This trainer has no moral principles

"Oh, you don't want the Heavenly Golden Knight anymore?" You Zhi felt a little regretful.

"The Heavenly Golden Knight is not one of the Three Mythical Gods. There's no need to risk your life."

"You should be cautious."

"In my line of work, if I'm not careful, I won't be able to survive until now. I should give up when I need to, no matter if it's an elf or a subordinate."

Elf Hunter J handed the six stars to Youzhi without any reluctance, and then the dark barrier dissipated on its own.

Some dark duels would punish the loser, because both parties were gambling with their lives, but this dark duel was not so cruel, and only punished those who did not abide by the agreement.

Elf Hunter J couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief upon seeing this, and decisively gave up the backup plan.

Originally, she planned to use other means if she lost the duel. After all, she was not a trainer, so there was no need to stick to Pokémon duels. If sneak attacks with guns or kidnapping hostages could achieve the same effect, she would certainly not refuse.

But after seeing You Zhi's dark power, she decided to give up the Heavenly Golden Knight and stay away from this man. Because she was in the underworld, she knew very well that the dark power could do many things beyond common sense and it was not worth the risk.

After making this decision, Elf Hunter J relaxed completely, but when she turned around to leave, her expression froze instantly.

Junsha, wearing a police uniform and holding a pair of handcuffs, said righteously, "Elf Hunter J, I arrest you on suspicion of stealing other people's elves and intentional injury!"

Behind her stood a burly elf named "Judge", holding an iron hammer in each hand, staring closely at the elf hunter J. He would attack without mercy if the other party made any unusual movement.

Elf Hunter J turned his head stiffly, looked at You Zhi in disbelief, and asked, "You actually reported me to the police?"

As a well-known trainer, shouldn't he defeat his opponent in a fair duel? How can he use such an unethical and lawless method as reporting?

Don’t worry that no one will challenge you to a duel next time... Oh, you have collected all ten stars. No wonder you dare to cross the river and destroy the bridge!

You Zhicai didn't bother to pay attention to the other party's excitement and said righteously: "As a good citizen, it is my right and obligation to report criminals and maintain social order."

"Well said!" Junsha gave a thumbs-up and praised. "If everyone had the same awareness as Mr. Youzhi, the world would definitely become a better place. By the way, there's a reward for this criminal. If you have time, please come to our police station and claim your well-earned reward."

"I'll go tomorrow."

Elf Hunter J gnashed his teeth in hatred, but still obediently stretched out his hands to let Junsha handcuff them.

She had no doubt that if she dared to resist, this guy named You Zhi would definitely join forces to attack her regardless of his status.

You Zhi inserted the six stars into his bracelet and, watching the police car gradually drive away, he said with emotion, "I've got all the stars, eliminated a criminal, and even got a bonus. Tonight is really a series of good things."

"That might not be the case for others. I didn't even notice when you called the police."

Phil was shocked when she saw Junsha coming. She had never thought about this. It was the idea of ​​solving everything with a duel as the elf hunter J said.

"While waiting for you to eat, of course."

At that time, Elf Hunter J only planned to use four stars as a bet, and he was sure that You Zhi would not dare to call the police.

"Were you sure the other party would accept the six-star offer? What if they were principled and refused to accept the offer and the duel? Wouldn't that mean you'd lose all hope of advancing?"

If other elf hunters knew that Youzhi would call the police, they would definitely not dare to challenge him again.

"Even if there's no duel tonight, collecting all the stars is only a matter of time."

"Besides the Elf Hunter, is there anyone else who would challenge you?" Phil was a little skeptical.

"Of course, trainers are the most passionate and ambitious group in the world. We must believe in their burning desire to challenge the strong."

"If they really wanted to challenge the strong, there wouldn't be so many people refusing a duel today."

Phil completely disbelieved Youzhi's explanation, but then said cheerfully, "Look at it another way. Regardless, you've already collected all the stars, but the same can't be said for the other trainers on the celebrity list. This effectively eliminates a large number of strong competitors."

"You're overthinking it. The vast majority of people on that list will advance. Those who are eliminated will only be because of their lack of ability or intelligence."

"How is that possible? If no one challenges them, how are they supposed to collect all the stars? If, as Alisa said, they proactively propose conditions that are disadvantageous to themselves, their chances of being defeated will increase significantly. After all, no matter how weak the other trainers are, they are still professional trainers who can collect eight badges. The rules of this qualifying tournament are inherently flawed. They favor the weak and disadvantage the strong. In my opinion, there should be a restriction in the rules. For example, if you refuse a challenge, you must pay a star as a price, followed by an hour of protection."

