Even in previous Pokémon games, doubles were much more popular and entertaining than singles.
There are just a few reasons for this. Doubles has more routines, more tactics, more variables, and more emphasis on the trainer's game.
But in this world, singles are more popular.
After all, reality is not a turn-based game, and the 1v1 battle itself has many variables.
At least, the most popular competitions, including regional conferences, World Gym Championships, King of Heaven Championships, and Eight Masters Championships, are singles competitions.
However, there are many trainers who are keen on doubles battles, and there are also some more authoritative doubles competitions, including single doubles formats and double doubles formats.
The challenge rule of Tiannan Gym is doubles, and the tradition of their gym is that the gym owner and his wife guard the badge.
It is precisely for this reason that Tiannan Gym has always attracted trainer couples from all over Donghuang to come and challenge, even if they are not challenging the Donghuang Conference to collect badges.
This is even more true after entering the Internet era, and there is even a gradual trend of Internet celebrity.
They came to challenge on a whim and had to wait in line for several hours without making a reservation.
And it wasn't until they were ranked that they realized that the competition format here was doubles.
"How about it, do you want to form a team and fight together?"
Chihong suggested rather excitedly.
In the past few years, I have played against Xia Chen on and off two or three times, but never as teammates. This doubles match is a good opportunity.
Xia Chen replied readily: "Okay."
Although he had never played doubles with Chihong, and there was basically no tacit understanding between the two, excellent trainers had similar abilities to seize opportunities, so he was not too worried about their communication issues.
After briefly registering their names, the two stepped into the gym challenge venue.
The couple guarding the gym are a bit older, looking to be in their fifties or sixties, but in a doubles match that requires tacit understanding, being older is an advantage.
Because this gym has a unique doubles competition system, there are many spectators sitting on the sidelines watching the competition, including local residents and tourists.
And with Xia Chen's current reputation in Donghuang, he was recognized as soon as he stepped into the battle venue.
Warm applause and calls of his name were given without hesitation.
Xia Chen was so moved that he was finally recognized this time after he sent out Xianbu or Menas.
Although the Tiannan Gym owner and his wife were older, they were obviously paying attention to current affairs, and they also quickly recognized Xia Chen.
They smiled kindly at Xia Chen, then turned around and whispered.
Then the owner of the museum, who looked kind-hearted, said hello, "Wait a moment, let's go change some elves."
Xia Chen was speechless, okay, just wait and see what others are doing, does this mean you want to increase your strength?
I must be able to withstand it myself, but I wonder if Chi Hongding can withstand it?
Hmm... There seems to be no need to worry about him, just enjoy the game.
While the owner and his wife went to change the elves, Xia Chen also discussed tactics with Chi Hong beside him.
…………
"The rule is to choose four out of six. If you are assigned to each person, you will choose two out of three. Who are you going to send on the field?"
Xia Chen asked first.
His elf strength is slightly stronger than that of Chihong, so he plans to let Chihong choose first, and he sends some ones that can be easily coordinated.
Chihong thought for a moment and said, "How about Charizard and Bulbasaur?"
Xia Chen raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Team Sunny?"
The classicness of this combination is comparable to that of Big-billed Gull and Lotte Kappa in rainy days, and Laoban and Dragon-headed Gopher in sandstorm.
Chihong smiled and replied: "Because Tiannan Gym is a gym whose main attribute is the insect type, and the fire type is easier to fight."
Xia Chen nodded, what he said was true.
There was a classic joke in elf battles in the past. Paraster, whose attribute is Cordyceps and whose characteristic is dry skin, is five times weaker than fire.
On a sunny day, the fire-breathing dragon carrying charcoal with the power of the sun burst into flames in a clear sky, how much blood does Paraster still owe?
Although I don’t know if the opponent will send Paraster, focusing on the fire element is indeed the best choice for this gym.
After withdrawing his thoughts, Xia Chen said: "Okay, then I'll take the Vulcan Moth, Blue Flame Blade Demon and Doron Baruto."
Xia Chen finalized the tactics here, and over there, the owner and his wife also returned to the battlefield.
The referee on the sidelines read out the rules of the battle as usual, "Select four out of six pairs for a doubles battle. Both sides can have two super-evolved and crystallized elves on the field at the same time. When all the elves on one side lose the ability to fight, it will be deemed a failure."
This rule is slightly different from that of ordinary doubles. The winning rule of ordinary doubles is that all four elves are near death to be considered a failure. Under this rule, theoretically, only two elves against one person can win.
