Pyrite Arena Battle Tournament.
A very straightforward name with no registration requirements, only a 1000 currency registration fee, and anyone can enter.
Baimu was naturally quite interested.
After all, the tournament events have a very strong Treasure Wind vibe, making him feel like he's genuinely living in the world of Pokémon animation, rather than in an Otherworld with Pokémon.
The tournament results can also let him understand what level he is in Pyrite Town.
Being at a Squad Leader Level in Quicksand Team doesn't mean he'll be at the same level in other powers; it could be higher or lower.
He checked the time again and found out that even though it's next month, there's actually only half a month left. After solving the issues in his area and settling his underlings, it should be about enough.
He departed with Flop on the hoverbike.
Baimu got the hang of this thing in just two days; balancing was a piece of cake for him given his physical condition, and things like shifting weren't much different from his previous life.
More importantly, there's no need to take a driving test—at least not in Pyrite Town.
Returning to the Quicksand Team's territory.
Baimu started his usual monotonous life again, except he developed a habit of going to Pyrite Arena for battles.
That's how it was.
Soon, he welcomed the moment when the simulator countdown ended again.
He adapted quite well by replaying Miniskirt's fighting experience every night, and once he fully comprehends it, he should be able to teach it to Mawile.
And her results in the top four are likely to give Baimu a very good start.
Hopefully, this simulation will have a good outcome.
He washed his hands and face and held Chansey in his arms, listening to her say "lucky" three or four times before clicking on the first option.
To be honest, doing Kanto and Johto two or three times in a row is a bit dull.
So this time he chose Hoenn.
After hesitating on gender, he chose female again, hoping to meet the Miniskirt who came to Hoenn to participate in the tournament.
Starting Pokémon—
Huh?
He blinked, and actually saw the figures of the three families from Hoenn above.
Torchic, Mudkip, and Treecko can all be chosen!
Baimu couldn't help but feel thrilled, his eyes darting between the three, eventually choosing Mudkip.
Speaking strictly in terms of passing the Gyms, Mudkip's final evolution has both Water and Ground Attributes, offering excellent coverage and resistance, making it unlikely to be too difficult regardless of the early or late stages.
Of course, if you're playing a game, it doesn't matter which one you choose. But in the context of an animation, it's better to consider comprehensively.
Then it's time to choose talents.
Knowing the importance of this, he eagerly clicked on it, hoping to see a Blue Talent again; the top four result should reward a Blue Talent, right?
Unfortunately.
He thought too much; last time getting a Blue Talent was really just his luck. This time, it was the same old friends appearing in front of him.
Fixed Talent:
[Novice (Slow progress in nurturing Pokémon)]
Choice Talent:
[Careless (Rough health management of Pokémon)]
[Elite System (Won't capture too many Pokémon)]
[Hot-blooded Youth (Always has a positive mindset)]
[Unyielding (Won't abandon Pokémon)]
This...
"Why is today so unlucky?"
Baimu murmured to himself, his voice not lacking disappointment.
Chansey in his arms didn't understand what her Trainer was saying but obediently sat still.
What's done can't be undone.
He couldn't change the talents he got, and he chose to give up on Careless and the mindless Hot-blooded Youth, deciding on Elite System and Unyielding.
A new round of simulation thus began.
But even though the new simulation subject appeared in Littleroot Town, Baimu didn't feel the kind of excitement of a perfect start as the previous two times.
"...Picnicker?"
He saw her outfit clearly, and couldn't help but think of the name of such Trainers.
Piccicker, also known as Hiker Girl, is the female Trainer role corresponding to Camper Boy, cute like Miniskirt in pixel form.
But truth be told, with Miniskirt standing out before, Baimu couldn't muster much interest in someone with only Ordinary Talent.
Perhaps the expectations were too high.
He thought to himself and started to watch Picnicker's little story.
However.
As time passed, ten minutes later.