You Zhi shook his head and said, "According to your method, this preliminaries will become a complete mess. There's no doubt that all sorts of underhanded tactics will emerge, and it will cause countless people to be dissatisfied afterwards. The simplest thing is, if someone gets ten stars and is already qualified for the next round, and then someone challenges them, there's no benefit for them whether they accept or not. How can this be fair?"

Phil immediately said, "We can add a rule that contestants who have advanced have the right to refuse challenges from others at no cost."

"If there's someone I desperately want to defeat, I can hire a player to challenge him, using a star as a stake, and propose a 6v6 match. If he refuses, he'll lose a star, and if he agrees, he'll leak a ton of information. It's not worth it."

"We can add another rule that only 3v3 duels are allowed at most."

"Now we have two additional rules. I can come up with more tricks next. You'll need to add a new rule for each additional one. So, we don't need to do anything else today. Let's spend the day learning the rules of the game to prevent loopholes."

"But..." Phil frowned, still finding it hard to accept. "The current rules aren't fair either. How can a competition based on strength favor the weak?"

"While the current simple rules are biased, they're not biased towards the weak as you claim. You need to look back, not just focus on the past. If you don't understand this, you'll likely suffer greatly in promoting Mounted Duels in the future. Remember, the simpler something is, the more likely it is to be accepted by the public. What you think is a supplement to the rules may very well become a loophole for others to exploit."

"I still do not get it."

"You'll understand tomorrow."

"Hey, tell me now, don't keep me in suspense, or I won't be able to sleep."

Phil pulled Youzhi's sleeve and acted coquettishly, but Youzhi, being a straight man who prioritized fun, didn't buy it at all.

"You won't understand even if I tell you now, but you'll know tomorrow."

……

The next morning, You Zhi and Phil were enjoying a buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

Suddenly, a high-spirited young man walked over and said, "You must be You Zhi, the A-ranked Heavenly Knight holder on the Celebrity List. I challenge you to a duel."

Phil asked warily, "Are you also an elf hunter?"

"Too?"

The young man was slightly puzzled, but he didn't hesitate. He immediately denied it, "Of course not! Only those profit-driven, twisted perverts would become Pokémon hunters. I'm an upright Pokémon Trainer, issuing a Duel challenge according to the League Qualifiers rules. I need a few stars to stake. Just name your name."

Chapter 285: Old Friend Niu Wei

"You are late."

You Zhi raised his wrist to show the bracelet that was already inlaid with stars.

The young man who issued the challenge tutted in disappointment, but did not force it. He simply gave up and turned away.

"Is there really someone who would take the initiative to challenge?"

Phil was stunned. He didn't expect You Zhi to be right. But he thought about it and said with relief, "There is no shortage of warriors who dare to challenge the strong in the trainer family. It's just that we were unlucky yesterday and didn't meet any."

You Zhi took a quick glance and said, "Next, more and more people will take the initiative to challenge."

"How is that possible? I admit that there are some passionate young people with dreams among the trainers, but they are a minority after all." Phil still insisted.

You Zhi did not refute. No matter how much he said, it would not be as convincing as personal experience.

He had already met the requirements to advance to the knockout round and was too lazy to get more stars. He no longer cared about the competition. After breakfast, he went to the local police station to collect the bounty from Elf Hunter J.

As a result, on the way to the police station, he met two contestants who took the initiative to challenge him.

"What's going on?" Phil had already accepted Youzhi's point of view, but he still didn't understand the reason. "Are today's contestants the same group as yesterday's? Or did you do something else when I didn't know?"

"I didn't do anything. This is just a natural occurrence under the rules of the game. Think carefully, what do those challengers have in common?"

"What we have in common..."

Phil thought carefully, eliminating those meaningless options, and said thoughtfully, "The stars on their bracelets are full, and they have met the requirements for advancement. Normally, even those passionate trainers who like to challenge strong opponents don't need to risk being eliminated to challenge strong opponents. After all, they still have the chance to meet them after participating in the elimination rounds. So, are they using the extra stars to challenge?"

"That's right. No one was willing to accept my challenge yesterday. It's not because they lacked courage, but just like what the Copping player said, they didn't want to take unnecessary risks. But if the risks didn't exist, why not do it?"

Phil suddenly realized, "Because they have extra stars, it's not a big deal even if they lose. Usually, they can't meet famous trainers when they want to challenge them, but now the opportunity is right in front of them. If it were me, I would definitely work hard to collect more stars on the first day, and challenge a trainer I'm interested in on the second day. I could even take the opportunity to make a request, such as challenging you to use a Celestial Gold Knight in the duel. This request is much more reasonable than the self-restrictive conditions that Alisa mentioned, and generally won't be rejected."

