Silence.
Silence.
Gimmu's face was ashen.
He was utterly incapable of refuting Ye Feng.
Ye Feng snatched the microphone from the host, even though micro-microphones were hidden all around him.
Holding the microphone, he pointed at Gimmu and said:
"On the life and death of your Gigalith, and your personal victory or defeat, you hesitated for a long time."
"This proves that in your heart, you don't really regard Gigalith as the most important friend and partner you claim."
"If we're talking about the ratio of tools to friends and partners, it's three to seven or four to six. All trainers are like this."
"Ultimately, you chose it."
Ye Feng finally addressed the eight remaining contestants, his opponents for tomorrow.
"Don't waste my time. Tomorrow, you will face the same choice as Gimmu. Surrender yourselves."
After he finished speaking, the entire venue was silent for a moment.
Then, it erupted into cheers.
These were Ye Feng's female fans.
Although Ye Feng's actions were cruel, they displayed his decisiveness and strength.
Moreover, this battle had been extremely exciting.
...
The next day, Indigo Stadium.
The sun shone brightly; it was the day for the Quarterfinals.
Four matches.
Ye Feng was still in the fourth match, the finale.
The audience was the same as yesterday, all the same people.
But they all felt slightly different.
Among them, the trainers had begun to doubt themselves deeply because of Ye Feng's words yesterday.
Yes, they had always claimed to treat their Pokémon as friends and partners.
Yet, they had been controlling them to battle for them, endlessly.
Did they truly love them?
However, only a minority fell into self-doubt.
Many trainers knew clearly in their hearts that although they didn't say it, they had long ago treated their Pokémon as tools for their own fame and glory.
Shigeru didn't experience much self-negation.
Primarily because he strongly agreed with Ye Feng's words.
But after watching yesterday's match, he realized the gap between himself and Ye Feng.
Ash's mindset was still normal.
It was hard for anyone to influence this guy.
After all, he was someone who would risk his life for his Pokémon.
The Quarterfinals passed quickly.
Although each side could use six Pokémon.
Hiroshi, who had defeated Ash, lost to a girl named Yuri.
Hiroshi stopped at the Quarterfinals, while Yuri advanced to the Top 4, the Semifinals.
In the fourth match, Ye Feng's opponent was a middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man had six Pokémon against Ye Feng's one.
At first, the middle-aged man held onto a fantasy, believing his six Pokémon could wear down that red-striped Pikachu one by one.
But by the time of the first Pokémon, the middle-aged man had completely abandoned this fantasy.
The middle-aged man endured Ye Feng's pressure.
Regardless of the life or death of his first Pokémon.
He thought his first Pokémon was going to die.
But he found that after Ye Feng had let the red-striped Pikachu injure that Pokémon to the point of being half-crippled, he stopped.
Ye Feng wasn't foolish.
In such a grand event, if he were to truly kill an opponent's Pokémon, he might face a lifetime ban.
Therefore, leaving it half-dead was enough.
But even so, the opponent was under immense pressure.
Because for those who disregarded their Pokémon's well-being,
Even if they survived in the end, they would be rendered useless from then on.
Even if those Pokémon were healed, they could no longer participate in any future Pokémon battles.
Their bodies couldn't withstand that intensity.
Finally, after using two Pokémon, the middle-aged man surrendered.
If he continued, all six of his main Pokémon would likely be ruined.
The Quarterfinals ended successfully, and Ye Feng once again displayed his formidable power to the world.
The Semifinals, the Top 4.
Two matches.
The first match was between Shiro and Bushi.
Shiro, whose origins were unknown, easily defeated his opponent.
The second match was between Ye Feng and Yuri.
Yuri was the girl who had defeated Hiroshi.
Being a girl, she used her ace Bellsprout in the first match. Upon seeing her Bellsprout was no match, she quickly surrendered to protect it.
Thus, Ye Feng won and advanced to the finals.
All he needed was to win tomorrow to become the champion of this year's Indigo League!
Then, he would challenge the Elite Four and become the League Champion!
"Shiro? That name sounds familiar."
Ye Feng looked at the screen in the stadium showing him and the young man named Shiro.
He suddenly remembered that in his first round match at the Aqua Arena, the first match was between Shiro and someone named Kuro.
Ultimately, Shiro won.
"This person..."
He didn't take him seriously at all. Even if the opponent had a legendary Pokémon, he wouldn't be afraid.
The impact Ye Feng had created in the past few days had now completely dissipated.
The exciting matches over the past few days seemed to have made the audience and everyone forget what had happened a few days ago.
Pokémon were still Pokémon.
They were the trainers' friends and partners, and then tools.
People continued as usual, not being influenced for long by Ye Feng's words.
The VIP stands.
Lorelei's face was solemn.
This Ye Feng was far beyond her imagination.
The Indigo League had been held for so many years, and there had never been a situation where a Top 8 or Top 4 contestant, close to the finals, had surrendered. Yet, all of this had happened today.
President Charles, standing beside Lorelei, saw her frowning and said with a smile:
"What's wrong? Are you worried that this Ye Feng might actually fight his way to the Indigo League, then come before you, defeat you, and become the new League Champion?"
Charles's cloudy eyes sparkled.
Lorelei: "If it were someone who didn't understand the game, they might think this Ye Feng is very strong. Indeed, this Ye Feng is very strong, but it's also because his opponents were too weak that he appears so."
"The contestants in this Indigo League are incredibly weak. If it were back in the era of Red and Green, and the Gym Leaders didn't hold back, none of these people would have stood a chance."
"With a Pikachu winning the league, I could also win this tournament with just one Pokémon. But the problem now is, just how strong is Ye Feng's ability?"
"Gym Leader? Elite Four candidate? Or Elite Four?"
"I need a strong opponent to gauge his true strength."
"The opponent in the finals will be good."
"The finals? You mean that Shiro?"
Charles looked at Lorelei.
Lorelei nodded: "That Shiro is very strong. In the entire Indigo League, besides Ye Feng, there's this Shiro. This Shiro has also been crushing his opponents, and he's someone with genuine skill."
"He can help me test Ye Feng's true strength."
"However, I am confident that Ye Feng will not win against Shiro."
"By relying on one Pokémon, he could defeat three, and then, facing the opponent trainer's six, he didn't choose to defeat all six. Instead, he exposed his powerful strength and threatened the opponent into surrendering. These are all tactics, because he was afraid that his Pikachu might encounter an accident during a six-on-one battle."
"Shiro has genuine strength, and you can't win with just one Pikachu."
"But, even if he were to win by a fluke."
"According to what he said, he would then challenge us with one Pokémon?"
"Isn't that wishful thinking? A fantasy?"
"Even if you are incredibly strong, you want to defeat the Elite Four with one Pokémon?"
"Do you really think we Elite Four are made of mud?!"
Lorelei's beautiful eyes blinked, and she crossed her arms, her ample chest pressed together, making one unwilling to look away.