For most of the people present, this was their first time witnessing a Pokémon evolution up close.
As the radiant white light faded and the small, 30-centimeter Fletchling transformed into a striking, child-sized Pokémon with a fiery presence, a wave of amazement and cheers swept through the crowd!
Compared to the cute and slightly silly Fletchling, the newly evolved Fletchinder exuded confidence and flair.
The tiny marks above its eyes had extended, resembling eyeshadow. The orange-red color that once only covered its head now enveloped its entire body, and paired with its agile, flame-like movement, it looked like a firebird dancing in the sky.
With a jubilant chirp, Fletchinder dove straight into Ding Yue's open arms.
"It evolved just like that?! Its pace is almost as fast as my Turtwig's…" Wang Tao watched with envy. "That Fletchinder is awesome. Flying-types are just something else."
Su Bai chuckled, "Actually, under normal training conditions, Fletchinder evolves even faster than Grotle."
"If you hadn't lucked out by hogging all the low-level missions, your Turtwig wouldn't have evolved that quickly either."
Starter Pokémon usually evolve at level 18, but Fletchling only needs level 17 to evolve.
In the Pokémon world, only families that had made notable contributions to the Pokémon League were granted a starter Pokémon for their child when they began their trainer journey.
The reason starter Pokémon were used as beginner partners—aside from their strength—was because they were easy to train.
Among Pokémon of their respective types, starter Pokémon are rarely weak. Take Incineroar, for example—it's practically broken in competitive play.
Some players even jokingly refer to Incineroar as "the strongest being in the universe."
Even so, in the game meta, Talonflame—Fletchinder's final evolution—once dominated the scene.
And in this real-world setting where battles weren't limited by turns, this once-unassuming Fletchling was finally showing its true potential, thanks to the right training.
In early stages where opponents lacked anti-air capabilities, the sheer advantage of Flying-types was on full display!
On the battlefield, Ding Yue gave Fletchinder a warm pat on the head, then gently lifted it into the air.
"Alright then, now it's your turn, Monferno!"
Ding Yue turned to Liu Yunlan with a smug grin.
"Now we're both using evolved Pokémon. Let's go—time for me to settle the score from your last cheap shot!"
The heiress of the Ding family never forgot a grudge.
In their previous ranked match, Monferno had tossed her around like a ragdoll and even knocked her unconscious.
Today, she was going to pay it back in full—arrow for arrow!
Unlike the previous tag-team match, this was a classic one-on-one trainer battle.
Liu Yunlan still had her Monferno, and she wasn't about to back down.
"Don't get cocky…"
She carefully returned Growlithe to its Poké Ball, then tossed out another. In a flash of red light, Monferno appeared, its tail blazing with fire and a mask-like pattern glowing on its face.
Seeing her powerhouse partner brought back Liu Yunlan's confidence.
With Diancie officiating, the second battle officially began!
"Monferno, use Mach Punch!"
Even before Diancie finished announcing, Liu Yunlan had already shouted her command.
Lesson learned—her Growlithe had gotten ambushed by Quick Attack before it could even use Howl.
She wasn't about to let that happen again.
Su Bai had taught them in class:
If two Pokémon use priority moves at the same time, the faster one gets to strike first.
But to her surprise—Fletchinder hadn't even come down.
"Fletchinder, use Growl!"
Following Ding Yue's command, Fletchinder chirped sharply from above.
A heavy aura rippled out from its cry, wrapping around Monferno and lowering its attack stat!
The move caught Liu Yunlan completely off guard.
Her prediction had missed its mark!
Monferno leapt up, fists blazing, trying to reach the airborne target—but it fell short and landed back on the ground, shaking its fists and chittering in frustration.
It looked utterly humiliated.
It wasn't a Flying-type after all. Even though it had strong legs, it couldn't reach Fletchinder, who was soaring well out of range.
"Ugh, hiding in the sky doesn't make you strong!" Liu Yunlan cried out in frustration.
"If you've got guts, come down and fight!"
Ding Yue snickered, "Why don't you come up here instead? Fletchinder, Growl again!"
Fletchinder chirped obediently, releasing another wave of Growl, further weakening Monferno's offensive power!
What kind of trainer wouldn't take advantage of an upper hand?
Ding Yue had no intention of letting up—she was here to get payback for that humiliating defeat!
"AAAAHHH! You're such a cheat!" Liu Yunlan howled.
"You really think my Monferno's only trick is punching? Monferno, use Ember—burn that bird!"
Monferno opened its mouth, launching a blazing Ember upward like a fireball missile!
A Pokémon's Speed stat didn't just affect movement—it also affected the speed of its attacks.
Monferno was much faster than Growlithe.
In fact, Monferno was one of the fastest Pokémon around, and its Ember streaked upward like a fiery bullet.
But Fletchinder twisted gracefully in mid-air, barely dodging the flame.
Then—another Growl echoed across the battlefield, piling on the debuffs.
"Heh, I knew you'd try that," Ding Yue grinned.
"With my training, Fletchinder's dodging skills are top-tier!"
As the Ding family's heiress, she had resources far beyond most of her peers.
She had anticipated this matchup and had specifically arranged specialized dodging drills for Fletchling against B-tier fire mages firing real fireballs!
This was the kind of elite training only she and Zhang Qun could afford.
If her Flying-type Pokémon had a natural early-game advantage, she was going to maximize it.
By keeping her distance, she wasn't just avoiding Monferno's melee attacks—she could also clearly track and read the trajectory of fireballs!
Liu Yunlan felt like she was about to have a heart attack.
Monferno's only ranged move was Ember. Every other move was melee.
Which meant that despite Monferno being much more thoroughly trained than Fletchinder…
it could only sit on the ground and spit fire.
Meanwhile, that slippery Fletchinder just kept dodging.
It was like déjà vu—a repeat of the previous battle.
Once Monferno's attack power had been nerfed to the floor, Fletchinder stopped playing evasive and went on the offensive.
Ember, Quick Attack, Peck—her moves flowed in a dazzling combo!
Even when Monferno did manage to land a lucky hit, the reduced damage barely scratched Fletchinder!
This one-sided beatdown was unbearable for Liu Yunlan.
With a scream of frustration, she threw up both hands in surrender!