"Even though I know the competitors in a bullfighting event—especially the 'bull-side' competitors—obviously aren't limited to bovine Pokémon…"
"Still, stuff like Miltank and Gogoat showing up is… barely reasonable."
"But how did an Escavalier end up here? Since when is a snail a bull? And isn't this guy here without a visa?!"
"If you're gonna say that, then the little snail counts as a bull too!"
It wasn't until the spectacle officially began that Hikaru realized just how wild the roster really was.
Anything that could be vaguely associated with "bulls" had shown up—and plenty that had nothing to do with bulls had shown up too!
Especially that random Escavalier from who-knows-where. If a snail actually took the title of Champion Bullfighter, where was the dignity of all those even-toed ungulates supposed to go?
Still, it wasn't all bad. Bug/Steel is 4× weak to Fire, and among Paldea's three regional Tauros breeds, Paldean Tauros (Blaze Breed) perfectly countered that walking tin-can snail.
Hikaru didn't train like Dendra, grinding nonstop even on the day before the match. Instead, he made everyone get a full night's rest—he didn't even log into the Dream World.
Rest properly, and tomorrow you could muster your strength and bring out one hundred and twenty percent of your power!
"Sure, with Dendra's method—training like crazy the day before, chasing a breakthrough—when it's time for the real match, you'll often get that last-second epiphany and suddenly create a brand-new finishing move."
"And on our journey, that kind of thing happens all the time too. That 'break through at the last moment' feeling really is amazing."
"But whenever the protagonist is cornered, you get the flashback montage, the life-flashing-before-your-eyes, the friendship punch, the sudden power spike—then they throw out some totally illogical, purely hype-driven punch. It's exciting, sure… but you have to be careful."
"If you're facing an opponent who's in great condition, experienced, and calm under pressure… even a newly awakened high-power move can fail!"
Using the rock-solid fundamentals forged by decades of unbroken training to smash all the flashy nonsense—that was a true grandmaster.
A martial artist once said something like—
How foolish. Your last-minute scrabbling doesn't work on me!
"None of these viewpoints are absolutely right, and none are absolutely wrong. The outcome just depends on the situation—and the kind of enemy you're facing."
"Of course, this bullfighting tournament is basically on the level of one of Ash's roadside competitions. For an ordinary Trainer, it's just the right intensity—confusing, but not brain-melting. For a professional, everything before the main event is basically skippable."
"The only things that matter are the seeded contenders in this tournament."
Hikaru casually looked into some past champions and found they were the type who competed in events like this every single year.
Just like Grusha—before he became a Pokémon Trainer, his specialty was alpine snowboarding.
And in Johto's Pokéathlon, there were people who trained their bodies specifically so they could become world-class athletes through competition.
So Pokémon battling wasn't everything.
For some athletes, Pokémon battles were just seasoning in their everyday lives. Unless something truly life-changing happened, they generally didn't switch careers into the Trainer world.
"Still, for the sake of participant safety, bullfighting remains a battle between Pokémon and 'bull-type' Pokémon. Supposedly, in a much older era, Trainers would ride Gogoat, using lances and red cloths to maneuver around Tauros."
But that sort of thing was only for professionals.
For hundreds of years, the sport had been seen as a symbol of courage and valor, and it was especially popular among the aristocracy.
Yeah—most locals didn't have professional training. For them, bullfighting was a seriously dangerous venue. If it was just for entertainment, there was no need to risk getting your bones shattered by stepping into the ring personally.
The opening ceremony had been yesterday, but today still had the host segment, the guest speeches, and all that. Hikaru heard the title "Principal of Naranja Academy" and looked toward the raised platform in the distance.
The man's face was… unremarkable. A dark gray buzz cut, dark rectangular glasses, a well-fitted suit, and a moustache shaped like a straight line.
Hikaru recognized him immediately.
"That's Harrington, the former principal of Naranja Academy. He knows Clavell, but it doesn't look like the kind of closeness Clavell has with Cyrano. More like friends, not close friends."
"After Operation Starfall began, Harrington resigned as principal. He felt guilty toward Team Star, and ended up serving as the private butler and tutor of Ortega, one of Team Star's bosses—leader of the Fairy Crew."
