Xiao Ling is a trainer with a flexible style of play. In contrast to most newcomers' monotonous fighting style, she is always willing to experiment with a variety of tactics and apply them to her own battles.

She's not as good at attacking as her brother Xiaojie, nor is she focused on high-speed combat like Xiaoya. The pace of her battles is always fast and slow, and there are multiple variations hidden in the same moves, which are enough to confuse anyone who fights her for the first time.

However, when facing Saki Akita, Xiaoling's best skills all failed.

Xiao Ling is just a ten-year-old newcomer, and the changes in her moves are not without flaws. And the subtle flaws were captured by her opponents one by one, and she steadily defused Xiaoling's offensive and counterattacked. The second half of the game had just begun, and the score had already become 2-4.

"Hey, I've been spotted again......" Looking at his sister's ace Emperor Nabo, who was frustrated one after another, Xiaojie scratched his head in distress and muttered, "Obviously the shape is exactly the same as the tide swirl, why was it found out that it was salt water?"

Kiriha, who was sitting in the back row, seemed to hear Xiaojie's question, and interjected, "The white foam of the salt water is slightly more than ordinary water, and the shape is more fine, I think it is easy to distinguish." ”

Xiaojie: "......"

Sayo: "......"

Xiaotian: "......"

"Look. Kiripa took out his mobile phone and opened a picture to show the three of them, "This is a page in the textbook of the trick teaching class, the water cannon on the left is the water cannon, and the water cannon mixed with salt water on the right, the difference is obvious, right?"

The three children stared for a moment at the two pictures that looked exactly the same, and then looked at the innocent teenagers in the back row with complicated expressions. Xiaojie handed back the phone and solemnly summarized everyone's resonance.

"You fourteen-year-old trainers are terrible. ”

After a few small talks, I looked back and the score had become three to five. Looking at the last Pokémon Yukira standing in front of Xiao Ling, Xiao Ye couldn't help frowning.

Yongkira and Shaxi's three gophers have all been injured, but Shaxi still has two Pokémon that have not appeared, and Xiaoling's disadvantage is really difficult to recover.

Just as Xiao Ye was worried about her friend, a hand patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't show such an expression, laugh and laugh. It's not over yet. ”

When Xiao Ye turned around when he heard this "golden retriever quote", his face was suddenly speechless.

"Before you say 'don't show such an expression'...... Let's take a look at your own expression. ”

Jj:...... QAQ

The miracle that everyone had hoped for did not happen. Under the all-round suppression of the opponent's experience and tactical ability, Xiao Ling, who couldn't work with her best skills, finally lost with a score of 3:6.

Such a score is really not pretty, on the way to the player's passage to meet Xiao Ling, Xiao Jie and his grandfather practiced eighteen ways to comfort their sister. However, Xiaoling, who has always been rough-haired, obviously didn't care so much about this, and quickly ended the depression period before being interviewed by reporters. It wasn't until Xiaojie and Yuan Zheng saw that the girl who walked out of the passage was still smiling, and the two breathed a sigh of relief together.

"Although I lost, it was really a painful battle-" Xiao Ling ran to everyone's side with brisk steps and came to her brother's side with a smile, "What, are you afraid that I will be sad?"

Without waiting for Xiaojie to say anything, Xiaoling said with a pure face, "I'm not sad, anyway, I'm not the fastest loser, and the team's errand boy is not me." ”

Xiaojie: "......"

You're not sad, but I think I'm sad again!!

After satisfying the sinking of her brother, Xiao Ling said again, "It seems that the 'leadership' of our team has been determined to be Xiao Tian and Xiao Ye. ”

Xiao Ye was stunned when she heard this, and Xiao Ling had already said quickly, "Tomorrow is the battle between the two of you, according to the previous agreement, the one who wins is the captain, and the one who loses is the vice captain, right?

Sayo: "......"

Thinking about the winnings, I forgot that there was such a thing......

"That, that, wait a minute...... "Hold out Erkang's hand during the night, "Isn't it too rash to decide the choice of captain and vice-captain only by the results of the game...... Do you want to do it another way, like voting?"

