The Pyrite Arena Tournament has arrived as scheduled.
Even though it takes place annually, it has turned out to be more popular than Baimu had anticipated.
The reason, of course, lies in the generous prizes. Just by qualifying, participants can receive a Pokémon as a reward, and there are various Evolution Stones and precious items that entice many Trainers from Pyrite Town to participate eagerly.
The qualifying round is one-on-one, requiring only one Pokémon to have a chance at a satisfying reward.
Baimu arrived on the scene.
The hall was bustling with activity, the noise nearly bursting through the roof. The room was decked with banners and streamers, people from all walks of life crammed inside, each carrying different Pokémon.
They were swearing and queueing up to register, occasionally shouting to urge the person in front to hurry up.
Few people cut in line or rushed ahead; regardless of which group's members, all queued up properly from front to back.
This unusual sight further reminded him of the influence of the arena master, Ying Yuan.
Many from the Quicksand Team also chose to participate.
Unfortunately, he didn't see any familiar faces, considering he didn't know many people in the team, possibly counting them all with two hands and two feet.
The registration process was quick.
Before long.
Baimu received his participant ID card.
When the competition officially begins, he just needs to swipe it at the entrance to complete registration.
"I hope this tournament can provide the opportunity for you to evolve..."
He sat on a long bench, reaching out to stroke Lairon's head, "But is less than a month too short for you?"
"Gudo?"
Lairon tilted its head curiously, seeing the Trainer's mix of anticipation and concern.
It's well-known that a Pokémon's evolution can, to some extent, affect its personality.
The gentle and cute Charmander might turn arrogant, and there are cases where they rampage due to not adapting to their new bodies.
Baimu was worried he might be too hasty, affecting Lairon's development in various aspects.
Bear in mind, the doctor once said that Lairon is quite young; as a child, it's uncertain what changes might occur with continuous evolution in a short period, something he only experienced in Pokémon games.
Perhaps he should consult Dr. Yamanashi, who specializes in Pokémon evolution.
He thought to himself, pulling out his phone to tinker with it.
Phones are like the games and visual novels from his previous life without simplified Chinese; even if the language was incomprehensible, sometimes he could still struggle through, not to mention in the past month, Baimu had mastered quite a bit of the vocabulary.
Various apps unique to the Pokémon World were also installed by him.
For instance, the one he tapped into now—Poké Line—was akin to a chatting software like Penguin. There was also Poké Search, similar to a search engine, and Poké Blogger, akin to Twitter or Facebook...
They even have online shopping platforms.
And a plethora of other contents.
Baimu had to admit to himself that being in a fully developed Pokémon internet era, it was almost difficult to make money with those ideas from his past life.
He opened Poké Blogger, and the homepage recommended a selfie of the Gym Leader of Galar's Fistgate Arena—Raihan. This guy was so narcissistic, he even took photos of himself while brushing his teeth and posted them online.
The key point was, he had a huge amount of followers, with hearts left below his posts exploding with activity each time.
He clicked on the search bar, used his memory to find Dr. Yamanashi's profile, then navigated to the private message interface.
"Still no reply..."
Baimu sighed, as he had already pondered over Lairon's evolution questions for quite some time, and he had sent a private message to Dr. Yamanashi early on, hoping for a response.
Even a student or staff member managing his account would suffice!
Sadly, it was like a stone thrown into the sea.
Understandable, as anyone involved in research is always working non-stop, especially someone as renowned worldwide as Dr. Yamanashi.
Getting a reply would be a bonus; no reply, no loss.
He shut off his phone just as some arrogant individuals came his way, intending to force him to give up his seat, and he stood up, withdrawing Lairon before leaving.
It's time for the competition.
——
The qualifying rounds consisted of three matches.
After defeating three opponents, one could enter the preliminaries.
Although Lairon, with its two quadruple weaknesses, wasn't ideal for this one-on-one battle format, the goal of participating included both proving their strength and seeking a chance for Lairon's evolution.
At least one match must feature it.
Walking through the long hallway.
Baimu smoothly swiped his card and entered the area in front of him, the familiar semi-enclosed battle arena instantly came into view.
Over the past half-month, he had participated in arena battles quite a bit, from basic flat terrain to some special sand and water terrains that he had the luck to visit twice.
The only format he hadn't tried might be the wagering battles agreed upon by both parties beforehand.
That mode was too involved; during the battle, some onlookers even opened betting pools featuring the contenders, and the crazy behavior of gamblers during the match and their fierce faces when blocking the loser afterwards remained fresh in his memory.
The first round of the match.
The opponent belonged to some third-rate little organization, with uniforms that Baimu had never seen before.
These organizations often depend on other forces for existence, and the Quicksand Team also had subgroups like these responsible for managing areas with little to gain, occasionally helping with tasks inconvenient for the main team.
The situation was quite complex.
Of course, this was irrelevant for today's match.
As the red light on the wall turned green, Baimu released Mawile.
"Chidoo!"
"Frozen Fist!"
He glimpsed the opponent's Pokémon—Sandshrew—and didn't hesitate to give the order.
Mawile powered up its legs, and with a bang, it shot toward the opponent like a missile, the icy blue glow from its right fist leaving a long arc as it moved quickly.
It resembled a comet's tail streaking through the sky.
The opponent and their Sandshrew hadn't encountered such a swift attack before, the former just opening their mouth, "Rollout—"
The next moment.
Boom!
After being sent flying through a cloud of exploding white smoke, the Sandshrew was blown back into the wall with a thud and fell to the ground limp, with swirly eyes revealed.
Clearly, it was one-shot by Mawile.
"The level of the qualifying rounds really isn't high."
Seeing the opponent's shocked expression, Baimu understood.
The Pyrite Arena Tournament was indeed popular, but expecting participants at the level of top executives was impossible. Though they didn't have the position or power of a Celestial King, they had tempers that rivaled or even exceeded them.
They disdained participating in such small competitions.
Executives, perhaps, were the tournament's highest caliber, but probably not many.
All Baimu needed to do was see who he lost to and who he beat, then investigate the opponent's status within their force to gauge his strength level in Pyrite Town.
"Let's keep going."
He patted Mawile's head, and the latter playfully nudged him back.
As Lairon's strength increased and it became tougher, Mawile behaved much better than before. However, it also helped that they were more familiar with each other.
A couple of days ago, this guy even snuggled up with Chansey in his bed for a nap.
From Baimu's understanding, if a Pokémon is willing to get close to you without defenses during sleep, it means affability.