"Match Three, Arena Six! Li Song vs. Gu Qiu!"
In an instant, everyone in Arena Six looked up at the silent, handsome young man.
"My luck is trash… I actually drew Gu Qiu in the first round."
One boy stood frozen in disbelief.
First match.
Instant death bracket.
No one could be that unlucky… except him.
"Li Song! Try not to get one-shot!"
His friends burst out laughing.
Gu Qiu stood up calmly.
The preliminaries weren't stressful.
This was training.
Eevee and Vulpix had never experienced a large-scale tournament before.
Their battle experience was lacking.
That wouldn't do.
They were destined for the international stage.
Some Pokémon performed well in training—
Then completely collapsed under stadium pressure.
That came from lack of exposure.
Mindset mattered.
[System Notification: Training Strategy Insight Detected.]
[Task: Let Eevee participate in more than three battles today.]
[Reward upon completion: One Random Heavenly Flame (compatible with Flareon fusion).]
"…A random Heavenly Flame?"
Gu Qiu blinked.
He knew how terrifying Heavenly Flames were.
Xiao Yan practically reshaped the world with them.
And flame fusion explosions?
Ridiculous.
"Vulpix's first-phase task only requires winning preliminaries. It doesn't specify which Pokémon."
A smile appeared on his face.
Only Eevee hadn't fully risen yet.
Time to change that.
Gu Qiu stepped onto Arena Six.
"Gu… Gu Qiu… I… this is my first big tournament. Please go easy…"
Li Song looked utterly terrified.
A rookie.
"No problem. I'll use my weakest Pokémon."
The stadium was packed.
Gu Qiu felt nothing.
He was used to this.
Li Song wasn't.
He used to be a campus standout.
Now, standing beside Gu Qiu—
The gap was crushing.
"Go, Pidgey!"
Mid-tier aptitude.
Level 17.
Coincidentally—
Same level as Eevee.
"Eevee, let's go!"
Eevee appeared—
And the stadium erupted.
"GU QIU! GU QIU!"
His fanbase was massive.
Especially female fans.
In the crowd—
Mei was there.
She had bought a scalped ticket just to see him.
Watching him shine—
She felt a faint ache.
Will you still remember me…?
Elsewhere—
Fatty was fighting too.
"Watch this! Machamp, go!"
He'd rushed to Viridian early, thinking it was an easy bracket.
He was wrong.
He lost his first match.
Completely crushed.
He stood there questioning life.
Meanwhile—
Another arena.
Shirona's younger sister.
Glaceon.
Instant knockout.
Black horse of Arena Eight.
Back to Arena Six.
"Eevee!"
Eevee trembled.
So many people shouting Master's name.
So loud.
So overwhelming.
She looked at Gu Qiu anxiously.
"This is the battle stage. You have to overcome your fear."
His mental voice gently soothed her.
Her breathing steadied—
A little.
Li Song was worse.
"Ba… battle format: 2v2. All Pokémon fainted equals defeat."
"Begin!"
"Eevee, Quick Attack!"
"Eevee!"
She cried out—half courage, half fear.
She dashed forward—
And missed.
Wide.
Li Song exhaled in relief.
Eevee froze.
She had messed up.
Was Master disappointed?
"Don't be afraid. Everyone grows at their own pace. Believe in yourself."
He wasn't surprised.
Eevee was timid by nature.
Unlike Vulpix's outgoing personality.
She was only confident around familiar companions.
That was his oversight.
He needed to expose her to the world more.
Build confidence.
Let her shine.
"And after we win… we'll need to buy a Fire Stone if we're fusing a Heavenly Flame."
Step by step.
Growth first.
Power later.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
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