Pokémon World Championships

Early the next morning.

Luo Mu was awakened by the ringing of his phone.

Even if something earth-shattering had happened, surely they wouldn't dare call him in the middle of the night from the Hoenn Region.

—But Luo Mu's authority only lasted one night.

Sure enough, they were already calling him impatiently first thing in the morning.

The first "lucky one" whose call Luo Mu answered was Ash from Pallet Town, one of the top thirty-two contestants in the Saiyu Conference.

Ash's voice from the other end was guilty to the extreme.

Listening to him desperately promise that he hadn't told too many people that Luo Mu was his teacher and such, Luo Mu was rendered speechless.

Still, he couldn't deny that Ash had performed poorly.

—Being able to fight Zhen Si's Pokémon, which he had raised since enrolling at Naranja Academy, to this extent with Pokémon he had mostly only begun raising in the Hoenn Region was already quite impressive for Ash.

But Luo Mu wasn't about to "praise" Ash like that. That kid really would get carried away.

So he merely scolded Ash lightly, telling him that if he wanted to win, he should stop obsessing over strange and unusual pursuits. Instead, he should give it his all and claim victory fair and square.

That was also a sign of respect for Zhen Si, as well as for the Trainers Ash had defeated before who had been forced to stop here.

After Ash hung up dejectedly, Zhen Si's call came through immediately.

Luo Mu put on a smiling face for Zhen Si instead and offered him some praise.

"You did well. There weren't many major mistakes. Do you have a clearer goal for what comes next?"

"For example, what result do you plan to achieve at the Saiyu