Chapter 412: Aiming for MVP
Time flew, and half a year passed in a flash.
During this half-year, high-intensity battles and frequent reviews allowed the strength of Basalt's Pokémon to advance by leaps and bounds, accumulating extremely rich combat experience.
Of course, Head Coach Jiang Jun's guidance was indispensable during this period.
It was no exaggeration to say that Basalt was the star player of the Saints Club.
Basalt's strength, appearance, and frequent newspaper-worthy records caused his fame to skyrocket within a short period, attracting a large fan base across the country.
Due to the low popularity of the Second Division League, most clubs playing away games basically had very few supporters cheering for them.
But after Basalt rose to fame, no matter which city the Saints Club visited for away games, there would be no fewer than a hundred supporters cheering for them. Sometimes, the Saints Club's supporters even outnumbered the home club's supporters, which was quite outrageous.
During this period, Basalt also filmed a clothing commercial and endorsed a desert motorcycle, earning a tidy sum. Naturally, his current fame was partly due to these endorsements.
As Basalt's strength improved, the Saints Club's points also rose, climbing from 35th last season to the current 15th—a jump of twenty places, a leapfrog improvement. The Saints Club's explosive performance was inseparable from Basalt's astonishing 87% win rate. Even Captain Li Di only had a 73% win rate, far lower than Basalt's.
In the early days, as a league rookie showing off his prowess, Basalt went all out in every battle. Some wags nicknamed him the "King of Sweeps," meaning the King of 1v3 Sweeps!
After learning about the nickname, Basalt quickly reined in his sharpness and began sending Swampert and Numel to train. As for Pupitar, it was in a transitional state and couldn't eat to absorb energy; every battle was pure consumption. Moreover, Pupitar's "Quicksand Domain" wasn't very effective in singles, at least far less useful than in group battles. So Basalt rarely deployed Pupitar in league matches.
As for Carbink, Basalt deliberately kept it hidden, waiting for the right moment. Carbink was his trump card!
At this time, China's Second Division Professional League was nearing its end. Most clubs had only four or five matches left. Soon, winter would arrive, and the league would enter a hiatus of over two months.
The Saints Club was filled with joy. On one hand, the off-season was approaching; after battling for over half a year, they were exhausted and longed for a break. On the other hand, with the club's ranking significantly improved and revenue greatly increased, the board had made it clear that this year's bonuses wouldn't disappoint.
Only Basalt sat in a corner looking up information on his Pokédex, sighing silently.
"Basalt, why the long face?" Jiang Jun walked over, patting the sighing Basalt, confused.
Basalt's achievements were evident to all, and his future was limitless. Anyone else would be bursting with pride, but Basalt seemed to smile less as the league progressed. Was he reluctant to part with the club after sharing joys and sorrows? Jiang Jun nodded with satisfaction, thinking it highly likely.
Due to Basalt's outstanding performance, the Saints Club had already notified him that he could return to the headquarters to play in the First Division League next season.
"Nothing! I just feel my win rate isn't high enough, and I probably won't get this season's MVP." Basalt smiled wryly, his eyes full of disappointment.
He had an agreement with Abdullah: if he won the Most Valuable Player title this season, Abdullah would take him to the Saudi Alliance to pick a pseudo-legendary Pokémon as a reward. This was an astonishing reward. Basalt naturally cared!
But as it stood, it would be hard for Basalt to get MVP!
Hearing this, Jiang Jun's mouth twitched violently as he stammered, "Win rate not high? MVP?"
Basalt's 87% win rate was already among the top three this season, second only to superstar player Gan Lin's 92% and powerhouse player Shang Shan's 90%. And Basalt thought it wasn't high enough?
As for MVP, that was even more ridiculous. A rookie player coveting the MVP title? Who gave you the courage? Jiang Jun really wanted to curse.
Keep in mind, Gan Lin, with the highest win rate, had been in the Second Division for three years and even stayed back a year just for the MVP title. Otherwise, with his strength, he could have signed with a First Division club last year. As for Shang Shan, his age was comparable to Li Di's, and he had been in the Second Division for nearly ten years, staying only because he couldn't bear to leave his old friends and colleagues.
But Basalt? You're just a rookie! A rookie who joined mid-season and hadn't even played a full season. Albeit a super genius rookie!
"How about... you stay back a year too?" Jiang Jun joked. "With your growth potential, getting MVP next season would be easy. Sweeping the field with a win rate over 95% isn't impossible."
But he was joking because the Sanctuary Club's orders had come down; Basalt couldn't stay for another season.
"Forget it!" Basalt waved his hand and stood up dejectedly.
"Uh... Basalt, why are you so obsessed with this season's MVP?" Jiang Jun was genuinely curious. A Second Division MVP title didn't carry much weight, and few people paid attention to it. He didn't understand why Basalt valued it so much.