You Zhidao said, "Challengers can generally be divided into two categories. One is the kind you described, pure-blooded trainers who simply want to seize the opportunity to duel with a celebrity. The other is those who intend to use the opportunity to gather intelligence. They will demand that both sides have as many battle spots as possible, but they will use backup Pokémon in the duel to prevent their own intelligence from being leaked."

Phil's mind suddenly opened up. "Originally, after earning ten stars, competitors had no motivation to continue seeking duels. But now, things are different. They'll actively challenge weaker trainers to earn extra stars, which will significantly reduce the number of competitors who advance. This qualifying tournament rule seems to protect the weak, giving them the freedom to refuse, but in reality, it's leading to even more eliminations."

You Zhidao said, "No matter what the rules are, as long as the competition is based on strength, the weak will be suppressed. If we must calculate the gains and losses, we can only say that the rules of the preliminaries favor the unknown strong and disadvantage the famous strong. The weak, regardless of whether they are famous or not, will be eliminated. If someone on the celebrity list doesn't make the final cut, it's not because no one challenges them and they are targeted by the rules, but because they are inferior in skill and defeated by the challengers. After all, the trainers who can obtain excess stars are definitely stronger than the average."

"I didn't expect this kind of change. The same rules, but as the game progresses, the situation becomes completely different..."

Phil sighed for a while, and suddenly thought of something, and asked hurriedly: "Then Alyssa used self-limitation to challenge others yesterday, didn't she suffer in vain?"

"That depends on what she thinks. If she's also planning on collecting more stars and challenging celebrities, then it's not a disadvantage. If she hasn't thought of that, then just treat it as training before the main competition."

"Why didn't you remind her yesterday?"

"Who knows if she's thought of it? If she has, then wouldn't I be showing off? And judging by her expression last night, it was clearly going smoothly. There's no need to worry."

The two of them were walking and chatting, and they met two more challengers on the road.

You Zhi felt it was troublesome and decided to hand in the bracelet in advance to secure his place in the next round. After that, when others saw the baldness on his wrist, they would naturally stop talking.

When submitting the wristband to the organizer, I met an old friend again.

"Hey, it's been a while. I heard you were resurrected before, but I thought it was just nonsense from Harlin. I didn't expect it to be true."

A burly man with inverted brows and wearing a guard uniform greeted him in a familiar tone.

After a brief recollection, You Zhi remembered that the other person's name was Niu Weizhe, and he was also from the Gurus Group. His relationship with the original body was not exactly a friend, but it was slightly better than that of other colleagues, so there was no need to worry about being discovered.

Of course, with You Zhi's current strength, it's no big deal if he's found out that he has nothing to do with his original self.

But considering it best to avoid trouble, he didn't pretend not to know him and said, "Niuwei, have you signed up for the Quartz Competition as well? Is the work in Gurus so idle that two inspectors are taking leave together? Or is it that everyone in Gurus is law-abiding and has a simple and honest character, so they don't need inspections?"

Niu Wei's face was filled with rage as he said, "I didn't sign up for the competition, and that bastard Harlin didn't ask for leave either. He just snuck in. I'll definitely report him and have his salary severely docked!"

Then, he took out something that looked like a USB flash drive and handed it to You Zhi, saying, "This is what the leader ordered me to give you. It contains the data you requested. Also, the leader said he's happy to see your plan succeed and hopes it will make the world more interesting. If necessary, he'd be happy to let the Gurus Group join in the fun."

"Got it. Tell Malik for me. If necessary, I won't be polite."

You Zhilian is willing to use the Three Phantom Demons, so naturally he will not refuse to cooperate with the Gurus Group. If the plan fails, he will be nailed as a sinner who will be remembered for his crimes. On the contrary, if it succeeds, he will be a saint praised and admired by everyone.

Regardless of the former or the latter, the stain of cooperating with underworld organizations is not worth mentioning.

"I didn't expect you to become such a big shot. Experiencing death really does transform a person."

Niuwei sighed, then continued, "Next is my personal question. When Harlin came back, he boasted that he forced you to use the Thunder King's Pokémon Card in the duel. Wasn't that just a lie he made up to brag?"

You Zhi recalled the battle and nodded, "It's true."

Upon hearing this, Niuwei showed a shocked expression and muttered, "This kid has become so strong? Challenging gyms is so effective? No wonder the alliance wants to implement the gym challenge system. Should I also take six months off to train..."