"Even though he feels guilty, he also mentioned that the records from back then were erased by the guidance counselor and so on…"
"Honestly, the teachers and staff back then all turned a blind eye to bullying and that kind of rot. If he was principal and didn't stop it—either he was incompetent, or he was so thoroughly sidelined he couldn't stop it. Either way, it means he didn't do the job well, and he wasn't fit for the position."
Harrington was here as a special guest. After all, Cortondo Town was right next to Naranja Academy. As the former principal of both Naranja Academy and its sister school, Uva Academy, he had to show his face at a major festival like this—especially since plenty of locals had once been academy students.
Still, although he looked cheerful on the surface, there was an unshakable gloom between his brows. Maybe Geeta-san had chewed him out again.
After all, Geeta had muttered before about doing a "major cleanup" at the school—since she was also the academy's "chairwoman."
"Even this bullfighting tournament has academy sponsorship, huh… Yeah… the speech energy is… I'm getting sleepy just listening."
"Char… cadet!" Charcadet clung to the stands. It didn't understand what the man was saying from so far away, but it listened with intense focus.
At last, Harrington—speaking as Naranja Academy's representative—announced the mysterious prize for the champion of this tournament.
"Char… cadet?!" Charcadet stared at the suit of armor shining in the distance and froze at the edge of the stands.
"To offer an ancient suit of armor awarded for great deeds as the mystery prize… that's Auspicious Armor!"
Hikaru saw it too—that gleaming golden armor.
Unlike most old, timeworn sets of Auspicious Armor, this one gleamed brilliantly, clearly preserved in excellent condition.
It even seemed to shine with an almost pure gold luster.
"Auspicious Armor really is golden-yellow. It's just that most sets have been battered by time until the color becomes old and dull."
"If Charcadet gets Auspicious Armor, it can evolve into Armarouge. But the battered armor you're wearing—the deeds you've piled up in that—might already far surpass what that prize represents, don't you think?"
"You can already forge your own Auspicious Armor. Do you really still need it?"
Hikaru looked at Charcadet. Charcadet slowly shook its head.
This armor had appeared at the wrong time.
If it were the old me, maybe I would've reached out and touched it right away… and evolved.
But now, I have a better choice.
Hikaru smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah—evolve with your own armor. You're about to face that moment soon, too. Every deed of merit represents light and strength. When that power gathers on your armor and becomes a kind of psychic force—when it reacts to the feeling of celebration…"
"I think Auspicious Armor you forge yourself will be stronger than armor you get from someone else."
"But… putting that aside."
Hikaru rubbed his chin, watching Charcadet—brimming with energy—as it enthusiastically interacted with the Falinks.
Auspicious Armor, Malicious Armor… in the end, they were still just ancient armors. Charcadet represented a knight-in-training. Receiving armor represented deeds of merit, or a knighthood ceremony.
And Charcadet only had two evolution paths because Paldea only had these two armors.
But in other regions…
"The legendary armor that lets one cling to life—Armor of Eternal."
"The legendary armor that grants ageless immortality—Armor of Gold."
If you named them following the logic of "Auspicious Armor"…
Would they be called Undying Armor and Golden Armor?
If Charcadet touched those two armors, would it gain new evolutions?
Based on what those two armors did in the special chapters and side stories…
They'd probably become—
The Undying Demon King, and The Golden Tyrant?
But that was just a thought experiment.
Even though Hikaru understood the techniques needed to make them, he didn't have the complete materials. Even with Heatran's molten steel, that was only the foundation.
"Besides Auspicious Armor, what other mystery prizes are there? After all, the Trainers bringing Charcadet into this bullfighting tournament are a minority. For most people, that armor is just a bonus."
"Because the deeds carved into that armor aren't theirs. It's probably some ancient general's armor."
And Hikaru had a feeling—despite the distance—that the Auspicious Armor had already sensed Charcadet's presence.
The intention was unmistakable. The emotions hidden inside that suit of armor wanted an inheritor, so it was shining—calling to Charcadet to come and touch it!
