Pokémon: Starting as a Farmer Instead of a Trainer

Chapter 313 A Promise Renewed, the Round of 16 Begins (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

After the battle between Mingyou and Danyu ended, many viewers were still in a daze and hadn't come back to their senses. This was not like the elimination rounds where they advanced without doing anything.

Although Lucario's strength did surprise many people, Morpeko was clearly stronger than Snivy, and in the end, he managed to force a one-for-one exchange, which shows that Naruto himself is not as useless as they thought.

Although I was annoyed, I had no choice but to accept it...

"That kid is really something, no wonder Miss Zhulan thinks so highly of him."

Adek crossed his arms and smiled as he turned to look at her. Zhu Lan maintained her smile and gently shook her head.

"I'm not just optimistic about him; these young people are all quite strong, but it's really hard to say who will ultimately win."

"That's true. It's just a pity that the brat from the Shaka family, on whom I had high hopes, deliberately lost. That Shaka guy probably had a stroke."

Adek couldn't help but laugh when he recalled Du Ruo's loss to Alice yesterday, but this reminded him of something else.

"After the Round of 16 matches tomorrow, there will be a day off. At that time, the museum will have a gemstone that Kiku-sensei obtained from the ruins on display. Ms. Zhulan is an archaeologist, so she should be very interested in this kind of thing, right? Would it be convenient for us to go and take a look together?"

"gem?"

"That's right, it's quite interesting. The day before the Youth Cup started, a fire broke out in the basement of the museum where the gems were stored. Although the cause has not yet been determined, it is said that the staff saw the gem that was placed on the display stand inexplicably fall to the ground."

"Oh? That sounds interesting."

Zhu Lan smiled and couldn't help but become interested. Sha Li had actually told her about the Light Stone, but due to her status, it was inconvenient for her to investigate or tell Adek the truth.

After all, if it were related to Reshiram, it certainly wouldn't continue to be the prize for the Junior Cup champion. Although she didn't know what the Bright Stone was all about, she still hoped that Naruyu could get it.

Since there's an exhibition the day after tomorrow, she can go and check it out beforehand to satisfy her curiosity.

"Then let's go visit it!"

……

Inside the venue, Mingyou walked offstage carrying the Green Vine Snake. Hearing the audience's discussions about him no longer filled with insults, he felt quite pleased.

Just as he was leaving and was about to take the Green Vine Snake to Miss Joey, who was stationed at the venue, for treatment, a familiar voice suddenly called out to him.

"Please wait a moment!"

"Um?"

Mingyou stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.

Mizuki, who was about to participate in the next match, was walking towards him. Her opponent, Popo, was still wearing that little red hat, and her clothing still leaned towards the tropical style of Alola.

"You're in the next round, right? Good luck!"

Mingyou had a good impression of the Alola team members, and since they were the only ones to advance to the official tournament, he naturally hoped that they could go further.

Mizuki stood with her feet together and nodded slightly. She had just seen the opponent's performance in the battle. Although she was not sure how many rounds she could go, she still wanted to personally thank Naruyu for helping Alola's economic development.

"It's just mutual help."

Mingyou smiled and responded, then asked, "By the way, has Dr. Kukui already spoken with the Alola side about the collaboration?"

"Yes, the island kings are still discussing this matter, and we should have a reply soon."

"That's good. You should hurry up and go into the competition. If you're not there before the start, it will be considered a forfeit."

"There are still two minutes left."

Mizuki glanced at the time and also revealed a white bracelet on her left wrist. Naruto noticed that this was the Z-Bracelet, which was unique to the Alola region. Although it could be used in other regions, Z-Moves would consume a lot of the trainer's stamina.

He then withdrew his gaze, somewhat interested, but since it wasn't his, it wasn't his. However, Mizuki looked at her Z-Bracelet and said, "My opponent in this match is one of the Four Heavenly Kings from Blueberry Academy. I feel there's a high probability I'll lose here..."

"They're not really the Four Heavenly Kings."

"But it's already very strong for me."

Mizuki gave a wry smile. After all, Alola's weakness was obvious to all, but she believed that it wouldn't be long before this weakness would become a thing of the past!

She looked up at Mingyou, pursed her lips, and said, "It's a rather impolite request... but if I can win this match and meet you again in the later matches, I hope you can fight me with your true strength so that I can leave the Youth Cup without any regrets!"

"..."

Looking at the pleading and fighting spirit in the girl's eyes, Mingyou remained silent for a moment, then smiled calmly and waved her hand.

"No problem, I'll give it my all!"

"grateful!"

Mizuki waved to Naruto in the way of greeting Alola, then turned and ran towards the arena. Naruto followed and went to treat Nurse Joy's group of Blue Vine Snakes before heading to the stands.

