An Old Acquaintance: Ushio / Match Lineup

"Oh, you don't want the Celestial Gold Knight anymore?" You Zhi asked, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"The Celestial Gold Knight isn't one of the Three Egyptian Gods; there's no need to risk your life."

"You're quite cautious."

"In my line of work, how could I have survived this long if I weren't careful? I know when to give up, whether it's an elf or a subordinate."

Without hesitation, Pokémon Hunter J handed the six stars to You Zhi, and then the dark barrier dissipated on its own.

Some Dark Duel punish the loser because both duelists are gambling with their lives, but this Dark Duel is not so cruel; it only punishes those who break the agreement.

Seeing this, Pokémon Hunter J breathed a sigh of relief and decisively abandoned the backup plan.

She had originally planned to use other means if she lost the duel. After all, she wasn't a trainer and didn't need to be confined to Spirit Duel. If using firearms to ambush or kidnapping hostages could achieve the same effect, she certainly wouldn't refuse.

But after witnessing You Zhi's dark power, she decided to give up the Celestial Gold Knight and stay far away from him. Because of her involvement in the underworld, she knew very well that dark power could do many things beyond reason, and it was not worth the risk.

After making this decision, Pokémon Hunter J relaxed completely, but when she turned to leave, her expression froze instantly.

Officer Jenny, dressed in a police uniform and holding a pair of handcuffs, declared sternly, "Pokémon Hunter J, I am arresting you on suspicion of stealing another person's Pokémon and intentional assault!"

Behind her stood a burly elf known as "The Judge," wielding an iron hammer in each hand, his eyes fixed on the Pokémon Hunter J, ready to strike without mercy should the hunter make any move.

The Pokémon Hunter J stiffly turned his head, looking at You Zhi in disbelief, and said, "You actually reported me to the police?"

As a trainer with some reputation, shouldn't he defeat his opponent through a fair and square duel? How could he resort to such an unethical and unruly method as reporting someone?

Don't worry about no one challenging you to a duel... Oh, you've collected all ten stars now, no wonder you dare to betray me after using me!

You Zhi ignored the other party's agitated emotions and said righteously, "As a law-abiding citizen, it is my right and duty to report criminals and maintain social order."

"Well said!" Officer Jenny gave a thumbs-up in praise. "If everyone had the same awareness as Mr. You Zhi, the world would definitely be a better place. By the way, there is a reward for this criminal. Please come to our police station when you have time to collect your due reward."

I'll go tomorrow.

The Pokémon Hunter J gritted his teeth in hatred, but still obediently stretched out his hands for Officer Jenny to handcuff.

She had no doubt that if she dared to resist, this guy named You Zhi would definitely join forces to attack her, regardless of his status.

You Zhi embedded the six stars into the bracelet, watched the police car drive away, and sighed, "I've collected all the stars, eliminated a criminal, and even got a reward. Tonight is truly a night of good fortune."

"That might not be the case for others. I didn't even notice when you called the police."

Phile was startled when she saw Officer Jenny arrive; she hadn't expected this at all, belonging to the mindset of resolving everything through duels, as described by the Pokémon Hunter J.

"Of course, it's while we're waiting for you to eat."

At that time, Pokémon Hunter J only planned to wager four stars, confident that You Zhi wouldn't dare call the police.

"Were you so sure your opponent would accept the six-star condition? What if they were principled and refused to accept the condition, then you would have lost all hope of advancing?"

If other Pokémon Hunter knew that You Zhi would call the police, they definitely wouldn't dare to challenge him again.

"Even without tonight's duel, collecting all the stars is just a matter of time."

"Besides the Pokémon Hunter, who else would willingly challenge you?" Phile was somewhat skeptical.

"Of course, trainers are the most passionate and ambitious group in the world. We must believe in their burning desire to challenge the strong."

"If people truly had the will to challenge the strong, there wouldn't be so many refusing duels today."

Phile didn't believe You Zhi's explanation at all, but then said cheerfully, "Looking at it from another angle, no matter what, you've already collected all the stars, but it's hard to say about the other trainers on the Celebrity Ranking. It's like eliminating a large number of strong competitors in disguise."

"You're overthinking it. The vast majority of people on that list will advance. Those who are eliminated are simply not good enough or not very bright."

"How is that possible? No one is dueling with them, how are they going to collect all the stars? If, as Alisa said, they actively offer conditions that are disadvantageous to themselves, the probability of being defeated will increase significantly. After all, no matter how weak the other trainers are, they are still professional trainers who can collect eight badges. The rules of this qualifying tournament are flawed; they favor the weak and are disadvantageous to the strong. In my opinion, a restriction should be added to the rules, such as requiring a star as a price for refusing someone's challenge, followed by an hour-long protection period."

