Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

Before the words "What kind of wonderful performance will it deliver?" could be uttered, the male commentator, who spoke at an extremely fast pace, was surprised to find that Blaziken, which had just been full of energy and burning like a flame on the battlefield, was now lying on the ground.

The water flowing on the ground was a stream that had appeared out of nowhere.

Just ten seconds into the game, before Gu Minghao's ace Pokémon Blaziken could even accelerate, it was instantly defeated by Milotic's incredibly fast Hydro Pump!

To be honest, I've watched quite a few male commentators in matches with significant skill gaps this morning, but this is the first time I've seen a commentator end a match before even finishing their opening remarks.

Milotic's attack speed is truly terrifying...

His excellent professionalism surprised him for a moment, but he quickly turned his attention back to the competition itself.

At this moment, Gu Minghao, who had not yet recovered from the shock, had already recalled Blaziken and replaced it with Iron Fist Warrior under the referee's urging.

He's figured it out now: he can't win, switching to another Pokémon is difficult, and he'll likely be defeated by Milotic in a 3-1 sweep.

The only way to save face is perhaps to confront the challenge head-on and lose with some dignity...

So, Gu Minghao bravely let the Iron Palm Warrior attack, and then typed GG.

…………

The interval between the opening and closing whistles is only two minutes.

This means that... Xia Chen, who went all out, ended the 3v3 battle in just two minutes.

There was even a minute in which the Iron Palm Warrior, with its thick skin and flesh, which was not countered by water-type attacks, managed to withstand the attack. That minute was the only time in the entire match that could barely be described as a back-and-forth confrontation.

Needless to say, the last one, the Duckbill Flame Beast, was also a no-brainer.

Without even using Water Cannon, a single Surf attack, leaving the opponent no chance, brought Magmortar to its knees.

For the first time, the male commentator didn't even think about drinking water right after finishing his commentary. He clicked his tongue slightly, took a habitual sip of water, and then concluded the match.

"So, the match is over. Xia Chen won the match with an absolute advantage thanks to Milotic's outstanding performance, taking one minute and forty-nine seconds. According to the current statistics, this is the shortest match in this competition so far."

"Xia Chen has shown us with his strength that he is not only the best in the field of Pokémon research, but also in Pokémon battles. Let's wait and see how far this youngest participant in the history of the competition can go in this Youth Competition!"

The battle has now ended.

Xia Chen stepped down, and the next contestant entered the stage.

The viewers in the live chat were still engrossed in the match that had just taken place.

A two-minute battle is hardly exciting, so there's nothing to reminisce about. The audience's discussion still revolved around Xia Chen.

"I knew Master Pigeon was strong, but I didn't expect him to be this strong!"

"I thought that Bu Shen was invincible, so whose subordinate is this?"

"Milotic has changed a lot too. Have you noticed how much prettier he is? His scales, the details on his body, and even his aura—he's practically a walking advertisement for a beautiful energy cube!"

"They really didn't show Sylveon and Gardevoir, I'm unfollowing them!"

"Calm down, it doesn't matter whether you unfollow or not. Master Pigeon has probably already forgotten his Pixiv account secrets."

"As everyone knows, Cynthia also has a Milotic. With Pigeon Master and Milotic being so strong, it really makes one's imagination run wild..."

"Power is transmitted through X?"

…………

Xia Chen had no idea how the comments were portraying him. After the match, he found Teacher Lin Quan and followed her out of the arena to go back.

He was the last of the ten students from Beijing University to compete. The other nine, who had already won, were already on the minibus outside, waiting for Xia Chen to return to Funan University together.

"There's a Pokémon Center in the arena. Should we get Milotic treated before we leave?"

As they walked, Teacher Lin Quan asked with concern.

Xia Chen declined her offer, saying, "You watched the match, didn't you? He only took two close-quarters hits from Iron Palm Warrior. Milotic might have already healed by now."

Lin Quan: "......"

Are two close-quarters combat scenarios simply described as "just that"?

However, since Xia Chen had already said it wasn't necessary, she couldn't say anything more.

Passing between the still-running match fields, the two headed straight out of the Blazing Arena.

As Lin Quan passed by a field, he suddenly heard a soft exclamation from beside him.

"Teacher Lin, is the Donghuang Youth Trainer Competition still open to participants from other regions?"

Xia Chen's question was a bit strange. After thinking for a while, Lin Quan replied, "The competition rules... don't seem to have this restriction, but those who can participate in the Youth Competition are selected by various universities, or recommended by dojos or qualified training centers, so there shouldn't be people from other regions participating, right? Or maybe they are international students?"

"is that so..."

Xia Chen lowered his head, looking thoughtful.

Lin Quan was curious as to why Xia Chen would ask this question. She looked in the direction Xia Chen had been staring at and saw that the match on the battlefield had just ended.