Xiao Ling blinked, "Okay." Those who support the next battle to decide the candidate for the captain and vice captain, please raise your hand. ”

As soon as the words fell, the two golden retrievers had already raised their hands high, and Xiao Tian also raised his hands leisurely as if he had nothing to do with himself. The smiling silver-haired young man raised his hand very unexpectedly, and the old man Yuanzheng, who couldn't keep up with the rhythm, looked at his grandchildren, and then looked at the sea of stars who were smiling, and joined the army of raised hands in a daze and serious.

Xiaoling: "Hahaha, what kind of mess are you adults doing!"

Saya: "............"

Seeing Xiao Ling make the final decision with a grinning "Then it's decided", Xiao Ye, who is not good at being an official at all—even if it's just the size of a sesame seed—only felt mixed feelings, and silently added an item to the post-game schedule.

Regardless of the outcome of the competition, go to the library and borrow a few books such as "Responsibilities and Obligations of Team Leadership" to make some practice......

At this point, the battle for the quarterfinals was completely over, and everyone had dinner together as usual, and then dispersed to move freely.

Before leaving the Pokémon Center, Saya went to the medical room.

The consumption of the morning fierce battle has not yet recovered, and most of the Pokémon are sleeping quietly. Xiao Ye didn't want to disturb them, and was ready to move the tactical arrangements and state adjustments before the game to tomorrow morning.

There was only one Pokémon except - the orange fire dragon was in good spirits as if it had never been in battle, rolling restlessly around in the healing device. Seeing Xiao Ye push the door and approach, Charizard immediately rushed out of the healing device excitedly, waving its claws vigorously to show Xiao Ye its strong muscles.

It's still the same.

Xiao Ye smiled and shook her head, and asked in a low voice, "Charizard, I'm going out now, do you want to come with me?"

The fire dragon nodded again and again, and couldn't wait to get out of the medical room first—for this feisty fellow, resting honestly in the treatment device could be a torture comparable to the tyrannosaurus carp's surfing and slapping in the face.

As soon as it exited the gate of the Pokémon Center, Charizard spread its wings and flew around the night. Knowing that excess stamina is inherent in Charizard, Saya didn't stop it from flying blindly - though she was immediately covered in dust by the small whirlwind created by Charizard.

Comfortingly, he touched Pichu, who had accidentally eaten a mouthful of dirt in his pocket, and walked to the agreed place - the market west of the player's village.

The narrow street on the west side of the quartz stadium is the most prosperous commercial area in the entire athletes' village. For those who love to watch Pokémon battle, the regional leagues are a celebration every year. As a result, there is no shortage of tourists strolling around the village.

During the day, people's minds are attracted by the fierce competition, and at night, the market is at its busiest. All kinds of folk shops and stalls are lined up along the street, and the whole street is brightly lit. Although the sky was overcast, and there were no stars or moons in sight, the glow of the lanterns dispelled the night and smeared the market in a warm atmosphere.

Xiao Ye stops at the entrance of the market. A boy with short blue hair was leaning against a street lamp, his white kimono stained with the afterglow of the lamplight.

Xiao Ye beckoned, causing the dishonest Charizard to land, and then walked forward with a smile.

"I've been waiting. ”

Before the battle yesterday, Brandy declared, "If you win, I'll tell you something you want to know." And after today's game, Bai Lan offered to meet here in the evening, presumably to fulfill his previous promise.

Xiao Ye had a vague premonition that what Bai Lan was going to talk about might be a topic related to "her", so she didn't say much, and waited quietly for Bai Lan to speak.

The two walked side by side along the bustling street market. After passing by the third store, Brandy said, "First of all, I need to apologize to you. Sorry for interfering with your match in the first round. ”

Xiao Ye was stunned for a moment, and immediately recalled the scene at that time - the young man of the Radiant Society named Luke unknowingly replaced her original opponent, but fortunately, Luke's identity was discovered by the organizer in time halfway, and the absurd battle did not continue.

"That guy is from the same place as me, and I am also responsible for not noticing his movements. I can guarantee that he will get the punishment he deserves. Bai Lan said in a flat tone, glancing at Xiao Ye, "You don't seem surprised?"

"Well, I vaguely guessed a little bit before. Xiao Ye nodded.

Although Luke and Brandy never appear in front of Sayo at the same time, they have both shown their understanding of "Sayo", either intentionally or unconsciously - although this has confused Sayo herself more than once. Based on the information available, it is logical to conclude that "there is a connection between the two men".

