บท 23: There's Something Off About My Pokémon. [23]
Grass-type Pokémon are generally the easiest for beginners to raise, but that only applies to Pokémon like Oddish or Skiploom, which rely solely on photosynthesis for growth. For a Treecko, however, both its food and berries are a significant expense.
Lu Cheng had less than 3,000 yuan left in his savings, with 2,000 of it coming from task rewards. Without realizing it, he began to look forward to the upcoming U20 tournament. As long as he could make it to the top sixteen, he'd have enough to cover Treecko and Vulpix's food expenses!
On this day, Lu Cheng returned to school to pick up the recommendation form for the U20 tournament and complete the registration process. As a recommended participant from Jiangcheng's top high school, Lu Cheng didn't need to go through the preliminaries and could directly enter the top 100 of the tournament. This gave him more time to focus on training Treecko.
It was said that there would be at least five hundred participants this time, making it one of the largest events in Jiangcheng's Pokémon competitions!
"You're finally back, Cheng! You took so many days off all at once—what were you even doing?" A Le greeted Lu Cheng with a big grin.
"I stayed at my grandpa's place in the countryside for a few days and trained my Pokémon a bit," Lu Cheng yawned. "So, what's been happening at school lately?"
"Nothing major, but I do have some juicy gossip," A Le said, his eyes gleaming. As soon as he mentioned gossip, Lu Cheng's backpack rustled, and a fuzzy head popped out—it was Vulpix. Its ears perked up, and its eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Back in the bag," Lu Cheng said, gently pushing Vulpix back down. The little Pokémon let out a grumpy whine before sulking back into the bag.
"Go on," Lu Cheng said with a sigh.
"Oh, do you know Ding Chong from Class A? The one with several younger siblings? He also got a recommendation from the school!" A Le said, leaning closer.
"Isn't that normal?" Lu Cheng asked, puzzled. "If he's in Class A, his grades must be good, and he's probably decent at training Pokémon too."
"Not exactly! Ding Chong comes from a poor family," A Le said, looking surprised. "I was shocked when I heard he registered. He's from a single-parent household—where does he even get the money to train Pokémon? Yet he managed to take first place in the battle exam for their class!"
"What Pokémon does he have?" Lu Cheng asked, now genuinely curious. He knew how essential resources were for training Pokémon. For a single-parent household to secure a recommendation in a school filled with wealthy students was nothing short of incredible.
"He's got a Zubat," A Le whispered, glancing around as if to make sure no one else was listening. "I heard a lot of people in his class aren't happy about it. They think even if Ding Chong got lucky and secured a spot, he'll just be easy pickings in the U20 top 100."
The competition for Class A's spots was fierce; after all, who wouldn't want to skip the preliminaries and go straight to the top 100? Plus, being a recommended participant from a prestigious school was a mark of a seed player, attracting more attention and exposure. And in today's society, the more exposure a trainer gets, the more opportunities they have to earn money!
Lu Cheng remained quiet, thinking back to when he had met Ding Chong. They had worked on a project together, and Ding Chong's determination and meticulousness had left a deep impression on him.
"Are there any other well-known competitors?" Lu Cheng asked.
"There's that exchange student from the second year—the one with the blonde hair. He signed up too," A Le said.
"Wait, the U20 allows foreign competitors this time?" Lu Cheng was surprised.
"Yep! Our principal loves to show off. To highlight the success of the exchange student program, he specifically got approval for foreign students to participate," A Le explained.
"I heard that guy's filthy rich! He even drove a sports car to school once, and his starter Pokémon is a Ralts," A Le added, gritting his teeth. "Ralts is cute, sure, but that guy just seems like trouble."
"If you face him in the tournament, don't hold back!" Lu Cheng said, fully understanding A Le's disdain for spoiled rich kids. He gave A Le a reassuring nod. There's a universal satisfaction in seeing rich kids lose!
"Oh, by the way, you know Su Xiangrou from our class, right?" A Le glanced around to make sure Su Xiangrou wasn't nearby before leaning in to whisper. "Guess what her starter Pokémon is?"
"What is it? A Deoxys?" Lu Cheng asked in a playful tone. He still remembered how intimidating Su Xiangrou had been during their last encounter.
"Nope! Didn't she say her Pokémon wasn't ready yet? I thought it hadn't hatched, but it turns out her Pokémon doesn't need to hatch at all!" A Le said, shaking his head.
"What do you mean?" Lu Cheng asked, confused.
"Her Pokémon came directly from her uncle! It's a new batch of Pokémon known as Porygon, freshly developed," A Le explained.
Porygon is a synthetic Pokémon created through digital development, bypassing the need for traditional hatching. It's rumored that these new Porygon models utilize advanced 3D printing technology. Lu Cheng figured that this kind of Pokémon would align perfectly with Su Xiangrou's analytical and methodical approach.
Lu Cheng nodded to himself. "Well, I'm prepared to make a graceful exit in the first round," he said with a shrug.
A Le sighed dramatically. "I just hope I get to see my junior at the competition!" he said, a dreamy look on his face.
"Don't be so defeatist. You never know—you might just beat Hu Sheng!" Lu Cheng said, with a hint of encouragement. He wasn't joking either; A Le's Wingull had grown considerably stronger during their training sessions with his junior, while Hu Sheng's Charmander seemed to lack the same discipline.
"Stop joking around," A Le said, waving his hand dismissively. "Hu Sheng has already dumped hundreds of thousands into that Charmander."
"By the way, school's closed tomorrow for the U20 tournament's opening ceremony. Are you going to watch?" A Le asked.
"The U20 tournament has an opening ceremony? Where is it? How come I didn't know about this!" Lu Cheng asked in surprise.
A Le looked puzzled. "I thought you knew! It's at the conference hall by West Lake, and I heard some elite trainers will be there for the opening match."
"I had no idea!" Lu Cheng said, shaking his head. "I've been out in the countryside with terrible internet!"
"Is it still possible to go now?" Lu Cheng asked, his face filled with hope.
"I doubt it. The tickets sold out ages ago. I wanted to go with you, but since you were away, I didn't ask…" A Le said with a hint of regret. "Guess I'll have to take the junior sister instead."
"You planned that from the start, didn't you?" Lu Cheng said with a smirk.
A Le chuckled but didn't deny it.
---
If you spot any mistakes let me know so I can fix them.
Read up to Chapter 51! [P@treon.com/WiseTL]
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