"No harm telling you!" Having lived with Jiang Jun for half a year, Basalt confessed, "Because I made a bet with a friend. If I win this season's MVP, he'll give me a pseudo-legendary cub!"
"What? A pseudo-legendary cub?" Jiang Jun was shocked.
The value of a pseudo-legendary went without saying. Pokémon Masters might not care about base stats, but at the Pro-level stage, a Pokémon's species strength was a crucial factor. Jiang Jun became even more curious. What kind of friend gives a pseudo-legendary as a gift? So damn rich! Simply inhumanely rich!
After digesting Basalt's news, Jiang Jun fell into deep thought. After a long while, he looked up at Basalt excitedly. "Actually, Basalt, it's not impossible for you to contend for MVP now!"
"Coach, what do you mean?" Basalt trembled, waves of emotion surging in his heart. Was there still hope?
Hearing this, Jiang Jun smiled and asked, "Basalt, you know the rules for MVP selection, right?"
"Of course. MVP, or Most Valuable Player, is selected based on a combination of popularity, strength, win rate, and appearance rate. But Gan Lin is higher than me in both win rate and appearance rate. And in terms of popularity, he doesn't lose to me at all." Basalt sighed.
Although China's professional league was official, after extensive marketization, fame depended not only on strength but often on looks. For example, Shang Shan, ranked second in win rate, had almost no chance of winning MVP. He was too old, his potential exhausted, and he wasn't a handsome older man but a greasy, balding, fat uncle. So in popularity alone, he was far below Basalt and Gan Lin. And popularity was a crucial factor in a commercialized event.
But Gan Lin was different. He was a handsome young man with a bit of a bad-boy vibe, not losing to Basalt in looks, so he had many fans, especially female fans. Basalt won on youth and potential but lost on lack of accumulation in the league due to his youth. After all, Gan Lin had been famous in the league for three years, while Basalt was a rookie; their foundations were completely different.
"You're right!" Jiang Jun nodded, then said seriously, "Shang Shan can be ruled out directly. That leaves you and Gan Lin. Currently, Gan Lin beats you in all metrics; you have no chance. But..."
Jiang Jun paused, and Basalt's heart tightened, daring not to breathe.
"But!!! If you can defeat Gan Lin head-on, it will be a huge blow to his popularity. And your own popularity will skyrocket. With this shift, your comprehensive data could very likely catch up to Gan Lin's."
Jiang Jun looked at Basalt, eyes twinkling cunningly. "Also, in a one-on-one comparison, if you defeat your opponent directly, it's an invisible bonus point for the judges. I estimate your probability of winning MVP won't be lower than 80%."
"It works like that?" Basalt's eyes widened, greatly shocked.
Jiang Jun's words reminded Basalt of football league rules on Earth; head-to-head results were indeed a very important factor. In a choice between two with similar records, if one lost to the other, choosing the loser as MVP would be inappropriate.
"So, as long as I defeat Gan Lin on the field, I still have a chance!" Basalt raised an eyebrow, involuntarily clenching his fist.
"Exactly!" Jiang Jun nodded, taking out the schedule from the table. "Coincidentally, we have a match against the Golden Armor Club in ten days."
The Golden Armor Club was Gan Lin's club, ranked in the top five of the Second Division, extremely strong. The first encounter between Saints and Golden Armor was before Basalt joined, so he missed it. But now, Basalt could participate!
Jiang Jun didn't care if the club won or lost, as Saints couldn't match Golden Armor's overall strength. But if Basalt could win, that would be delightful! Of course, this all depended on Basalt defeating Gan Lin. But in Jiang Jun's view, it didn't matter if Basalt couldn't win. This was a high-reward, low-risk venture; anyone who didn't take it would be a fool! The further Basalt went, the more beneficial it was for the Saints. Later, when recruiting, they could boast about having produced a star player like Basalt. So in this regard, Jiang Jun and Basalt's interests were perfectly aligned.
"Brilliant, Coach! Quick, contact the Golden Armor Club's head coach for me. Say I want to challenge Gan Lin, and please try to confirm the match." Basalt punched his palm, looking excited.
"Challenge directly?" Jiang Jun shook his head disdainfully, speaking earnestly, "Basalt, you're still too young. A direct challenge will definitely arouse suspicion about our intentions. There's a chance it'll be refused."
"But don't worry, I have a way to make Gan Lin 100% agree to fight you on the field." Jiang Jun patted Basalt's shoulder, giving him a "watch me work" look, and instructed, "Just focus on researching Gan Lin's style and his Pokémon data. Leave the rest to me!"
"Coach, what trick do you have? To make Gan Lin 100% agree?" Basalt was shocked and extremely curious.
"Don't ask about that; I have my ways!" Jiang Jun chuckled and turned to leave.
Watching Jiang Jun's retreating figure, Basalt involuntarily clenched his fists.
He must win this match!
Everything for the pseudo-legendary!!!
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