Provincial High School Tournament!
The first day of the tournament.
A new month had begun.
As usual, Lin Yu refreshed his weekly Entry.
A purple light flashed.
He'd gotten a purple-rarity Weekly Entry?!
[Purple Entry (Hidden Force Stack):
When equipped, every Fighting-type move deals an additional hidden force strike. Damage rises with each hit — 50% for the first strike, up to 3x the original damage at maximum!]
Hell yes!
Right before the tournament, he'd gotten an Entry perfectly suited for Riolu!
Every match would be a 2v2 battle.
For the early rounds, Lin Yu planned to send Riolu out first.
It had an unyielding spirit and feared no defeat.
Even after countless tough spars under Charmeleon's wing, it hadn't broken — it only grew braver.
It was now Level 14.
With Kaioken, Hidden Force Stack, Food Supply Station, and Lin Yu's own Aura Power backing it up… it absolutely had a fighting chance.
It was stacked with buffs!
On tournament day,
the lake surface remained calm —
except for hundreds of wooden platforms floating atop the water.
Crowds packed the shoreline. There were no proper spectator seats; everyone watched out in the open.
If the shore was full, people watched from the sky.
If the sky was full too… they just went home to watch the live broadcast.
In this world, Pokémon battles were the ultimate mainstream entertainment.
Competitors stood on diving-board-like platforms.
Lin Yu's first opponent was a girl.
Her Pokémon: the Grass-type Servine.
It seemed like an ordinary matchup…
until the referee appeared.
The entire crowd went silent, then exploded.
A towering Dragonite, over four meters tall, with a fierce scar across its face, soared through the sky.
Golden scales, powerful limbs, cold, sharp eyes.
There was no mistaking it.
Dragonite!
And the rider atop it…
was none other than the National Dragon-type Gym Leader of Xiang Province — Elite Four Ye Rong!
Nobody had expected
a mere high school tournament
to have an Elite Four-level Trainer as referee.
The entire arena ignited.
Especially the competitors —
they were pumped, practically foaming at the mouth to show off in front of an Elite Four.
[Food Supply Station —
After eating delicious food, gain a 30% Physical Attack boost for the next 30 minutes!]
Lin Yu's eyes lit up.
Now this was being fully buffed!
The outcome was far from certain!
Elite Four were on another level.
An ordinary commentator would have given a long, inspiring speech.
Elite Four Ye simply said, coldly:
"Begin."
"Go, Riolu!"
"Go, Servine!"
The newborn Riolu still looked small and inexperienced.
Ye Rong's brow furrowed.
With his eyes, he could tell at a glance — this Riolu was less than a month old.
He was letting a Pokémon this young compete in a high school tournament?
Its fighting spirit was admirable…
but spirit alone couldn't win battles.
Wait.
Ye Rong's gaze froze.
The early fight went exactly as he expected.
The two Pokémon stood on separate platforms.
Even though Servine felt much stronger, it stayed cautious.
It only used Razor Leaf.
Not to attack Riolu —
but to chip away at the wooden platforms around it.
Credit where it was due —
anyone who made it this far
was no pushover, especially in strategy.
Lin Yu saw her plan immediately.
She wanted to destroy all the platforms, leaving Riolu with nowhere to stand.
"Extreme Speed into Aura Sphere!"
Lin Yu commanded without hesitation.
"A Riolu this young can use Aura Sphere? Impressive."
Ye Rong nodded in approval.
Aura Sphere was typically a move only Lucario mastered.
But it wasn't unheard of.
Considering Lin Yu wielded Aura Power himself… it made sense.
Aura Power
was to Lucario
what Dragon Lord Power was to Dragonite.
When her plan failed, the girl didn't panic.
She seized the moment Riolu jumped and ordered Servine to use Leaf Tornado.
Clever, he had to admit.
She played it safe, keeping the Fighting-type Riolu out of melee range.
"Sigh… guess we have no choice."
Lin Yu muttered inwardly.
The 11-level gap was just too big.
So then…
[Kaioken — activate!]
A crimson aura erupted from Riolu's body.
Its power surged in an instant.
Riolu, who'd been mid-air and unable to change direction, suddenly fired an Aura Sphere away from Servine.
The speed was incomparable to before.
Using the recoil,
Riolu shot straight toward Servine and appeared right in front of it.
"What?!"
The opposing Trainer shrieked, but kept her cool. "Leaf Blade!"
But…
once Riolu was in melee range…
how could a Servine with only Leaf Blade stand a chance?
"Sonic Punch!"
Lin Yu chose the fastest move, followed immediately by Mega Punch.
After 2–3 stacks of Hidden Force,
Servine fainted instantly.
The complete reversal left the entire crowd stunned.
What they'd thought was a foregone conclusion
had flipped in a single instant.
"What the hell?!"
"How did that Riolu get that strong out of nowhere?!"
Even Ye Rong up above could barely believe his eyes.
What kind of technique was this?
Was Aura Power this powerful?
It had let a Late Basic-tier Riolu jump straight to Late Elite-tier?!
Don't underestimate that boost.
Right now it was Basic to Elite Peak…
but if this amplification held at every stage…
Once Riolu reached Elite Four level, could it jump to Champion?
Once Champion, to Guild Master?!
The previous Aura Hero was long dead…
but he'd been a Peak Elite Four-level Trainer.
Below,
Riolu was worn out after using Kaioken.
Lin Yu recalled it
and sent out Frogadier.
On a Water-type home field, it was only right to let Frogadier take over!
Only now did Lin Yu realize
just how fast Frogadier was in Water Metropolis.
[Water Aura] and [Water Healing] —
two blue-rarity Entries that both boosted speed.
On top of Champion-tier talent…
It practically surfed between the platforms, darting so fast
that the opposing Starmie, famous for its speed,
could only float helplessly in the water, unable to keep up.
Two Rasengans later, it was over.
"Match — Lin Yu wins!"
Ye Rong announced the result flatly.
But he couldn't deny it —
this boy
had more than earned his attention.