Pokémon: Starting as a Farmer Instead of a Trainer

Chapter 423 The Promise with Miss Mary, The Open Tournament Begins (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

After a brief exchange, Mingyou finally understood the reason. Because Spike Town was too remote and had no Dynamax Power Points, even Challengers were too lazy to go there, let alone tourists.

A year ago, Mary took over as the curator from her brother who went to play in a band, and she wanted to change the current situation of Spike Town and help it develop.

But after trying many methods, none of them worked. For the sake of her hometown, she had to make some sacrifices. So, during a chat with Xiaoyou, she learned about the existence of maid cafes where it was very easy to gain popularity. That's how she started her internship after being introduced to Xiaoyou.

One dares to speak, the other dares to act...

Having the courage to do it is one thing, but being able to do it well is another. People come to the maid café to relax, not to be stared at by a stoic, expressionless man and sweat profusely.

"This is definitely a terrible idea. Her personality isn't suited for this kind of thing. This child can't even laugh, how can she possibly make others happy?"

Mingyou shook her head slightly, and while saying this, she pointed to the other maids and waitresses. Looking at their incredibly natural smiles, whether they were genuine or not, they were worlds apart from Mary's.

So stop doing it.

Completely inappropriate.

"No way! You're so cute!"

Xiaoyou immediately retorted, but Mary, who was standing to the side, looked slightly gloomy and lowered her head, as if she was on the verge of exploding at any moment.

Noticing this, Xiaoyou gave an awkward smile, looked at Mingyou, and asked in a low voice, "So do you have any ideas? Even a small place like Beishang Township, which I'd never even heard of before, has developed so much. You must have a real talent for this, right?"

"These are two different things!"

Mingyou looked somewhat helpless. Without a manor, how could Beishang Township develop? And Jianding Town doesn't have one either. But if it had some unique features...

Thinking of this, he looked at Mary and asked curiously, "I remember there was a lot of music popular in Spiketown, right? Like that street rock type?"

"Yes, my brother likes it..."

Mary remained expressionless, showing absolutely no liking for Mingyou, especially since she was going to lose to her tomorrow, given that Mingyou's goal was to win the World Championship.

However, she actually likes music quite a bit, which can be attributed to her brother's influence. Although she can't sing, and her singing talent can only be described as tragic, she is a popular idol in her hometown.

She has always been a low-key person and did not want to be famous, so not many people knew her after she left Spiketown. If she hadn't participated in this World Championship to make a name for her hometown, many people probably wouldn't even know who she was, since Spiketown's dojo is usually forgotten.

But from her simple response, Mingyou sensed a hint of genuine emotion. A thought flashed through her mind, and she suddenly had an idea: "In that case, let's hold a concert in Spiketown!"

A concert?!

Xiao You slammed her hand on the table and stood up. Really?

Mary also looked over in this direction with a puzzled expression.

Mingyou took a sip of coffee and smiled calmly: "Of course, I've been worrying about this matter myself these days. I have so many things to do that I can barely keep up. So, Miss Mary, what do you think? If possible, could you give me your brother's contact information? I'd like to talk to him tonight."

"..."

Mary placed her hands on her chest and remained silent.

It was only after a long while that she finally spoke, "So what's your request? Music is the only thing Spike Town is famous for, and I don't want it taken away from me."

"Require?"

Mingyou paused briefly, then gently shook her head: "I don't have any requests. It's enough that we can borrow your Spiketown venue for the concert. If you really want me to make a request, um... could you smile naturally just once? Everyone really wants to see it."

"Mmm~"

"Nair~"

"Miller~"

Not only Ponpo and Kirlia, but even Milton, who was enjoying a special sandwich, peeked out to join in the fun. It was quite curious to see what this expressionless girl would look like if she smiled.

Even Xiaoyou was full of curiosity.

"A strange request..."

Mary felt a little bored, but her strong competitive spirit made it impossible for her to refuse. If she could win tomorrow, she wouldn't have to think about these things, but if she lost tomorrow... no, she wouldn't lose!

She also has confidence in herself as a trainer.