Baimu gradually felt somewhat bored, seeing Picnicker successfully defeat the Martial Arts Gym and capture a Makuhita as her new Pokémon, he wasn't excited at all.
Why?
He realized it was because Picnicker's story was too ordinary.
Her story was like Baimu playing Emerald but removing all the major events in between, leaving only the challenges of Gyms, encounters in the wild, and capturing Wild Pokémon as the basic gameplay.
Of course, the various Gyms in Hoenn still have some novelty since he simulated Hoenn for the first time.
But that's all there was.
Pixel graphics greatly reduced the contents of Picnicker training Pokémon and interacting with them, leaving only some low-budget fight scenes and a few capturing new Pokémon frames.
It's calm and beautiful, with no burdens, a life journey with only one goal to strive for, a lifestyle that is very appealing but doesn't have much excitement.
Baimu couldn't decide what Picnicker would do, and could only watch it passively, naturally feeling bored, thinking that it wasn't as fun as playing the game himself.
However.
He understood that perhaps the Trainers' lives in other regions might be just like that; the kind of exciting and special life Miniskirt has is actually rare.
Finally, under his gaze, the Picnicker from Littleroot Town managed to defeat the eighth Gym—Adam, before the Ever Grande Conference and obtained the qualification to participate.
But considering how she barely won against eight Gyms, she obviously couldn't achieve very good results at the conference.
For those titans with the ability to compete for the championship, she was just a leaf amid a storm, wobbling and always at risk of capsizing.
She struggled through the preliminaries.
In the first round of the selection matches, she encountered a strong opponent, and luckily, her trump card Swampert burst seed during the match and won with the Torrential Trait.
That's where her luck ended.
[Simulation Ended]
Looking at these four big characters, Baimu couldn't feel more composed, as if he had just watched a nutrition-less short video.
"If I were living in an ordinary family in other regions and didn't have this Simulator Golden Finger, would I end up being just like Picnicker, completely indistinguishable from the masses?"
He inevitably started to imagine.
In his previous life, he wasn't considered an outstanding individual, nor was he a leader in any industry; even crossing to this world and eventually being submerged among the masses was very likely.
Bear in mind that the Champion is the only one among millions, overcoming countless enemies to grow to that point.
Can the Pokémon knowledge he acquired through games, animation, and encyclopedias help him reach the pinnacle?
"After all...I still don't want to be mediocre."
Baimu patted his cheek, further firming up his resolve to continue growing.
He felt this simulator not only brought him various rewards but also told him just how many Trainers are swallowed by history without making even a splash.
In the face of being the "main character," these people are just a bunch of background scenery.
Even as strong as Miniskirt, facing the future Four Heavenly Kings Kona, she has no power to resist.
He took a deep breath, looked at the rewards this time.
Picnicker's final result was thirty-two in the selection, which should be more generous than the first three times.
"—Oh ho?"
Baimu raised his eyebrows.
[Choice Reward 1: Increase any Pokémon by Level 3 (below Level 50)]
[Choice Reward 2: Clue for obtaining Pokémon (excellent)]
[Choice Reward 3: Ground Attribute Skill—random (select Pokémon to learn)]
[Choice Reward 4: Retain [Unyielding] Talent in the next simulation]
The top eight gave a reward to increase levels under seventy by two; thirty-two gave a reward to increase levels under fifty by three.
What does this prove?
It proves that elevating Pokémon around seventy is far more difficult than around fifty!
Otherwise, judged purely by level, the top four seem inferior to thirty-two.
This made Baimu realize a clearer understanding of nurturing Pokémon.
Although there wasn't a fixed skill machine reward this time, the skill reward in reward three became a random Ground Attribute, as for reward two's excellent Pokémon...
What does excellent mean?
High level? Relatively rare?
Baimu still has an unused specified attribute Pokémon, truly not lacking in this kind of thing.
When he selected rewards one and three, a line of text immediately appeared under the skill section—[Power of the Earth].
Power of the Earth?
Is this equivalent to drawing an SSR?