The match had already begun, and Mizuki's opponent was Red Pine, one of the Blueberry Academy Elite Four. Red Pine was a Fire-type expert who was super effective against Mizuki's ace Pokémon, Decidueye, so the battle was not going too well for her.

Xiao Zhao noticed Mingyou approaching and asked curiously, "Why did it take you so long to come?"

"I ran into a friend and chatted for a bit."

"A girl?"

"Your intuition is too sharp!"

"There are far too many girls among your friends; I could guess that with my eyes closed."

Xiao Zhao smiled and joked, then stopped paying attention to it because she trusted Mingyou enough.

Mingyou sat down beside her as if nothing had happened. At this moment, Qingtengshe looked at Zhenyifa, who had not yet participated, and began to show off his performance.

"Candy~"

See? I'm awesome too!

"Mengmeng~"

It was a draw, so it's nothing special.

Zhenyifa didn't give Qingtengshe any face, but just before they were about to start arguing again, it added, "But its performance was indeed very impressive."

"Candy~"

The Green Vine Snake was satisfied with the recognition it received.

Mingyou glanced at Zhenyi with satisfaction; he had finally grown a little...

They continued watching the match, and from afar they could see the Alora members cheering for Mizuki in the stands on the other side.

The match remained tense, but fortunately, Mizuki seized on a mistake by Akamatsu, using her Bear Punch to send Akamatsu's Blaziken flying and securing victory in this nearly ten-minute stalemate. It was truly a hard-fought victory...

"Mizuki really worked hard. Although Akamatsu's mistake played a part, it's truly remarkable that she was able to catch up with the genius of Blueberry Academy in such a short time in a place like Alola."

Xiao Zhao thinks highly of Mei Yue. The two already know each other. During summer camp, she even tried to invite Mei Yue to study at Blueberry Academy. She could have gotten in through connections, but Mei Yue refused.

Mingyou nodded slightly. Tomorrow is the round of 16; hopefully, we'll meet again...

Time flew by, and the afternoon's revival match finally came to an end. Unfortunately, Iris ran into Ziyu and failed to advance. Ash defeated a trainer from Kalos, which was a relatively smooth victory.

As expected, Wuli won. Xiaozhao's opponent was a trainer from the Hoenn region. Wuli continued to defeat his opponent with Slowbro, winning two games in a row and successfully attracting a lot of attention.

At this point, all sixteen contestants have appeared.

Blueberry Academy is really in a bad situation. So many students from the Alliance Club participated, but in the end only Wu Li, Zi Yu, and Na Li successfully advanced to the top 16. When the next semester starts, many of them will have to train extra.

As we left the venue, the list of the top 16 for tomorrow's round of 16 was fully announced. Dan Yu, who had been eliminated, was very concerned about this. She hoped that Wu Li would avenge her in the next match, but unfortunately, she was disappointed.

Uri's next opponent is Nari, Dan Yu's best friend, in the Blueberry Academy civil war...

"Wow, you can run into so many people!"

"That's true to some extent..."

"Feeling alright?"

Xiao Zhao saw her opponent, a trainer from the Padilla region whom she did not recognize. Ash's opponent was also someone he did not know.

Only Mingyou...

"It looks like the promise will be fulfilled!"

He looked at the match group for tomorrow and realized that he was in the last match. And his opponent, coincidentally, was none other than Mizuki, whom he had arranged to play against that morning!

Upon seeing his opponent, Danyu immediately shouted, "You absolutely cannot lose before you meet Ah Li, do you hear me, or else I'll..."

"Alright, alright."

The others managed to persuade her to stop.

Mingyou smiled calmly, put down her phone, and thought to herself that she would have to take tomorrow seriously.

Meanwhile, in the hotel on the other side, Mizuki looked at the list of participants for tomorrow's competition, a serious expression appearing on her face, her hand gently resting on the Z-bracelet placed on the table.

"Let me see it!"

Nothing happened overnight, and the next day arrived in the blink of an eye. The battles in the round of 16 became increasingly fierce, and the players had more time to study their opponents. However, the winners and losers were still determined quickly.

Both Wu Li and Xiao Zhao advanced without any surprise. Their excellent performances won the recognition of the audience and gained them a lot of popularity and supporters.

Amidst the cheers and excitement of the crowd, the Round of 16 finally came to its final match...

Mingyou and Meiyue walked onto the battlefield at the same time. They looked at each other, unlike the other contestants who had a greeting and conversation before the match officially started.

Rather, everything that needed to be said has already been said!

The two players' families and friends were also in the stands in their respective directions, cheering them on.

Let's begin!

"Um!"

Before the referee could officially announce the start of the match, the two players simultaneously threw their Poké Balls. This unexpected turn of events, which caught the audience off guard, instantly ignited their excitement.

With a flash of red light, Winged Hair and Bear Clothes appeared on the field at the same time, and the battle was about to begin!

……

(End of this chapter)