Capítulo 42: Chapter 42 Area E No.7 Field_1
In a hotel room.
Eevee was touching a drink bottle with a serious expression.
Now, it had a good grasp of Ground-based energy and was able to steadily and continuously manipulate Sand Splash, keeping it in a state of high-speed rotation.
At that moment, the sand inside the bottle kept spinning. After a few seconds, the bottle ballooned and burst, sand scattering all over the place.
Eevee was already skilled in this step and could even do it while watching TV.
However, Eevee was still not adept at the final step of the Counter Shield, which involved expanding the range of Sand Splash's rotation.
"Alright."
Seeing Eevee successfully expand the drink bottle in one go, Fang Yuan nodded and said, "The Little Phoenix King Cup will last for a week. I hope we can make greater progress during this period."
"Bwoo!" Eevee's eyes burned with passion.
The prize money was just within reach.
It would soon have its own phone!
"Warm-up's over; let's head out," Fang Yuan said.
It was almost 7 AM now, and Fang Yuan's first battle of the Little Phoenix King Cup was at 9 AM. He and Eevee needed to hurry to Oriental Pearl Stadium.
Since the preliminary rounds were taking place these days, many fields were conducting battles simultaneously, and Fang Yuan and Eevee were assigned to Zone E No.7 Field.
This situation, with multiple fields hosting battles concurrently, would continue until the top 128 were decided.
Eventually, every match would take place on the same field, surrounded by a full audience.
As per tradition, once they reached the top 16, media and public figures would come to watch the battles.
"Phew, finally made it—so many people..."
Although there were no spectators yet, there were many competitors. Oriental Pearl Stadium buzzed with noise and excitement, almost overwhelming Fang Yuan.
"Did you hear? There's a beast in Zone C. That Trainer's Scyther is super fast. It didn't even use moves during the battle; it just slashed with its scythe to take care of its opponent."
The daily preliminaries started at 8 AM, and clearly, Fang Yuan was not among the first to battle.
"What?! Are the enemies that weak?"
"Not sure, not sure, I just hope I don't run into it."
"In Zone A, there was a Rowlet... no, a Decidueye! It's a Pokemon rarely seen in our country. I really want to battle against its Trainer."
"Hahaha, my opponent was so weak. They were just here to make up the numbers; winning was a breeze."
Listening to the conversation of competitors who had already finished their battles, Fang Yuan didn't feel anxious. Instead, he felt even calmer.
He, too, had watched a few ongoing battles and found that most of the Trainers were indeed weak, probably having signed up after just a few training sessions post-hatching their Pokemon.
These people... would mostly end up as stepping stones for those who had prepared more diligently.
"I can tell now, there are few like me and Eevee, who've been through almost two months of intense training," Fang Yuan shrugged with resignation.
Soon, it was Fang Yuan's turn to enter the fray.
He arrived early at Zone E No.7 Field and waited. When the Referee announced the numbers through the megaphone, Fang Yuan raised his hand and entered the segregated field.
At the same time, Fang Yuan also saw his first opponent.
It was a girl with a round face and glasses, looking very cute.
Under normal circumstances, battling in such a public competition should make Fang Yuan somewhat nervous, but seeing his opponent's flustered expression, he just couldn't muster any anxiety.
"The battle rules are 1V1, now send out your Pokemon and start the battle on my command," the referee stated simply.
In such a formal setting, aside from during battle, Pokemon can't be freely kept outside, so Eevee had to obediently stay inside its Poké Ball.
Moreover, as everyone is a New Trainer with just one standard-issue Pokemon, there's no rule for who goes first or second. The process is simple and crude, the battle can start immediately after the referee gives the command.
"Um... please go easy on me, and teach me a lot."
The bespectacled girl across from Fang Yuan took out a Poké Ball, pressed the button to release her Lotad, and nervously spoke up.
Lotad is a small blue Pokemon with a beak-like yellow mouth and six small blue feet. It carries a lily pad on its back, and its attributes are of the Water Series and Plant system.
It's very cute, seems like a newbie.
"Don't worry, I won't let Lotad suffer for too long."
Fang Yuan replied, then tossed his Poké Ball into the air, letting Eevee out. He smoothly caught the falling Poké Ball, the movement fluid like drifting clouds.
On one side was the release of a Pokemon by pressing a button, on the other was the stylish throw of the Poké Ball to release a Pokemon. In an instant, Fang Yuan's coolness was highlighted.
With his unforgiving reply, he seemed every bit the Major Villain.
"I..." Fang Yuan's opponent didn't know what to say, and as soon as the referee announced the start of the battle, she gave her command angrily, "Lotad, use Bubble."
"Eevee, Quick Attack to finish it off."
The very next second after Fang Yuan's words fell, the Lotad, still blowing bubbles, only saw a flash before the opposing Eevee abruptly vanished from its sight.
The dispersed bubbles couldn't even find their target; the explosion of water splashed all around, while at that moment, Eevee had already crossed half the field and reached behind Lotad...
"Such speed!"
"Oh no, Lotad..."
Before the bespectacled girl could finish, Eevee, leveraging the speed and force of Quick Attack, sent Lotad flying and directly rendered it unable to fight.
Unsurprisingly, the opponent was a Newbie, even worse than Liu Le, and Eevee hadn't even used its top speed before the other side was downed.
"Lotad is unable to battle, Number 444, Fang Yuan advances. Please pay attention to the website for the information on the next battle," the referee announced.
After declaring the results, Fang Yuan recalled Eevee.
...
Fang Yuan: The first battle went smoothly, Sister Du Ai, but I don't feel the tactics you taught me really suit me.
In the Pingcheng No.1 Middle School Psychology Club's group chat, Fang Yuan reported the good news of his battle's end to everyone.
Club President: What? Du Ai taught you something? How come I didn't know about this?
Fang Yuan: Sister Du Ai chatted with me privately yesterday. She said psychological strategy is part of battling, and using trash talk in advance to disturb your opponent can make them lose their composure and make mistakes. I thought it made sense. I tried it out today, but because my opponent was too weak, I didn't really see any effect. Instead, I ended up feeling a bit guilty afterward.
Club Senior: What did you say to her?
Fang Yuan recounted the details of his recent battle.
Vice President: Dude, you're too direct. You have to tailor your trash talk to who you're against. Your opponent, that cute newbie, even asked you to go easy, and you could have at least pretended to be polite.
Club Senior: You'd best ignore the venomous words of Du Ai...
Du Ai: Hm? Talking behind my back when I'm not around? Fang Yuan, don't listen to them, trash talk is definitely useful, trust me. Gaining some experience now won't do you any harm.
Fang Yuan pondered for a moment...
Then replied: Shall I give it another try in this afternoon's battle?
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