Chapter 337: The Opening Match
Because of Little Eevee's sudden evolution, Arthur's entire Spring Festival plan was thrown into disarray.
The Abby Phenomenon only manifests when an Eevee is young; it stabilizes as they grow older. So, the training had to start early.
In an instant, Arthur abandoned all his holiday plans and returned to his twelve-hour-a-day training routine.
Although it was grueling, watching Little Eevee's rapid progress was very rewarding.
It was, as they say, a painful joy.
Spurred on by his insane work ethic, the teammates who had gone home for the holidays all returned early, one after another.
On only the fifth day of the official holiday, Justin returned to the club and was surprised to find signs of life in the dormitory area.
After putting down his luggage, he was just about to go find Brother Arthur when he ran into Senior Aaron from the singles division.
"Senior, you didn't go home for the Spring Festival?" Justin asked, surprised.
Aaron, holding his thermos, explained with a cheerful smile.
"My family situation is a bit special. I can never stay home for long. What about you? Why are you back so early? Not going to finish the holiday at home?"
Justin scratched his head sheepishly.
"I… also have a bit of a special situation."
Just as he finished speaking, the door to the neighboring dorm opened, and Captain Leo walked out.
"Uh… Happy New Year. Why are you guys back so early too?"
Aaron and Justin looked at each other and said in perfect unison.
"We have… a bit of a special situation."
The captain nodded with a cheerful smile.
"Is that so? Hehe, actually, me too. A bit of a special situation, so I came back early. Sigh, I really didn't want to. The holiday isn't even over. The others probably—"
But just as he mentioned the others, Kevin came up the stairs, carrying takeout.
"Uh, you guys—?"
Leo, Aaron, and Justin looked at each other.
"We… have a special situation!"
As for the most special person of all—Arthur—he hadn't left the club base at all during the holiday.
And just like that, under Arthur's unconscious influence, the entire Starlight and Frost team had, without realizing it, started to grind!
A few days later, Bella, Alex, and the sisters Ivy and Bianca all returned one after another.
When the official holiday ended, the headmistress-like head coach, who had returned to the base on time, was shocked to find that she was the last one to arrive!
In all her years of coaching, this was the first time something like this had happened. She was completely stunned.
Was this the same Starlight and Frost team of zen-like slackers she had taken over last year? Their attitude had changed so much she almost didn't recognize them.
Thinking this, during the strategy meeting, she couldn't help but let her gaze linger on Arthur for a few extra seconds.
But Arthur, the originator of this "grind culture," was still completely oblivious.
The headmistress then picked up her marker, habitually tapped the whiteboard behind her, and signaled that it was time to get down to business.
"Everyone has been very proactive in their training lately. I'm very satisfied with that. This is good."
"The new season will be starting soon. The format has been confirmed: this year's league will continue to use the Devon Cup's format. In addition, a tiebreaker rule has been added. If there's a tie, both sides will send out a main singles player to compete in a 12-on-6 match. From this, we can confirm that the Champions Cup reform for next year is a done deal."
"Also, to cope with the new regulations, there will be a short transfer window after the regular season this year, allowing teams to loan players to each other. The specific personnel transfers are the responsibility of the team's management, but as the head coach, I still have some say. I don't want to be in a position where I have to recommend that some of you be loaned out! I hope that I can take you, every single one of you present, all the way to the playoffs, and even to the Champions Cup!"
The headmistress's words were as blunt as ever, but her final wish was incredibly sincere.
Under the new format, every team was stretched thin for main singles players. The original substitutes now had more stable opportunities to play.
The opportunities were there. It was just a matter of whether they could seize them.
Arthur inadvertently glanced at Aaron and noticed that, for a rare moment, the thermos in his hand was closed.
It meant that his heart was also stirring with excitement!
Arthur thought this was a good thing.
Time flew by, and soon it was February.
The new season of the professional league was finally about to begin!
The opening match of the league was a showdown between last year's champion and runner-up: the Blaze Team versus the Demon King Team.
And according to the announced schedule, Arthur's first match was on the weekend of the first week. Their opponent was the formidable Otter Team!
Seeing this schedule, Arthur couldn't help but smile.
He still remembered that his very first professional match last year had also been against the Otter Team. At the time, as a doubles player, he had faced their rain-and-thunder combo.
A year had passed. Now he was on a new team, and the Otter Team had also undergone a major restructuring. Coincidentally, his first match this year was still against them.
You could only say that fate works in mysterious ways.
With a regular daily training schedule, time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, the new season had begun!
This year's opening match wasn't scheduled for a weekend, but the popularity and viewership on the first day were still sky-high!
Unfortunately, the actual match was a bit of a disappointment for the audience.
The Demon King Team, which had been able to fight the Blaze Team to a standstill in last year's playoff finals, was completely slaughtered in their first match this year.
They lost the first two singles matches right from the start. In the third match, they sent out their captain early to try and turn the tide, only to run into the monster known as Zhuge Feng, who, for the first time, seriously opened his eyes.
This one battle confirmed Arthur's earlier speculation from the Devon Cup—the Pokémon Zhuge Feng had used initially were indeed not his mains.
Today, he finally brought out his two main Pokémon: a pseudo-legendary Salamence, and a jackal-headed Lucario!
Both Pokémon were, without exception, at the captain level!
This completely stunned the Demon King Team's captain.
He had originally hoped to conserve his strength, using some second-tier Pokémon to secure a win while keeping his ace in good condition for the later captain's match.
But he never expected to be so thoroughly schooled.
In the first round, with both sides sending out their Pokémon blindly, the Demon King's captain got greedy and didn't use his ace. This gave Zhuge Feng's Salamence the opening it needed to successfully set up a Dragon Dance.
This one small oversight led to a complete collapse!
The captain-level Salamence, with its Dragon Dance buff, nearly swept the entire Demon King team's roster!
After defeating two of his opponent's Pokémon, Zhuge Feng used his mid-battle switch to recall Salamence and sent out his second captain-level Pokémon, Lucario.
This completely broke the spirit of the Demon King captain and their fans.
By the time it ended, Zhuge Feng hadn't lost a single Pokémon.
He, a mere rookie, had shut out the captain of a veteran powerhouse team!
The stadium instantly exploded. Watching the live broadcast, Arthur and his team could almost feel the despair and oppression from the Demon King's home stadium.
After the singles matches, the Demon King Team was trailing 0-7. A disastrous start!
And things didn't improve in the doubles segment. Chloe and Rosaline, with their new tactics for the season, took the stage.
Chloe's Clefable had abandoned its signature luck-based Metronome and had transitioned into a taunter role with Follow Me, supporting Rosaline's Lickitung, whose tongue lashed out like a whip, a five-hit combo of licks that made the opponents yelp.
The Demon King Team had been careless.
And so, they lost the first doubles match as well.
The score difference widened to 0-9!
Some players might have still been fighting, but their match was already over…
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