Upon arriving at school on Monday, Wang Xin specifically thanked Jiang Chen. Although Wang Xin didn't win the championship in the competition held at Yulan Mall yesterday, she did win the runner-up prize, which was quite substantial. The reward included three million Alliance Coins, as well as Energy Cubes and Poké Balls. If Jiang Chen hadn't helped her register, she probably wouldn't have even been able to sign up.
"Who defeated you? Was it someone from Tianhai Pokémon Academy?" Jiang Chen asked Wang Xin curiously. Could it be Mo Yangjia and Qian Le? Their rankings had always been above Wang Xin's.
"It wasn't them. They didn't even manage to sign up." Wang Xin shook her head. Although they went yesterday, they didn't register and only went to watch the excitement. "The opponent was from Lingcheng Pokémon Academy, named Chen Xiu. He's very powerful. After losing to him, I specifically looked up his information. He's the chief of Lingcheng Pokémon Academy. I estimate that even Mo Yangjia wouldn't be his match. He defeated my three Pokémon with only one Pokémon. I guess only you and Wanqiu can defeat him."
Although Lingcheng Pokémon Academy couldn't compare to Tianhai Pokémon Academy, it was still one of the top five Pokémon academies nationwide. As the chief of a top-five Pokémon academy, how could his strength be weak?
"Then you'll have to be careful if you encounter him in the New Trainer Competition." Ling Wanqiu's face also showed a hint of seriousness upon hearing Wang Xin's words. Wang Xin's strength wasn't weak, and for the opponent to defeat Wang Xin's three Pokémon with just one clearly meant he was no pushover.
"Wanqiu, if you have a chance to meet that Chen Xiu, you must avenge me."
"I'll see if I have a chance. If I do, I'll definitely avenge you." Ling Wanqiu knew that if she didn't agree, Wang Xin would probably keep pestering her.
"Students, those who have passed the first round of pre-competition elimination for the New Trainer Competition, follow me to the Tianhai Pokémon Arena for the second round of elimination." Old Zhang walked in and announced.
Departing from Tianhai Pokémon Academy, they took a bus to the Tianhai Pokémon Arena. Whenever a large competition was held in Tianhai City, it would take place at this Pokémon Arena, which was naturally built to be very large.
"There are a total of twenty-nine Pokémon academies in Tianhai City. A total of 870 students came to participate in this elimination round. Only the top ten will pass the elimination."
"The competition is fierce. I hope you won't be careless. As the top Pokémon academy in Tianhai City, we may not sweep the top ten, but we certainly can't lose face." Old Zhang gave a speech. The competition was indeed fierce. Out of over 800 people, only the top ten would truly go on to participate in the National New Trainer Competition. Some people around them were already starting to get nervous.
But Jiang Chen wasn't nervous at all. He remained calm and collected. The elimination round adopted a one-on-one battle. Each person could only use one Pokémon. If they lost, they had one chance for revival. If they were defeated twice in a row, they would be completely eliminated.
"Now everyone can come up and draw their numbers." Jiang Chen drew number twelve. Then they drew their opponents. The opponents were randomly drawn, so this elimination round, in addition to strength, also required some luck. For example, Jiang Chen's opponent, encountering Jiang Chen, simply meant bad luck.
"Number twelve against number fifty-six, C Zone, Rock Field #10. Battle time 9:30 AM." After glancing at the information on the computer, Jiang Chen directly headed to C Zone Field #10. Jiang Chen arrived there and didn't have to wait long before his opponent arrived, looking at Jiang Chen with a bitter expression. The opponent was not from Tianhai Pokémon Academy, and drawing an opponent from Tianhai Pokémon Academy was considered the unluckiest. Especially since he drew the top student from Tianhai Pokémon Academy, this round was guaranteed to be a loss.
"Go, Nidoqueen."
"Sandshrew, you can do it."
Looking at the Sandshrew, Jiang Chen felt like an adult bullying a child.
"Nidoqueen, use Double Kick." In an instant, the opponent only saw afterimages. Then, Sandshrew took two kicks and immediately lost its ability to battle.
"So fast." A slightly plump Nidoqueen, who would have thought it would be so fast?
"Battle over, number twelve wins." The referee announced. It was not surprising to win with an overwhelming advantage. How could an Elite Stage 1 Sandshrew fight against a Quasi-Champion Stage 1 Nidoqueen? With the opponent's strength, if he were in Tianhai Pokémon Academy, he probably wouldn't even have entered this round of elimination and would have been eliminated at school.
