20demayo Chapter 636 Peak Tournament Champion
Chapter 636 Peak Tournament Champion
Yanxu's triumphant return stunned everyone in the Green Gang. Manager Zhao was the first to pledge allegiance to Yanxu, and soon everyone followed suit, condemning Elder Deng one after another. The first thing to do after regaining power was to audit the accounts, and all the managers of each department gathered at the headquarters to report on their work over the past month.
Meanwhile, Flying-type Pokémon were dispatched to Krut Town and Tugau Town to inform the other two elders who were pursuing independence. The elders of Krut Town had barely received the message and were still in a meeting discussing how to resolve it when Yanxu arrived directly at their doorstep. The message had barely arrived when Yanxu descended from the sky riding his Aerodactyl.
Without a word, before the other side could react, the elder of Krut Town had been defeated. He had originally planned to recall all the trainers who were away and then contact the elders of Tugao Town to join forces in a rebellion, but he never expected Yanxu to act so swiftly and decisively, catching him completely off guard.
While Yanxu was still consolidating his power in Krut Town, the letter of surrender from Tugawu Town had been delivered, with the elder in charge there expressing his unwavering loyalty to the Green Gang. Thus, Yanxu swiftly and decisively dealt with the Green Gang in a single day.
In the capital of the Dragon Kingdom, the live broadcast of the National Pokémon Peak Tournament occupied almost all of the public's leisure time for more than ten consecutive days, with viewership exceeding 20% and peaking at 1 million viewers. Every day, people on the streets and alleys were talking about the National Peak Tournament, and the Pokémon battle competition greatly boosted the market economy.
The store is filled with merchandise featuring Pokémon from the peak tournament. To clearly identify whose Pokémon it is, the unique characteristics of each Pokémon are made very obvious. For example, Wang Qiyi's red Gyarados and green Salamence are instantly recognizable as belonging to their respective owners. If a Pokémon doesn't have many distinctive features, the seller will place the trainer's image next to it to ensure its uniqueness.
The shops next to the elementary school mainly sold Pokémon cards, which included introductions to the top ten Pokémon from each province in this year's Pokémon Showdown. Trainers were proud to have their Pokémon appear on these cards. Jia Wencheng's Gyarados was lucky enough to appear on a game card, but it was a common card; Wang Qiyi's Little Red was a gold card.
In mid-July, the National Peak Tournament concluded with the competition for the championships of all 18 attributes. Without exception, all 18 champions were veteran legendary trainers, many of whom had participated in the Path of Champions. Among them was even a legendary trainer over 90 years old, Elder Hu Zongying, who announced his retirement 12 years ago, relinquishing his eldership and fading from the league and the trainer community; many no longer recognized him.
His ace Pokémon, Camerupt, was about the same age as him, but legendary Pokémon typically have a lifespan of 100 to 150 years, and if they could break through to the Guardian level, their lifespan would be extended by about 60 years. When he heard that the reward this time included a Mega Stone, and that Camerupt happened to have a Mega Evolution form, he was surprised. Some Pokémon that had been stuck at their current level for a long time could suddenly break through by relying on the changes in their base stats brought about by the Mega Evolution.
Elder Hu Zongying resolutely chose to leave the mountain, bringing his Fire-Breathing Camel back to the arena. His Fire-Breathing Camel was unmatched in the Fire-type group, sweeping through all opponents to claim the championship. Whether in level, skill proficiency, or combat experience, the Fire-Breathing Camel was ridiculously strong. However, its advanced age had significantly reduced its stamina and recovery ability, making continuous battles impossible. Furthermore, its 90-year-old trainer's reaction speed was certainly no longer up to par in the current arena, rendering him unable to command the Fire-Breathing Camel; it could only fight relying on its own experience and instincts.
There are many veteran masters like Elder Hu Zongying who have retired to the mountains, and their collective appearance in this peak competition has resulted in an exceptionally high level of competition. Anyone who hasn't reached the mid-Legendary level is basically just there to make up the numbers, unless they have the ability to challenge opponents of a higher level.
Jia Wencheng's ranking stopped at the top 32, Li Yaoyao was eliminated in the second round when it came down to 256 out of 512, and Marowak was still struggling. Li Yunnuo stopped at the top 16. In the battle to advance to the top 8, if he had used Garchomp in its Titanium Crystal form as a Fairy-type to launch a surprise attack, he might have been able to win the battle. However, this was a trump card given to him by Wang Qiyi, and he wanted to save it for a more crucial moment.