Such rules actually test the cooperation between partners.
Both sides had no objections to the rules. Soon, with the referee's whistle and warm cheers from the sidelines, the battle officially began.
Four white beams of light shined together, and the elves on both sides appeared.
In front of Xia Chen and Chi Hong are the Vulcan Moth and Bulbasaur respectively, while the elves of the owner and his wife are Kettle and Burning Earthworm.
Xia Chen frowned, these two elves... didn't seem to have any disadvantage against the Sunny Team.
Burning Centipede itself is an elf with dual attributes of fire insect. Not only is it not restrained by fire-based moves, it can also take advantage of the opponent's Sunny Day.
Even if its characteristic is [Fire Drawing], it can completely absorb fire-based moves for teammates!
The same is true for Hu Hu's insect rock attributes, and although this elf's offensive end is average, its defensive attributes are extremely bad.
What's even more outrageous is that it can also use a move called [Defense Divide] - it divides its own physical defense and special defense capabilities equally with the opponent's.
Of course, this opponent is not only an opponent, but also a teammate.
This move can perfectly make up for the defensive shortcomings of the output hand Burning Flame Centipede.
…………
Xia Chen quickly imagined the possible development of this battle in his mind, and chose the best solution that his two lineups could use to deal with his opponent.
He turned to look at Chi Hong, ready to communicate with him, but found that Chi Hong was also looking at him.
The two said in unison: "Take care of Hu Hu first!"
Looking into each other's eyes, they immediately understood that the other person's thoughts were the same as their own, and they looked at each other and smiled.
Turning their heads, the two of them gave the first order respectively.
"Burning bug, tailwind!"
"Bulbasaur, Angry Pink!"
The soldiers were so quick that neither of them gave any orders to impose targets. They both believed in their tacit understanding with the elves.
At the same time, the owner and his wife across from the rock venue also began to give instructions.
"Huhuhu, defense is even!"
"Burning Centipede, hold on!"
The four elves are pretty close in strength, they are all at the gym level and above, and their reactions are even faster.
The moment the command was given, the four elves started moving at the same time.
Because the opponent's two elves did not choose to attack, the Vulcan Moth's tailwind was released unimpeded during the flapping of its three pairs of wings.
A strange wind blown by flying energy blew from behind Vulcan Moth and Bulbasaur.
With the help of this gust of wind, the gorgeous flowers on the back of the Bulbasaur seem to secrete pollen a little faster.
Soon, bits and pieces of dark green powder flew towards the Burning Centipede on the wind.
Normally, if the angry powder is released so quickly and is traveling with the wind, there is a high probability that it will hit the target.
Unfortunately, the Flame Centipede was extremely conservative and chose to hold on at the beginning. The little bits of powder were absorbed by this translucent energy barrier and eliminated invisible.
After the barrier disappeared, the pot next to it happened to light up with a pale silver light.
The light condensed into substance and merged into the body of the burning centipede. Visible to the naked eye, a pale silver glow also lingered on the surface of the burning centipede.
Defensive deuce takes effect!
The thin-skinned and crispy Flame Centipede has gained nearly half of Huchu’s defensive attributes. This is an effect that can be achieved by at least two iron walls and instant amnesia!
In the first round of confrontation, the Tiannan couple, who had a better understanding of each other, had the upper hand.
However, Xia Chen and Chi Hong were not disappointed with this scene.
The Burning Centipede's use of Hold at the beginning is actually a bright card, but the reason why Chi Hong still uses Hypnotic Powder on it is for one purpose——
Let the opponent mistakenly think that the target you want to target is the Burning Centipede.
So he commanded decisively: "Miao Frog, risk your life and charge!"
Xia Chen also shouted: "Vulcan moth, storm!"
Bulbasaur, who was as big as a tank, took the lead in starting up. His short but thick four leg muscles opened and closed, and his entire body quickly rushed towards the direction of the Burning Centipede.
Although the weather at this time was not sunny and did not trigger its characteristic of doubling the speed under sunny weather [chlorophyll], with the blessing of the tailwind, Bulbasaur's overall speed was still very fast.
At least that's the case when it comes to the cumbersome Kettle and Burning Centipede.
At the same time, the Vulcan Moth also flapped its wings vigorously, using flight energy to gather a violent hurricane in front of it.
This is one of the only three weaknesses of the fire-worm attribute Burning Centipede.
