Chapter 156: Burning the Boats, A Match That Cannot Be Lost

Originally, Tang Yi went out for a walk today to help Ralts relax and relieve some stress. But now it seemed things had backfired.

After Feebas left, Ralts looked at Tang Yi with eyes full of worry, saying, "What should we do if we lose tomorrow? I, I'm feeling a bit unconfident."

Tang Yi smiled and was about to use his smooth-talking skills to offer some comfort, but Ralts cut in, talking to herself once more. The young girl clenched her fists, her gaze far more resolute than usual: "No! We won't lose! No matter what, I'm going to give it my all tomorrow! Right?"

Facing the burning fighting spirit blazing in Ralts's eyes, Tang Yi couldn't bring himself to say anything discouraging. He nodded and replied, "Yes, anything is possible."

Although the outcome was a bit different from expected, Ralts's fighting spirit had been completely ignited because of it. However, just how much this fighting spirit could make up for the gap in sheer strength remained unknown.

Early the next morning, Ralts woke up even earlier than Tang Yi and rudely dragged a certain trainer who was still deep in dreamland out of his sleep.

"Get up already! There's a match today!" Ralts complained, looking thoroughly displeased.

Tang Yi rubbed his hazy eyes, gazed at the sky outside that hadn't fully brightened yet, and sighed helplessly, "My dear ancestor, today's Round of 16 matches start at ten o'clock, but it's not even six yet!"

With the number of competitors cut in half, the match schedule for the Round of 16 was slightly more relaxed. The matches for this round would be spread across Wednesday and Thursday, with four matches each day, and Tang Yi was still scheduled for the first match.

Ralts argued reasonably, "We need to go to the training hall to practice first. After resting for a day, if I don't practice a little, I'm afraid my moves will feel rusty during the match. Besides, I am not your ancestor! Do, do you think I've gotten old now?!"

Tang Yi sighed. "No, no, my Ralts will always be as pretty as a flower. Alright, just wait for me to get up and brush my teeth, and I'll accompany you to the training hall."

Right now, Ralts's fighting spirit shouldn't be crushed; this might be their only chance of winning today's match.

The morning training hall was empty, save for the hotel staff on duty. The facilities inside were not entirely comprehensive, as this was merely meant for hotel guests to get a light workout, and it simply couldn't compare to professional commercial training halls.

As a warm-up, they couldn't consume too much mental energy, so Tang Yi simply had Ralts practice a few newly learned moves and spend a little time practicing her flight capabilities.

Finally, the two of them attempted move unchaining again, but still with no results. Every time, a problem would arise during the final stage of coordinating and synchronizing with the energy overflowing from Ralts.

In fact, Tang Yi felt that the steps he took were correct, but he always felt that something was missing at the very final step.

He had previously consulted Fang Tianze, and the answer he got was simply that this ability could not be rushed; it could only be achieved through continuous exploration and practice.

The practice session lasted for about an hour. When Ralts began to breathe slightly heavily, Tang Yi called a halt. Overdoing the practice would end up affecting the upcoming match.

By this time, the number of people coming into the training hall had increased slightly. Since the hotel only had this one training hall, to avoid the awkwardness of running into Su Chengtao or Wei Chenhai, Tang Yi led Ralts back first.

After resting for a moment and enjoying a hearty breakfast at the restaurant, the two of them headed toward the match venue.

Along the way, Fang Tianze sent a few more WeChat messages. They must have learned about yesterday's events from Feebas, and they also knew that this match, originally of little consequence regarding win or loss, had now become somewhat delicate.

This time, Fang Tianze dropped the formalities and directly analyzed some characteristics of their opponent, Fletchinder, along with potential tactical countermeasures.

Tang Yi expressed his gratitude, but he also understood that a champion's tactics were not a panacea. First of all, one had to possess the corresponding strength to execute those tactics; otherwise, everything was just useless.

With Ralts's current ability, things were looking rather precarious.

He had also repeatedly studied Wei Chenhai last night, and the only slightly better news was that, from the footage of the first round, it could be seen that Wei Chenhai's Fletchinder possessed the Flame Body Ability and lacked any hidden Ability.

The Flame Body Ability gave the opponent a certain probability of being burned upon making physical contact with its body.

However, almost all of Ralts's attacking methods were ranged energy attacks, leaving no opportunity to make physical contact with Fletchinder, which naturally eliminated the possibility of getting burned.

In the lounge of the venue, Tang Yi discussed countermeasures with Ralts while resting and waiting for the matches to begin.

Gradually, other contestants began to trickle in.

Wei Chenhai and his Fletchinder arrived somewhat late. The moment he laid eyes on Tang Yi, he walked straight over and greeted him: "Don't worry, neither Su Chengtao nor I reported you. However, once today's match is over, I hope you'll leave this city quickly. We don't want to see you and that Feebas ever again!"

He wasn't surprised that Feebas was absent, and this only made him more certain that Tang Yi's Feebas lacked official certification. Unregistered entities could never be shown in public, after all.

"Then, then what if you lose!" Ralts suddenly mustered up the courage to step forward. Normally, she never interrupted conversations between trainers.

Wei Chenhai cast a surprised glance at the young girl. "I won't lose."

The gap in strength between the two was evident to anyone who had watched the video of the first round.

Tang Yi guessed what Ralts was trying to do. Things having reached this point, he could only go along with the girl's words, raising his head to look at Wei Chenhai: "What if you lose?"

Wei Chenhai sneered, "What? Are you trying to make some kind of bet with me? Though, I never gamble."

Tang Yi articulated each word clearly: "It's not about gambling with you. If you lose, I demand that you apologize to Feebas—apologize for the things you said yesterday!"

"Ridiculous. What I said yesterday was entirely true; why should I apologize?"

Tang Yi deliberately intensified his tone: "Then I don't care, or are you even afraid of things that are impossible to happen?"

Wei Chenhai was indeed provoked into a laugh. "Are you trying to use reverse psychology on me? How boring. Fine, I agree. But correspondingly, if you lose, I want both of you to apologize as well—apologize for your rudeness. No problem?"

At that instant, Tang Yi hesitated for a split second.

However, Ralts gently squeezed his hand. The two of them had already developed a certain tacit understanding, and Tang Yi's hesitation vanished in an instant. "Deal! I accept!"

"It's a promise then!" With those words, Wei Chenhai strode away loftily.

Tang Yi affectionately stroked Ralts's head and, before the girl could speak, smiled first: "With this, we truly have no retreat left."

Ralts had initially worried that Tang Yi would scold her for acting on her own, but seeing the doting and affectionate look on his face, she felt at ease again and nodded vigorously. "That's right. I learned an idiom from you humans called burning the boats—is that our situation right now?"

"Exactly, we've burned our boats."

"Then let's fight with our backs to the river!"

This had truly become a match they could not afford to lose.