Chapter 15: There's Something Off About My Pokémon. [15]
"Huff, huff—" Vulpix was panting heavily, clearly exhausted from the battle, which had been quite overwhelming for it. Lu Cheng was also feeling tense, his palms drenched in sweat. The senior recalled her Mawile, closed her eyes briefly, and then smiled gently.
"That was an incredible match!"
"Little Cheng, I got careless, but you and your Vulpix were really impressive!"
"Not at all, it was just luck," Lu Cheng responded modestly. Mawile's strength had far exceeded his expectations. He had assumed that, since his senior was in the business management major, she might be a bit lax when it came to training her Pokémon for battles. However, her Mawile had proven to be incredibly powerful. It was clear that he needed to work harder!
"No, there's a strong bond between you and your Vulpix." The senior shook her head, speaking earnestly. "That move, Extrasensory, you must have trained for it specifically, right? For a Pokémon to act on its own without commands and respond to the battle situation—that's something even many veteran Trainers can't achieve."
"R-really?" Lu Cheng was taken aback. Without even realizing it, he and Vulpix had reached a level where they could communicate through just eye contact. In that moment, when Vulpix had been thrown to the ground and he was about to surrender, he had seen it—Vulpix's defiant gaze. A look of determination not to give up.
Of course, this was also the result of their dedicated training. The use of Extrasensory was proof of that.
"Of course." The senior nodded, then suddenly broke into a laugh. "Alright, don't be so serious. Let's head inside and rest for a bit."
Lu Cheng gave a small "Mm." Though they had won the battle, he had realized there were still many areas where he needed to improve. First and foremost, allowing Mawile to use Taunt successfully, even when he knew it was coming—that was a major mistake on his part as a Trainer.
Secondly, rushing blindly at the opponent gave Mawile the chance to counterattack. If the senior hadn't held back and failed to land a finishing blow in time, this victory would have been far from certain. He needed to learn from this! Lu Cheng thought to himself.
"Don't look so down. With your current abilities, you're sure to pass the interview for Jiangnan University. The main focus should be your academic courses!"
In the study, the maid arrived just in time, serving tea and macarons, with portions for the Pokémon as well. The senior called out Mawile and sprayed high-grade healing potions on both it and Vulpix, instantly healing their wounds. Lu Cheng couldn't help but marvel at how the wealthy truly had the power of money.
"I'm working hard on the academic side, too. I barely made last year's cutoff for Jiangnan University in the recent mock exam, so it's still pretty tight," Lu Cheng sighed, handing a macaron to Vulpix. Vulpix happily accepted the treat and shared it with Mawile.
After staring at Mawile for a while, Lu Cheng found that, although its appearance was still a bit odd, he had gotten used to it. It kind of gave him vibes similar to Corpse Bride.
The senior sipped her tea elegantly, and then, as if she suddenly remembered something, tilted her head and said, "Oh right, didn't your school tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"In half a month, there's going to be an Under-20 Trainer Tournament in Jiangcheng. All trainers under 20 can participate, and the top three will be guaranteed a spot at Jiangnan University."
"Really?" Lu Cheng's eyes widened. "A guaranteed spot at such a prestigious school? That's something you'd only expect from a provincial-level competition!"
"Don't get too excited just yet. This competition might be even harder than the provincial math contest," the senior said helplessly. "Think about it—trainers from all over Zhejiang Province will be coming to Jiangcheng to compete. There'll be plenty of hidden talents, and the prizes are so generous, too."
"What other prizes are there?"
"The first-place prize is 200,000 yuan in cash, plus a choice of any evolution stone."
Lu Cheng was left speechless. The reward was almost reaching the million-yuan mark!
"What's the deal with the organizers offering such extravagant prizes?"
The senior thought of the scarred man for a moment and shook her head. "I'm not too sure either, but this tournament is going to be the biggest event Jiangcheng has seen in years. You better prepare well. If you make it into the top three, you'll be guaranteed to get into Jiangnan University!"
"Alright. By the way, Senior, are you going to participate too?"
"Of course!"
---
Sure enough, the day Lu Cheng returned to school, the school issued a notice about the U20 Youth Trainer Tournament being held in Jiangcheng.
"This time, the tournament is open to anyone under 20, without other restrictions. The top three can receive direct admission to Jiangnan University. Those of you who are interested can sign up," said Mr. Chen, the homeroom teacher, as he stood at the podium, speaking at a leisurely pace.
"But let me be clear first—this competition will be fiercely competitive. Trainers from all over Zhejiang Province will be participating. You're in your senior year now, so instead of wasting time in a tournament, you should focus on studying and preparing for the college entrance exams."
When the class heard Mr. Chen's mention of guaranteed admission to Jiangnan University, there was a wave of excitement. But after realizing that it was a province-wide competition, the room quickly fell silent. No joke—a provincial-level gold medal can guarantee university admission. The difficulty of this youth trainer competition wouldn't be any less than a math contest!
"Even so, the higher-ups require us to report three candidates, so I'll go through the motions and read out the competition details," Mr. Chen cleared his throat and, in his raspy voice, began reading: "To promote the spirit of harmony between Pokémon and humans, and to improve the training spirit of young trainers... it has been decided to hold the U20 Youth Trainer Tournament in various provinces."
"All registered trainers under the age of 20 can participate in their local area. The competition will follow a 1V1 battle format, and each participant may register up to three Pokémon. The tournament will follow an elimination system."
"Now, for the prizes in Zhejiang Province. Ahem, the top 16 trainers will receive a direct-entry job offer from one of the province's top 100 companies, 50,000 yuan in cash, custom Pokémon training equipment from Kuangye Company, and one year's supply of Pokémon food from Hu's Food Co."
"And here are the other rewards you can check yourselves. The top three will receive all the aforementioned prizes, guaranteed admission to Jiangnan University, and priority hiring with the Pokémon Association. The big one is this—the champion will win 200,000 yuan in cash and the choice of any evolution stone!"
The classroom instantly exploded into chatter.
"Whoa, just the evolution stone alone is worth five or six hundred thousand! These rewards are insane!"
"You idiot, the bigger the rewards, the stronger the competitors will be. You think just anyone can join?"
"Hiss, if I somehow make it to the top 16, that'd solve my employment issues too!"
A Le nudged Lu Cheng quietly and whispered, "So, Lu Cheng, are you gonna join?"
"Of course, my Vulpix needs an evolution stone."
"You go for it! I heard all of Zhejiang's top trainer talents are coming out for this one! But I believe in you, you'll definitely make it to the top 16!"
Although A Le didn't think Lu Cheng had a chance at winning the championship, he still sincerely cheered him on. Lu Cheng simply smiled without replying.
Ding—Large task 'U20 Youth Trainer Tournament' detected!
Goal: Achieve at least a top 16 ranking in the tournament
Reward: To be determined based on task completion level!
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