At this moment, not to mention the audience on the sidelines, even the owner and his wife believed that the target of their fire was none other than the Burning Centipede.
This strategy plays right into their hands.
Young people, I'm afraid you don't know how tough the Burning Centipede, which has been blessed with equal defensive points, can be!
"Huchu, sticky net!"
"Burning centipede, flame whip!"
The sticky net used by Huchu is a relatively unpopular insect-type move, but the effect is not simple——
Lay a layer of sticky net under the opponent's feet. The elves on the field at this time will not be affected in any way, and the elves that are replaced later will fall into the net and slow down!
Popular understanding is that it is a slowed down version of invisible rock.
The elf Huchu plays a very limited role in doubles, and can only play the role of a tool.
After helping his teammates with defensive points, the most he can do is use this disgusting variation of moves.
If you are an elf with both offense and defense, it is actually a better choice to gather the Fire Bulbasaur with the Burning Centipede at this time.
Unfortunately, it couldn't, so the Flame Centipede had to fight alone.
Fierce flames spurted out from the yellow heating organ on its abdomen, and then quickly burned throughout the slender body of the Burning Centipede.
From a distance, it looks like a long whip made of flames.
The burning centipede used its body as a whip, and danced its densely packed centipede legs and suddenly whipped it towards the oncoming Bulbasaur, hoping to receive this all-out, life-saving collision head-on.
Seeing that a head-on confrontation with sparks hitting the earth was inevitable, Bulbasaur's figure suddenly stopped, and its four claws exerted force. It actually stopped the running body!
The rocks under my feet were torn apart due to the sudden "brake", and sand and dust flew into the sky.
Bulbasaur, bathed in rich energy, relied on inertia to complete the steering, and aimed at the pot that was spitting out a sticky web!
The storm condensed by the Vulcan Moth behind him also suddenly started, and the chaotic and violent airflow, under the control of the Vulcan Moth, also blew in the direction of Huhu with tacit understanding!
At this moment, the two men’s strategy is clearly revealed——
Their target of fire has never been the burning centipede, but the pot kettle that is no longer so hard after the defense capabilities have been separated!
…………
Bulbasaur's previous hypnotic powder was so deceptive that the two elves on the field never expected that their opponents would suddenly turn their guns.
Even though the trainer behind him immediately shouted for Huchu to retract into his shell, Huchu still failed to react.
In front of Bulbasaur, who was as big as a small tank, Huhuhu was like a Laotou Le at best, and was directly hit by the double-accelerating Bulbasaur without any suspense!
Then the [Storm] that came over completed the alley-oop and swallowed Huchu into the violent turbulence.
The turbulent airflow condensed into sharp blades and scraped against the body of the pot. Its limbs and head exposed outside the shell were severely damaged, and even its hard shell was left with countless fine scars by the sharp blades.
The Burning Centipede had no choice but to twist its body and whip the Bulbasaur with a flame whip, so as to make this confrontation less painful.
Although the fire element can cause double damage to Bulbasaur, the thick-skinned little tank can completely withstand the flame whip, but the Huchu, which has lost half of its defense, cannot withstand the collision and the storm.
An attack with powerful output moves.
The storm stopped, there was a loud crackling sound, the pot fell from the sky to the ground, and there was no more sound - losing the ability to fight!
Strong second kettle, this seems to be an incredible thing, but it is not so in operation.
Although Hu Hu is famous as a top-level human shield, it is extremely strong in double defense, but has pitifully low health and stamina.
After losing half of its defense ability, no ordinary elves can actually stand up to it. Being killed instantly by focused fire is not a fantasy.
In less than a minute after the game started, the "first blood" of this battle was already born, and warm cheers erupted from the sidelines.
The Tiannan Gym couple rarely sends their main Pokémon to compete in the Gym Challenge, which is destined to be of high quality.
The strength and tactics of the challengers are even more gratifying.
Of course, the object of joy was not Xia Chen, but Chi Hong.
After all, with Xia Chen's strength, there are countless outstanding performances compared to this one.
On the other hand, the strength displayed by this seemingly unfamiliar trainer was truly unexpected.
Not to mention her young age, Bulbasaur's strength has already reached the gym level.
What's even more amazing is that the two commands did not specify the attack target at all, which directly caused the gym leader to make a mistake in judgment.
And Bulbasaur's drifting is even more aura, and when combined with the Vulcan Moth's force, it makes the pot drop in an incredible second.