Mythical Pokémon Era: Global Ascension — Part 25

"I'll tell everyone a ghost story... Roy came from an ordinary family."

"Fucking hell!"

In front of their TVs and in the livestream room, countless bystanders who had gathered for the excitement instantly became fans of Roy.

In society, families unable to take the trainer path were actually the majority. The Pokémon League's annual donation fee of one hundred thousand was a threshold that had blocked countless people.

But if they could not even afford that small amount of money, there was no point in taking the trainer path anyway. The resources Pokémon needed to grow stronger were enough to drive anyone to despair... The donation fee was, in another sense, the Pokémon League's way of discouraging people from joining.

Most people in society had nothing to do with the profession of "trainer." They worked ordinary jobs and kept Pokémon at home. (If they did not crave strength, the food costs were not high.)

So, virtual Pokémon fandom was extremely popular in this world.

They liked a trainer, liked a Pokémon, supported them, cheered them on, leaped with joy over their matches, and lost sleep over their victories and defeats, fulfilling their "trainer dreams" in another way.

Compared with those already-famous trainers, becoming a fan of a rookie trainer and witnessing their growth firsthand brought double the joy of "raising Pokémon virtually."

Even after the next match began, the audience's enthusiasm had not faded. They were still talking animatedly.

Along with that, the cheers for Xiao Bin, which had originally come from affection by association, also diminished significantly.

Anyone who had watched matches for a few years could tell that, based on the strength Xiao Bin had shown before, he was no match for Roy at all.

In the VIP seats, Xiao Rong suddenly sighed.

Principal Fang, delighted to have gained an SSR freshman, smilingly comforted him. "Elite Four Xiao, there's no need to be so disappointed. There will always be geniuses in this world who defy common sense. This has nothing to do with Xiao Bin himself. He's already outstanding; he's just unlucky."

Xiao Rong shot him an annoyed look. "Do you really think I'm that narrow-minded? A genius has emerged among the younger generation. I'm happy about it, if anything."

"Then why did you sigh?" Principal Fang did not believe him.

"Because my son's greatest flaw is his pride." Xiao Rong picked up his teacup and took a leisurely sip. "Now that the audience has suddenly stopped expecting him to win the championship, with his temperament, he definitely won't be able to resist doing something..."

After hearing that, Principal Fang and Professor Xing thoughtfully looked toward the arena.

At that moment, the second semifinal match had already begun.

Xiao Bin's opponent was a girl wearing glasses, the only female contestant in the top four.

Her starter Pokémon was a Squirtle.

One of Dragon Country's Starter Pokémon.

This Squirtle's Water-type moves were excellent in both power and casting speed, and it had even learned Light Screen, an ability that countered Abra.

Its standard was extremely high.

As soon as the battle began, Squirtle continuously attacked with Water Gun without pausing for even a moment, dragging the match into a high-speed offensive and defensive exchange.

Clearly, her thinking was the same as Meng Duoduo's: drag her opponent into a war of attrition and thereby seal Abra's Calm Mind move.

...They had to thank Lin Shixian for forcing Abra's Calm Mind out during the quarterfinals.

Abra's Psychic Shock, without the enhancement from Calm Mind, was still powerful, but it was not beyond normal limits. Squirtle could completely block it with Light Screen.

Both sides' stamina and Inner Focus were rapidly draining away.

Whoever ran out of the ability to act first would lose.

But very soon, the girl with glasses' expression turned ugly.

...Her tactics were correct, but unfortunately, the other side's Pokémon had been trained better.

Squirtle could not hold on any longer.

"Contestant Xiao Bin's Abra has unexpectedly deep Inner Focus!" the commentator said with a smile. "Worthy of being the Child of the Heavenly Kings. He must have an outstanding method for training Inner Focus... Hmm, he has probably also eaten quite a few precious berries that enhance Inner Focus."

"Not bad, not bad at all!"

Anyone who had been a commentator at Sheng Hai University for over twenty years would not have low emotional intelligence.

But commentators were human too, and a few genuine thoughts inevitably slipped through. Especially now, after he had just become a fan of Roy, he could not help comparing Xiao Bin with Roy.