You Zhi shook his head and said, "Following your method, this qualifier will become a complete mess. All sorts of underhanded tactics will inevitably emerge, and it will cause a lot of dissatisfaction afterward. The simplest point is that if someone gets ten stars and is already qualified to advance, and someone challenges him at this time, it will not benefit him whether he accepts or not. Is that fair?"

Phile immediately said, "We can add a rule: players who have already advanced have the right to refuse challenges from others without penalty."

"If I have someone I desperately want to defeat, I can simply hire a player to challenge him, wagering a star in a standard 6v6 match. If he refuses, he'll lose a star for nothing; if he agrees, he'll leak a lot of information—it's not worth it."

"We can add another rule: the maximum number of duels can be 3v3."

"Now we have two supplementary rules, and I can come up with even more underhanded tricks. For each one you come up with, you'll need to use a new rule to supplement it. So let's not do anything else today; let's spend a day learning the rules of the game to prevent anyone from exploiting loopholes."

"But..." Phile frowned, still finding it hard to accept, "The current rules aren't fair either. How can a competition where the winner is determined by skill be biased towards the weak?"

"While the current rudimentary rules may have some bias, they aren't biased towards the weak as you described. You need to look ahead, not just at the present. If you can't understand this, you'll likely face a lot of difficulties in promoting Riding Duel in the future. Remember, the simpler something is, the easier it is for the public to accept. What you think is a supplement to perfecting the rules may very well become a loophole for others to exploit."

I still don't understand.

You'll understand tomorrow.

"Hey, just tell me now, don't keep me in suspense, or I won't be able to sleep."

Phile tugged at You Zhi's sleeve and acted coquettishly, but You Zhi, being a straight man who prioritizes fun, wasn't buying it at all.

You wouldn't understand even if I explained it now, but you'll see tomorrow.

The following morning, You Zhi and Phile were enjoying a buffet breakfast at the hotel restaurant.

Suddenly, a spirited young man walked over and said, "You must be You Zhi, the A-rank Celestial Knight holder on the Celebrity Ranking. I now challenge you to a duel."

Phile asked warily, "You're Pokémon Hunter too?"

"Too?"

The young man was slightly puzzled, but didn't dwell on it, immediately denying it. "Of course not! Only a twisted, profit-driven freak would become a Pokémon Hunter. I am a respectable Pokémon Trainer, and I'm issuing a duel challenge according to the Pokémon League Preliminaries rules. I need a few stars as a wager; just name your price."

Chapter 285 Old Friend Niu Wei

You're too late.

You Zhi raised his wrist, showing off the bracelet that was already covered with stars.

The young man who had issued the challenge clicked his tongue in disappointment, but didn't press the matter. He simply gave up and turned to leave.

"Someone actually volunteered to take on this challenge?"

Phile was stunned, not expecting You Zhi to be right. But after thinking for a moment, he said with relief, "There's no shortage of brave trainers who dare to challenge the strong. We were just unlucky yesterday and didn't encounter any."

You Zhi glanced at it and said, "From now on, more and more people will take the initiative to challenge us."

"How could that be? I admit there are some passionate young trainers with dreams, but they are ultimately a minority," Phile insisted.

You Zhi didn't refute it; no amount of talk could be as convincing as firsthand experience.

He had already met the requirements to advance to the knockout stage, and was too lazy to collect more stars. He no longer cared about the competition, and after finishing breakfast, he went to the local police station to collect the bounty from Pokémon Hunter J.

On his way to the police station, he encountered two contestants who challenged him.

"What exactly happened?" Phile had accepted You Zhi's point of view, but still didn't understand the reason. "Are today's contestants the same group as yesterday's? Or did you do something without my knowledge?"

"I didn't do anything. This is just something that naturally happens under the rules of the competition. Think back carefully, what do those challengers have in common?"

"Commonalities..."

Phile thought about it carefully, eliminating the meaningless options, and said thoughtfully, "Their bracelets are full of stars, meeting the advancement requirements. Normally, even the most passionate trainers who like to challenge strong opponents wouldn't risk being eliminated to challenge strong opponents, since they would still have a chance to meet them after participating in the elimination rounds. So, they used their extra stars to challenge?"

"That's right. No one was willing to accept my challenge yesterday, not because they lacked courage, but because, as that contestant Kao Ping said, they didn't want to take unnecessary risks. But if the risks are eliminated, why not?"

