Chapter 161: Kirlia

The match was over.

Wei Chenhai stood rooted to the spot, utterly dumbfounded and unable to accept the outcome.

In the center of the arena, Tang Yi could not help but hold Kirlia in a tight embrace. Following her evolution, Kirlia’s green hair had grown noticeably longer, cascading down to her shoulders, and her bangs no longer fully concealed her eyes.

Compared to Ralts, Kirlia possessed a more slender and taller physique, resembling an eighteen-year-old girl.

After enjoying Tang Yi's embrace for a brief moment, Kirlia instinctively broke free, as was her custom.

"You did brilliantly, but you gave me such a scare just now," Tang Yi whispered, gently wiping away the speck of dust that had splashed onto Kirlia's cheek during the battle.

"I—I don't know what happened either. I just didn't want to lose, no matter what, and then, somehow, strength suddenly welled up inside me." Kirlia's voice remained crisp, yet it carried a slightly more mature tone, though the girl seemed not yet fully accustomed to her post-evolution state.

"Alright, it's over now. Let's head back first."

The evolved Kirlia possessed vastly superior psychic abilities, which explained why she was able to suddenly unleash such formidable telekinesis at the very last moment.

Prompted by the referee, the two opponents were required to shake hands.

Tang Yi led Kirlia over to shake hands with the utterly dejected Wei Chenhai, after which both parties signed the confirmation forms.

Wei Chenhai cast two glances at Kirlia, then suddenly asked, "Was this all planned out by you from the very beginning?"

"What?" Tang Yi asked in bewilderment.

Wei Chenhai continued, "Ralts's evolution—her evolution right in the middle of the match. Was this something you calculated all along?"

Tang Yi offered an enigmatic smile. "What do you think? Don't forget our wager; would I ever allow myself and Kirlia to be pushed into such an embarrassing predicament?"

Wei Chenhai was struck with incredulous shock. This had actually been calculated? Could evolution really be calculated to such an extent?

He realized he needed to completely reevaluate the person he had once looked down upon.

Had he known prior to the match that his opponent would be a Kirlia rather than a Ralts, Wei Chenhai would undoubtedly have been far more vigilant.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs in life.

"I accept the wager and admit defeat. I apologize to you both," Wei Chenhai said dejectedly, though he had no intention of welshing on the bet.

However, Tang Yi wanted more than just that. "The person you need to apologize to isn't me, but Feebas. Today at two in the afternoon, I will bring Feebas and wait for you in the hotel's first-floor lobby. If you're still a man, don't be late!"

Without waiting for Wei Chenhai to respond, Tang Yi strode away in a grand manner.

Walking through the arena tunnel and out of the cameras' line of sight, Tang Yi finally relaxed. He turned to Kirlia with a grin and asked, "How was that? Was the way I tossed my head and walked away resolutely looking especially cool and dashing?"

Kirlia was utterly speechless, followed by a sudden burst of giggles.

Having just completed her evolution, the young girl's heart was actually quite sensitive. Her appearance had changed—would he find her unfamiliar or distant now?

Yet Kirlia's worries instantly vanished into thin air, leaving no trace of awkwardness. Tang Yi was still the exact same Tang Yi, a bit cheeky yet endlessly amusing...

Feigning annoyance, Kirlia chided, "You were just talking nonsense and bluffing again! You clearly had no idea I was going to evolve, did you? Even I had no clue myself."

Tang Yi laughed heartily. "It doesn't matter. Let Wei Chenhai go back and slowly rack his brain over it."

Kirlia grew slightly worried again. "Will he actually come and apologize this afternoon?"

"He should."

Tang Yi could not be entirely certain either, but he felt that Wei Chenhai and Su Chengtao were somewhat different. He added with a smile, "Besides, I've already laid down a curse of sorts—this whole thing was televised live. If he doesn't show up, won't he be admitting right in front of all those people that he's a woman?"

"You're so bad!"

Kirlia's treatment took a little extra time. In truth, Kirlia had sustained severe injuries during the match. Had it not been for the sheer determination bottled up in the young girl's heart, coupled with the final-moment evolution that restored a fraction of her stamina, she might not even have been able to walk out of the arena.

Fortunately, for a provincial-level qualifying tournament of this scale, the medical staff brought in were top-tier, and Kirlia was treated with exceptionally expensive specialized healing ointment.

Two large bottles were applied, practically spraying Kirlia from head to toe. Before leaving, Tang Yi naturally did not forget to requisition yet another bottle to take with him.

The doctor explicitly instructed him not to engage in any further training for the remainder of the day.

Of course, Tang Yi had no such intentions to begin with.

On the way back, Tang Yi's WeChat notifications were practically blowing up his phone.

With today's victory, he had successfully advanced to the top eight. According to the regulations of the qualifiers, he had already secured at least 10 bonus points for the national college entrance examination.

While that might not sound like much, in the fiercely competitive college entrance examination, a gap of even a single point meant eliminating countless rivals.

Most importantly, this was the top eight in the entire province, an honor grand enough to make others green with envy.

Wang Yaman, the other Kirlia trainer, had also won her match. She sent Tang Yi a congratulatory message, expressing her eager anticipation for a chance to face him in battle.

Upon returning to the hotel, Tang Yi first had Kirlia take a nice, relaxing bath while he went to find Fang Tianze, primarily to inform Feebas that she should prepare to receive her apology this afternoon.

"Actually, it doesn't really matter to me. I don't even know the guy," Feebas said, not particularly caring about the matter. Prior to this, she had no idea who Wei Chenhai even was.

"Even if it's just a formality, it's still necessary."

"Alright then. Ralts—oh wait, Kirlia, is she alright?" Feebas cared far more about Kirlia's condition.

"Don't worry, she just evolved and is in a fantastic mood right now," Tang Yi said reassuringly with a smile.

Feebas let out a sigh of relief.

"You did well today. Honestly, I thought you were dead-pinnned to lose," Fang Tianze complimented. "Actually, Ralts was already reaching the bottleneck of her evolution anyway. You must have been consistently giving her Pokémon massagings in your daily routine, right?"

"That's right."

Fang Tianze nodded. "Well, that explains it then. A Pokémon's evolution is sometimes a natural culmination, and other times it requires a catalyst—like a sudden burst of emotional intensity. Today, you could say you kids just got lucky."

"If she hadn't evolved, we definitely would have lost," Tang Yi admitted with a bitter smile, dropping any pretense of putting up a brave front here.

Today's match had been exceptionally arduous, spanning a full four chapters of fierce struggle just to barely defeat the opponent. It was an unprecedentedly lengthy battle and by far the toughest opponent he had faced yet.

However, having advanced to the top eight meant that his upcoming opponents would only grow increasingly stronger.

Butterfree smiled and said, "Don't be too discouraged either. Once a Pokémon evolves, their overall strength receives a noticeable boost. The upcoming opponents will be tougher, but your strength has grown as well."

"Right, I'll do my best. No matter what, I have to make it to the semi-finals and defeat that guy Su Chengtao," Tang Yi said, clenching his fist.

His original goal for this qualifying tournament had actually been fulfilled long ago; his current objective was strictly to defeat Su Chengtao.