Jiang Mo's match was scheduled for the morning, while Lu Jiyin, Wu Teng, and Li Xiang's matches were in the afternoon.
Everyone decided to stay and watch Jiang Mo's match to cheer him on.
Hearing the broadcast call his name, Jiang Mo immediately went to the battle arena.
The host stood in the center of the arena, holding a microphone, enthusiastically introducing both contestants.
“First, let's welcome contestant Jiang Mo from Kyoto University!”
The host loudly proclaimed, “Contestant Jiang Mo, as a Senior Researcher, performed exceptionally well in the preliminaries. His strength is beyond doubt! Let's look forward to his brilliant performance in the match!”
A round of enthusiastic applause and cheers immediately erupted from the stands.
Jiang Mo's fans shouted his name, and the atmosphere was instantly ignited.
The host then introduced Jiang Mo's opponent: “Next, let's welcome contestant Wei Duyan from Xichuan University! Contestant Wei Duyan is the captain of Xichuan University's team and a Top 16 contestant from the previous High School League. His strength is formidable! Let's look forward to his performance!”
Wei Duyan stood on the other side of the battle arena, his expression calm and his gaze firm.
Rotom floated above the arena and announced loudly, “The match is about to begin. Both contestants, please send out your Pokémon!”
Jiang Mo and Wei Duyan simultaneously opened their Poké Balls. Jiang Mo sent out Gengar, while Wei Duyan sent out a Tauros.
“Gengar, prepare for battle!” Jiang Mo calmly stated.
“Tauros, go!” Wei Duyan showed no weakness.
Ghost-type Gengar is immune to Normal-type and Fighting-type moves. Facing Wei Duyan, who specializes in Normal-type, sending out Gengar to probe was the best choice.
When Wei Duyan saw Gengar, his brow noticeably furrowed, clearly finding Jiang Mo's choice a bit tricky.
“Match start!” Rotom announced loudly.
Jiang Mo initiated the attack first: “Gengar, use Shadow Ball!”
Gengar quickly condensed a black Energy Ball with both hands and launched it fiercely towards Tauros.
Wei Duyan calmly commanded, “Tauros, use Protect!”
Tauros's body was instantly enveloped in a transparent energy barrier. Shadow Ball crashed heavily against the barrier but caused no damage.
Jiang Mo seized the opportunity and continued to command, “Gengar, use Phantom Force!”
Gengar's body instantly vanished from its spot, reappearing behind Tauros in the next second. A Phantom Force directly hit Tauros's body.
“Tauros, use Payback!” Wei Duyan decisively ordered.
Tauros quickly counterattacked, opening its large bull mouth. The Payback move directly hit Gengar.
“Kekeke!”
Under the 2x effectiveness, Gengar clearly felt pain, but it gave an evil grin, apparently not caring.
Jiang Mo seized the opportunity and quickly commanded, “Gengar, use Hypnosis!”
Gengar's eyes flickered with strange light. Hypnosis directly hit Tauros.
Tauros's body swayed, then it fell into a deep sleep.
“The success rate of Hypnosis is relatively low, but at this close range, it's basically a guaranteed hit. Jiang Mo is really daring,” Li Xiang couldn't help but exclaim from outside the arena.
“If you ask me, that Gengar is a truly ruthless ghost. It took a Payback that was both double damage and super effective. Tsk tsk tsk…” Lu Jiyin also couldn't help but praise.
“Tauros, wake up!”
Inside the arena, Wei Duyan anxiously called out, but Tauros had fallen into a deep sleep and couldn't respond to his commands.
Jiang Mo didn't give him a chance and continued to command, “Gengar, use Dream Eater!”
Gengar's body was instantly enveloped by Psychic-type energy. The Dream Eater move directly hit Tauros.
Tauros's face immediately turned pale in its sleep, clearly enduring immense pain.
After using Dream Eater, Gengar recovered half of its stamina, and its previous injuries instantly healed significantly.
“Gengar, use Shadow Ball!” Jiang Mo decisively ordered.
Gengar once again condensed a Shadow Ball, directly hitting Tauros's body.
Tauros let out a painful cry, then collapsed powerlessly to the ground, losing its ability to battle.
“Tauros is unable to battle. Gengar wins!” Rotom announced loudly.
A round of enthusiastic applause and cheers immediately erupted from the stands.
Jiang Mo's Gengar easily secured the first victory, demonstrating formidable strength.
“Contestant Wei Duyan, please send out your second Pokémon.”
Wei Duyan's expression turned grim. He gritted his teeth, recalled Tauros, and threw out his second Pokémon: “Come out, Kangaskhan!”
“Roar!”
Kangaskhan leaped out of its Poké Ball, massive in size and imposing in aura.
Jiang Mo used his game panel to check and found that this Kangaskhan's ability was “Scrappy.”
Pokémon with this ability can hit Ghost-type Pokémon with their Normal-type and Fighting-type moves.
Wei Duyan clearly wanted to quickly defeat Jiang Mo's Gengar. He decisively ordered, “Kangaskhan, use Sucker Punch!”
Kangaskhan quickly charged towards Gengar, attempting to deliver a fatal blow with Sucker Punch.
Jiang Mo, however, quickly recalled Gengar and sent out Swampert: “Swampert, prepare for battle!”
“Roar!”
Swampert leaped out of its Poké Ball and stood firmly on the battle arena.
Wei Duyan's expression was as unpleasant as if he had eaten something foul when he saw Gengar being recalled.
Immediately after, the two giant Pokémon on the field began a close-quarters battle. Wei Duyan commanded Kangaskhan to continuously use Double Hit to attack Swampert, while Swampert countered with Brick Break.
At this moment, Swampert was internally complaining bitterly; this Kangaskhan was truly merciless.
Moreover, the little Kangaskhan in its pouch kept hitting its groin from time to time.
If Jiang Mo hadn't promised it two days off after the match, allowing it to be a couch potato for two days, it wouldn't have wanted to come up and take a beating.
Thinking of this, for the sake of its couch potato life, Swampert decided to go all out!
It seized the opportunity and landed a fierce Brick Break directly on the little Kangaskhan's forehead.
Swampert had long been annoyed by this little thing hitting its groin; it deserved a good lesson.
Seeing its child being hit, Kangaskhan finally erupted, unleashing powerful combat strength driven by maternal love.
“Good opportunity, use Hyper Beam!”
Wei Duyan saw the situation and had Kangaskhan use the most powerful Hyper Beam.
“Boom!”
Swampert was hit hard, raising a cloud of smoke.
When the smoke cleared, everyone thought Swampert couldn't hold on, but to their surprise, it was still standing in place, covered in wounds. Jiang Mo was also very surprised by this.
But he didn't waste this opportunity and continued to command, “Swampert, use the most powerful Counter!”
“Lah-chee!”
Swampert's body was instantly enveloped by a powerful Fighting-type energy. Taking advantage of Kangaskhan's stiffness after using Hyper Beam, the Counter move directly hit Kangaskhan's body.
“Roar!”
Kangaskhan let out a painful Roar, its body swayed, and then it collapsed powerlessly to the ground, losing its ability to battle.
“Kangaskhan is unable to battle. Swampert wins!” Rotom announced loudly.
A thunderous round of applause and cheers immediately erupted from the stands.
At this point, Swampert also ran out of stamina and collapsed.
“Lah-chee, this fish can finally rest…”
This was Swampert's last thought before it fainted.
Jiang Mo was also very satisfied with Swampert's performance in this match. That Kangaskhan had already reached Gym Leader Class mid-stage, while Swampert was still just a Level 48 baby. A one-for-one trade while being under-leveled was already very good.
