Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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This thing was somewhat similar to the purple barrier used to block Dynamax moves in the Pokémon Journeys series—a kind of niche advanced technology.

But that wasn't the purpose of Li Xiang's visit.

"B3. Can you see clearly? If not, there's a telescope over there, HD television, and you can use the computer too."

Song Jie pointed to a specific battlefield at the bottom.

Unlike the eternally unchanged, standard sandy arenas seen outside, the arenas here could change dynamically. Forests, glaciers, water zones, rocky cliffs, and various other terrains could appear.

The battlefield Song Jie pointed out was in forest mode.

Li Xiang squinted and noticed that even though it was nearly a kilometer or more away, he could still see it quite clearly.

The Pokémon battling were:

A Gliscor—a combination of a scorpion and a bat, cool-looking with an air of menace. It was immune to Thunderbolt while flying and unaffected by Earthquake while digging.

Its opponent? 

A Cofagrigus—resembling an Egyptian sarcophagus with four pitch-black, distinctly fingered limbs, crimson eyes, and a toothy maw that seemed capable of taking someone's head off. A classic tank among Ghost-types.

The Cofagrigus's movements were bizarre. It scuttled along the ground on its four hands, belly facing upward, much like a walking coffin from some horror story. When it sped up, the sight became truly unsettling.

A physical attacker like Gliscor going up against a tanky Ghost-type?

What genius set up this match? Clearly, the Gliscor trainer was about to have a frustrating time.

Could Gliscor use Taunt? If it could, there was still some hope of turning the match around.

"The Gliscor trainer is at Ultra Ball Tier 2, while the Cofagrigus trainer is at Ultra Ball Tier 3. The latter is already in their promotion matches—two more wins, and they'll move up to Ultra Ball Tier 2. It's a one-on-one singles battle."

Song Jie first outlined the trainers' ranks, then continued, "Gliscor is at level 73, has the Sand Veil ability, and is likely specialized in physical attack and speed, with some investment in special defense. It's adept at using elemental Fangs, Acrobatics, and a signature move that uses Sand Tomb defensively."

Using Sand Tomb to defend against moves?

Li Xiang was intrigued about how that worked, though move countering moves wasn't entirely uncommon in this world.

Song Jie went on, "Cofagrigus is at level 71, with the Mummy ability, likely specialized in both defenses. It excels at using status moves like Destiny Bond and Pain Split. It also has a unique ability to store moves within its coffin."

"You're quite the information expert, huh?"

Li Xiang complimented him.

Knowing not only the Pokémon's specialties but also minor details like a bit of special defense investment—it almost felt like playing a game.

Song Jie chuckled. "It's not my info-gathering skills. In the Bronze Arena, Pokémon that have appeared in battles have no 'secrets.' There are professional statisticians—Pokémon Intelligence Analysts—here."

"They analyze the average growth patterns of each species, compare them, and come to conclusions. Most of the time, their margin of error isn't too high. But they aren't an absolute authority—misjudgments are common, as you can imagine."

He raised an eyebrow at Li Xiang.

Because of their lack of accuracy, information was listed with phrases like "likely specialized in" rather than definitive statements. Individual differences between Pokémon also determined variations in their capabilities.

This world really had all kinds of professions, huh?

Li Xiang wasn't too worried about his Pokémon being exposed. After all, there was no such thing as exact numerical stats like "EV limit" here. Analysts could at most observe in battle and deduce that his Pokémon had balanced growth in all six stats.

Take Xia Chunyu's Pokémon—every one of them was outrageously beyond the norm.

The Pokémon of other Master Ball tier trainers also had their own extraordinary traits.

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On the battlefield.

Gliscor was gliding rapidly along the edge of the arena, keeping a bird's-eye view of Cofagrigus below.

The two Pokémon were old rivals.

They knew each other well.

Even though the battlefield appeared unremarkable at the moment, the area below had long been set up with Trick Room.

If Gliscor descended and entered the Trick Room's range, the speed inversion would prevent it from using Taunt in time. Even if it managed to get the move off, it would crash right into Cofagrigus's Imprison and waste a turn.

Moreover, to defeat Cofagrigus, Gliscor would need to wait until the Trick Room ended.

A decisive strike was also critical. Otherwise, one Pain Split could not only negate all the damage dealt but also drain Gliscor's health drastically.

With Ghost-types naturally having low base HP, sharing pain with Gliscor's higher HP could quickly turn the tables.

Patience was key.

On the ground.

Cofagrigus's crimson eyes locked onto Gliscor in the sky as it suppressed the Will-O-Wisp stored in its coffin, waiting for its opponent to come closer.

Just as Gliscor was waiting for the Trick Room to end, so was Cofagrigus.

The Trick Room's purpose was to bait the opponent into attacking immediately after it expired, assuming another one would be set up. This gave Cofagrigus the perfect opening to counter.

Without this setup, landing Will-O-Wisp on a nimble Gliscor would be far harder, as its agility and evasiveness were no joke.

The classic "you think I'm at level one while you're at level two, but I'm actually at level five" strategy was in play.

For physical attackers, even though the burn effect no longer halved attack power, it was still crippling.

Once Gliscor was burned, Cofagrigus could freely launch its offense.

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Off the field.

"Are they just going to stalemate like this?"

Li Xiang blinked. To be honest, analyzing a battle in reality was far harder than in games, especially for matches without commentary and when joining mid-fight.

What were these two pros thinking? What were they waiting for?

Why the deadlock?

"Who knows—" Song Jie shrugged.

"The Trick Room is active. Gliscor, being a Pokémon that relies on speed, naturally won't risk going down there."

A sudden voice interrupted them.

The two turned to see a sharply dressed, handsome young man in a suit, smiling softly like he'd caught mischievous younger siblings.

Behind him stood a towering, two-meter-tall Haxorus, its blood-red dual axes gleaming in its jaws. Covered in armor-like scales, its elongated neck and menacing form made it look like a kaiju straight out of a tokusatsu series.

A shiny Haxorus!

So cool!

Li Xiang was instantly captivated. Shiny Haxorus was famous in the games for its stunning appearance, a far cry from the dull mustard yellow of its standard form. It looked even better in reality!

"Snuck in again, and brought a classmate this time?"

The young man smirked teasingly.

"Brother Tian Ci!"

Song Jie exclaimed in delight but quickly looked sheepish. They had, after all, sneaked in. Getting caught like this meant they couldn't exactly act tough.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Youzhou? What brings you to Qingcheng?"

Song Jie tried to change the subject.

Yin Tian Ci didn't mind. "There's a ranked match in Qingcheng, so I stopped by to check out the arena... Are you not going to introduce me to your classmate?"

His gaze shifted to Li Xiang.

"Ah!"

Song Jie belatedly realized but found Li Xiang already stepping forward to introduce himself.

After a round of pleasantries and introductions—

They got to the main topic.

"There's a 40x40x40 Trick Room active on the battlefield right now. If I'm not mistaken, Gliscor plans to wait for the room to expire before rushing in with Sand Tomb and finishing it with Acrobatics."

Yin Tian Ci pointed at the distant Gliscor.

"Using Sand Tomb as a shield?"

Li Xiang asked, puzzled.

Yin Tian Ci chuckled. "This Gliscor has the ability to condense Sand Tomb into a tornado that swirls around its body, reducing its attack range. In this high-speed spinning state, the Sand Tomb acts as a barrier against many attacks."