Chapter 316

"So fast?"

Hearing about how quickly the tickets sold out, Qiao Ran was taken aback. They were already sold out in just over an hour?

"After all, tickets for our Gym are usually in high demand, but today's speed was truly astonishing."

The Gym Trainer smiled but didn't say anything more; he still had to take Qiao Ran and his group to prepare for the Competition.

As one of the highest-level Gym under the Pokémon League, Rongcheng Gym's Open Tournament have never lacked an audience. Even if you take Hua Wanshuang, the Gym Leader, out on your own, she would still be attractive enough.

In preparation for the Competition, after arriving at the Venue next to the Gym, Lillie and the others went to the rest room where they were preparing for the Competition, while Qiao Ran and Mei sat down in the assigned audience seats.

Although Qiao Ran and his companion's appearance once again attracted attention, fortunately there weren't too many people around, so even without deliberately doing anything, it wouldn't cause a big commotion.

Are you worried about them?

"There's no need to worry."

Qiao Ran shook his head.

A future Champion, a future Elite Four, and... well... the heiress of the Aether Foundation.

What does he need to worry about?

"Then let's just relax here."

Mei stretched with a smile, but glanced behind her casually. There were just too many people here... If there were fewer people, would she be able to sit closer to Qiao Ran?

Regardless, they are public figures, and Mei knows this, so she has no choice but to try her best to Bide her feelings and act as usual with Qiao Ran.

They were talking.

Waiting for the Competition to begin, then waiting for the Gym Leader and challenger to take the stage.

The first Competition is Acerola, which was the order they had decided on beforehand: Acerola first, then Mei, and finally Lillie.

As for why they made that choice, Qiao Ran didn't ask for their reasons; all he had to do was watch.

Let's welcome our challenger!

"From Longjiang City — Acerola!"

As the host announced her arrival, Acerola appeared in the Battle Court. However, her appearance still caused a stir. From her appearance, Acerola looked like a very small child. How could such a small child possibly compete with the Gym Leader in the "Venue"?

Trainer who can participate in Open Tournament must at least have a certain level of skill!

However, what they didn't know was that Acerola was significantly older than she appeared. Although she looked like an elementary school student, her actual age was almost the same as Lillie and the others.

"The clash between Ghost-type and Grass-type, huh?"

Qiao Ran and Mei watched the Competition while eating snacks they had pulled out from who-knows-where. Although Acerola's age made people doubt her skill level, those doubts were dispelled as soon as the Competition started.

In fact, this youthful appearance became a plus.

"This... this level is already approaching the Elite Four level, right? But he still looks like he's just an elementary school student???"

"..."

Recently, a whole bunch of geniuses have suddenly appeared out of nowhere, leaving the audience somewhat bewildered.

"I used to think that the most talented one was Elite Four Yi Ruoyun, until Qiao Ran appeared... but now this one..."

Does this mean the title of most talented young Trainer is about to change hands again?

The Competition between Acerola and Hua Wanshuang gradually intensified. Although Acerola seemed nervous before the Competition, she was not afraid at all when the battle actually began.

How could someone who isn't even afraid of Ghost type be afraid of these things?

"Master, news from the Altaria."

Suddenly, while Qiao Ran was still watching the battle, Rotom appeared out of nowhere and whispered something in his ear.

"The Altaria?"

Qiao Ran grabbed Rotom in his hand, pressed the play button on the screen, and held it to his ear.

The distinctive, clear voice of the Altaria rang out from the loudspeaker.

"Master, I've already listened to that voice acting. I think we can try this one first..."

"However, if I had to say, there's still room for improvement, but we can ignore that for now. If there's an opportunity in the future, I still hope we can make some changes..."

In short...

Altaria spoke for several minutes, explaining all her thoughts in great detail. She's not usually a Pokémon, but she became very excited when it came to music.

Qiao Ran could only listen to her bit by bit, and then Analytic what she was trying to say.

In short, we can use this backing track for now, but we hope to create a better version in the future when the opportunity arises.

Hmm... I'll ask her again when I have a chance at noon.

Since she feels it's already feasible, maybe she can ask Sister Wan Shuang where she can record the audio at noon and then get this sorted out.

He's not the kind of content Uploader who leaves unfinished projects; he always makes sure the songs he promised will be released.

"Congratulations! Our first challenger has successfully obtained our Rongcheng Badge!"

In the center of the Battlefield, Acerola's Competition came to an end. As the first challenger, she displayed the spirit of Trainer very well. Although her opponent, Hua Wanshuang, did not send out Pokémon of Elite Four level or above, this was still a very high-level battle among all the Trainer.

The Elite Four level is the pinnacle for Trainer, and there are probably only a handful of trainers who reach that level in the entire history of the continent and region.

"Acerola will probably become a hit online for a while too."

"Why are you always thinking about whether you'll become popular or not?" Mei couldn't help but complain after hearing Qiao Ran's words. They are Trainer, okay?

"Isn't this to promote our account?"

Qiao Ran said he was also innocent, but perhaps as Mei said, he had indeed been busy with the account too much lately, which caused his mind to be filled with strange things.

If this continues, won't he be assimilated by Sabrina and go down some strange path?

"... After we finish challenging the Gym, we'll head to Alola and climb to the summit in one go."

"So where will we stay?"

