Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension — Chapter 12

"By the way, I heard you beat Lin Shixian?"

Roy nodded. "Yeah. You heard about it that fast?"

"Lin Shixian is pretty famous around here. He'd racked up thirty-two consecutive wins over the past few days before someone ended his streak. A lot of my coworkers have been talking about it, and it's all over the WeChat groups." After hearing his confirmation, the admiration in Su Yan's eyes grew even stronger.

A handsome guy with potential like that—who could resist?

"His winning streak wasn't watered down, either. I heard he even beat recommended students from several nearby universities. He didn't get those wins by bullying newbies."

"Oh?" Roy hadn't expected Lin Shixian to be that strong. Had he run into an elite monster in his very first match?

"Are you going to keep matching in the Battle Room?"

"Yeah."

Roy nodded. Having seen his own shortcomings, he had already decided to spend the entire day in the Battle Room.

Just a few hours later, Roy confirmed that Lin Shixian really was strong.

The reason was simple...

"Sandshrew has lost its ability to battle! The winner is Competitor Roy!"

Roy politely shook hands with his opponent, though his thoughts were anything but polite.

So weak~~~

The start-of-term season had just ended, and everyone had only been training for a week. The vast majority of newbie Trainers were still far too inexperienced. Roy had even encountered one who couldn't catch a thrown Poké Ball properly.

Trainers from ordinary families generally couldn't even withstand two moves from Riolu.

There was no other reason.

It was simply a crushing advantage in stats.

With the effects of Energy Cubes and Lightning Body Tempering, even the Pokémon of a second-generation Trainer like Lin Shixian were a whole tier behind Riolu in physical stats, let alone those of Trainers from ordinary backgrounds.

By the end of the morning, Roy had easily completed a twelve-win streak, like a predator tearing through a fish pond.

Other than Lin Shixian, the only worthwhile match among them had also been against a recommended student, though not from Sheng Hai University but another school.

That recommended student's battle experience was clearly less seasoned than Lin Shixian's, yet still far superior to Roy's. The two fought to a standstill, and Roy learned a great deal from the match.

For the first time, Roy truly felt the enormous gap between second-generation Trainers and Trainers from ordinary backgrounds.

If not for the System's help, he might have been one of those pathetic opponents who got one-shotted.

"Practical training with this kind of lottery-like matchmaking won't improve me much in a single day."

Roy felt a little troubled. Looking at the time, he saw that it was noon. He decided to take Riolu to lunch and think about what to do that afternoon.

While eating, he casually opened the System panel. Seeing that his Popularity Points had suddenly increased by fifty thousand, Roy was stunned.

People on the forums had still been discussing him these past few days, but the Popularity Points he earned had only been enough to offset Riolu's daily expenses. There had been no surplus at all.

"What's going on?"

After searching online, Roy finally understood what had happened.

The Sheng Hai University Newcomer Representative Battle would be held tomorrow, but the pre-match atmosphere was already heating up.

The participant list released by Sheng Hai University's official Weibo account, along with each freshman's starter Pokémon, had drawn widespread attention.

At the university Roy attended in his previous life, its Weibo account had few followers beyond its own students. But this world was different. The attention received by major Trainer universities was no less than that of first-rate celebrity Trainers.

—Top Trainers often attracted attention even during their student days.

That principle was why the official social media accounts of major universities had such high followings.

For governments and conglomerates, discovering promising Trainer prospects early was a matter tied to a nation's fate. No amount of attention was excessive.

Every year during the start-of-term season, the newcomer representative battles of prestigious universities were a carnival for prospectors. They clutched magnifying glasses and microphones, hoping to uncover an unpolished gem and complete the first round of angel investment.

Most media attention was focused on the recommended students.

But a small portion of the media had also noticed what had happened on Sheng Hai University's forum.

Very quickly, some local Shenghai tabloids published reports on the incident. Just like the students' reactions, they were full of mockery, with a hint of ridicule beneath it.

"Just tabloids, huh." The vicious remarks of media outlets that followed the wind didn't hurt Roy at all, but he still found it a little regrettable.

If it had been one of Shenghai's major newspapers, it would have circulated across the country. Wouldn't that mean at least a million Popularity Points?

"Fifty thousand points?"

Roy rubbed his chin and decided to strengthen himself first.

All his previous points had been spent on Riolu. The only thing he had spent on himself was the Aura Power Seed.

A Psychic Seed had to be cultivated slowly through meditation before it could grow into a towering tree.

Roy's current level of Aura Power only made his five senses a little sharper. He still couldn't communicate telepathically, so it was practically useless in improving a Trainer's abilities.