Yet Charcadet only glanced at it once and then stopped paying attention.
That left the armor itself confused.
Such a powerful warrior—why won't you come touch me? Let me merge with you, so we can become an even stronger form together?
Leaving aside the Auspicious Armor's panicked hurry-hurry-hurry mood…
Hikaru, Charcadet, and the Falinks all turned their attention to the rest of the prizes.
"Ah! There it is—just like I thought. A full year's worth of Pokémon food!"
That prize showed up in basically every competition. A year's supply of Pokémon food could save an ordinary Trainer a massive amount of money.
And in the anime, the most memorable example was—
Didn't Ash win something like that once, only for Snorlax to eat it all?
Besides that, there were similar prizes like a "full set of nutritional drinks."
"Huh?! What's that?"
Hikaru suddenly spotted something actually useful.
In the prize display, next to the year's supply of Pokémon food, there was a "secondary prize."
And that item was—
Radiant Vegetables!
"Operated and promoted by Levincia, grown in Mistralton City of the Unova League—top-quality vegetables of the highest grade! Both humans and Pokémon can enjoy them. Eat them, and your strength will multiply! For some reason, in Paldea—where Terastal energy is abundant—these vegetables seem even more beneficial to physical and mental health!"
"Be sure to verify the anti-counterfeit label. Radiant Vegetables are endorsed by the Pokémon known as Calyrex!"
Then the arena's jumbo screen cut to a scene of Iono selling the product on stream!
"No wonder she's a mega-streamer. Even if she isn't as explosively famous as she gets in the Scarlet/Violet era yet, her professionalism is absolutely on another level!"
Hikaru quickly sent Iono a message, and she replied almost immediately:
[Tee-hee-hee! You saw it, huh! So? Iono's promo~ is~ pretty~ good, right~! I told you, for Radiant Vegetables' promotion deal, you can totally relax!]
[As long as Iono's doing the selling, Levincia will fully back you up! Just like you said, the partnership with Mistralton City has been super smooth~!]
[And putting high-quality food like this up as prizes at a major tournament makes people way more curious! Even if they don't win the prize, later in daily life they'll keep seeing Radiant Vegetables ads—bam, you've implanted the positive impression of "this is a good product"!]
[Just like Pokémon food—sure, you can buy it normally, but if it's good enough to be a tournament prize, then obviously the quality's better and everyone expects it more, right? Of course the price is gonna be a liiiittle higher too~!]
[And Calyrex's popularity will keep rising too, thanks to the exposure from this tournament!]
Looking at the Calyrex logo on the Radiant Vegetables crates—too far away to see clearly—it looked like an image styled to be more easily accepted in Paldea.
"Nice. Handing this to Iono really was the right call. Honestly, does this place's tourism marketing just run entirely on Iono?"
And with that, Harrington's prize promotion was basically done.
Sure, there were truly special prizes awarded based on placement, but most competitors weren't paying attention anymore.
High prize money, a year's worth of food, and vegetables—that was more than enough!
"Those extra rewards are clearly aimed at Trainers with specific niche needs."
"Okay, our match is… the first one!"
"Let's start with a bang!"
With the boom of ceremonial cannons and fireworks, the bullfighting tournament officially began. Around the arena were many competitors waiting for their turn. Most were "cowgirl" and "rancher uncle" types.
But there were also martial artists, hikers, researchers—even students from the Paldea academy.
Hikaru's first-round opponent was a currently enrolled student.
Yet the guy wasn't young at all—he was scruffy and bearded, a dark-skinned heavyset man.
And he was one of the rare in-game "Tauros specialist" Trainers!
[Student "Kojiro," challenges you!]
"Kojiro from West Province (Area Three) is one of the best Tauros experts. An older academy student. He uses Paldean Tauros (Combat Breed). In Scarlet/Violet, it's Level 29. Its Ability is either Intimidate or…"
"Anger Point!"
"Moooo!" The dark-coated Combat Breed Tauros charged onto the battlefield, and the crowd roared—along with Kojiro himself, burning with excitement!
"Tauros, use Double Kick on Charcadet!"
(End of Chapter)
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