Mr. Lin Kai sighed, "Sigh, that's all fine… I just wonder if our school will have any promising newcomers next semester."
…
After lunch, everyone returned to their dorms to pack up and prepare to go home.
Kyron had already packed in advance—just a backpack and a suitcase. Nothing else.
"Aron, let's go," Kyron said to the Pokémon sitting on the table, holding a red-and-white Pokéball.
Aron turned around and was enveloped in a beam of red light, returning to the ball.
"Alright, see you next semester, guys."
"Bye, Kyron! Stay safe!"
And with that, Kyron walked out of the dorm casually. On the way out of the school gate, Liu Bin walked alongside him. They lived in the same neighborhood and shared the same route home.
After getting off the bus, the two chatted as they walked. Liu Bin pulled his suitcase and said, "I'm telling you, being a Trainer burns through money like water."
"I've never seen money disappear so fast, and that's with me only buying basic-grade food for my Pokémon."
"Sigh, I don't have much money of my own to begin with. I can't keep asking my dad for more, either."
Kyron responded, "That's normal. We're still high schoolers, and we've only just become Trainers. We have to rely on family support for now."
"Pretty much every Trainer starts with family help—those who don't are simply too poor to afford it."
Liu Bin said, "That's why I'm definitely signing up for that Suicune Cup Challenge."
Kyron nodded, "Absolutely. Gotta earn as much as we can this summer. Even if you don't make top three, top six is still good—comes with a 2,000 yuan shopping card."
Liu Bin added, "I checked the WeChat public page yesterday and saw that the Suicune Cup might be held quarterly. We should definitely enter more than once."
Kyron stroked his chin. "Sure, it's about making money—nothing to be embarrassed about."
Liu Bin agreed loudly, "Exactly! Settled then. Alright, let's head up. Don't forget, the National Pokémon Tournament starts tomorrow."
Kyron: "Mm."
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When Kyron got home, he saw his mom eating at the table, with Pikachu and Jigglypuff sitting on it, happily munching on Pokémon food.
Seeing her son return, Mrs. Lin paused her chopsticks and asked, "Have you eaten?"
Kyron switched into slippers and said, "I ate at school, but Aron hasn't eaten yet—I need to get lunch ready for it."
He went to the kitchen and pulled out Aron's designated food bowl.
He took some low-grade Steel-type food from his backpack and filled the bowl, then poured MooMoo Milk over it.
He also took out a small remaining pouch of ore—just a bit left—and poured it out onto the floor.
Then he pulled out a Pokéball and released Aron. A beam of white light shot out and formed into the Pokémon on the floor.
Aron sniffed and immediately caught the scent of food. Seeing the bowl already full, it happily dashed over and began devouring it.
Kyron watched the hungry Pokémon eat and felt a bit of pain in his wallet. He had underestimated Aron's appetite.
The 150 jin (about 75kg) of ore he bought just three days ago was already gone. If not for the steel-type food being quite filling, it wouldn't have lasted this long.
He had to make another trip to Cerulean Pokémon Market that afternoon.
Opening up his Data Eye, he checked Aron's status:
Pokémon: Aron
Type: Steel/Rock
Talent: ★★★
Level: Lv. 4
Ability: Heavy Metal
After three days of good food and sleep, Aron had naturally leveled up to 4. In a day or two, it should reach the next level, and in seven days, it would be ready for training.
…
That afternoon, under the blazing sun, Kyron made another trip to Cerulean Pokémon Market. This time, he bought five bags of Steel-type food, three bags of Rock-type food, and 500 jin of ore.
With a large backpack and two big bags, he carried it all home, nearly getting heatstroke in the process.
Still, this should last five to six days. He couldn't buy more—he wouldn't be able to carry it.
Online shopping wasn't an option either. Shipping costs for this heavy stuff were ridiculous.
He really envied those rich people with compressed backpacks.
Space-compression tech wasn't something developed in just a few hundred years.
Anything stored inside became lighter and smaller—just like in the anime. A small bag could hold an entire mountain of gear and still feel weightless.
But those bags were outrageously expensive. A shoulder bag with just 0.5 cubic meters of space cost 3,999 yuan.
A proper backpack-style one? Cheapest was 7,999 yuan. Even with a 10% discount at Cerulean Market, it still cost 7,199.1.
No way he could afford that. Just keeping Aron fed was hard enough.
Money, money, and more money—being a Trainer really was expensive. He needed to find ways to make more of it.
…
That night, after a hot shower, Kyron lay in bed comfortably playing on his phone.
Scrolling through Douyin, aside from dancing girls, most of the content was about the upcoming National Pokémon Tournament starting tomorrow.