After that, Jiang Chen easily swept the next three battles. During this period, he let Garchomp, Blastoise, and even the recently caught Meowstic (Female) participate in battles, all resulting in easy victories. In one day, over 800 people were eliminated, leaving only 48 people, less than 50. Among the remaining people, nearly half were students from Tianhai Pokémon Academy.
"Tomorrow, the number of Pokémon used will increase to three, and there will be no chance for revival battles." After the announcement, everyone was dismissed.
"Good thing I didn't encounter any strong enemies, but tomorrow is uncertain." Wang Xin was slightly nervous. Although her strength should be enough to enter the top ten, she was afraid of bad luck. "I'm afraid of bad luck meeting you and Wanqiu. I'm not even afraid of encountering those two guys, Mo Yangjia and Qian Le."
"I'm also worried about encountering Jiang Chen." Ling Wanqiu said to Wang Xin. If she were unlucky enough to encounter Jiang Chen, she would truly be eliminated.
"Don't worry, your worries are completely unfounded. You won't encounter me." Jiang Chen, who walked over from behind, said. He and Ling Wanqiu were the strongest seeds in Tianhai City. If they could win the championship in the National New Trainer Competition, the entire Tianhai City would share in their glory. So, unless their brains were faulty, they would definitely not let Jiang Chen and Ling Wanqiu meet prematurely.
"What about me? Can you tell me something so I can relax too?" Wang Xin looked at Jiang Chen with anticipation.
"For you, I can't guarantee anything." Jiang Chen spread his hands. Because he and Ling Wanqiu were aces, they would definitely avoid meeting each other, but the same might not be true for Wang Xin. "But you can also rest assured. Most people here can't beat you. As long as you're not too unlucky, advancing should be no problem."
"Right, what I fear most is encountering you and Wanqiu. As long as it's not you two, I'm not afraid of anyone else."
"The probability is so small, I shouldn't be unlucky." After much thought, Wang Xin finally relaxed.
"I hope you're not setting yourself up for failure," Jiang Chen muttered to himself, hearing Wang Xin's words.
The next day, the elimination continued.
"Bad luck, Young Master Jiang, I ran into you." Ma Dong had a miserable expression. He was Jiang Chen's classmate and certainly knew Jiang Chen's strength.
"Referee, can I forfeit?" Ma Dong asked the referee.
"You can forfeit. Are you sure you want to forfeit and concede?" The referee looked at Ma Dong seriously.
"Anyway, it's impossible to win, so I choose to forfeit and concede."
"You're not even going to try?" Jiang Chen hadn't expected the other party to forfeit directly. Yesterday, he hadn't encountered anyone who forfeited. "I know it's impossible to win, so I won't get trashed. Young Master Jiang, go for it and trash them." Ma Dong waved his hand. Knowing he was no match, fighting would only injure his Pokémon, so he decided not to fight.
In this battle, Jiang Chen won by default. Although if they had fought, the result would have been the same. The first battle was at nine o'clock, followed by the second battle at ten o'clock. In this battle, Jiang Chen encountered a classmate from the same school again. After the previous elimination round, there were still twenty-four people left. Most of them were students from Tianhai Pokémon Academy, so it was normal to encounter classmates.
"What bad luck, but I won't give up." Jiang Chen's opponent was named Wang Yu. He knew that when he met Jiang Chen, he had already lost, but he wanted to lose with dignity.
"Young Master Jiang, I want to see your Metagross. Is that alright?" Wang Yu asked Jiang Chen.
"Sure, no problem. I can satisfy your request." Jiang Chen released his Metagross. Wang Yu released his own Pokémon, Wartortle.
"Being able to battle a pseudo-legendary Pokémon, even if I lose, it's not embarrassing." Wang Yu looked at Metagross, his expression slightly excited. To be honest, for many people, they would never even have the chance to battle a pseudo-legendary Pokémon in their entire lives. He was already ahead of many people now.
"Wartortle, use Water Pulse directly." He used his strongest move from the start. If he didn't, Wang Yu was worried he wouldn't even have a chance to use his strongest move.
"Metagross, use Teleport, then Bullet Punch." The heavy Metagross instantly vanished, appearing directly behind Wartortle. Bullet Punch struck down on Wartortle. Wartortle lost its ability to battle in one move.
Wang Yu stared blankly at Metagross. Because he especially liked Metagross, Wang Yu was quite familiar with it. Could Metagross learn Teleport? A Metagross that could use Teleport, that was simply too absurd.
"Young Master Jiang, can Metagross learn Teleport?" Wang Yu couldn't help but ask.
