National Pokémon Tournament (Please Bookmark, Recommend, and Vote!)

After getting home, he saw his mother eating. Pikachu and Jigglypuff sat on the table, wolfing down Pokémon Food with thoroughly satisfied expressions.

Seeing her son return, Jiang's Mother set down her chopsticks and asked, "Have you eaten?"

Jiang Jing changed into his slippers and said, "I ate at school, but Aron hasn't eaten yet. I need to prepare its lunch."

With that, he went into the kitchen and took out Aron's dedicated food bowl.

He took some Low-Grade Steel-type Pokémon Food from his backpack and filled the bowl, then poured a bottle of Moomoo Milk over it.

There was also a small bag of Ore, with only a little left. He opened the bag and set it on the floor.

He then took out a Poké Ball and tossed it, releasing Aron. A streak of white light shot out from the ball and took shape on the ground.

Aron cutely turned its head, its nose twitching as it caught the scent of food. Seeing its bowl already full, it took off on its little legs and hurried over to feast.

Watching Aron gorge itself, Jiang Jing felt a pang in his heart. He had still underestimated Aron's appetite.

The 150 jin of Ore he had bought three days ago had all been eaten in less than two days. If not for the Low-Grade Steel-type Pokémon Food being so filling, there would not have been enough food yesterday.

He would have to make another trip to Cerulean Pokémon Supermarket that afternoon.

Looking at Aron, he activated Data Eye.

Pokémon: Aron

Attributes: Steel, Rock

Talent: ★★★

Level: LV4

Ability: Heavy Metal

After three days of good food, good drink, and good sleep, Aron had naturally reached LV4. Its level should rise again in another day or two, and it could begin training in seven days.

That afternoon, Jiang Jing braved the blazing sun and made another trip to Cerulean Pokémon Supermarket. This time, he bought five bags of Low-Grade Steel-type Pokémon Food, three bags of Low-Grade Rock-type Pokémon Food, and 500 jin of Ore.

With a stuffed backpack and two huge bags, he carried everything back in the heat and nearly got heatstroke by the time he returned.

Still, this should be enough for five or six days, right? If he bought any more, he would not be able to carry it back.

Online shopping was even less practical. Ore and Pokémon Food were so heavy that the shipping fees were outrageously expensive, so he did not dare order them. He could only work hard and make a few more trips himself.

Thinking of that, he could not help envying those rich people who could afford Compression Backpacks.

Spatial compression technology definitely could not have been developed in just a few hundred years.

Anything placed inside became lighter and smaller. It was as magical as in the cartoons—a tiny backpack could hold a mountain of things without feeling heavy.

Unfortunately, Compression Backpacks were ridiculously expensive. A shoulder bag with just 0.5 cubic meters of internal space cost 3,999 yuan.

As for Compression Backpacks shaped like ordinary backpacks, even the cheapest ones cost 7,999 yuan.

Even with Cerulean Pokémon Supermarket's ten-percent discount, it still cost 7,199.1 yuan. The price was simply unimaginable.

There was no way he could spend the money he had now on a Compression Backpack. Being able to support Aron was already good enough.

Money, money—nothing but money. Being a Trainer was truly a money-burning profession, so he had to find a way to earn some.

That evening, after taking a hot shower, Jiang Jing lay comfortably in bed and played with his phone.

While scrolling through Douyin, aside from dancing pretty girls, most of what he saw was content pushing tomorrow's World Pokémon Tournament national qualifiers, also known as the National Tournament.

Every Douyin blogger was predicting the contestants they favored, while the comment sections were a chaotic mess. Everyone analyzed the competitors like professional Trainers, acting as if they truly understood everything.

The National Tournament could be regarded as the liveliest, fiercest, and most passionate competitive event in Hua Nation. All participants were under thirty years old, every one of them young.

Its competitive level might not necessarily be the highest, but it undoubtedly had the widest reach and the largest audience.

It was like the World Cup in his previous life, wielding unparalleled influence in every country.

Among Trainers, a Trainer who did not want to win the National Championship was not a good Trainer.

The World Pokémon Tournament was held once every four years and was mainly divided into the national tournament and the World Championship.

First, one had to earn a spot from one's own country before being qualified to participate in the World Championship.

But earning a place in the National Championship also required passing through layer after layer of selection, each round harder than the last, like facing eighty-one tribulations.

The Trainers who emerged from those rounds were naturally at the very peak of the pyramid.

That was why Liu Bin had been talking about the National Tournament every day lately. For him, the thing he looked forward to most each day was its start.

At eight in the morning, Jiang Jing was not awakened by his alarm clock, but by his alarm and a WeChat call ringing at the same time.

After turning off the alarm, he answered the WeChat call. "Hey, you bastard, what's going on? Why are you calling me so early?"

The one calling him on WeChat was Liu Bin. Because Liu Bin liked calling others bastards, everyone sometimes called him that too.

Liu Bin shouted, "Fuck, call me handsome! No, this isn't the time for that. The tournament starts in half an hour, and you're still not up?"

Jiang Jing said speechlessly, "You just said there's still half an hour. What are you in such a hurry for?"

Liu Bin said, "Damn, it's such an important tournament and you're not even anxious? Get up already."

With that, he hung up the WeChat call.

Jiang Jing put down his phone helplessly and climbed out of bed. As he went to wash up, he passed the kitchen and saw a couple of steamed buns and eggs left on the table.

As for Jiang's Mother, she had probably gone out to buy groceries and chat with people.

After washing up, he turned on the television and switched it to the central channel.

The upper-right corner of the screen read: 19:53 remaining until the 69th World Pokémon Tournament National Qualifiers begin.

The screen was currently showing preparations at the venue, behind-the-scenes staff at work, and interviews with some contestants.

At the same time, the two commentators and guest in the studio were making pre-match predictions and introducing contestants of every background.

In WeChat, Liu Bin had already started sending messages in the Room 404 group, telling everyone to watch the tournament.

Liu Bin: "@Everyone, the tournament's about to start. I'm ready—Fatty Happy Water, snacks. I'm staying home all summer to watch the tournament every day."

That was not enough for him. He even nudged everyone one by one.

Chen Ze: "Damn, there are still nineteen minutes. What's the rush? Though I got up early too. Lin Xi for National Champion."

Guo Yong: "Tch, Lin Xi is nothing. Li Xingzhou is the GOAT. Lin Xi only made the Quarterfinals last time, while my God Zhou was the man who nearly beat third place last time. With the top few from last time gone, who can be his opponent this year?"

Wang Zhiyi: "I think they're both strong, but I like Lin Xi more. After all, Lin Xi is my goddess."

Li Peng: "Tch, I like Wu Xingyu more. Those muscles are insanely fierce."

Who would have thought that skinny little Li Peng was into muscular men?