Chapter 165
During last night's encounter where Lorze transformed into a beast to battle the talented young women, Umbreon's silhouette finally manifested before everyone.
Staring at the unfamiliar black figure adorned with several glowing golden rings, everyone surrounded it out of pure curiosity, completely ignoring the fact that they were bone-naked and drenched in sticky cum.
The rings on Umbreon were truly magical; they emitted a distinct glow, providing a golden illumination comparable to a desk lamp, which could easily save them money on electricity bills.
Not that the Xue family lacked that pocket change, of course...
"So this is... Umbreon?"
Xue Yi stared at her Eevee in total awe. How should she put it...
Umbreon's appearance was worlds apart from what she had imagined, with almost no overlapping traits, yet she had to admit her previous anxiety had completely melted away.
Even if it differed from her expectations, Umbreon looked sufficiently mysterious and adorable; in terms of mystique, she felt it actually outshone her older sister's Espeon.
Imagine a dark night where a dangerous, jet-black Pokémon adorned with glowing, ethereal rings flashes past your eyes—the mystique value was off the charts!
"Awoo~."
Umbreon's cry had altered after evolving; it was no longer the cute "Vui, vui!" from before, but leaned toward the howl of a young wolf, sounding like a predator lurking in the shadows.
"Umbreon, congratulations on your evolution."
Xue Yi flashed a satisfied smile. Umbreon was her precious starter Pokémon, after all; it would have been devastating if it turned out physically deformed.
She hurried over to scoop up Umbreon, who was also inspecting her, and walked over to the full-length mirror to take a closer look, prompting the Pokémon to nod in satisfaction.
The only thing that displeased Umbreon was the crowd of unfamiliar research assistants crowding around to pet her, causing her to glare back at them with an impatient, crimson gaze.
As a Dark-type Pokémon, while her disposition wasn't explicitly evil, she was certainly no longer as docile and sweet as she was as an Eevee, and she refused to let just anyone pet her.
If Xue Yi hadn't been the very first person she laid eyes on upon hatching, forging an unbreakable emotional anchor, she might not even allow Xue Yi to hold her right now.
Cases of Pokémon undergoing a complete personality shift after crossing the evolution threshold were far too common.
This was one of the primary reasons why the Trainer Association strongly urged rookies to hatch their own starters; if a Pokémon wasn't raised from an egg, the probability of disobedience was staggeringly high.
Take Lorze's Feebas, for instance—ever since she dove into the artificial lake, she hadn't poked her head out once, and there was a high chance she might just abandon her Trainer entirely.
"Not bad, not bad. It looks like you're already close to the Elite tier. In a few days, I'll help you master Dual-Wielding Abilities so you can comfortably cross the Elite threshold before the Metropolitan Battle starts," Lorze said, stepping forward to pat Umbreon's head.
Umbreon's Base Stat Total perfectly rivaled that of fully evolved Starters; as a Pokémon that reached its final stage in a single evolution, her massive leap in power eclipsed many three-stage species, so Lorze wouldn't be surprised if she reached Elite rank instantly.
Oddly enough, Xue Yi's Umbreon seemed quite affectionate toward him; unlike her irritated reaction to the other girls, when Lorze stroked her, she actively leaned in to rub her cheek against his palm.
Perhaps it was because they had known each other for a long time?
But in reality, it was much more than that. Upon evolving, Umbreon had become a pure Dark-type creature, meaning she naturally felt an innate affinity toward a human who carried Dark-type behavioral patterns.
While Lorze didn't project a literal Dark-type aura, Umbreon could clearly sense that this man was absolute trash, which she thoroughly adored~.
Why else do you think every villainous team in anime carried a Dark-type partner?
It's precisely because Pokémon with this typing are perfectly happy to help humans commit wicked deeds.
If you used a Chansey, the creature would probably launch into healing the enemy on the spot, making any villainous plots dead on arrival.
This was the hardwired biological nature of different types, impossible to overwrite.
"You're entering the Metropolitan Battle yourself. If you help me unlock Dual-Wielding Abilities now, aren't you afraid you'll lose to me in the tournament?" Xue Yi narrowed her eyes slightly.
"What is there to fear? Have you ever seen Goddess Xue Tong tremble over a potential loss?" Lorze shrugged.
The Elite tier was certainly formidable, comparable to Auntie Roxanne's Azumarill before she neglected her serious training, a milestone that commoners usually spent half their lives scraping to achieve.
But to be perfectly frank, in Lorze's eyes today, it was still nowhere near enough to concern him.
Even if Umbreon's Dark typing hard-countered Kirlia, Kirlia had never relied on type matchups to secure a victory; she won through monstrous mental fortitude and her fluid, unpredictable Abilities.
If you can't even withstand the passive pressure of Cute Charm and Intimidate, what exactly are you going to fight me with?
Then again, Umbreon's Hidden Ability was Inner Focus, which made her completely immune to flinching and highly resistant to basic mental disruption, so perhaps she really could pose a threat to Kirlia?
"Hmph!"
Xue Yi merely let out a soft snort and dropped the topic. Let him wallow in his overconfidence; she would drop a massive surprise on him when they hit the arena!
He wasn't the only one who wanted to maintain a flawless, undefeated public record like her older sister.
"By the way, Xue Yi, Umbreon can secrete poisonous sweat from her pores, which points to a latent Poison-type affinity. You should see if she can master Toxic. If she can, you can deploy the unstoppable 'SubProtectToxicMoon' stall strategy. If that fails, swapping it for Confuse Ray is a decent backup plan," Lorze offered another tactical suggestion.
"Hmph, I'll look into it." Xue Yi absorbed his tactical insights without a shred of courtesy, fully intending to turn his own knowledge against him.
But what kind of degenerate strategy was "SubProtectToxicMoon"? Did it refer to Substitute, Protect, Toxic, and Moonlight?
Holy shit... Thinking it over, that combination was utterly foul. How could anyone cook up such a disgusting stall set? Was he even human?
If she threw up a dual-screen reflect, and then locked the target down permanently with Mean Look... hiss!
It was over; her competitive soul had been thoroughly corrupted by Lorze.
While this stalling strategy was vulnerable to Taunt and Encore, Umbreon's Inner Focus Ability provided an elite defense against mental disruption moves.
Coupled with a Dark-type's natural affinity for Foul Play, she wouldn't even have to worry about a lack of offensive output. Turning it over in her mind, Umbreon's competitive template felt impossibly flawless.
Had Lorze anticipated all of this when he suggested the stall route?
They hadn't even begun running data diagnostics on Umbreon yet; how the hell did he already know her sweat contained toxins?
Xue Yi had always felt Lorze's performance crossed the boundaries of reality. Could this guy secretly possess a System, or was he a literal time-traveling reincarnator?
Stare~. Incredibly suspicious!
"Cough, cough. Why are you staring at me like that? Sure, the strategy is foul, but winning mechanics are the absolute truth!" Lorze coughed lightly, assuming she was just disgusted by his degenerate stall tactics.
"I can see why Umbreon likes you so much. You're probably a better fit for a Dark-type aura than my own mother," Xue Yi rolled her eyes at him, then walked off with his tactical set, fully satisfied and eager to specialize in it.
Since you taught me this degenerate set, don't blame me when I use it to torture you in the arena!
Using Umbreon to fight her older sister (X)
Using Umbreon to torment her husband (✓)