Among the university students, Jiang Zining had the best record, reaching the top 8 in the Dark-type group. In the semifinals, she encountered the Dark-type champion, a legendary Tyranitar, whose trainer was none other than Dong Qingping. A year ago, when Dong Qingping and Wang Qiyi competed in the Gym League, this Tyranitar was still at the peak of legendary level; now it was already legendary. This shows that Wang Qiyi's challenge greatly helped Dong Qingping's growth.
According to statistics, all the Pokémon that advanced to the top 256 in each group of the National Peak Tournament were Legendary-level, and the top three Pokémon in each group were all Legendary-level. This doesn't even include the few elders who didn't participate. This scale has shocked several neighboring countries. The National Peak Tournament is like a military parade, a way for countries to showcase their strength.
The Eagle Kingdom, once hailed as the world's strongest Pokémon nation, couldn't sit still any longer. They also planned to hold a national Pokémon Grand Tournament to demonstrate their dominance. Other countries around the world followed suit, launching their own top-level domestic competitions.
After the champions of the 18 attributes in the Peak Tournament are determined, the final battle for the overall championship will begin. The top two players in each attribute group will advance, along with the Guardian Spirits who will directly participate in the overall championship. The overall champion will receive an eighth-level resource. An eighth-level resource is not only a treasure for the individual but also a family heirloom. It also helps the growth of Guardian Spirits, so many families will persuade their Guardian Spirits to participate. These Guardian Spirits will then directly participate in the World Guardian Spirit Battle.
With the presence of guardian deities, it's fair to say that the legendary Pokémon competing for the championship become mere sparring partners; the true championship battles are between the guardian deities themselves. However, for those legendary Pokémon, battling against a guardian deity is a rare and valuable training opportunity.
Because the Pokémon's level was too high, the Imperial Capital's Central Arena simply couldn't withstand the aftershocks of the battle between a legendary Pokémon and a guardian deity. Therefore, the battles took place in secret sea realms, and those who could attend were no ordinary people—at least Legendary level. His Pokémon were meant to protect the trainers from being accidentally injured in the aftershocks of the battle.
Six guardian spirits participated in this national peak competition: Charizard from the Fei family of Zhejiang Province, Gengar from the Zhang family of Sichuan Province, Steelix from the Liao family of Shaanxi Province, Venusaur from the Yang family of Liaoning Province, Pidgeot from the Wu family of Beijing, and Serperior from the Guan family of Inner Mongolia Province.
As one of the elders in charge, Wang Qiyi naturally occupied the best viewing spot: watching the match from the air aboard a hovercraft. His Pokémon also emerged from their Poké Balls to watch the epic battle between the guardian-level Pokémon. Calyrex was already regretting not signing up. Seeing the fierce competition below, this warlike Pokémon couldn't contain its excitement and wanted to join in.
"Don't rush," Wang Qiyi patted its shoulder. "This is just a warm-up for the guardians, a chance to stretch their muscles. The real battle will be the World Guardian War in October. You'll have plenty of opportunities to fight then. I heard it's a 12-hour arena battle. Winning the treasure won't be easy."
Sometimes watching other Pokémon battle is a form of learning, especially watching high-level Pokémon battles, which can offer opportunities for sudden enlightenment. Such opportunities are, of course, extremely rare. However, after watching several battles between guardian deities, Little Red seems to have gained a completely new understanding, and it has a new appreciation for the power of the blue orb within its body.
"You said you wanted to leave for a while?" Wang Qiyi asked curiously why Xiao Hong suddenly wanted to leave. "Does breaking through your cultivation level require going to a special secret realm? Which special secret realm?"
"It wants to go to the deep-sea secret realm where the blue orb once was to cultivate, where it has the opportunity to break through," Ah-Dai explained.
"This is the capital city, far from Wen'an County. I'll have Huba teleport you there directly. If you've completed your breakthrough, come and meet me at the Tanghe Secret Realm. If you haven't returned within a month, I'll have Huba go and retrieve you. Be careful, don't push yourself too hard during your breakthrough, and take some of the Seven-Colored Energy Cubes with you." After giving his instructions, Wang Qiyi had Huba send Xiao Hong away.