She had learned about this opponent from Xiao You over the past two days, and his strength was beyond question. Moreover, since this was the first open tournament, the match videos she could find before were all from the junior cup, which had been so long ago and were no longer of any reference value.

Therefore, she did not want to accept this request and planned to rely on her own strength to achieve everything.

This was her answer.

"pity……"

Mingyou was a little disappointed, but there was nothing he could do about being rejected. He had been thinking about organizing a world tour for Meloetta for some time, but there were many problems with the project. That's why he thought it would be better to collaborate with some people who understand music.

The initial conversation wasn't pleasant, and Xiaoyou, realizing this, ended it early and left the maid café with Mingyou.

The competition is tomorrow at noon. She planned to take advantage of the time she still had today to introduce the other party to Dan Di. Unfortunately, Dan Di had some business to attend to in his hometown this morning and was not in Gongmen City at the moment.

This meant the two had to end their shopping trip early, and Mingyou said goodbye to Xiaoyou and went back to the hotel.

Unbeknownst to the two, shortly after they left, a new customer arrived at the maid café. If Mingyou were there at that moment, he would surely recognize her as Olive, the vice president of the Marocomon Group, who had fought a major battle with him in the diamond mining country not long ago!

"I never expected the gym leader of Spiketown to have such hobbies."

"..."

Faced with Olive's slightly mocking and disdainful tone, she frowned slightly but did not respond. Olive continued, "Recently, there have been more and more complaints about the Spike Gym, and many reviews are... is there any need for this kind of gym to continue being a top-tier gym?"

Unlike other regions, the Galar region has many gyms, but only eight are recognized by the Galar League. These gyms are known as Tier 1 gyms, while the others are Tier 2 gyms. Even if you challenge a gym leader, they are not entitled to award a badge.

Therefore, in the Galar region, which is the first division, all gym leaders are striving to become top-tier gyms. At the same time, there is competition among the top-tier gyms, and a competition between gym leaders is held every year to rank the gyms.

A gym that ranks last twice in a row will be removed from the top-tier gyms. Similarly, if a gym has a bad reputation and causes complaints from trainers, the league officials will send someone to investigate it directly. If everything is true, it will also be removed.

There's a serious internal competition even among gym leaders, and there's a reason why the average skill level of trainers in the Galar region is the highest. However, this has also led to some very serious problems forming in the shadows.

Like this...

Mary bit her lip, knowing that the other party wanted to use the Spike Gym to threaten her. After a moment of silence, she asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"It's very simple!"

Olive chuckled, placing a data card and a Master Ball on the table and pushing them in front of her: "This contains information about your next opponent, as well as video recordings of all his matches in the World Championship. I hope you can study it carefully before your match against him tomorrow, and then use this Pokémon to defeat him!"

"..."

Mary stared at the things on the table, her delicate face growing increasingly gloomy. Although studying opponents before a match is perfectly normal, this was clearly cheating, wasn't it? They even used a Pokémon that wasn't their own. Were these people trying to get back at Naruto?

She didn't know how Mingyou had offended them, but as a trainer, she had her own bottom line and would never do such a thing.

and so……

Just as she was about to refuse, Olive stood up, glanced at her coldly, and said in a disdainful tone, "Miss Mary, you don't want the gym that your family passed down to you to just retire to the sidelines, do you? You should know what Spiketown will be like without the gym."

"..."

"But if you can win this match, our company has recently been researching how to use Dynamax in places without Power Points, and it's currently in the final stages. Perhaps we can use it first in Spiketown after the match."

After saying this, Olive walked straight out of the maid café. She knew there was no need to continue. That girl was willing to do anything for her hometown, so all she had to do was wait for tomorrow.

After she left, Marie looked alone at the information and competition records about Naruto on the table, as well as the Master Ball containing some unknown Pokémon. A feeling of inexplicable humiliation welled up in her heart, but for the sake of Spike Town, she could only do as she was told.

but……

She took out her Rotom phone, which was covered by a Morbeco case, from her skirt pocket, found Xiaoyou's name, and sent her a long string of numbers.

At her feet, a Morubek watched worriedly, vaguely sensing something.

Xiaoyou replied very quickly.

"What's wrong?"