A Pikachu nimbly jumped off the fallen geranium and hopped onto the shoulder of a boy wearing a red and white training uniform and a red baseball cap.

Lin Quan was slightly surprised. Pikachu had come?

It can even defeat the Grass-type starter Meganium with a type advantage?

Was the person Xia Chen just asked about from other regions the same boy with an extraordinary air and a confident smile on his face?

Lin Quan stood there stunned for a moment, while Xia Chen snapped out of his reverie and walked forward.

"Let's go, Teacher Lin, they're still waiting outside."

"Oh... okay."

…………

Xia Chen didn't expect to see Chi Hong again so soon.

Actually, it's been quite a while; it's been over a year since they first met at the Pogaman Cup.

But compared to the "three-year promise" they made, this reunion happened quite quickly.

Recalling the scene when they parted last time, Xia Chen remembered that Chi Hong seemed to have said that he wanted to travel west along the Yangtze River and challenge the dojos.

Have you already traveled to Funan in a year?

So he should have taken down Yunze Gym, Shanming Gym, and Qingkong Gym along the way, right?

Just a year ago, they were rookie trainers like me, but now they've almost collected half of the badges.

Wow, that's some serious growth rate...

Xia Chen, who owns a group of cheat-like characters, commented on a cheater in this way.

No, if you add Pikachu, then there are two overpowered characters.

But skill aside, this guy has been traveling all the time, so how did he manage to get a spot in this competition?

The international student that Teacher Lin mentioned? But isn't he always traveling?

Xia Chen found it a bit strange, but Ye wasn't in a hurry.

Anyway, given his and Crimson's strength, they'll definitely meet in the main tournament. Let's ask that question face to face then.

……

At the end of the first day of competition, all ten players from Kyoto University won their matches.

Although it looked impressive, it wasn't a big deal for them, so Teacher Lin Quan didn't organize a celebration banquet or anything like that.

Going back and getting a good rest to prepare for the next day's match is the most important thing.

The competition continued in full swing at the Fiery Arena the following day.

The winners' bracket matches were in the morning, so early in the morning, Lin Quan brought Xia Chen and the others to the arena.

After entering the winners' bracket, if all goes well, winning two more rounds and reaching the top 48 in the winners' bracket will qualify you for the main tournament.

The remaining sixteen spots will naturally be divided among the losers.

Although it may seem a bit unfair, it is both a reward for the winner and a punishment for the loser.

In fact, the preliminary rounds adopted a double-elimination system, which already provides a higher margin of error for all participants.

The saying goes, "If you're not good enough, blame the road for being uneven." If you still can't get into the main competition under this format, then it's purely a matter of skill.

…………

On the second day of the competition, Xia Chen won easily as well.

Yesterday it was Milotic's show, today it's Sylvanas's 1v3 show.

Having grown accustomed to the intense competition within Beijing University, Xia Chen found playing in matches across the entire Donghuang region quite easy.

This situation is quite similar to a well-known meme about the Chinese national table tennis team in the past.

"After winning the World Championships and returning to China to compete, I found that winning the National Games was much harder..."

However, Xia Chen also knew that this was a misconception caused by the large number of participants and the mixed quality of the preliminary rounds.

If we really run into a "second-generation VIP" like Long Yue, it will inevitably be a fierce battle.

As luck would have it, one of the ten students from Shanghai University encountered such an opponent today.

That person was from the western region of Donghuang, in the city of Litang, known as the world's tallest city, and was the "second generation" of the Ice-type gymnasium, IceTree Gym.

The main Pokémon are Ninetales, Darmanitan, and Ursaring.

A relatively rare sight in snowy weather.

It's worth mentioning that the snow team in this world is stronger than the one Xia Chen played in his previous life's game.

The effect of snow here is no longer that hail will cause slight continuous damage to non-ice-type Pokémon, but rather that it will increase the physical defense of ice-type Pokémon by about half.

With the [Snowfall] ability, the Ice-type Ninetales immediately erected the [Aurora Curtain], which is a combination of Light Screen and Reflector. Despite its many weaknesses, the Ice-type Pokémon was surprisingly tanky.

Like many weather operators, Ice Ninetales was replaced after using Snow and Aurora.

She handed the stage to the main damage dealer of this snow team, the Ice-type face-up Pokémon, the Galarian form of Darmanitan.

An icicle crashed down, nearly knocking the thick-skinned Venusaur off its feet.

This demonstrates the immense power of this Dharma baboon's attack.

Ultimately, Kang Wenxi, ranked fifth in the school, lost 1-3 to Wang Ding, the inheritor of Bingzhen Dojo, and unfortunately fell into the loser's bracket.

Apart from the others, the rest of the students from Shanghai University, as well as Chi Hong whom Xia Chen was secretly observing, all successfully advanced to the next round.