Compared to Roy, whose astonishing talent had delivered a tremendous shock to everyone, even if Xiao Bin won this match, he was only worth a "not bad" evaluation.

Upon hearing that, Xiao Bin's already furrowed brows immediately tightened further.

He could no longer keep his cool.

"Abra, come back!"

Abra had already secured victory and found an opening to attack, but upon receiving the command, it immediately used Teleport to move dozens of meters away.

"Uh..."

The girl with glasses was utterly baffled.

What did this mean?

Was he giving her Squirtle time to rest?

After all, most creatures recovered their stamina far faster than they recovered their Inner Focus.

The girl with glasses felt she was being looked down on. She trembled with rage and shouted as she challenged him, "What do you mean by that?"

"It means nothing."

Xiao Bin replied blandly, then turned to glance in the direction of the contestants' lounge. He knew Roy was there.

"I merely want to let you see... what true psychic power is!"

"What?"

In the instant the girl with glasses and the audience reacted in surprise, a sudden change occurred!

Xiao Bin's clothes began to flutter without wind. Then, a visible azure glow rose from his body.

The azure energy gathered into a pillar of light and poured into Abra not far away.

"Zing—!!"

Abra's entire body lit up, dazzlingly bright.

No one in this world could possibly be unfamiliar with that glow.

—Evolution Light!

In an instant, the light faded, revealing a creature that looked like a variant of Abra. If it had to be described, it was like a cute little boy turning into a bearded middle-aged man.

Its looks had devolved. It had grown ugly.

But almost no one cared about its appearance now. They were stunned by what this phenomenon represented.

Abra had not grown to the point where it could evolve. Rather, it had received some kind of blessing and undergone a temporary evolution.

Only one kind of person could provide such a blessing.

And only Psychic-type Pokémon could receive it.

Psychics!

Xiao Bin was actually a psychic.

Satisfied with everyone's reaction, Xiao Bin gave a cold smile and lightly covered half his face with one hand.

"Kadabra, Psychic Shock!"

Abra's evolved form, Kadabra, raised the silver spoon that seemed like an innate magical artifact. A wave of Inner Focus far surpassing before surged upward.

Psychic Shock formed into a tornado and terrifyingly charged toward Squirtle.

"Squirtle!!"

Cold sweat covered Squirtle's face as it hurriedly withdrew into its shell.

At the same time, it used Light Screen.

It remained completely still, hiding in its shell.

However, under Kadabra's beyond-standard Inner Focus, Squirtle's two layers of defense were like paper and were instantly crushed.

Squirtle let out a pained cry and completely fainted.

"Squirtle has lost the ability to battle! The winner is contestant Xiao Bin!"

the referee announced loudly.

If Roy and Riolu had not raised his resistance to shock earlier, the referee would probably have been standing there dumbfounded like the audience right now.

Squirtle.

Were this year's freshmen all monsters?

Or was Sheng Hai University's ancestral grave smoking? Two beyond-standard rookie contestants had actually emerged in the same year.

Now this final would be interesting.

My Aura Is Huge, Bear With It.

—Psychics.

After Pokémon descended upon the world, it was a supernatural ability that a very small number of trainers who had lived with Psychic-type Pokémon for a long time would awaken.

The number of registered psychics worldwide was around one thousand, with abilities ranging from weak to strong.

Weaker psychics could at most bend a spoon with telekinesis.

Powerful psychics, however, could lift an entire high-rise building, trigger explosions capable of destroying towns, or invade other people's dreams and turn them into cloth dolls.

The specific functions of psychic powers varied from person to person.

Aura Power was also a type of psychic power.

As long as powerful psychics received proper educational resources, they were basically destined to become outstanding trainers.

There had once been controversy over whether "psychics could use their abilities in battles." In the end, the Pokémon League permitted it and gave an explanation everyone could accept.

—Trainers and Pokémon were united as one.

Since a Pokémon's abilities were a trainer's abilities, then the reverse was true as well. They could not apply a double standard.

If you were unhappy about it, go onto the field yourself and defeat the opposing Pokémon.

Inside the contestants' lounge, everyone was talking at once.

"Holy shit, Bin!"