Baby Cup Begins

Another happy week of studying passed quickly.

Every day, Lu Ze and the other three went to school and trained their Pokémon, living very fulfilling lives. Elder Mo stayed in a room at the Love Pokémon Flagship Store at night and went to Lu Ba's research institute during the day. No one knew what the two of them were tinkering with, but they spent all day at it before heading back at night, acting just like office workers.

According to Elder Mo, it was because that unfilial son of his had not arrived yet. He wanted to wait here and give him a good beating first. It was absolutely not because he was afraid of that old man Lu Xingguo.

Since the Pokémon Secret Realm had not begun yet, Mo Qiancheng had not appeared. He might have arrived long ago and been sightseeing around Chang'an City, or he might be waiting until just before the Pokémon Secret Realm's scheduled opening time. In any case, Elder Mo still did not know where Mo Qiancheng was.

After school on Friday, the four of them went together to register at the Baby Cup venue in the city-center stadium. The tournament would officially begin on Saturday. There were no tickets on Saturday, and naturally no seats either. It was similar to Lu Ze's school, except there were individual small battlefields instead of arenas.

The Knockout tournament came first. The rules were simple: one point for a win and no points for a loss. Ten consecutive wins meant advancement. Or, after a full day, excluding those who had advanced with ten straight wins, the highest scorers would fill the remaining spots until there were sixty people. The sixty would compete on Sunday, when tickets would be sold and spectator seating would be available.

Besides the rule limiting each contestant to one registered Pokémon, another rule had been added: Held Items were prohibited. No one knew whether that was because they had watched Lu Ze turn the tables with a Cheri Berry and defeat Dratini. (Laugh)

After registering, the four went home. Once Lu Ze got home, he released Golbat and Munchlax, then finished the homework assigned by school.

Before Lu Ze had even finished writing, Lu Ba rushed in excitedly and said to him,

"Son, look what Grandpa Mo and I made!"

Lu Ze looked at his father, who had both hands hidden behind his back and an almost childish expression on his face. He replied helplessly,

"What is it? Why are you so excited?"

Lu Ba happily held out his hand.

"Ta-da! Here it is—the Held Item Portable Device."

"I heard you hid a Cheri Berry during the Academy Battle Tournament and turned the fight around to beat Dratini. That gave me the idea. With Grandpa Mo's help, this was the final product. It makes Held Items more convenient to carry and use."

Lu Ze curiously looked at the small strap in front of him and asked,

"How does this thing work?"

Lu Ba fiddled with it as he explained.

"See? There are two extendable straps on the sides. At the center is a circular clasp that can hold things in place. We considered every kind of Held Item, even Prismatic Stones. They can all be secured in it. The straps can extend far enough for even a Wailord to use it."

Lu Ze gave him a thumbs-up. "Dad, you're amazing."

Lu Ba waved his hand. "Ah, Grandpa Mo solved the main problem. Sure enough, after being away from Upper Capital for so many years, I never realized they'd already overcome so many technical difficulties there."

Lu Ba put away his childish manner and spoke with some emotion.

Lu Ze comforted Lu Ba, saying that once he got into Shangqing, he would be able to go back anyway.

Lu Ze was not sure why they had moved from Upper Capital to Chang'an City back then, but over the years, he had picked up on some clues. There was a high chance that Lu Ba and Lu Ze's Grandpa had argued over something, and then Lu Ba had moved here.

"Ah, right, Dad. Are there any Prismatic Stones with a multicolored base?"

Lu Ze suddenly asked. After searching online for days and looking through pictures of Mega Stones from the Shangqing Research Institute that Grandpa Mo had shown him, Lu Ze had never found a Key Stone. He wanted to see if he could get any information from his father.

Lu Ba thought for a moment and said,

"I don't think I've seen one. Why? Have you seen one somewhere?"

"Uh, in a dream."

Lu Ba laughed and scolded him. "Brat. All right, I won't talk to you anymore. You registered for the Baby Cup, right? Get some proper rest and perform well in tomorrow's matches. If you make it into the Main Event, I'll bring your mom to watch you compete."

Lu Ze said excitedly, "Okay, Dad! I'll definitely make it into the Main Event."

"Mm. Get some rest."

Lu Ba closed the door behind him and left. After Lu Ze finished all his homework, he played on his phone for a while before hugging Munchlax and Golbat and going to sleep.

Nothing happened that night. With one in each arm, he enjoyed the blessings of having both companions.

When he woke up the next day, Lu Ba and Lu Ma had already gone to the store, leaving Lu Ze home alone. They were not worried about his match at all. After eating the meal Lu Ma had left for him, Lu Ze prepared to head to the stadium entrance and wait for everyone to gather.

As expected, Su Tingxi arrived first, while Sui Yan was still the last to arrive.

The four formed a circle at the stadium entrance and bumped their fists together.

"Good luck!"

After encouraging one another, Lu Ze and the others entered the venue to register their records. Every battle would be recorded. All four of them aimed to advance with ten consecutive wins, so they quickly split up to find their own opponents.

Lu Ze soon found his first opponent, a baby-faced little girl in a dress.

"Both sides, release your Pokémon."

Lu Ze released Munchlax, while his opponent released a very cute Bug- and Fairy-type Cutiefly.

Lu Ze was using Munchlax this time. Tang Yunqin and Sui Yan were using Shellder and Growlithe, respectively. None of them were using the Pokémon they had used in the Academy Battle Tournament. Only Su Tingxi was an exception. His Swablu had only recently been born and could not battle yet, so he was still using Dratini.

