Area E, Field 7

Inside a hotel room.

Eevee touched a drink bottle, its expression serious.

It had now gained excellent control over Ground-type Infinity Energy and could steadily, continuously manipulate Sand Attack, keeping it in a high-speed spinning state.

At that moment, the sand inside the bottle spun nonstop. After a few seconds, the bottle directly swelled up, and sand spilled all over the floor.

Eevee was already very proficient at this step and could even do it while watching TV.

However, it still could not properly grasp the final step of Counter Shield—expanding the spinning range of Sand Attack.

"Alright."

Seeing Eevee inflate the drink bottle in one smooth motion, Fang Yuan nodded. "The Little Phoenix King Cup will last for a week. I hope you can make even greater progress during that time."

"Eevee!" Eevee's eyes burned with excitement.

The prize money was right before its eyes.

It would soon have a phone of its own!

"The warm-up's over. Let's go," Fang Yuan said.

It was almost seven in the morning. Fang Yuan's first Little Phoenix King Cup match was at nine, so he and Eevee had to hurry to Oriental Pearl Arena.

Since the next few days were all preliminaries, matches would be held across many fields at the same time. Fang Yuan and Eevee had been assigned to Area E, Field 7.

This arrangement of simultaneous matches across multiple fields would continue until the Top 128 had been decided.

After that, every match would be held on the same field, with spectators filling the stands around it.

By annual convention, once the Top 16 matches began, media outlets and public figures would also come to watch.

"Phew, we're finally here. There are so many people..."

There were no spectators yet, but there were plenty of contestants. Oriental Pearl Arena was a noisy, bustling mess, and Fang Yuan nearly got dizzy from it all.

"Did you hear? There's a freak in Area C. That Trainer's Scyther is insanely fast. It didn't even use any moves in battle—it just slashed with its blades and took out the opponent."

The preliminary matches started at eight every day, and Fang Yuan clearly was not among the first batch to battle.

"What?! Maybe its opponent was just too weak?"

"No idea. Anyway, I hope I don't run into it."

"Minami Kotori showed up in Area A... No, wait, it's a Rowlet! You hardly ever see that kind of Pokémon in our country. I really want to battle its Trainer."

"Hahaha, the opponent was such trash. They were obviously just here to make up the numbers. That win was ridiculously easy."

Listening to the conversations of contestants who had already finished their matches, Fang Yuan did not grow nervous. Instead, he became even calmer.

That was because he had also watched several ongoing battles and discovered that most Trainers were indeed very weak. They had probably entered right after their Pokémon hatched without doing much training at all.

These people... would ultimately become stepping stones for the contestants who had seriously prepared.

"I can see it now. There really aren't many people like Eevee and me who have been doing Devil Training for the past two months." Fang Yuan shrugged helplessly.

Very soon, it was Fang Yuan's turn.

He had arrived beside Area E, Field 7 early to wait. When the referee called out his number through a loudspeaker, Fang Yuan raised his hand and walked into the cordoned-off field.

At the same time, Fang Yuan saw his first opponent.

She was a very cute girl with a round face and glasses.

Logically, Fang Yuan should have been at least a little nervous about battling in such a public competition. But when he saw the flustered look on his opponent's face, he simply could not get nervous.

"The battle format is one-on-one. Send out your Pokémon now, and begin battling on my command," the referee said simply.

In a formal venue like this, Pokémon could not be left outside freely except during battle, so Eevee had no choice but to stay obediently inside its Poké Ball.

Moreover, since everyone was a Rookie Trainer with one standard Pokémon, there was no rule about who moved first. The process was simple and straightforward: once the referee gave the command, they could start fighting immediately.

"Um... please go easy on me."

After taking out her Poké Ball, the bespectacled girl pressed its button to release Lotad, then spoke nervously.

Lotad was a small blue Pokémon with a yellow beak-like mouth, six little blue feet, and a lily pad on its back. It was a Water-type and Grass-type Pokémon.

"Don't worry. I won't let Lotad hurt for long."

Fang Yuan answered, then threw out his Poké Ball and released Eevee. He smoothly caught the Poké Ball as it bounced back, his movement flowing like water.

One of them released her Pokémon by pressing a button, while the other coolly threw his Poké Ball to release his Pokémon. Fang Yuan's imposing style was immediately highlighted by comparison.

Together with his merciless reply, he looked every bit like a great villain.

"I..." Fang Yuan's opponent did not know what to say. Once the referee gave the command to begin, she angrily issued an order. "Lotad, use Bubble!"

"Eevee, finish it with Quick Attack."

The moment Fang Yuan finished speaking, Lotad, which was still spitting out bubbles with a gurgle, saw a flash before its eyes as the Eevee opposite it suddenly vanished from its sight.

The scattered bubbles had not even found their target before they exploded, splashing water everywhere. By then, Eevee had already crossed half the field and arrived behind Lotad...

"So fast!"

"Oh no, Lotad—"

Before the bespectacled girl could finish, Eevee slammed Lotad flying with the speed and force of Quick Attack, directly knocking it out of combat.

As expected, the opponent was a complete rookie, far worse than Liu Le. Eevee had not even reached its top speed before she went down.

"Lotad has lost its Combat Ability. No. 444 Fang Yuan advances. Please check the Official Website for information on your next match."

After the referee announced the result, Fang Yuan recalled Eevee.

Fang Yuan: The first battle went smoothly. Sister Du Ai, I don't think the tactics you taught me suit me very well.

In the small group chat of Pingcheng First High School Psychological Society, Fang Yuan, having finished his battle, shared the good news with everyone.

President: What? Du Ai taught you something? How did I not know about this?

Fang Yuan: Sister Du Ai messaged me privately yesterday and said psychological warfare is also part of battling. Using Trash Talk in advance to disrupt someone can make them lose their composure and make bad judgments. I thought it made sense, so I tried it today. But my opponent was too weak, so I couldn't really see any effect. In the end, I felt a little bad myself.

Senior: What did you say?

Fang Yuan described what had happened in his battle just now.

Vice President: Damn, you're way too blunt. You have to consider the person when using Trash Talk. That cute girl opposite you already asked you to go easy on her. You could at least have been polite on the surface.

Senior: You really shouldn't listen to sharp-tongued Du Ai...

Du Ai: Hm? Talking bad about me while I'm gone? Fang Yuan, don't listen to them. Trash Talk is absolutely useful, trust me. Building up some experience now won't hurt you.

Fang Yuan thought for a moment...

Then replied: Should I try it again in my battle this afternoon?