Phile suddenly realized, "Since these are extra stars, it's not a big deal even if we lose. Normally, they can't even get a chance to challenge those famous trainers, but now the opportunity is right in front of them. If it were me, I would definitely try to collect more stars on the first day, and then challenge trainers I'm interested in on the second day. I could even take the opportunity to make some requests, such as challenging you and requiring you to use the Celestial Gold Knight in the duel. This request is much more reasonable than the self-restricting conditions that Alisa mentioned, and it's unlikely to be refused."

You Zhi said, "Challengers can be roughly divided into two types. One type is what you described, those trainers who just want to seize the opportunity to duel with celebrities, those who are passionate and pure. The other type intends to use the opportunity to gather information. They will ask both sides to have as many battle slots as possible, but use reserve Pokémon in the duel to avoid leaking their own information."

Phile suddenly clicked. "Originally, once a contestant had ten stars, they had no motivation to continue challenging others. But now it's different. They will actively challenge weaker trainers to obtain extra stars, which will lead to a significant reduction in the number of trainees advancing. This preliminary round rule seems to protect the weak and give them the right to refuse, but in reality, it eliminates more weak trainees."

You Zhi said, "Regardless of the rules, as long as the competition is based on strength, the weak will be suppressed. If we have to talk about gains and losses, we can only say that the rules of the preliminary rounds favor the strong but unknown, and disadvantage the strong but unknown. The weak, whether famous or not, will be eliminated. If anyone on the Celebrity Ranking doesn't advance in the end, it's not because no one challenges them or the rules target them, but because they are not skilled enough and are defeated by the challengers. After all, the trainers who can get extra stars are definitely above average in strength."

"I never expected this kind of change. The same rules, but as the competition progressed, the situation became completely different..."

Phile sighed for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly asked, "Then wasn't Alisa just taking a loss by challenging someone through self-restriction yesterday?"

"That depends on what she's thinking. If she's also planning to collect more stars to challenge celebrities, then it's not a loss. If she hasn't thought of that, then consider it practice before the main competition."

Why didn't you remind her yesterday?

"Who knows if she thought of that? If she did, wouldn't I be seen as showing off? Besides, judging from her expression last night, it clearly went very smoothly. There's no need to worry."

The two walked and talked, but then they encountered two more challengers along the way.

You Zhi found it troublesome and decided to hand in his bracelet early to secure a spot in the next round. After that, when others saw that his wrist was bare, they naturally wouldn't say anything more.

While submitting the wristband to the organizers, I ran into an old friend.

"Hey, long time no see. I heard you came back from the dead before, and I thought it was just Harin talking nonsense, but it turns out it's true."

A burly man with downturned eyebrows, dressed in a guard uniform, greeted them in a familiar tone.

You Zhi quickly recalled that the other person's name was Niu Wei Tetsu, who was also a member of the Ghouls Group. Their relationship wasn't exactly friendship, but it was slightly better than that of other colleagues, so there was no need to worry about being exposed.

Of course, given You Zhi's current strength, it's not a big deal if it's discovered that he has nothing to do with the original owner.

But considering it would be best to avoid trouble, he didn't pretend not to know her and said, "Niu Wei, you've also signed up for the Quartz Tournament? Is Ghouls's job so easy that both inspectors took leave at the same time? Or is it that everyone in Ghouls is law-abiding and the people are so honest that they don't need inspectors?"

Niu Wei face full of black lines, said, "I didn't sign up for the competition, and that bastard Harin didn't ask for leave either; he just sneaked in. I'll definitely report this and dock his pay!"

Then, he took out something that looked like a USB flash drive and handed it to You Zhi, saying, "This is something the leader ordered me to give you. It contains the data you need. In addition, the leader said that he is happy with your plan and hopes to make the world more interesting. If needed, he would be happy to let the Ghouls Group join in the fun."

"Understood. Please convey my message to Marik: if necessary, I won't hesitate to ask."

You Zhi was willing to use the Three Sacred Beasts, so naturally he wouldn't refuse to cooperate with the Ghouls Group. If the plan failed, he would be branded as a heinous criminal; if it succeeded, he would be a saint praised and revered by everyone.

Regardless of whether it's the former or the latter, the stain of cooperating with organized crime is not worth mentioning.

"I never imagined you'd actually become such a big shot. Experiencing death really does transform a person."

Niu Wei sighed, then continued, "Next is my personal matter. Harin came back with a smug look on his face, saying that he forced you to use the Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder's Pokémon Card during the duel. Isn't that just a lie he made up to boast?"

You Zhi recalled the details of that battle and nodded, saying, "It's true."