This time, what he exchanged for was not an Ability Seed, but a real, ready-made ability.

"Deducting 30,000 points. Obtained Proficient Reaction Speed. Neural reaction speed increased."

Incidentally, the abilities Trainers could exchange for were ranked, from lowest to highest: Beginner Level (Ability Seed), Proficient Level, Master Level, and Transcendent Level.

Master Level Reaction Speed required 300,000 points, while Transcendent Level Reaction Speed required 3,000,000 points.

Roy also checked the finished version of Aura Power. Proficient Aura Power alone cost 150,000 points, instantly making him abandon the idea.

If I train it myself, maybe I'm a genius in psychic abilities and can save all those points?

On the day of the Newcomer Representative Battle.

Roy arrived at the participant entrance on time and met up with Mu Tianyang.

"Yo, how's your preparation going?" Mu Tianyang patted Roy on the shoulder. After sneakily looking around, he lowered his voice. "I gathered some intel on the recommended students these past few days. I'll send it to you later."

"Always doing unnecessary things." Roy rolled his eyes with a smile, but he had no intention of being polite about it. He asked instead, "Where's your sister?"

"She applied for the Breeder Major. It's a written exam, so her test venue is different from ours." Mu Tianyang smiled. A large part of the information he had gathered had actually been thanks to Mu Xixi. Pretty girls had wider social circles.

Of course, he couldn't tell Roy that. His little sister would scold him to death.

"Oh, right. My sister asked me to pass on a message..."

"She said, good luck."

"Yeah." Roy smiled faintly. "I will."

The two chatted as they lined up at the registration counter.

Ten minutes later, it was finally their turn.

"Please present your student ID."

"Beep!"

Roy did as instructed, taking out his student ID to enter his personal information.

"Name: Roy. Freshman class of 2020. Participating Pokémon: Riolu. Trainer ID: 976600. Please verify your information and confirm it again." The senior student handling registration smiled, though her eyes kept studying this controversial figure at the university.

Ah~ He's even more handsome than in the photo.

Too bad he's going to get taught a brutal lesson in this competition.

"The information is correct." Roy nodded.

"Here are the competition rules." After handing Roy the booklet, the senior student pointed him in the right direction with a smile. "The competitor passage is this way. Your lounge is the third room on the left... Good luck, junior!"

"Thank you."

Roy replied politely before turning and leaving.

"Next."

The moment Roy left, the senior student instantly withdrew her smile and blandly dealt with Mu Tianyang, who was registering next.

Mu Tianyang, who had always had a thing for mature women, had originally wanted to ask the senior student for her number. At that moment, though, his heart went completely cold.

This world that judges by looks... I'm tired. Let it all be destroyed!

The Mu family had good genes. Mu Tianyang could never be called ugly; he even fit most people's standards for a mildly handsome guy.

But looks were something relative.

Girls understood that better than anyone. Beautiful girls always liked bringing along their plain-looking friends as foils.

Having grown up hanging around Roy, Mu Tianyang had never enjoyed the treatment reserved for handsome guys.

"Third room on the left..." Roy arrived before a room marked "Group F." He scanned his student ID and entered.

Instantly, everyone in the room turned to look at him.

"Is that Roy?"

"Nice. I got matched with that arrogant pretty boy. Watch me smash him to pieces."

"He has a Riolu, at least. Don't embarrass yourself."

"Heh, a Pokémon's strength is only thirty percent talent. The other seventy percent depends on the Trainer... No matter how talented Riolu is, it's wasted on a Trainer like him."

Roy calmly ignored the deliberately amplified chatter around him and found a seat. Then, unexpectedly, he spotted someone familiar.

The other person was staring at him in equal astonishment.

Unlike the others, who were brimming with confidence about crushing Roy, Lin Shixian was full of helpless frustration.

Why did he have to be grouped with this guy in the preliminaries?

What rotten luck.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Roy. It was simply unnecessary.

The Newcomer Representative Battle was divided into two stages: the preliminary round and the main tournament.

The preliminaries were divided into eight groups: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. Only the top two in points from each group could advance to the main tournament.

Recommended students received seeded-player treatment during grouping. Each group would have at most one recommended student, and Lin Shixian was Group F's seeded player.

After yesterday's battle, Lin Shixian had already regarded Roy as an opponent on the same level... Someone comparable to a seeded player had, for all things, ended up in his group. If that wasn't rotten luck, what was?

Every year, recommended students were not guaranteed to take first place in their groups during the Newcomer Representative Battle. There were always a few upsets—sometimes because of an opponent's bizarre tactics, sometimes due to a disadvantageous type matchup, or sometimes because of a true dark horse...