Tuesday, July 11th, 2:30 PM
Anping City Pokémon Arena
Contestant Waiting Room
"Xiao You and Banette are way too strong. Charmeleon and I gave it everything we had. We even activated Blaze and still couldn't beat them. Aaaahhh! My championship dream! I even swore to Teacher Mo that I'd defeat him on the championship stage, and now I've been eliminated in the quarterfinals. I really..."
Gao Tianming sat on a bench, clutching his hair in despair.
Beside him, Song Qingyun wore an expression of pure schadenfreude.
"Heh. Now you know how hopeless I felt back then."
"Qingyun."
"What?"
"I have a question."
Gao Tianming looked at him curiously.
"You got eliminated in the Round of Sixteen. Why are you still here instead of going home?"
"GAO TIANMING!!!"
Song Qingyun exploded.
Grabbing Gao Tianming by the neck, he growled,
"You think I wanted to lose?! I ran into Xiao You and Banette in the very first round! I was devastated too! And aren't you the same? You lost to Xiao You as well! How dare you make fun of me!"
"I'm joking! Just joking! Let go! You're going to kill me!"
Gao Tianming shouted dramatically, despite showing no symptoms of actually being strangled.
The other contestants in the waiting room burst into laughter.
"Qingyun, let it go. Tianming only has Pokémon and battles in his head. Don't take him seriously."
"If neither of you can accept it, I suggest a rematch later. Let's see whether Tianming's Charmeleon is stronger or Qingyun's Loudred."
"Exactly! Real men settle things through Pokémon battles!"
"Hmph. One day we will."
Song Qingyun shot Gao Tianming a vicious glare before finally explaining.
"The reason I'm still in Anping City is because I want to see how far Xiao You can go after defeating me."
"Also, didn't you receive the Bureau's invitation?"
"What?"
Gao Tianming looked completely lost.
Wan Yushu sighed helplessly.
"Tianming... have you not opened your Pokédex recently?"
"Why would I? The tournament brackets were announced ages ago. I already know all the Pokémon left in the competition. There's no reason to use the Pokédex."
"Tianming."
Fu Yuzhu spoke softly.
"Besides battles and Pokémon, you should pay attention to important things in life too. The Bureau sent out a notice through the Pokédex a while ago, telling all Pikachu Cup contestants to keep an eye on their messages."
"Messages? The Pokédex can do that?"
"...Forget it. Take out your phone and check for yourself. You definitely received one too."
"..."
Filled with question marks, Gao Tianming pulled out his phone and opened the Pokédex app marked by a Pikachu icon.
The moment he logged in—
He saw a Pidgey carrying an envelope in its beak.
[You have new mail. View now?]
It was his first time receiving mail through the Pokédex.
Looking at the lifelike Pidgey, his eyes lit up as he began reading aloud.
"Dear Contestant Gao Tianming,
In recognition of your outstanding performance in this year's Pikachu Cup, you are hereby invited to participate in the Extreme Challenge Summer Camp..."
He paused and looked around.
"This is...?"
"Let me explain."
Among the group, Qiao Cheng finally spoke, using his official Bureau status.
"The Bureau plans to cultivate a group of professional Pokémon Trainers."
"We are the first batch of candidates."
"Once we become professionals, we won't have to worry about ordinary life anymore. We can devote ourselves completely to training Pokémon."
Ji Yang clenched his fists, eyes blazing.
"And become stronger together with our Pokémon!"
"..."
Gao Tianming's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Wan Yushu also clenched his fists but forced himself to stay calm.
"Extreme Challenge Summer Camp is only the first step toward becoming a professional trainer."
"Tianming, you understand this."
"Just because you join doesn't mean you'll definitely become a professional."
"You should carefully weigh the pros and cons—"
"No need!"
Gao Tianming raised a hand and cut him off.
His gaze swept across everyone present.
"Brother Shu. Everyone."
"You've all already signed up, haven't you?"
"..."
After a brief silence, everyone nodded.
Seeing that, Gao Tianming flashed a dazzling grin.
