Chapter 338: So Annoying!
Many people had predicted that the Demon King Team would lose, but no one could have imagined they would lose so miserably, so utterly defeated.
Their captain was shut out, and after four matches, they were down 0-9.
It was as if the word "pathetic" had been carved onto their faces.
"The reign of the old 'big three' might very well come to an end this year."
Watching the broadcast, Captain Leo couldn't help but let out a sigh filled with the weight of time.
He had been a professional player for over ten years, and the decade he had experienced was precisely the decade of the old guard's decline.
From their successive failures in international competitions, which drew heavy criticism, to the rise of more and more new teams within the league, the number of challengers grew year by year.
Back when Leo had first gotten into competitive Pokémon, the Demon King Team was a true, bona fide demon king. But now, ten years later, the former demon king had been reduced to a stepping stone for others to climb.
It made him feel a wave of melancholy.
"The professional circuit of the Kubfu Alliance is finally about to change…"
And he was happy to see it.
He also disliked the pragmatic, tactical, and tool-like approach to Pokémon that the old guard embodied. Otherwise, he would have had a chance to transfer to the Demon King Team to be a main singles player back in the day.
Back then, Leo had also won Best Rookie. Who wasn't a genius in their youth?
In the end, the opening match concluded with the Blaze Team crushing the Demon King Team with a massive 13-2 point difference!
The Demon King Team only managed to win a single doubles match. In the final captain's battle, their captain, having already fought against Zhuge Feng and with his Pokémon in poor condition, was defeated by the Blaze Team's captain with a four-point difference!
In this one competition, the Demon King Team's captain had lost a total of seven points!
A true reverse MVP!
You could predict that he would have to block his social media for a day or two after getting back.
For the opening match of the season to feature such a massive score difference seemed to signal that this season's league would have a whole new look.
A few days later, the league welcomed its first weekend match day of the season.
Arthur and his team set out on Friday, heading to the Otter Team's home city.
They would be facing the Otter Team in an away game this Saturday.
Before the match, the online consensus was mostly in favor of the Otter Team.
Even with the restructuring, the team's name alone was enough to retain a loyal fanbase.
Not to mention, in the recent Devon Cup preseason, this new Otter Team had made a spectacular debut, winning the championship!
The Blaze Team's dominant performance on the first day had only boosted the Otter fans' confidence—after all, the Otter Team had beaten the Blaze Team in the Devon Cup to win the title!
If the runner-up is this strong, then what does that make us, the champions?
And although Starlight and Frost also had a high level of popularity and a large fanbase, people generally felt that this team was too young.
The average age of their singles division was under thirty! And that was with Aaron hiding his real age.
Plus, with the players being generally very good-looking, the preseason posters made the Starlight and Frost team look more like a pop idol group than a professional sports team…
But despite all this, their own team's morale remained extremely high!
Under Arthur's influence, this team's fighting spirit was now exceptionally vigorous. Even Bella, the slacker who used to just want to be carried by her partner, was now fired up.
On the day of the match, the outdoor stadium was once again packed, a sea of people as far as the eye could see!
Every player was met with cheers as they took the stage, and the applause and screams for Arthur were particularly intense.
He was now, without a doubt, a star player!
Compared to this time last year, when he had faced the Otter Team's rain-and-thunder combo, his small group of fans had even been cyberbullied for defending him.
But a year later, that would never happen again!
In the past year, with his solid personal achievements, his popularity had skyrocketed by at least tenfold!
Now, no other fanbase had the power to overwhelm his fan club. This group of devoted fans, who were always clamoring to be Arthur's "godfathers," was an incredibly formidable force. Not long ago, they had proudly joined forces to pressure the league into amending a law—referring to the Charicific Valley incident, after which the league had revised the placement methods for meritorious Pokémon. Arthur's fans had played a huge part in that.
Nothing could stop this loyal army of fans on their crusade! Unless you posted lewd pictures of Suicune…
And this year, the legend continued!
However, according to the head coach's tactical arrangement for today, Arthur was not starting in the first round.
Leading the charge today was Aaron.
And his first opponent was Luna!
The commentators were initially analyzing with a smile.
"It seems Starlight and Frost has failed in their sacrificial play. This matchup is probably the one they wanted to see the least."
The "sacrificial pawn" strategy is a common tactic in the singles segment. The commentator meant that Aaron was likely the one being sacrificed in Starlight and Frost's strategy. They guessed that Starlight and Frost had wanted to use Aaron to take out the Otter Team's strongest main player besides their captain, Serena.
This way, even if Aaron was shut out, they could at least secure the other two matches.
The commentators were very confident in their analysis. In the Otter Team's home stadium, they weren't afraid of being booed for their biased statements, which only made them more brazen.
But before this match began, Arthur and the others had given Aaron their most trusting gazes.
"You got this!"
"You can do it!"
"Put down the thermos! You can win!"
At the end of their encouragement, Arthur said to Aaron seriously, "Don't forget the three-year goal we agreed on, and don't forget the Pokémon who will always acknowledge and follow you!"
If a goal is truly too distant and impossible to achieve, it's fine to give up. But Arthur had already shown him with his own carefree yet proactive attitude: your goal is not that far away!
And so this time, Aaron took a deep breath, and before stepping into the arena, he finally put down his thermos without any burden.
The first round began.
And this time, unlike in the Devon Cup, Aaron's presence was completely different!
In the first round, he confidently sent out his ace, Garchomp!
Facing him was Luna's ace: Empoleon!
A duel between aces!
The clash of Steel Wing and Dragon Claw!
From the very start, both Pokémon fought with incredible ferocity. With or without moves, their attacks were relentless. Neither was willing to back down an inch!
It made the blood pump, and the crowd roared with excitement!
At first, both commentators were overwhelmingly in favor of Luna's Empoleon.
"Based on past match experience, the player Aaron is generally not suited for this kind of high-intensity clash. He'll probably choose to back down subconsciously before long!"
But this time, the commentators' prediction was completely wrong.
The high-intensity clash had already lasted for a full three minutes!
Both sides were commanding non-stop, without a moment's rest!
And yet, in the midst of this onslaught, Aaron did not retreat.
Before the commentators could even realize they had been proven wrong, Luna, on the field, was the first to sense that something was off!
The close-combat style of Aaron's Garchomp was simple, efficient, and fearless. It gave her a strange and very familiar sense of déjà vu.
It wasn't until several minutes into the fight that she finally realized—
Isn't this the exact same fighting style as that brat Arthur? It's practically identical, as if they were taught by the same person!
And then she remembered: Arthur was now on the opposing team.
Sigh, this is so annoying!
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