Bai Lan was silent for a moment, then stopped, and looked up at Xiao Ye.

"As you can imagine, I know you. Knew you a long time ago. The boy said.

Xiao Ye didn't answer. She realizes that Brandy's use of the word "knows", not "knows"—and the hidden meaning is undoubtedly very different.

"While there are still many things to confirm, let's make a long story short today. Bai Lan's expression was very serious, and the cold color of the night sky flashed in her golden eyes, "I need you to do one thing......"

The next moment, a piercing sense of crisis rose sharply from the soles of Xiao Ye's feet, and the power of the waveguide instinctively rhythmized. At the same time, a soft child's voice interrupted the boy's words.

"Bailan—I found you!"

The boy looked back in surprise to find the little boy standing behind him at some point.

The child was half a head shorter than Bai Lan, and looked very young. His supple purple hair was scattered, and his eyes were wide open. The large, pointed hat seemed to be a little out of the right size was fastened on his head, and the cloak behind his back was dragged to the ground. Passers-by couldn't help but glance over a few times, because the little boy was dressed like a magician - even the transparent armour on his arm was a little more strange because of the way he was dressing.

Bai Lan frowned in confusion, and before she could ask anything, the little boy's cheerful voice sounded again, "Why are you here?" Bai Ye said that you must be in the dormitory at this time, so I have been looking for a long time in vain. By the way, I'm stopping by to get ...... Hmmm......"

The little boy got stuck in the middle of his words, and began to think about it, "Come and get it...... What data from which sample is ......"

"Sample Y31's monitoring data?"

Bai Lan looked helpless, and sighed after seeing the little boy nod violently, "Divi, don't talk about this kind of thing in public next time." ”

"Oh. The little boy nodded obediently, blinking at his big round golden eyes, "Why?"

“......”

Bai Lan wisely ignored the little boy's question, "You follow me back to the dormitory, and I'll give it to you." Then, he looked at Xiao Ye, "I'll ...... the topic later."

Before the words of farewell were finished, Bai Lan saw the girl in front of her suddenly showed a reluctant look, "Are you going to leave so soon?" Didn't we say that we would try again after two wins in three games, Charizard couldn't wait." ”

As she spoke, she poked Charizard's soft belly, "Do you want to fight Eluredo one more time?"

"Whoa!!" Charizard never cared if the change in topic was abrupt or not, and as soon as the word "battle" came into its ears, it immediately aroused its enthusiasm, and it roared at the trainer.

Bai Lan was stunned, and then gradually frowned.

Xiao Ye's speech at this moment suddenly seemed very normal, but in Bai Lan's opinion, it was too strange - she was clearly not a person who was keen on fighting, and even refused his invitation to fight again at the end of the game, why did she suddenly say something inexplicable now?

While Bai Lan remained silent, Xiao Ye took two steps forward and greeted the little boy in strange clothes with a smile, "Hello." ”

"Hello. Do you have something to do with Bai Lan?" the little boy looked up, looking very well-behaved.

"yes. Saya replied with a smile, "Your armour looks special, is it a toy?"

When the little boy looked down at his right arm, Bai Lan's gaze also subconsciously swept over. Then, it suddenly froze at a point.

In the lights of the market, the transparent armor reflects the warm light of the stars. And the halo inside it wanders like a living thing, even under the cover of thousands of artificial stars, it still reveals its own cold hue.

- That's more than just reflections.

Realizing this fact, Bai Lan's face changed suddenly.

The little boy looked at his armplate steadily, and suddenly grinned widely.

"That's right – it's the best toy. ”

Before he could finish speaking, the little boy raised his arm without warning.

The armor swam and turned into a cannon with fangs and claws, and the gray-white life-seeking rays shot lightning towards the kimono boy's heart.

====================

Small Theatre:

Blanch: (serious) I need you to do something......

Little Boy: (interrupting) Brand-I found you!

Bai Lan: (continues to be serious) I'll ...... the topic later.

Sayo: (interrupting) Are you leaving so soon? Didn't we say that we would try again after two wins of three games, Charizard can't wait.

Brando:...... Why are you still at odds with my tongue when the game is over? (blackface)