allendalepharm Chapter 538: Top of the Gym League (7)
Chapter 538: Top of the Gym League (7)
The 10-strong international coalition quickly cleared out the capital of Jilong and the surrounding towns, even clearing out the suburbs. Approximately two million elves were driven back to the elf sanctuary. The wild elves were not very powerful, with only one or two legendary overlords occasionally appearing, but they were powerless against the international coalition.
In just a few days, the capital of Jilong was liberated and became the base of the international coalition forces. Some members of the three major Marleyan families that once controlled the area also returned. However, some of the families had already surrendered to the Elven Cult. Even the three guardian deities of the families had been convinced and joined the Cult. Their power was greatly reduced, making it difficult for them to manage and control Marley.
The International Alliance still recognized the legal status of the three major families for the time being, so the Elf Alliance Center in the capital of Jilong was still handed over to them for management and control, sending messages to the outside world to gather resistance organizations to fight against the Elf Cult together.
The war in Southeast Asia was going smoothly. The news reports were full of victories: cities liberated, countless Pokémon cultists captured, human order re-established, and so on. Compared to the firearms warfare between humans, this kind of Pokémon war resulted in far fewer casualties. While there were direct attacks on Trainers, Pokémon would defend them to the death, and if defeated, Trainers would simply surrender, resulting in minimal bloodshed.
This was arguably the lowest death toll in a large-scale war in human history. This also gave the International Elf Alliance no reason to rush, and they slowly began recruiting a second wave of volunteers. However, anyone with a discerning eye knew that this was only the beginning. The legendary elves and guardian deities of the Elven Cult had yet to be deployed, and only sporadic resistance was offered. Their deities were the most formidable presence.
In the secret realm of Lijia Dragon Island, Black Dragon Province, the Dragon Nation, the finals between the Black Dragon Gym and the Deep Blue Gym were unexpectedly being held there. Wang Qiyi had returned to Dragon Island only a few days after leaving. This delighted Elder Kuailong, who warmly greeted Wang Qiyi. He always gave him energy cubes when he visited. Even though he had only been away a few days, shouldn't he also bring some energy cubes now that he had returned, as was customary?
Wang Qiyi stared at the shameless Elder Dragonite, speechless. Are all elves so naive? Hadn't this old monster lived for over a thousand years and read a ton of human books? How could he not understand the ways of the world? The last time he came to pick up the Rape Crown King, he'd already given him five boxes of colorful energy cubes, and now, only a few days after leaving, he's rubbing his hands at him again.
Due to the unique nature of Dragon Island Secret Realm, the Li family didn't sell tickets on a large scale, only offering 2000 seats to the public. Unlike the extensive service offered at the Boulder Gym, those who watched the matches from the high platform had to ride their own Pokémon, otherwise they could only watch through binoculars at the entrance. Despite this arrogance, tickets were still in high demand, reaching as high as 5 yuan each.
The Black Dragon Gym sent eight Legendary trainers this time, and Wang Qiyi saw three familiar faces among them: two middle-aged men and women, Li Leling from the Dragon-controlling Li Clan, and Ding Jianhui, a veteran Legend from the Northern School Superpower Ding Clan. He was a veteran King who had been invited by Li Shining to spar with them during their training with the Kings. The other, of course, was Dragon King Li Yunfeng.
This lineup was arguably the strongest the Gym League had ever seen. Previous editions hadn't seen so many top players reach the finals. While every gym desperately wanted to win the championship, and the competition was fierce every year, the honor was of little importance to the veteran legends. Instead, it was the younger generation who preferred participating in the tournament.
However, something had happened this year. Ever since Wang Qiyi showed up at the tournament, the overall level of the competition had been elevated. This was especially true with the arrival of the legendary Dong Qingping at the Boulder Gym, and the arrival of veteran legends from various other gyms, which elevated the overall level of the competition to a new level.
In a competition of this magnitude, the Deep Blue Gym's limited resources were simply insufficient. Their limited strength probably didn't even qualify them for support roles. Only team leader Qiu Leiyin was qualified to support Wang Qiyi. In other words, Wang Qiyi would have to carry the team in the finals alone.
