Battle Against a Seed Player

How to comfort someone...

Du Niang offered many answers.

Fang Yuan carefully picked through them, yet couldn't find a suitable one.

In the end, Fang Yuan simply gave up.

"Forget it. Lin Jing's a pretty tough young girl. She can heal on her own."

Lin Jing had been eliminated.

Since Growlithe had been injured and needed an examination, she hadn't returned to the Players' Stand. Fang Yuan watched the rest of the morning's matches alone.

Holding Eevee's Poké Ball, Fang Yuan wondered whether Eevee could advance through the upcoming matches without taking any damage like before. If it could, that would naturally be for the best.

Considering Eevee's abilities, Fang Yuan actually had some confidence.

After the morning matches ended, the list of the Top Thirty-Two was also announced.

Of the sixteen Seed Players, all of them advanced without surprise, and the audience already considered them highly likely to make the Top Sixteen that afternoon.

Before the afternoon matches began.

The thirty-two contestants, including Fang Yuan, had their battling Pokémon examined by the Pokémon Doctors invited by the organizers. Once it was confirmed that there were no problems, the battle for the Top Sixteen was about to begin.

"Boss, you've really got to do your best."

Fang Yuan held his phone in the Players' Lounge, Liu Le's voice constantly ringing in his ear.

"This is already your third call."

"Eevee!" Eevee on Fang Yuan's shoulder also looked displeased.

Fang Yuan's phone had originally been in its paws. It had already picked out several phone brands in Taobao's shopping cart, but this fatty had interrupted it and kept Eevee from browsing to its heart's content.

"OK! This is definitely the last call. I checked the Official Forum, and your next opponent seems to be a Seed Player. But I believe in you, Boss. Crush him!"

Fang Yuan hung up.

But it wasn't over yet.

The Psychology Club's small group chat was also bustling.

Senior: "Top Thirty-Two... That's incredible. So if you win the next match, you'll be on the Live Platform?"

President: "You didn't secretly use an Evolution Stone to evolve Eevee, did you? Flareon or Jolteon? Could it be Vaporeon?"

Du Ai: "I feel like it's all thanks to the Trash Talk I taught you..."

Vice President: "Wait... at this rate, are you really going to make the Top Sixteen?!"

Fang Yuan: "Don't panic. Basic stuff. Sit tight and wait for the livestream."

After saying that, he closed the group chat as well.

"Hi."

It was one o'clock.

Fang Yuan, sitting in the Players' Lounge, felt someone pat his shoulder. He turned around and saw that Lin Jing had returned.

"Growlithe's okay now?" Fang Yuan asked.

"It's fine," Lin Jing said.

"I just called my dad and told him I lost the match. Guess what he said? He said that was perfectly normal, because what we'd been doing before was only basic training..."

"Growlithe still hasn't reached its Golden Growth Period, so there's no need to rush to improve its strength."

"So that's how it is." Fang Yuan paused.

"Yeah." Lin Jing's face reddened slightly.

She didn't know why, but whenever she lost a battle, she always wanted to explain herself.

Just like blaming bad internet after losing a game, or saying you forgot to review the questions after doing poorly on an exam... Having a reasonable excuse made it easier to feel at peace.

Fang Yuan pretended to understand and turned away. Eevee hopped onto his shoulder, and the two fell silent together.

"It'll be my turn soon."

"I know. I'm ready to take pictures. If you lose, just wait for me to expose you in the group chat," Lin Jing threatened.

"I won't lose."

"Eevee." Eevee also Agreed With Fang Yuan.

There was no way they would lose the upcoming battle.

The Seed Players from Group A, Group B, and Group C all advanced smoothly, becoming part of the Top Sixteen.

Those three intense matches also made the onlookers place more trust in the Seed Player list posted by the Official Forum.

Sure enough, everyone listed as a Seed Player had real skill.

"Group C is over. Next is Group D. If I remember correctly... it's Trainer Lin Sen against that young handsome guy named Fang Yuan, right?"

"That's right. Sigh, I actually hope that adorable Eevee wins... I never expected a Pokémon like Eevee to reach the Top Thirty-Two. I really want to see it keep winning."

"Impossible. Didn't you see the other Seed Players' matches? So far, not a single Seed Player has been eliminated..."

At the edge of the spectator stands, two acquaintances discussed the match.

"Right. A trainer who only knows how to exploit tricks can't possibly keep winning." Beside them, a passing girl gritted her teeth and silently thought.

Though she wore sunglasses, it wasn't hard to recognize her as Han Jia, the first contestant Fang Yuan had eliminated with Trash Talk.

She and her Cacturne had truly suffered...

After losing, Han Jia had originally wanted to leave right away. But for some reason, she now especially wanted to see Fang Yuan lose too. Only then could she vent her anger.

So she had come back to watch.

At the same time.

"Group A had Scyther, Group B had Mr. Mime, and Group C had Misdreavus. If I win this one, Eevee will have to face a Ghost-type Pokémon. I should try not to reveal Bite. Maybe that'll make the next opponent let their guard down and think Eevee has no way to defeat them."

"But against this Ivysaur, Eevee needs to get serious too."

In the players' tunnel, Fang Yuan stood alone, waiting for his time to enter.

After this match, he would make the Top Sixteen.

Making the Top Sixteen meant not only being able to appear and battle on a Live Platform with millions of views, but also being interviewed by reporters. For a high school student, it was a rare accomplishment and recognition of their two months of hard work.

If Mom and Dad find out I was interviewed, they'll definitely be happy. Fang Yuan's lips curved slightly upward.

"Alright, next is the fourth match this afternoon: Contestant Lin Sen versus Contestant Fang Yuan. I'm sure everyone is already familiar with their names..."

As the commentator spoke, Fang Yuan and Lin Sen emerged.

Lin Sen looked at Fang Yuan with a somewhat strange expression. He had watched Fang Yuan's previous matches and had specifically sought out Fang Yuan's last opponent to ask questions, so he knew some of Fang Yuan's tactics.

Looking at Fang Yuan, Lin Sen thought:

I'm prepared. If he still wants to use Trash Talk to interfere with me, he'll be walking right into a trap.

Talking distracts him too. It's a double-edged sword. As long as I seize that moment and have Ivysaur launch a fierce offensive, defeating that Eevee won't be a problem at all.

With that thought, Lin Sen smiled.

"Looks like you're really happy to see me," Fang Yuan said in surprise as soon as they stepped onto the field.

But Lin Sen didn't want to pay him any attention... He tossed a Poké Ball toward Fang Yuan.

As the two threw their Poké Balls, Ivysaur and Eevee appeared on opposite sides of the field, glaring at each other with hostility.