Coastal City — Qingshui City
A regular host of the Guangdong Provincial Tournament, Qingshui City was blessed with beautiful scenery.
Naturally,
Trainer battles were a daily sight here.
Shui Rourou — Water-type Elite Four, National Gym Leader, Master of the Tides.
She governed the Ocean Temple, a small SS-Class Secret Realm in China's territorial waters…
even if the temple itself only existed in legend.
Her name sounded soft, but her strength was anything but.
She was a genuine Elite Four Trainer.
And today, a challenger had come for her.
National Gym Leaders offered two challenge formats:
The first was all‑out battle —
no holding back whatsoever.
A true showdown between Elite Four‑level Trainers.
These battles selected representatives for the National Pokémon Tournament, where Trainers competed for national honor.
National Gym Leaders fought at full strength here.
Such opportunities were rare, usually held only during New Year.
The second format was for the National Youth League Tournament — China's biggest youth competition, open only to those under 24.
These were the real prodigies of the younger generation.
Qualifying had only two paths:
Earn recognition from three National Gym Leaders
Collect eight Provincial Gym Badges
Both were as difficult as placing top‑10 in the Provincial High School Tournament.
That spoke for itself.
For Youth League contestants, National Gym Leaders definitely held back.
Like right now.
[Pokémon: Samurott]
[Ability: Shell Armor]
[Gender: Female]
[Talent: Master-tier]
[Level: 43]
[Moves: Megahorn, Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Focus Energy, Fury Cutter, Razor Shell, Water Pulse, Swords Dance, Aerial Ace…]
On the golden beach, a transparent barrier enclosed the battlefield.
Crowds packed the stands.
[Pokémon: Venusaur]
[Ability: Overgrow]
[Gender: Male]
[Talent: Master-tier]
[Level: 40]
[Moves: Vine Whip, Tackle, Growl, Leech Seed, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Razor Leaf, Sweet Scent, Substitute…]
Samurott belonged to Shui Rourou — a stunning woman in a blue swimsuit.
Despite her youthful looks, she was already in her thirties.
The challenger was a top student from a Pokémon University:
Tang San.
"Sweet Scent!"
The battle erupted at once.
Samurott's agile frame posed a problem for the bulky Venusaur.
Tang opened with Sweet Scent to slow it down.
Traveling was training.
As Lin Yu grew stronger, he knew he was always learning.
How could he miss a battle like this?
"Smart. Focus Energy — take it!"
Samurott took a deep breath and endured the attack head‑on.
"Venusaur! Poison Powder, then Vine Whip to bind! Finish with Solar Beam!"
The challenger frowned.
A storm of poison burst from Venusaur's flower, followed by two thick vines.
"Swords Dance to blow the poison away — then take that Solar Beam!!"
The crowd froze.
Blow away poison but not dodge the devastating Solar Beam?
Tang San was confused too.
Solar Beam took time to charge. He'd only wanted to land poison first.
Samurott danced erratically, then was wrapped tight by vines.
"Weird. Why would Gym Leader Shui dodge like that?"
A girl beside Lin Yu frowned.
Dodging Solar Beam was clearly the smarter play.
"She's going for Revenge," Lin Yu said calmly.
He'd already read the battle.
"This Venusaur has unstable energy — it just reached Lord-tier. But Grass is super effective against Water.
Samurott already took Sweet Scent. A full charge wouldn't OHKO Venusaur, and it'd risk Leech Seed and Substitute.
No way to win that way.
So she's taking the hit, then using Revenge — boosted by Swords Dance — to one‑shot Venusaur."
"Whoa, that sounds complicated…"
The girl frowned deeper.
But on the battlefield…
The next second, Shui Rourou shouted exactly:
"Revenge!"
Smoke cleared.
Venusaur's eyes squeezed shut.
Its stamina hit zero.
Samurott panted heavily.
"Wow, it really was Revenge! You're amazing! Wait… where'd you go?"
When she turned around, Lin Yu was already gone.
Latias watched Lin Yu step forward, ready to watch closely.
But the next moment, she felt a strange pull toward the city.
Was another Mythical Pokémon's energy pulsing there?
After a quick thought, she walked off the beach.
As a Trainer,
Lin Yu couldn't pass up a battle that set his blood racing.
As soon as the match ended,
he eagerly stepped forward to challenge Shui Rourou.
The perfect chance to test his newly evolved Charizard!
Everyone in Qingshui City knew:
Shui Rourou was kind, approachable, and loved guiding young Trainers.
That's why so many Youth League hopefuls challenged her first.
But a National Gym Leader was still an Elite Four Trainer.
Even holding back,
she was brutally difficult to beat.
Success rate: single digits.
"Oh, such a young cutie. Are you sure you want to challenge me?"
Shui Rourou smiled as she spotted Lin Yu.
"Yes. Come out, Charizard!"
"ROAR!!"
His newly evolved Charizard had never fought a real battle.
What better chance than now?
The nearly three‑meter‑tall Charizard took to the sky.
The crowd gaped.
A normal Charizard stood only around two meters.
This one was huge.
Its scales shone brightly; fangs and claws glinted coldly in the sun.
"A Charizard with white‑streaked flames! That's Lin Yu, the Xiang Provincial Tournament champion!"
Someone recognized him at once.
The flame wasn't fully white —
just golden fire streaked with pale white light.
"It's him! I watched his matches! He was a Charmeleon back then, and it could fly already!
Now it's evolved into Charizard!"
Shui Rourou listened to the murmurs and her eyes lit up.
"Let's battle!"
Meanwhile,
inside the Water-type National Gym…