Upon hearing this, Niu Wei looked utterly shocked and muttered, "This kid has actually become so strong? Challenging gyms is this effective? No wonder the Pokémon League is implementing a gym challenge system. Should I take a six-month leave to train too...?"

Chapter 286 Battle Roster

"The preliminary round had a 92% elimination rate, with 70% of the players on the Celebrity Ranking advancing. The 30% who were eliminated lost all their stars in duels, showing that fame does not equal skill. Finally, with the direct-entry seeded players, a total of 121 people participated in the elimination round. As per past practice, there will be 7 rounds of One for One matches until the champion is determined. Among them, 7 lucky individuals have the opportunity to skip the first round and advance directly."

Alisa shared the information she had just received.

"With an elimination rate of over 90%, there are still more than a hundred people!" Phile exclaimed in surprise. "Although I knew there would be a lot of people signing up, I didn't expect there to be more than a thousand."

Alisa said, "After all, the participants this time are not only from Kanto and Johto, but also professional trainers from other regions. There are even several gym leaders, so it is highly anticipated. It is said that the Pokémon League sold the broadcasting rights for an astronomical price."

After a pause, she added, "By the way, all participants will receive a royalty fee for their Pokémon, and the more appearances they make, the higher the fee. Reaching the top eight will earn nearly 5 million, not including the prize money."

Because this world has Spirit Information Protection Act, it is illegal to record other people's Pokémon battle videos at will. In addition, it is also illegal for commentators to explain the characteristics of Pokémon to the audience during a match, analyze their strengths, effects, type advantages and disadvantages, etc., without the permission of both sides of the match.

Even mediocre professional trainers can do quite well in this world, since they can earn royalties just by participating in competitions. As a result, many professional slackers have emerged, relying on participating in various competitions to earn royalties for being eliminated in the first round. They have no interest in the duels themselves and only participate perfunctorily. They only put in the effort to try to advance to the second round when they encounter fellow trainers. Trainers who truly love this profession hate these people.

It must be admitted that the Pokémon League chose this qualifying tournament rule largely to save money and weed out professional slackers. After all, without broadcasting, there's no need to pay copyright fees; otherwise, the number of participants would definitely increase several times over.

You Zhi didn't care about any of that. He asked, "Haven't the competition rules and rosters been released yet? It's been three days since the qualifiers ended. The Pokémon League's efficiency is just too low."

Alisa and Phile exchanged a glance, and one said, "It's normal efficiency. Everyone's used to it. Just consider it a way to relieve the fatigue accumulated during the qualifiers."

Another person said, "The notification has already been sent out, and the details of the knockout stage will be announced today. It's quite fast compared to usual; I thought it would take at least five days."

"... No wonder there are always illegal organizations causing trouble in various regions. With this kind of efficiency, even if people below report it, the higher-ups will keep dragging their feet until the incident breaks out before taking action."

You Zhi was at a loss. As a Pokémon trainer, he couldn't very well try to clean up the bureaucracy; that would be too irresponsible. It just goes to show that bureaucrats are the same creatures in every world.

Fortunately, after only half a day, he and Alisa received the message that the Pokémon League had launched its attack, and an announcement was also posted on the official website.

"The first and second rounds are singles 3v3, the third and fourth rounds are doubles 4v4, and after the quarterfinals it's singles 6v6. Nothing new, not as good as the qualifiers."

You Zhi was somewhat disappointed and turned to Phile to ask, "What about your Riding Duel? Wouldn't it be easier for the public to accept if you could have a round in the tournament?"

Phile shrugged and said, "I'd like to, but the Pokémon League's offer was too expensive. I had a professional marketing company evaluate it, and their opinion was that the cost-effectiveness was too low, so I didn't agree."

Alisa chimed in, "There's no way around it. The Pokémon League takes this competition very seriously, and the more important a project is, the more conservative it becomes. They're unlikely to accept anything new. It's better to have nothing new than to have problems. If a popular player who's considered a favorite is eliminated because he's unfamiliar with the new rules, it will inevitably attract a lot of criticism. The organizing committee sees this as an unnecessary risk unless you can offer them enough incentives."

Phile, unwilling to dwell on discouraging topics, quickly waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about that. Quickly look at the match list. Who are your opponents in the first round?"

Alisa glanced at it. "Hau, an unfamiliar name. From the Alola region... Hmm... Alola doesn't seem to even have a proper Pokémon Pokémon League."

Phile sensed the disdain in his best friend's tone and cautiously reminded her, "To emerge from a 90% elimination rate in the preliminaries proves that his strength is definitely extraordinary. There might be some special Pokémon in the Alola region, so we still need to be careful."

"Don't worry, I won't underestimate any opponent."