"Ordinary Metagross cannot learn Teleport, but my Metagross is special." Jiang Chen hadn't let Metagross use Teleport before. He knew that if he did, it would shock many people. Even the knowledgeable referee was shocked by Metagross's Teleport. "Metagross's body is heavy, its speed isn't very fast, but its attack is terrifying. And a Metagross that can use Teleport, hiss~!" Wang Yu felt as if he was seeing a warrior suddenly turn into an assassin. A Metagross that appeared and disappeared like a ghost—who could stop it?
"It's not unfair at all to lose to such a Metagross." Wang Yu, prompted by the referee, recalled his Wartortle, then released his next Pokémon. The other two Pokémon were still instantly defeated by Metagross. Either it was an unpreventable attack after teleporting, or it was pulled over by Psychic and then defeated with one punch.
"So ridiculously strong." Wang Yu helplessly shook his head, then took his Pokémon to get healed.
After this round of competition, only twelve remained. This meant that after two more were eliminated, the candidates for the New Trainer Competition would be selected.
"It's an acquaintance again." Jiang Chen looked at his opponent, Qian Le. "Looks like I'll be swimming back through the loser's bracket." Qian Le sighed inwardly when he saw Jiang Chen, also lamenting his bad luck at drawing Jiang Chen. Fortunately, even if he lost now, it didn't matter. The six who lost could enter the loser's bracket. In the loser's bracket, only two would be eliminated. The competition was for four spots, everyone had a good chance, and anyone could be eliminated.
He said he was unlucky, but it wasn't particularly unlucky. At least he met Jiang Chen now. If he had met Jiang Chen earlier, he would have been directly eliminated. In this battle, Jiang Chen used Garchomp, sweeping through and defeating Qian Le's three Pokémon to win. After winning this battle, he didn't need to fight anymore. Jiang Chen's selection was complete. Next was the loser's bracket, where the six who lost would compete for four spots. Everyone had a good chance, and anyone could be eliminated.
After the final selection, Qian Le, who was defeated by Jiang Chen, successfully fought his way back through the loser's bracket relying on his own strength. Ten slots for the National New Trainer Competition from Tianhai City were selected, and seven of them were students from Tianhai Pokémon Academy. As the top Pokémon academy in Tianhai City, it truly lived up to its reputation.
"Phew, safely advanced." Wang Xin breathed a sigh of relief as she walked out of the Tianhai Pokémon Arena. She had also made her way back from the loser's bracket. She was unlucky enough to meet Mo Yangjia, and despite defeating two of Mo Yangjia's Pokémon, she still lost. Fortunately, she managed to fight her way back again.
After the selection ended, there was still over half a month until the New Trainer Competition. This half-month period was their preparation time. When the New Trainer Competition started, there would still be elimination rounds. If they were eliminated in the first round, it would be embarrassing. So, this period was their time to work hard.
"Participating in the New Trainer Competition requires at least six Pokémon. For those who haven't collected six Pokémon yet, I hope you can gather them within this half-month or so." Although most people already had six Pokémon, reminders were still necessary.
After returning to school from the Tianhai Pokémon Arena, their homeroom teacher, Old Zhang, called Jiang Chen to his office.
"Jiang Chen, you bear a heavy burden. After our victory against Imperial Capital Pokémon Academy in the last exchange match, we claimed to be the number one Pokémon Academy in the country."
"So, this National New Trainer Competition, we must win the championship, and to win the championship, we must rely on you." Old Zhang's face was serious. If they claimed to be the number one Pokémon Academy in the country and then failed to win the championship, they would be a laughingstock in the eyes of others. Some schools probably wouldn't mind kicking them while they were down.
"Champion, isn't that within reach?"
"Don't get arrogant. If you get arrogant, I'll panic." Hearing Jiang Chen's words, Old Zhang quickly said.
"This is a national-level competition. There are many hidden dragons and crouching tigers. If you're not careful, you might stumble. I plan to investigate some information for you to look at." Jiang Chen was speechless seeing Old Zhang's nervous expression.
To be honest, Jiang Chen truly crushed everyone in this kind of competition for people of the same age. It wasn't that he was arrogant, but his Pokémon had good aptitudes, he had abundant resources, and he also had the Pokémon Stone, the Indigo Orb, and the Dragon Stone.
How could he lose? If he had all his ace Pokémon and still lost, he might as well buy a block of tofu and smash his head in. For other contestants, Jiang Chen was a dimension-crushing force. It would be unreasonable for him not to dominate them during the competition.
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