At the venue of the Guangdong Provincial High School Tournament, next door.
"Dammit! Why does he grow this fast?!"
Watching Frogadier dominating the livestream, Qing Fei's eyes bulged, veins popping on his forehead.
If Frogadier was already this strong…
then what about Charmeleon?
Charmeleon must be even more terrifying!
"Arcanine, next match — I'm giving you a shot. Take the opponent out in one move."
"Ar…"
The Gym-tier Arcanine whined softly. Once a Pokémon that symbolized justice…
now it was forced to choose between loyalty and unethical battles.
Taking them out in one move…
meant attacking with no regard for the harm inflicted on the enemy Pokémon.
March 4th.
Water Metropolis.
The 128-person tournament
was filled with battles between Elite-tier and even Gym-tier Pokémon.
Naturally, it dragged on for a long time.
Repairing the battlefield after each match took time as well.
So the first round alone lasted three full days.
A new month had begun.
Perfect time to check the Monthly Entry!
A red light flashed.
[Red Entry (Precious Pokémon Guidance):
One-time use. Upon activation, it dissipates into Entry Coins. Grants guidance to a Pokémon with Elite Four-tier talent or higher. Note: High chance of summoning a Pseudo-Legendary!]
A one-time Entry…
Another Elite Four-tier talent Pokémon?
And a high chance for a Pseudo-Legendary?
Lin Yu's lips curled into a grin.
But he didn't activate it right away.
For one thing, the tournament was still going. For another, Riolu hadn't become a proper fighting force yet.
Resources were still pretty tight.
Since he'd opened the Entry, he couldn't skip the Shop.
To be honest, Lin Yu hadn't had much hope in the Shop for a while.
The Entry Shop refreshed, sure…
but with [Wish Come True], it was hard to break the system.
Don't ask why.
Last time, he spent 100 Entry Coins trying to refresh a [Champion-tier Talent].
All he got was a waste of coins.
That taught him:
The limit for [Wish Come True] was one fulfilled wish per month.
In other words, refreshing over and over did nothing.
He could only refresh once per day.
The Shop was as plain as ever today.
But Lin Yu refreshed it anyway, out of habit.
[Weakened Bone Spirit Cold Fire]:
Forged from the host's deepest desire, a special transcendental flame. Stackable. Cost: 1000 Entry Coins.
Lin Yu's eyes lit up.
More flames were always better for Charmeleon!
He checked his balance: exactly 1099 Entry Coins.
Without hesitation, he bought another batch of Bone Spirit Cold Fire for Charmeleon.
This was one of his wishes, after all.
If one wish didn't work out…
he had to cast a wide net and take whatever came through.
After infusing the flame into Charmeleon…
something unexpected happened.
Charmeleon jumped two levels in a row, reaching Level 32, and its talent rose again!
Charmeleon was overjoyed.
It had originally been Elite Four-tier, but now it hit Champion-tier.
As the oldest member of the team,
it had been with Lin Yu the longest. But now Frogadier was catching up.
Now the pressure was on Kirlia.
It was the only one left without Champion-tier talent!
Thankfully, Kirlia didn't care much about that.
It believed Lin Yu just hadn't found a suitable treasure for it yet. When he did, he wouldn't leave it behind.
Put simply…
Kirlia was happy just being by Lin Yu's side~
So his next wish…
Lin Yu silently prayed for a treasure or Entry that could raise everyone's talent,
after sensing Kirlia's feelings.
In the second round, third round, and beyond…
Lin Yu kept the same strategy.
Send Riolu out first to battle, then let Frogadier finish the job.
Through this training,
Riolu won some and lost some…
but its experience fighting all kinds of Pokémon skyrocketed.
Its strength improved by leaps and bounds.
In just one week,
it hit Level 16!
Lin Yu advanced to the top 16.
After days of matches, the Water Metropolis crowd had gotten to know the remaining contestants.
Some stood out with unforgettable personalities.
Lin Yu was one of them.
He couldn't help it.
His style was too unique!
He didn't look like someone fighting for the championship —
he looked like he was only there to train Riolu.
"Is Frogadier competing today?"
"Yep! That Frogadier is so cool, and it's a Shiny! Its battles are like performance art!"
"I know! Its Water Pulse is ridiculously strong!"
"It moves just like a ninja! So awesome!"
"Are you guys only watching Frogadier? I love Riolu more! It improves every single match!"
"Is this what a genius Trainer looks like? He's actually letting a new Pokémon grow during a real tournament… Riolu changed so much in such a short time…"
The crowd buzzed with discussion.
The matches were far more exciting than the opening rounds.
Everyone had their favorite contender.
"Hm… guess I can't send Riolu out anymore."
Lin Yu stood by the lake fence, watching the remaining contestants battle.
Many of their Pokémon
had already reached Gym-tier!
As expected of all the geniuses from across Xiang Province, gathered in one place.
It wasn't that Riolu had no chance of winning…
but the odds were tiny.
Even a Pokémon with unshakable faith would start doubting itself after too many losses.
"Then Frogadier and…"
"Lord Lin Yu! Can we have your autograph?!"
Before Lin Yu could decide who to send next,
two adorable twin little girls ran over, holding out a pink pen!
Lin Yu smiled gently.
As a top-16 finalist in the Provincial Tournament,
in a world ruled by Trainers,
he was already pretty famous.
Especially when he was good-looking!
"Sure thing, kids. But don't call me 'lord' — call me brother. Where should I sign?"
How could he say no to such cute kids?
"Here! Here~!"
The two girls pointed happily at their own cheeks.
Lin Yu hesitated for a second, then gently wrote his name on their faces.
He'd finally made up his mind about which Pokémon to send next.