"Misty, is Heavenly King Ke Na actually that remarkable?" Xiaozhi looked at Misty.
"Humph, it's more than just remarkable. Do you know why Mr. Lance, who is now the Champion, took several attempts at the Four Heavenly Kings Cup before he finally became the Champion?" Misty said with a giggle, "It's because he just couldn't beat Master Kona."
Without a doubt, Lance is a genius whose strength is also very formidable. But what is Quartz Plateau? It is the Spirit Alliance Headquarters, where the Kanto and Johto regions, two major areas, share one Alliance facility, including a total of four Kings and one Champion. The competitive conditions for Kings and Champions here far exceed other places.
The currently-serving Ke Na, Bruno, and Kiku, any one of them, has enough ability to rival Champions from other smaller regions. Even Lance, talented as he is, had to train for a long time before he could successfully win the Four Heavenly Kings Cup.
"What... even stronger than Mr. Lance?!" Xiaozhi exclaimed.
"At present, Mr. Lance should be stronger, after all, he has already won the Four Heavenly Kings Cup. However, in the past few years, every time Lance faced Ms. Ke Na, the outcome was very unfavorable." Brock also seemed to know the ins and outs of the situation; the only one who was cluelessly unaware of everything was Xiaozhi.
"After all, for Xiaozhi, things like attribute counter doesn't exist, just blindly charge in and that'll do the job," Fang Yuan murmured to himself.
......
As time passed bit by bit, Fang Yuan browsed the news on his phone while waiting for the lecture to begin.
By now, the stadium had filled up with people, brimming with noise and bustle.
However, as the lecture stage lights brightened, a woman with a professional suit dress, an excellent figure, and seductive red long hair stepped out, and the whole stadium immediately quieted down.
"It's Master Kona... Master Kona...!" Misty poked Xiaozhi who had been sitting next to her and was starting to nod off. Her eyes were full of little stars.
"Yeah, yeah," and Brock's eyes were also full of hearts.
Fang Yuan put down his phone and thought to himself, "You guys have quite the special effects in your eyes, how do you do that..."
"Bwoo..." The Eevee lying on Fang Yuan's leg also lifted its head to look towards the main stage.
One of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Quartz Alliance, Ke Na, is renowned for her wealth of knowledge and her calm and collected battling style, earning the accolade that as long as she uses Ice Elves, absolutely no one can beat her.
Soon, Ke Na's lecture, prepared for the Trainers, began. In no time at all, Misty and Brock were completely engrossed, each in their own way.
"So the essence of battling is to become Water and Ice?"
"Usually flowing naturally like water, turning mercilessly solid like ice in an instant during battle, and then immediately melting back into freely flowing water - what is this all about—ah." Xiaozhi scratched his head on the side, feeling completely unable to comprehend what Ke Na was talking about.
Can't you teach some down-to-earth knowledge?
"Hmph, a layman like you shouldn't even come to the lecture, it's a complete waste of Master Kona's efforts." While Xiaozhi was scratching his head, a voice came from behind him.
Xiaozhi instinctively looked back in annoyance, only to see a girl with light green hair looking at him with dissatisfaction, saying, "Please keep quiet."
"What... you're talking too," Xiaozhi realized his own actions were inappropriate and turned back around without arguing further.
"If you feel it's not suitable, there is no need to force it. Everyone has their own battling style, and Ke Na is just sharing her own methods," Fang Yuan whispered to Xiaozhi turning his head toward him, "I think, Xiaozhi, that you are just suited for the rush-in tactic—"
"I think so too." Xiaozhi grinned, giving Fang Yuan a thumbs up. Fang Yuan understood him best.
The conversation between Fang Yuan and Xiaozhi directly made the girl above roll her eyes... and also caused Brock and Misty to sigh and facepalm.
Is Mr. Fang Yuan really a qualified senior who can guide Xiaozhi onto the right path???
If Xiaozhi regards Fang Yuan as his target, won't that cause problems?
"The essence of Water is to flow, the essence of Fire is to burn, and the essence of Ice is to freeze. Skilled use of freezing can turn Ice into the most potent weapon in battle, and at the same time, it can become a nightmare that restricts the enemy's movements... I wonder if anyone would like to have a battle with me... I'll demonstrate Ice's battling skills during the battle," Ke Na said with a smile, looking at the thousands of spectators in the stadium.
The next second, the whole stadium was silent.
Another second later, the stadium erupted with deafening shouts, with countless people raising their hands and yelling, "Me," "Me," "Me!"
Next to Fang Yuan, Xiaozhi, Misty, and Brock were first stunned, then suddenly stood up, raised their hands, and shouted, "Pick me!"
Could it be... a chance to battle against Miss Kona?
Even if it's just a demonstration battle...
But it's a rare opportunity.
"Everyone, please calm down first—" As the stadium was on the verge of chaos, Kona helplessly smiled and said, "How about I just randomly call out a seat number."
This was just to demonstrate the use of Ice sculpting skills, and Kona didn't care who the opponent was. She thought of calling an audience member up on a whim to liven things up, but she hadn't anticipated the crowd becoming overly spirited.
"Right, right, right, everybody quiet down, and let Miss Kona call out a number."
At the same time, the host, with an embarrassed smile, took up the microphone to soothe everyone. The audience then sat down filled with anticipation, and with wide eyes fixed on Kona, they silently chanted "pick me, pick me, pick me," while glancing at their seat numbers.
"Area E."
On the stage, Kona while stepping down the stairs and heading towards the battlefield, casually mentioned.
"We're in Area E!"
As soon as Kona spoke, Brock exclaimed in surprise.
Xiaozhi and Misty both let out a light gasp, and the girl with the light green hair behind Xiaozhi swallowed hard.
All the spectators in Area E held their breath in that instant while those seated elsewhere wore expressions as if their Pokémon had died.
"Seat number 315, I guess," Kona chose a number she liked.
"Ah, I'm 314—damn, just missed by one."
As Kona read out the number, Xiaozhi, who had been staring at his own seat number, felt his morale crumble on the spot.
Misty and Brock, looking at their own 313 and 312, also had their spirits instantly shattered.
Ah, so close, who the hell is 315?
"Uh..."
At that moment, Fang Yuan innocently looked at his seat number "315" and felt a slight twinge of exasperation. Could it be? Against the odds of less than one in a thousand, it hit him??
Fang Yuan was dumbfounded.
"It seems... it's me," Fang Yuan said softly.
The next second, Xiaozhi, Brock, Misty, and the others around them all gaped at Fang Yuan with eyes filled with envy and resentment.
......
"I'm not sure which spectator it is..." Kona said, "If it's inconvenient to battle, you can also pass the opportunity to the person next to you... "
Kona, looking towards the unruly Area E and flipping her hair with a smile, hoped that a fairly skilled Trainer would come up. If the selected Trainer sent out a Pokémon like Rattata or Magikarp, it wouldn't be ideal for her demonstration.
Meanwhile.
Fang Yuan, facing Brock, Misty, Xiaozhi, and a bunch of strangers eyeing him eagerly, said speechlessly, "Although I don't really want to fight, how am I supposed to know who to give it to... "
"Forget it, I'll do it myself," Fang Yuan shook his head.
Consider it a warm-up before the battle with Lt. Surge, letting Milotic meet this King of Ice.
"Ah—" Upon hearing Fang Yuan say he would go himself, Xiaozhi and the others instantly showed looks of despair.