Douyin creators were all making predictions, and the comment sections were chaotic. Everyone acted like a pro Trainer, analyzing as if they really knew their stuff.
The National Tournament was arguably the most popular, intense, and exciting competition in Huaguo.
All participants were under 30. Not necessarily the strongest Trainers, but definitely the most-watched.
Just like the World Cup from his past life—it had massive national influence.
In the Trainer world, if you didn't dream of winning Nationals, were you even a real Trainer?
The World Pokémon Tournament was held every four years, split into the National and World Stages.
You had to qualify in your own country before reaching the World Stage.
Even making it through the national qualifiers was extremely tough—like going through 81 trials.
So anyone who made it to the World Stage was a top-tier Trainer.
That's why Liu Bin had been going on and on about the National Tournament—it was what he looked forward to most.
…
At 8 AM, Kyron was woken by both his alarm and a WeChat call.
Groggily picking up, he muttered, "What's going on, you punk? Calling so early."
It was Liu Bin, who loved calling people "punks"—so everyone returned the favor.
Liu Bin shouted, "Call me handsome, not punk! No time for this—the tournament starts in 30 minutes. Get up!"
Kyron rolled his eyes. "You just said 30 minutes. What's the rush?"
Liu Bin: "Come on! It's a huge event and you're not even excited? Hurry up!"
Then he hung up.
Kyron sighed and got up. On his way to the bathroom, he saw two steamed buns and a boiled egg left on the kitchen table. His mom must have gone out to shop and chat.
After washing up, he turned on the TV to the national channel.
The corner of the screen showed: "Countdown to the 69th World Pokémon Tournament – National Qualifiers: 19:53."
The broadcast showed the preparation behind the scenes, staff at work, and interviews with contestants.
Two hosts were predicting outcomes while introducing the contestants' backgrounds.
Meanwhile, in the 404 Dorm Group Chat, Liu Bin was already spamming messages.
Liu Bin: "@everyone, it's starting! I've got my snacks, soda—this summer I'm staying home and watching everything!"
He even tagged everyone one by one.
Chen Ze: "Chill, there's still 19 minutes left. I'm up though. Lin Xi for the win!"
Guo Yong: "Pfft, Lin Xi? Li Xingzhou is the GOAT. Lin Xi only made top 8 last time, while my boy Xingzhou nearly beat the third place! And this time the former top contenders are all over 30—he's got this!"
Wang Zhiyi: "Both are strong, but Lin Xi's my goddess. So she wins."
Li Peng: "I like Wu Xingyu. That muscle—so beastly."
No one expected the skinny Li Peng to be into muscle-bound guys.
The group chat quickly turned into a heated debate—who was stronger? Liu Bin, a die-hard fan of Li Xingzhou, jumped in too.
If you asked Kyron who was stronger, Lin Xi or Li Xingzhou, he couldn't say. When he first arrived in this world, he didn't even know who they were.
Now that he'd looked them up and watched their battle clips, he saw both were really strong—though Li Xingzhou seemed slightly ahead.
But four years had passed. Their current strength was a mystery.
Both were top eight last time and represented Huaguo in the World Tournament.
But this year, most of the old top eight had aged out, leaving just the two of them.
Many believed one of them would win it all—but nothing was guaranteed. Every year had its own rising stars.
Kyron continued his morning routine—preparing breakfast for Aron, washing dishes, and tidying up.
By the time he finished, the tournament had officially started.
The event was being held at the Capital Battle Arena, a massive stadium rivaling the Bird's Nest, built specifically for major competitions. It could hold up to 80,000 spectators. Even the worst seats cost at least 5,000 yuan for one day.
Thunderous cheers and applause erupted from the TV, the entire stadium packed with fans.
On stage, the host enthusiastically introduced the event and the VIP guests—former champions, gym leaders, elite breeders, and company CEOs.
Eventually, the first round began.
One battlefield, 1v1 format, using the 6v6 team structure. A match ends only when one side loses all six Pokémon.
Each match is limited to one hour—to encourage offense, not time-wasting stall tactics.
There were 512 contestants from across the country. Each had earned their spot by advancing from city-level to provincial qualifiers.
Some provinces had more slots due to past performance, some fewer.
That's how they finalized the 512.
Kyron watched the passionate Trainers on TV. One day, he would compete too.
But not now—not yet. For now, he was still a rookie.
The national tournament had 512 competitors. Each day could host up to 8 battles—so at least 32 days total.
He wouldn't be able to watch every match, but he'd catch the important ones.
Based on what he saw, most competitors' Pokémon were around level 40–50.
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