"This is my brother's contact information. Give this to Mingyou. I hope that some of the unpleasantness between us won't be brought to Spike Town."

"Um?"

……

A night passes in the blink of an eye.

After having breakfast, Mingyou left the five-star hotel "Londo Rosser" where he was staying. He had received a message from Xiaoyou yesterday and had a vague idea of ​​what was going on with Mary's change in attitude.

But he maintained an expression of nonchalance as he boarded the Steelraven Flying Taxi and headed towards the vicinity of the Palace Gate Arena.

Since it was his first open tournament, many fans made a special trip to Gongmen City to watch the match. It wasn't unprecedented, but the situation was almost just as lively as when he played against Dan, with almost every seat filled.

Meanwhile, inside the Palace Arena, the president of the Marocmon Group, who is also the chairman of the Galar Alliance, is also there!

He still had a hint of composure on his face as he stood with Olive, the vice president's part-time secretary, looking down through the transparent glass window.

"This is truly a match to look forward to; I wonder what surprises await us next."

Meanwhile, amidst the cheers of the audience, Mary, dressed in a figure-hugging crop top competition outfit, took the lead on the stage. She adjusted the enormous wristband on her wrist, her face unusually indifferent. Even her fans, the shouting team, who had come all the way from Spiketown, sensed something was wrong.

Mingyou also arrived at the competition venue at this time. The entire Palace Arena looked like a life-size football field, and the two teams were playing their match on this large field...

"Here it comes!"

In front of the live stream, many of Mingyou's friends watched with anticipation and cheered him on.

And the situation on the ground was the same.

Hearing the cheers from the audience, he smiled calmly, looked at Mary across the street, and, pretending nothing had happened, called out, "Come on!"

"Um……"

Mary nodded gently, took out a Poké Ball from her bag, held it tightly in her hand, and pursed her lips.

Starting at the Advanced Ball level, Rotom will no longer act as referee. Instead, the referee in charge of the official match will take over, flying over the field in a small aircraft carrying Aegislash, which effectively avoids being affected by the aftermath of the battle.

He raised his arm, and the images of Mingyou and Marie appeared on the big screen in the arena, along with the rules of the match: a 3v3 singles match where three out of six Pokémon were chosen. Seeing all three Pokémon on the field immediately sparked cheers.

"Just as I expected..."

Mingyou shook her head slightly. She had been doing this every time since the start of the World Championships, and she was used to it. She decided to just observe her opponent's performance.

Their eyes met at that moment, and with the referee's signal, both Poké Balls were thrown simultaneously...

A flash of red light appeared as the Poison Skull Frog and the Ground Winged Frog appeared on the scene at the same time. Many viewers were surprised to see such a large "Vulcan Moth". They remembered that there was a "Dream Fairy" of this size before.

"A Pokémon I've never seen before..."

Mary muttered to herself, and after a brief hesitation, she did not choose to recall. The other party was obviously not a Fire type, and it was more likely to be a Bug or Fighting type.

This is the analysis of a professional trainer: when they see an unfamiliar Pokémon, they first guess its type.

"Let's fight! Swallow Return!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Poison Skull Frog's arm spikes transformed into sharp blades of light, and it charged forward at full speed.

But the crawling wing remained unmoved, merely waving its still-developing wings slightly, calling for sunlight. A scorching ray of light fell from the sky, and it was directly hit by the poisonous skeletal frog's attack.

The effect is outstanding, and the damage is very considerable!

With its size advantage, the crawling winged creature endured the pain to absorb energy from the sunlight, unleashing its ancient vitality and bursting forth with immense power.

"Highly poisonous!"

Sensing something was wrong, Mary immediately shouted, "No matter what, let's get into the right mindset first!"

Suddenly, a ball of orange-red flame ignited, protecting the crawling wings within, and the poisonous toad's arm, from which it had extended its venomous stinger, was instantly set ablaze!

Before he could even react to what was happening, the massive body of the Ground Wing had already unleashed an impossible speed, raising its short forelegs and spreading an orange aura throughout its body. It used its full power to slam heavily into the Poison Skull Frog, sending it flying out of the arena with a single blow!

The entire audience was immediately stunned...

……

(End of this chapter)