"Then that's all I need to know!"
"I, Gao Tianming, am absolutely going to become a professional trainer!"
"And one day, I'll defeat Teacher Mo and become the strongest trainer in the world!"
"Yep. That's exactly what I expected."
Wu Zhenghao rubbed his forehead helplessly.
Everyone else laughed.
Song Qingyun elbowed the smug Gao Tianming.
"Give it a rest. You're only a Pikachu Cup Top Eight contestant. You don't even qualify to challenge Teacher Mo yet."
"Oh, and one more thing."
"Xiao You isn't here, but I already asked around."
"She'll be joining the Extreme Challenge Summer Camp too."
"So maybe get past Xiao You first before talking about surpassing Teacher Mo and becoming number one in the world."
"I will!"
"I absolutely will!"
Gao Tianming clenched both fists.
Like Charmeleon activating Blaze, his fighting spirit erupted wildly.
Watching him, everyone realized the same thing.
This year's Extreme Challenge Summer Camp was going to be incredibly lively.
"Tianming, about that—"
Just as Song Qingyun was about to continue, the waiting room door suddenly swung open.
A familiar voice rang out from outside.
"Where's Ah Hui? Hasn't he arrived yet?"
The newcomer was Chen Haoran.
Xiao Sheng was the first to answer.
"No."
"I haven't seen him in the waiting room all day."
"Did something happen?"
"Xiao Sheng..."
Chen Haoran looked at him in surprise.
Xiao Sheng sighed softly.
"Brother Haoran, I'm not that petty."
"A loss is a loss."
"I was just worried about Vigoroth's condition afterward."
"Well... okay, maybe I was a little upset."
"But mostly because I wasn't strong enough."
"Anyway, let's not talk about depressing things."
"What happened to Brother Hui?"
"Isn't his match starting soon?"
"I have no idea."
Chen Haoran shook his head.
"I haven't seen him since yesterday afternoon."
"He's not replying to messages either."
"It's driving me crazy."
"Forget it. Feng Lan and I will keep looking."
"I'll help too!"
"Count me in."
"Did anyone ask Brother Mo?"
"I'll go check."
"Brother Haoran, don't you have a match soon?"
"Doesn't Munchlax need to eat before every battle?"
"You should focus on your own preparations."
"Exactly. Leave the search to us."
With the competition approaching, no one dared waste time.
Everyone stood up, ready to help.
Chen Haoran looked genuinely grateful and didn't refuse.
Just as the group stepped out—
Chen Haoran suddenly stopped.
Ahead of them—
Feng Lan stood in a white tracksuit.
Before her stood a young man in a grass-green competition uniform.
"Brother Hui!"
Gao Tianming opened his mouth to shout.
Song Qingyun immediately covered it and dragged him back.
The group collectively transformed into spies.
Not long afterward—
Ah Hui and Feng Lan seemed to finish their conversation.
As Ah Hui walked over, he noticed everyone standing there.
"Ahem."
As his best friend, Chen Haoran stepped forward first.
Pretending to be annoyed, he said,
"Where the hell have you been?"
"..."
Sweat covered Ah Hui's forehead.
He glanced at the Poké Ball in his hand.
"I just went out to feel the wind."
"Huh?"
Chen Haoran looked utterly confused.
"Don't worry."
Ah Hui raised his head.
For the first time, Chen Haoran saw an unusually gentle smile on his face.
"I've found the answer I was looking for."
"...What?"
Chen Haoran blinked.
Feng Lan stepped forward and offered Ah Hui a handkerchief.
"Here. Wipe your sweat first."
"Thank you."
Ah Hui accepted it.
His gaze swept over Feng Lan, Chen Haoran, and everyone else.
"The match is about to start."
"I'll go get ready."
"..."
Everyone watched his departing figure in silence.
After a long pause, someone finally asked:
"What happened to Brother Hui?"
"No clue."
"He feels... different somehow."
"Must be nice. Getting a handkerchief from a beautiful girl before your match."
