A strange impulse arose in Li Bing's heart.
No one besides the owner of Wangwang Supermarket and himself knew this.
This match had actually been rigged.
And this so-called rigging—
Was that he could control who the contestants faced after advancing from the group stage.
He had to think of a way to let Lin Feng face Lapras's Trainer more directly.
Make It Out of the Group Stage, Pave the Way for the Child
After the first round of battles ended,
The second round followed immediately, with only five minutes of rest in between.
Still.
For Snivy, who had only used two moves, the expenditure was practically nonexistent...
And the second-round match was rather uneventful.
His opponent was the Trainer with the Spearow. When he saw that he was facing Lin Feng, his expression immediately fell.
Although he had Type Advantage, he truly had no confidence that Spearow could evade that Snivy's Vine Whip.
Or rather, it was not just his expression that fell.
The expressions of all the contestants in Group Nine fell as well.
During the first round of matches,
They had already witnessed Lin Feng's strength.
So they were not very confident about making it out of the group stage.
Just as Lin Feng had expected.
Spearow chose to evade from the start, but it still could not escape Snivy's Vine Whip and was quickly whipped out of the air.
If they had been out in the wild, Snivy might not have been able to catch up to a Flying-type Spearow.
But they were indoors now, and the arena was only so large. There was simply nowhere to run.
Then came the third round.
His opponent's Pokémon was Pikachu...
Well, Lin Feng had a deep impression of Pikachu.
But not every Pikachu was Pikachu, capable of battling against unfavorable types.
It was easily bound by Snivy and sent straight out of the arena.
With that...
The morning's group-stage matches came to an end.
A total of nine people stood out from the group stage.
During the break, the Baby Cup organizers provided meals and two hours of rest.
As soon as the matches ended, Qin Shu ran over excitedly to share the good news, saying that she had successfully advanced from her group as well.
Lin Feng nodded, not finding it surprising.
He had watched the general situation in every group.
Qin Shu's luck had been fairly good.
In her group, the stronger Pokémon were Type Advantageed by Squirtle, while the weaker ones could not evade its fierce Water Gun at all. Her making it out of the group stage only showed that she and Squirtle had fought reasonably well.
But she saw things differently.
Winning her first battle gave Qin Shu enormous confidence.
She was already happily imagining herself becoming a top-tier Pokémon Trainer, standing on the grandest stage—the Pokémon Championship—and battling alongside the Elite Four!
And winning.
Lin Feng merely smiled at that.
Qin Shu had always dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Master, standing beneath the lights while everyone cheered for her and her Pokémon, which was why she worked at it in fits and starts.
But there was nothing wrong with fantasies and aspirations. When people were young, everyone hoped to become the great hero in their own hearts.
Whether she succeeded in the future or not, at least she would have gained precious memories to look back on.
The two hours passed in a flash.
Compared to the packed morning schedule, the afternoon matches were much more relaxed.
After all, there were only nine people left now. Just four battles were needed to enter the semifinals.
However, to avoid wasting time, the four battles would still be held simultaneously.
As for the last person, they would receive a bye through a random draw and advance directly into the top five.
At this moment.
Ten minutes before the matches began.
In Competitor Seat Seven, the owner of Wangwang Supermarket—and the planner behind everything—Chi Heng looked at the nine contestants who had emerged from the group stage.
More accurately, there were eight.
Because he had excluded his own child.
These eight Trainers all seemed rather ordinary.
Logically speaking, this was the situation he had hoped for most.
But there was one Rookie Trainer and his Pokémon whom he had never been able to figure out.
That was Lin Feng and Snivy from Group Nine.
Over the course of four battles,
Other than the first battle, where Snivy had used Vine Whip and Leaf Blade,
In all the other matches, it had defeated its opponents with nothing but Vine Whip.
Although Chi Heng was a businessman and did not know much about Pokémon battles,
He knew that this Rookie Trainer named Lin Feng was most likely hiding strength for the prize money or fame...
Thinking of this, he could not help calling Li Bing over.
"What is it, Boss?"
Li Bing flew over and asked in confusion.
Chi Heng said directly, "I want to see the Battle Schedule."
"Hm?"
As Li Bing took out the schedule, he asked curiously, "What is it, Boss? The schedule was arranged according to your wishes. There are still ten minutes before the matches start..."
"There's a contestant I haven't been able to stop worrying about." Chi Heng took the schedule, scanned it, and immediately frowned. "Where's that Lin Feng on there?"
Li Bing replied unhurriedly, "Oh, him? It seems he got a bye this round. Didn't you say the earlier matches could be arranged randomly, and then in the final match, Lapras could just take out its opponent in one hit?"
Chi Heng shook his head. "No. That Snivy still hasn't shown its full strength, and I don't feel secure. Do this—match Xu Kun against Lin Feng. Torchic is Fire-type, which happens to counter Snivy. Let's see whether it can force out Snivy's full strength."
"Uh... all right..."
A trace of helplessness flashed through his heart.
It seemed his plan to keep Lin Feng concealed for the time being had fallen through.
He was about to fly up and alter the schedule in the sky,
But Chi Heng called him back. With a smile spreading across his face, he said, "Brother Li, I may not understand Pokémon battles very well, but only you and I know about this. If it works out in the end, I'll double your reward."
Li Bing froze, feeling even more helpless inside, but he smiled and said, "That... would be too embarrassing, wouldn't it?"
"As it should be, as it should be."
Chi Heng nodded with a beaming smile.
Only after he watched Li Bing fly up into the sky did his smile fade.
He did not understand Pokémon battles.
But he understood business.
Only relationships bound by profit were the most solid relationships!
Unfortunately, this was an era of Trainers...
So he had to pave the way for his child.
Five minutes before the matches began.
The nine Trainers were gathered together, receiving the final draw.
Xu Kun, who had brought Torchic, looked at the opponent assigned to him this time. Finding Lin Feng, he asked in surprise, "The two of us got matched up?"
He had been at Arena One earlier and had not paid attention to Lin Feng's side.
But what he had not expected was—
Lin Feng, who had not even chosen his first Pokémon during the college entrance exams, had obtained a Pokémon capable of making it out of the Baby Cup group stage in such a short time.
"Looks like that's the situation for now."
Lin Feng shrugged, not thinking much of it.
Xu Kun sighed and walked over to Lin Feng. "Ah, then your luck really is terrible. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you..."
Before you continue