"Then of course we'll find Inn in Rongcheng."

The two exchanged a glance; some things were understood between them even without being said.

"Now let's welcome the next challenger!!!"

"Mei, also from Longjiang City!"

After the first Competition in Acerola ended, and following a break of about twenty minutes, it was time for Mei to play.

When they went on stage.

After Mei's Competition is over, she'll probably need a midday break before Lillie's Competition can continue in the afternoon.

"Many people may not know this, but all three of our challengers today are actually from Longjiang City, just like yesterday's contestants Qiao Ran and Mei."

The host's sudden remark caused the audience to erupt in excitement once again.

"Longjiang City? They're all from Longjiang City?"

"... No way? When did Longjiang City become so powerful? Although the Gym are indeed strong, they didn't have that many famous Trainer before, did they?"

"Are they all from the same place?"

Even Qiao Ran, who was watching from the stands, froze for a moment. "..."

Regarding Mei Mei's identities, Qiao Ran has always assigned them the identity of Longjiang City. After all, he himself is from Longjiang, and he couldn't possibly choose another city for them, could he?

However, to Qiao Ran's surprise, the host would bring this up at this time, which meant things were really going to get complicated.

"Are the Trainer in Longjiang really that scary?"

"... My wife is about to give birth, it seems I need to look into the schools in Longjiang..."

Hearing the various discussions coming from nearby, Qiao Ran broke out in a cold sweat. If this continued, would Longjiang really become like Pallet Town in the Pokémon World?

Wouldn't Long Jiangxue and her father jump out of bed with joy?

"Longjiang Gym should really give me some advertising money," Qiao Ran couldn't help but mutter.

"Isn't that great?" Mei laughed. "In this world, Longjiang is also my hometown. Although I haven't been there yet... I'll definitely go someday, right?"

"After all, we still need to meet him..."

"Ah..." Qiao Ran was stunned for a moment. Of course he knew what Mei was talking about, but... some things were still difficult to resolve. Right now, it was already difficult to deal with just Mei and Lillie. If they ran into his family, how would he explain it to them?

"Yes... that's right."

In the end, Qiao Ran decided to agree first and deal with any problems that might arise later.

"Hmm? What are you going to see?"

"...!"

Suddenly, a voice came from the side, startling Mei and Qiao Ran who were talking. Looking in the direction of the voice, they saw Acerola, who had already finished her Competition.

Her hair was slightly disheveled, a clear sign of the excitement during the Competition, and her face still wore an excited expression, indicating she was quite happy with the victory. However, she was currently looking at Qiao Ran and the other person with a puzzled expression. What... what were they going to see?

Could it be that you still have someone you know in this city?

"No... it's nothing. We were just talking about whether we should go see Sister Wan Shuang around noon. Didn't I say before that we needed to find a place to record for Altaria? She's already prepared."

With quick reflexes and a sudden flash of inspiration, Qiao Ran steered the conversation in the opposite direction. The situation with Mei and the others was far too complicated, and he didn't want Acerola to get involved.

Acerola is so cute, we absolutely can't let something like this ruin her cuteness.

Right.

That's it.

"Hmm? Oh, it's about the Altaria."

Hearing Qiao Ran's explanation, Acerola didn't doubt it. Instead, she smiled and sat down next to him. Since this row of seats was a special seating arrangement, there were actually quite a few empty seats. Besides, even if there were no seats left, it probably wouldn't feel awkward to just hold Acerola on his lap.

Of course, Qiao Ran would never say such a thing.

After all, she's a girl the same age as Lillie and the others, so she must care about this kind of thing.

"Yes, yes, it's about the Altaria."

Hearing Mei Qiao Ran's explanation, Mei, who was standing nearby, followed suit. She didn't want anyone else to know what she had just said. If Lillie Mei found out, who knew what they would think?

Although she personally didn't have any particular thoughts about it.

"Many people online are looking forward to Altaria's song, so I plan to find a recording place at noon and have her record it first. I'll pick her up after our Competition is over."

Qiao Ran revealed her next plan. "Then tonight, let's just have her do a live stream."

"Huh? Let her go alone? Wouldn't that be a bit..."

Upon hearing Qiao Ran's arrangement, both girls blinked in surprise.

Wouldn't it be a bit dangerous to leave Altaria Pokémon outside?

"No, she's Pokémon. Even if she's in danger, it's someone else who's in danger, right?"

Looking at their expressions, Qiao Ran couldn't help but complain. If there were any real danger, a single breath of dragon's breath from the Altaria would probably leave nothing behind.

"Don't worry, I'll have Suicune and Latias accompany her."

If there's one Pokémon trust the most, it's definitely Suicune and Latias, even though they always consider themselves...

She defines herself as Maid, but she does a good job of maintaining order.

Most importantly, they are indeed very reliable.

Although Dianxi is very reliable, her Humanoid Transformation form is really not suitable for her to stay alone in the Real World. If she were to accompany Altaria, she might be mistaken for Altaria's sister or something.

At that point, it will probably be unclear who is taking care of whom.

Therefore, the mature and older sister Suicune and the youthful and beautiful Latias are more suitable.

"If Suicune and Latias go too... hmm... I feel much more at ease now."

"That's really... it's strange, why do I suddenly feel relieved?"

Mei and Acerola nodded in agreement after hearing Qiao Ran's arrangements.