"Seriously. What kind of protagonist treatment is that?"
"..."
Qiao Cheng stared thoughtfully at Ah Hui's back.
3:00 PM
Inside the waiting room.
As Zhao Xue'er and Ah Hui appeared on the giant screen, the atmosphere became noticeably tense.
"To be honest, Ah Hui's status-infliction tactics are terrifying."
"But Zhao Xue'er isn't an easy opponent."
"Frosmoth is probably the strongest Bug-type in this tournament, right?"
"Ahem. My Pinsir just defeated Mo Yu's Fraxure this morning and advanced to the semifinals."
"Oh right. Pinsir is Bug-type too."
"We can't forget Brother Hao in the battle for strongest Bug-type."
"Frosmoth is Bug/Ice."
"Butterfree is Bug/Flying."
"Flying resists Bug. Ice counters Flying."
"From a type perspective, they're pretty even."
"But Frosmoth's physical capabilities are clearly far beyond Butterfree's."
"It'll depend on how each side utilizes their advantages."
"Doesn't matter."
"Rock is four-times effective against Bug/Ice."
"And yet Xiao Fan's Graveler still got tossed around by Frosmoth."
"Zhao Xue'er is excellent at dealing with type disadvantages."
"This battle definitely won't be as simple as we think."
Xiao Fan: "..."
"It's starting!"
Amid deafening cheers, Ah Hui and Zhao Xue'er exchanged a brief handshake before returning to opposite sides of the battlefield.
Both released their Pokémon.
"Buuutterfree~"
"Froooth~"
With two cries, Butterfree and Frosmoth appeared above the battlefield.
Ah Hui calmly looked at the black-haired girl standing behind Frosmoth.
He exhaled softly and clenched his fists.
Then—
The whistle blew.
Both trainers gave commands almost simultaneously.
"Butterfree, use Supersonic!"
"Frosmoth, Bug Buzz!"
Two completely different sound waves erupted across the field.
The piercing noise blasted through the arena speakers.
Many spectators instinctively covered their ears.
Yet neither trainer seemed affected at all.
Soon—
Butterfree's Supersonic began losing ground.
In the waiting room, Wu Zhenghao's expression grew serious.
"Frosmoth is stronger than Butterfree to begin with."
"And Bug Buzz gets STAB amplification."
"The sound waves generated by Bug Buzz completely overpower Butterfree's."
"She predicted it..."
Xiao Sheng muttered while staring at the screen.
Yesterday, Vigoroth had been hit by Supersonic immediately.
The battle's momentum had shifted entirely into Ah Hui's control afterward.
Zhao Xue'er had clearly studied that match.
She'd been prepared for Ah Hui's opening Supersonic from the very beginning.
"The opening attack failed."
"That's bad."
Chen Haoran looked more nervous than when he was fighting himself.
Against Zhao Xue'er—
One mistake could snowball endlessly.
And now—
After crushing Butterfree's Supersonic with Bug Buzz, Zhao Xue'er immediately issued her next command.
Frosmoth spread its wings and cried out.
Snowstorms began sweeping across the battlefield.
It felt as though the scorching summer had suddenly transformed into the depths of a northern winter.
A snowfield was born.
"Just as I thought."
"Pokémon that can manipulate the weather are the biggest headache."
Chen Haoran frowned deeply.
Why had Gible managed to reach the Top Sixteen despite its average physical capabilities?
Because of its sandstorm.
And Zhao Xue'er's Frosmoth—
Aside from Gible, it was the greatest weather specialist in the entire tournament.
"Butterfree is in trouble..."
Chen Haoran clenched his fists.
Then—
Out of the corner of his eye—
He noticed Feng Lan.
Unlike everyone else, she looked remarkably calm.
Almost as if the match's outcome didn't matter to her at all.
"Feng Lan..."
Confused, Chen Haoran followed her gaze.
On the trainer-focused split screen—
A faint smile rested on Ah Hui's lips.
His eyes were filled with absolute trust in the Butterfree before him.
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