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

Chapter 281 Opening Ceremony, Exhibition Match, Draw

On the bus, Gadriya complained to Cynthia about a series of frustrating things that happened after becoming the champion, while the slacker champion, whose main job was a mythologist, shared her experience of slacking off.

The topic of their discussion was too high-level, and Xia Chen, whose political affiliation was that of an ordinary citizen, couldn't get a word in edgewise.

However, when they started talking about the dark organizations in their respective regions, Xia Chen had something to say.

Are you talking about Team Galaxy and Team Plasma?

Gadria asked in surprise, "You've heard of Team Plasma even though this is your first time in the Unova region?"

Team Plasma is currently an organization disguised as a church, simply giving speeches and persuading people to release Pokémon back into nature, without engaging in any clearly illegal activities such as stealing Pokémon.

Therefore, it was indeed unusual for Xia Chen, an outsider, to have heard of the Plasma Team.

Xia Chen couldn't explain either, but he reminded her, "In short, I still suggest you be more wary of this organization. Their motives are far from as pure and noble as their doctrines suggest."

On the surface, Team Plasma argues that the Pokémon are unfortunate to be in human hands and should be returned to nature.

However, their real purpose was to promote this idea so that other trainers would give up Pokémon, allowing Team Plasma to monopolize the power of Pokémon.

It sounds like a naive idea, but as long as it's packaged as a cult... someone will eventually believe it.

It's okay if you don't believe me. You won't release them, right? Then I'll just steal them.

But that's a story for later.

At this moment, the Plasma Cluster wasn't so arrogant yet. They were accumulating power, absorbing faith, and waiting... for the chosen one to awaken the Dragon God who created the Unova region.

These are all things that will inevitably happen in the future, but Xia Chen certainly can't tell Jia Deliya about them right now.

The legal standard for judgment must be behavior, not motive, especially since this motive was fabricated by Xia Chen. Therefore, he could only offer the champion a reasonable reminder.

Caldelia scoffed, "As the champion, I shall suppress all the villains of this region."

Her confidence stems not only from her being an elf, but also from her absolute strength. As a child, she could go berserk and destroy a house, let alone now.

Seeing that Gadriya didn't seem to take it seriously, Cynthia chimed in, "Xia Chen doesn't joke about such important matters, so it's best to be careful."

Cattleya did not answer, but Cynthia, who knew her very well, knew that she had taken her words to heart.

…………

The drive from the airport to the hotel wasn't long, and the three of them chatted and reminisced before returning to their accommodation.

Although Xia Chen had said he would take a few days off from cooking, since Xirona was here, he definitely had to be treated the same way.

Thanks to Cynthia, after several days, the elves finally got to eat the delicious food Xia Chen made himself. They were all as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood, determined to serve Xia Chen loyally on the battlefield the next day.

The topic of conversation after dinner was naturally the World Youth Championships, which all three of them would be participating in the next day. However, Xia Chen was a participant in the main competition, while the two champions were participants in the exhibition match.

"Tomorrow morning will be my 3v3 exhibition match with Nana, followed by the first round draw. Only two of the four matches will be played. The first match will be between Alice and her opponent, and the second match will be between Xia Chen and his opponent."

The host, Cattleya, revealed the general schedule for tomorrow.

However, she didn't mention what would happen if Alice and Xia Chen were to draw together, it's unclear whether there's something going on or she simply overlooked this point.

Cynthia laughed and said, "It seems that your United Alliance has a lot of faith in Xia Chen's popularity."

The arrangement of three consecutive highly anticipated matches is intended to further fuel this already raging fire, aiming for a stunning debut.

Xia Chen had no objection to when the match was scheduled; the earlier the match was played, the better he could observe the other players' skill levels the next day.

As for who we play in the first round, that's even less important. Since our goal is the championship, we must be prepared to defeat all our opponents.

Because the World Youth Championships officially opened the next day, Xia Chen chatted with the two champion sisters until after nine o'clock before returning to her room.

There was no further training. Tactics would be arranged after the draw the next day. There was no motivational talk or anything to inspire them. The night passed quickly, just like any other, and perhaps even more relaxed.

The following day, Xia Chen and Nimo arrived at Raven Arena in a bus arranged by the competition organizers.

The distance of less than one kilometer took more than half an hour.

Although it was only 7 a.m., the residents of Raven City who drove to watch the game were so enthusiastic that they blocked all the roads leading to the arena.

Of course, most of them came to watch the exhibition match between Gadria and Cynthia after seeing the news last night.

This is not only Gadriya's first match in public since becoming the Unified Champion, but also the first Champions showdown this year.

Although it was just a 3v3 exhibition match, many viewers were still willing to buy tickets for this highly anticipated event.

Caldaria is a very popular Elite Four member in Unova. She is beautiful and has the power of a psychic that rivals that of her own Pokémon.

After becoming the champion, her popularity soared even higher, and she is now showing signs of catching up with Cynthia.