Pokémon: Cutiefly

Gender: Female

Type: Bug, Fairy

Ability: Shield Dust (Protected by a shield of dust, it is unaffected by additional effects of moves.)

Aptitude: Blue

Basic Moves: Absorb, Fairy Wind, Stun Spore, Sweet Scent

Egg Moves: Moonblast, Sticky Web

Meanwhile, Munchlax had spent the week learning [Metronome] from Kommo-o specifically to counter Sui Yan's Torkoal's [Earthquake].

"Swish!"

The flag dropped, and the battle began.

"Munchlax, close the distance—Fire Punch!"

"Cutiefly—Sticky Web, keep your distance!"

Cutiefly sprayed out clumps of sticky Bug webs, slowing Munchlax's already low speed even further. Since Cutiefly could fly, Munchlax could not touch it at all.

Lu Ze suddenly realized that Munchlax had not learned any long-range attacking moves. The only ranged attack it knew, [Belch], could not be used because the tournament organizers had prohibited Held Items. (Belch could not be used without consuming a Berry.)

There was no helping it. Munchlax could not touch Cutiefly, and Earthquake could not hit it either. In the games, Earthquake could not hit Flying-type Pokémon or Pokémon with the [Levitate] Ability. In reality, Earthquake also could not hit Pokémon that could fly even if they were not Flying types. It could only attack Pokémon on the ground; anything in the air was beyond its reach.

Helpless, Lu Ze could only rely on [Metronome] and try his luck.

"Munchlax—Metronome!"

"Cutiefly—Moonblast!"

Munchlax waved its finger. Then its head suddenly tilted, and a white light flashed across its body. [Metronome] had rolled [Amnesia], raising its Special Defense stat by two stages. Munchlax's already high Special Defense stat rose even further, and Cutiefly's Moonblast striking its belly barely registered at all.

"Munchlax—Metronome!"

"Cutiefly—Moonblast!"

The little girl felt somewhat helpless. All of Cutiefly's moves focused on Special Attack, and Special Attack moves were completely powerless against a Munchlax with +2 Special Defense. Yet she could not simply stop attacking. What if she kept chipping away at it and somehow managed to wear it down?

Blazing flames erupted around Munchlax and surged out in all directions, striking Cutiefly, which had no room to dodge. Munchlax had gotten quite lucky and rolled [Lava Plume], a Fire-type move that countered Cutiefly.

Cutiefly struggled and flew back up. The little girl let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, it had not been knocked out in one hit. However, she had lost the confidence to continue. Even though Cutiefly had not been instantly defeated, any more attacking move could knock it down, while Cutiefly's own moves could barely hurt Munchlax.

"The opponent surrenders. Munchlax wins."

The referee announced the result without expression. After the two sides exchanged friendly nods, Lu Ze sighed and continued searching for another opponent. Under the tournament format, only those with five consecutive wins would have an official draw lots and assign them opponents. Before five straight wins, contestants had to find opponents on their own. This was partly because contestants with five straight wins might not be able to find anyone willing to battle them, and partly because the organizers did not want contestants reaching ten consecutive wins and entering the Main Event too quickly.

I need to get five consecutive wins. After that, I won't have to find opponents myself, Lu Ze thought silently.

Before Lu Ze could issue another battle challenge, someone had already "taken a liking" to him and challenged him.

"Both sides, release your Pokémon."

"Swish!"

Pokémon: Slugma

Gender: Male

Type: Fire

Ability: Magma Armor (Covers its body with scorching magma and prevents it from becoming Frozen.)

Aptitude: Green

Basic Moves: Yawn, Smog, Ember, Harden, Rock Throw

Egg Moves: Swallow, Rollout

When Lu Ze saw Slugma's Egg Moves, he could not help laughing. The three moves [Stockpile], [Spit Up], and [Swallow] worked together. [Spit Up] and [Swallow] required [Stockpile] as a prerequisite. Without [Stockpile], having only [Swallow] was completely useless.

When his opponent heard Lu Ze laugh, he assumed Lu Ze was mocking him. He glared fiercely at Lu Ze, intending to show him what for once the battle began.

"Swish!"

The flag dropped, and the match began.

"Slugma—Rollout!"

"Munchlax—Earthquake!"

His opponent had planned well. Once [Rollout] stacked up its physical damage, even Munchlax would have to take it seriously. But he had not expected Munchlax to know [Earthquake].

After one [Earthquake], Slugma's curled-up body unfolded, and it lay in the center of the battlefield with spirals in its eyes.

"Slugma is unable to battle. Munchlax wins."

After his victory, Lu Ze gave his opponent a friendly nod and continued searching for his next opponent.

Before long, Lu Ze had already achieved five consecutive wins. Munchlax was truly dominant in the Baby Cup now. Most ranged attacks relied on Special Attack and could barely hurt Munchlax. Munchlax simply endured the attacks and used [Metronome] to randomly roll moves. Defeating its opponents was only a matter of how long it took.

As for physical close-range attacks, Munchlax still had Farmer's Three Punches, Mega Punch, and Earthquake waiting for them. It was an absolute monster in close combat, leaving its opponents with no way to deal with it.

Thank you to the reader [On the Crown] for the tip, thank you so much. Also, everyone can post the characters they want, including names, Pokémon they like, or desired teams, in the character-name request post in the comments. Many characters still do not have names, and I really do not know how to name them.