Chapter 286 Battle List

"The elimination rate in the preliminaries was 92%. Seventy percent of the players on the celebrity list advanced, while the remaining thirty percent who were eliminated had lost all their stars in duels. This shows that fame doesn't necessarily equate to skill. Finally, including the seeded players who advanced directly, a total of 121 players will participate in the elimination rounds. As per previous years' tradition, seven rounds of one-on-one matches will be held until the champion is determined. Seven lucky winners will have the opportunity to advance directly without a fight in the first round."

Alyssa talked about the information she had just obtained.

"With an elimination rate of over 90%, there are still over a hundred people!" Phil exclaimed in amazement. "Although I knew there would be a lot of applicants this time, I didn't expect there would be over a thousand."

Alyssa said, "After all, this time, the contestants aren't just from Kanto and Johto. Professional trainers from other regions have signed up, too, and there are even several gym leaders. Therefore, it's highly anticipated. It's said that the league has sold the broadcasting fees for this event at a sky-high price."

After a pause, she continued, "By the way, all contestants will receive a fee for the elf copyright, and the more times they appear, the higher the fee. Those who advance to the quarterfinals will receive nearly 500 million, not including the prize money for the competition."

Because this world has an elf information protection law, it is illegal to arbitrarily record other people's elf battle videos. In addition, if a commentator explains the characteristics of elves to the audience during the game, analyzes their strengths, effects, genealogy restraints, etc., without the permission of both parties to the game, it is also illegal.

Even professional trainers with very low levels can do well in this world. After all, they can get copyright fees as long as they appear on the stage. Therefore, many professional slackers have emerged, who rely on participating in various competitions to get copyright fees for the first round. They have no interest in the duel itself, and their appearances are just perfunctory. Unless they meet a colleague, they will work hard and find a way to enter the second round. Trainers who really love this industry hate these people.

It has to be admitted that the reason why the league chose this qualifying rule is largely to save money and screen out professional slackers. After all, if there is no broadcast, there is no need to pay copyright fees, otherwise the number of registrants would definitely increase several times.

You Zhi didn't care about any of this. He asked, "The competition rules and rosters haven't been released yet? It's been three days since the qualifiers ended. The league's efficiency is too low."

Alyssa and Phil looked at each other, and one of them said, "It's normal efficiency. Everyone is used to it. Anyway, just think of it as relieving the fatigue accumulated in the preliminaries."

Another person also said, "The notice has been sent out. The details about the elimination round will be announced today. Compared to usual, this is pretty fast. I thought it would take at least five days."

"...No wonder there are always illegal organizations causing trouble in various regions. With this level of efficiency, even if people below report it, the people above will drag their feet again and again until the incident breaks out before taking action."

You Zhi had no choice. As a Pokémon trainer, he couldn't possibly regulate the officialdom. That would be too unprofessional. It could only be said that bureaucrats have the same habits no matter which world they are in.

Fortunately, after only waiting for half a day, he and Alyssa received the information about the alliance's launch, and an announcement was also released on the official website.

"The first and second rounds are singles 3v3, the third and fourth rounds are doubles 4v4, and after the quarterfinals it's singles 6v6. There's nothing new about it, it's not as good as the qualifiers."

You Zhi was a little disappointed and turned to ask Phil, "What about your riding duel? If you could have a round in a competition, wouldn't it be more acceptable to the public?"

Phil spread his hands and said, "I did want to, but the alliance's offer was too expensive. I asked a professional marketing company to evaluate it, and they said the price-performance ratio was too low, so I didn't agree."

Alyssa agreed, "There's nothing we can do. The Alliance takes this competition very seriously, and the more important a sport is, the more conservative it tends to be. It's unlikely they'll accept new ideas. Having no innovation is better than having problems. If a popular player is eliminated due to unfamiliarity with the new rules, it's bound to draw a wave of criticism. The organizing committee sees this as an unnecessary risk, unless you can offer them enough benefits to impress them."

Phil didn't want to dwell on such depressing topics, so he quickly waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's take a look at the match list. Who are your first-round opponents?"

Alyssa took a look and said, "Huh, I've never heard of this name. He's from the Alola region. Hmm... I don't think Alola even has a proper Pokémon League."

Phil heard the contempt in her bestie's tone and cautiously warned, "To be able to make it through the qualifiers with a 90% elimination rate proves that his strength must be extraordinary. There might be some special Pokémon in the Alola region, so be careful."

"Don't worry, I won't underestimate any opponent."