unfold in person!
Even if tickets were refunded at double the price—
The scalpers would happily snatch them up and flip them for four or five times that amount.
They wouldn't lose a single cent!
As Yao Bin's Braviary soared high into the sky once again, a referee slowly walked out and took his position on the sidelines.
"Now that both competitors are in place," he announced solemnly, "let tonight's exciting battle—begin!"