After all, there are quite a few people in this world who are obsessed with looks, and the "three-no girl" archetype is quite appealing to some.

…………

The match started at 9 a.m., and by 8 a.m., the Raven Arena, which can hold 50,000 people, was already packed.

Not only at the venue, but also on Pixiv, the World Youth Championship live stream had already surpassed 10 million views.

This world is quite honest; popularity equals the number of people watching online. In other words, even before the competition started, tens of millions of people were already watching the exhibition match between the two popular female champions.

However, the organizers couldn't just let so many people wait idly. This hour was naturally meant to showcase Raven City's thriving entertainment industry.

With song and dance performances and a model catwalk, Xiaojuer, the super popular dojo master of Raven Dojo, was the first to radiate her dazzling charm in front of the two champions.

Although this world has gained more elves, what remains unchanged is the human heart, and the spirit of entertainment is universal.

After the warm-up, many lewd fans were yelling for "another round" or "encore," completely forgetting that today's main topic was Pokémon battles.

But the audience forgot, while the host certainly didn't.

Incidentally, the host is still Xiaojuer.

After finishing her hot dance and catwalk show, Xiao Ju stood on the stage, slightly out of breath, with glistening beads of sweat sliding down her exposed skin due to gravity.

Well-exercised, snow-white thighs are rounded and straight, healthy and beautiful.

It is said that her agency insured her legs for hundreds of millions of dollars.

As the close-up shot came on, some perverted viewers were already drooling in front of their screens.

Some people even made the outrageous statement, "I could lick that leg until it breaks."

In short, with Xiaoju'er's sweet yet cool voice announcing, the 2025 World Youth Pokémon Battle Championship officially kicked off.

Before the first round of the draw began, the highly anticipated championship showdown took place: Cynthia vs. Cattleya.

At this point, the live stream's viewership had already approached 50 million.

…………

Since it's a competition, there naturally needs to be commentary.

The commentators who can be responsible for commentating on a match between two champions cannot be too far behind in skill, otherwise they might become a laughing stock.

The two commentators for this exhibition match are also quite prominent, one of whom is none other than the former Unova Champion, Alder, who was defeated by Gadria to ascend to the championship throne.

Adek was only in his thirties at the time, right in the prime of his life.

Although he faced the eventual champion Cynthia at the Masters 8 tournament at the beginning of last year and was eliminated in the semifinals, his strength was not questioned because of this.

In most people's eyes, he is still one of the strongest champions in the world.

Even so, he was still defeated by Gadriya with a score of 6-4 in the championship challenge a few months ago, which shows how strong Gadriya is now.

Incidentally, if it were an unregulated open-world battle, Aldak would probably lose even more miserably.

However, this uncle, Adek, is optimistic. After stepping down from his champion position, he gradually revealed his comedic talent.

With the added fame of being a former champion, he has been very successful in the short video field, producing a constant stream of jokes. Many people jokingly say that he is a stand-up comedian whose talent has been wasted by his championship title.

This World Youth Championship also marks his first attempt at match commentary.

"Hello everyone, I'm Adek, the commentator for this match."

Inside the studio, Adek was cheerfully greeting the audience.

"I am the commentator, Da Ye."

A rather unreliable-looking man next to him said with a grin.

He is one of the current Sinnoh Elite Four and has been invited to commentate on this year's World Junior Championship.

After his partner finished introducing himself, Adek said, "This match is something everyone has been looking forward to for a long time, and I'm also eager to know the result."

Da Ye, playing the straight man perfectly, chimed in, "Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Adek chuckled and replied, "If you could defeat both of them at the same time, you'd probably be curious about who's stronger."

Da Ye: "...That's not entirely unreasonable."

To be honest, it's not easy to be defeated by both of these champions at the same time; at least someone of similar level to them would qualify.

It takes considerable magnanimity to bring up such a shameful matter.

Adek's humorous self-deprecating remarks caused a small surge in comments even before the match officially started.

It has to be said that he does have a talent for live streaming.

At this moment, the two elegant champions were already standing on opposite sides of the battlefield.

The exhibition match has officially begun.

…………

Both sides tacitly chose Garchomp and Metagross as their starting Pokémon.

They are both each other's trump cards, and equally matched near-gods.

It's hard to believe that these two best friends didn't plan this together.

But it's just an exhibition match, so as long as it's entertaining, the process is more important than the result.

The quality of this match alone was enough to make the audience's entire day's ticket price worthwhile.

The fierce and domineering Garchomp and the cool and composed Metagross perfectly embody the two trainers' completely opposite battle styles.

It's not a matter of which is better or worse; they are both the most suitable styles for each other.

Xia Chen, who is also a superpowered individual, understands very well the step-by-step combat approach that Gadria has chosen, because this is the only way to maximize her advantages of super reaction speed and thinking speed.

She and her Metagross seem to share the same brain; most of the time, it can understand the trainer's thoughts without Cattleya having to speak.