The finals battle was nothing short of spectacular, placing immense pressure on Wang Qiyi. Almost all the Pokémon that entered the Black Dragon Gym were peak Legendary. Li Yunfeng's Dragonite and Ding Shikang's Puff Pig, another veteran of the Ding family, reached Legendary. Then there was Li Leling's peak Legendary Garchomp, which also reached Legendary after Mega Evolving. Ding Jianhui's Gardevoir and Ding Shikang's Metagross also reached Legendary after Mega Evolving.
With this calculation, the Black Dragon Gym can send out five Legendary Pokémon, surpassing the Boulder Gym in overall strength. Although none of them have a quasi-Legendary Trainer like Dong Qingping and Wang Qiyi, the combined power of eight people is truly remarkable. No wonder the combined power of the Wang and Fan families of the Magic City Battle Tower is no match for the Black Dragon Gym. Unless two Legendaries, Wang Zhengyuan and Fan Qingshan, personally take action, the younger generation alone is no match for the Black Dragon Gym.
For this battle, Wang Qiyi brought all his Pokémon with him. He has four legendary Pokémon: Dracula, Gyarados, Red, Chipmunk, and Infernape Goku. If Mewtwo mega-evolves, it will also be a legendary, so he also has five legendary Pokémon.
The other Pokémon might seem a bit underwhelming on paper, but each possesses remarkable special abilities. Togekiss is a mid-level Legendary, but its speed and flying skills rival those of a Legendary. Venusaur is a mid-level Legendary, but its resilience and ability to withstand a hit can easily withstand the damage of a Legendary. Hoopa is a peak Legendary, but it's a strange Space-type with a very high ceiling if used strategically.
As for Ah Dai, his strength on paper was only at the Beginning Legendary level, but his bug-level time-based predictions would probably give even the Guardian Spirit a headache. Comparing the two, Wang Qiyi's win rate was actually higher than the Black Dragon Gym's.
In the first one-on-one match, Bulbasaur Bunta was the first to appear, demonstrating his immense endurance in two consecutive rounds. After Mega Evolving, Bunta took root near Wang Qiyi, then used Sunny Day, activating his Sunshine and Flame Cannon mode and bombarding the field. After a strenuous half-hour battle, the two sides finally wore down their opponent's stamina and won the battle.
The second two-on-two match took even longer, with Hoopa and Jerry duo battling the opposing Pokémon for a long time. Wang Qiyi couldn't believe his opponent's Pokémon were Pixie and Chansey, both tanky Pokémon. Chansey possessed immense self-healing abilities, while Pixie's cosmic power constantly stacked up dual defense buffs, making it incredibly tough. Later in the match, Pixie even used her shrinking ability, shrinking to the size of a baby's fist. With her dodge ability maxed out, she was practically untouchable.
After a war of attrition that lasted for nearly an hour, Hoopa finally seized the opportunity to severely damage Picosi. Just when Hoopa was about to end Picosi, the opponent used a follow-up skill. The newly appeared Pokémon Absol, whose sin-type skill had four times the power to restrain Hoopa, and with the BUFF that Picosi had just given him, Absol, who was in a shrunken state, severely damaged Hoopa with a sneak attack.
Absol can also Mega Evolve. Mega Absol possesses the Mirror Ability, reflecting any Transformation Skills inflicted upon it back at the opponent. This caught Hoopa off guard and knocked him out. Wang Qiyi had no choice but to dismantle the Monkey King duo and bring in Goku as a substitute. Fighting-types counter Normal-types and Sin-types, and with a single burst, he knocked Chansey down first.
The match became a two-on-one battle between Goku and Jerry, and no matter how strong Absol was, he was doomed to fail. However, while the Black Dragon Gym lost this match, they successfully eliminated three of King Qiyi's Pokémons, and Goku and Jerry were both Legendaries. With a three-on-three match still to come, if they lost the three-on-three, King Qiyi would be left with no Pokémons to send out in the five-on-five match, and the other trainers at the Deep Blue Gym would be completely unable to produce any Pokémons to fight them.