Baby Cup Top 60 to Top 30 Matches Begin

Lu Ze gave a wry smile. "Alright, I forgot my family's shop sells Berries too. Tell the clerk you contacted, then let me know when I'm done after I get back. You can pick them up yourself, or I can have the clerk deliver them to you."

"Mm, okay."

Yin Hanling happily agreed. Then the five of them gathered together, chatting and laughing. They seemed completely out of place amid the tense atmosphere of the venue. No one knew why Yin Hanling lacked the aura a Ghost-type Trainer was supposed to have.

Instead, she was outgoing and sunny as she chatted with everyone. In most people's minds, Ghost-type Trainers were either introverted and shy, like Youyu You, or cold and quiet. Yin Hanling had completely shattered Lu Ze and the others' perception of Ghost-type Trainers.

Soon, an announcement came over the broadcast. The matches were about to begin. The devices on everyone's wrists in the lounge lit up simultaneously, and everyone lowered their heads to look.

The number on Lu Ze's device was seven, meaning he would face the contestant whose device displayed eight. The Top 60 to Top 30 and Top 30 to Top 15 rounds were both held on small fields, similar to the Knockout tournament venues. Ten matches were held at once, with one randomly selected for big-screen broadcast and commentary.

There wasn't enough time, and the students hadn't gone on break yet, so the matches could only be held over Saturday and Sunday. If the earlier rounds were fought one match at a time, a single day would be nowhere near enough. That was why the Baby Cup had always started holding one match at a time, with individual commentary, from the Top 15 to Top 8 round onward.

"What numbers did you all get?"

Sui Yan said, "Twenty-one."

Tang Yunqin said, "Forty-three."

Su Tingxi said, "I'm number one."

Youyu You said, "Fifteen."

Yin Hanling said, "...I'm... sixty."

In the end, Yin Hanling spoke sadly. Number sixty meant she was in the very last group and would have to wait a long time.

Lu Ze held out his fist in the middle of the group.

"Good thing none of us ran into each other in the first round. Come on, let's do our best together."

"Let's do this!" ×4

Everyone pressed their fists together. Even the introverted Youyu You extended his fist, though he still didn't say anything.

After the customary pre-match cheer, Su Tingxi, Youyu You, and Lu Ze headed for the fields. Contestants numbered one through twenty were in the first batch.

"Both sides, take your positions. Send out your Pokémon."

Lu Ze sent out Munchlax and bumped fists with it.

"Good luck, Munchlax."

"Munchlax~"

His opponent sent out a Turtwig—the very Turtwig that had been unable to do anything against Turtwig during the Knockout tournament.

Pokémon: Turtwig

Gender: Male

Type: Grass type

Ability: Overgrow (Grass-type damage increases when its stamina is depleted)

Aptitude: Blue

Basic moves: Tackle, Withdraw, Absorb, Razor Leaf

Inherited moves: Heavy Charge, Growth, Thrash

Lu Ze frowned when he saw Turtwig's information, but then seemed to remember something, and his brow relaxed.

Lu Ze found it strange. With this Turtwig's moves and capabilities, it shouldn't have been able to get ten consecutive wins and enter the Main Event. But then he remembered that, besides getting ten straight wins, contestants with high School Points rankings could also enter the Main Event. Turtwig had probably qualified through School Points.

Whoosh.

The flag dropped, and the battle began.

"Turtwig—Growth!"

"Munchlax—Metronome!"

Turtwig swayed its body, absorbing energy from the sunlight as it slowly grew larger. Munchlax stood in place and waved its finger.

Then Munchlax's speed increased, and it charged at Turtwig. Metronome had rolled Quick Attack.

Turtwig in the arena was terrified. As its body grew larger, so did its target. It had no way to dodge Munchlax's charge.

"Turtwig!"

Turtwig cried out in pain as Munchlax sent it flying. Lu Ze was delighted. Munchlax had rolled Quick Attack and successfully closed in. Once it got close, the fight would be much easier.

"Munchlax—Fire Punch!"

"Turtwig—Absorb!"

Turtwig struggled to get up, preparing to take a bite out of Munchlax. But the moment it stood, Munchlax's flaming fist sent it flying again. After it hit the ground, Swirl Spirals in Eyes appeared.

"Turtwig is unable to battle. Munchlax wins."

"Oh, we can see that Munchlax's Fire Punch has struck Turtwig! My goodness! What did I just see? Munchlax's Fire Punch actually one-shot Turtwig! Therefore, Munchlax wins this match!!"

Just as flames ignited around Munchlax's fist, the director switched the camera to Lu Ze's field, broadcasting the entire scene of Munchlax one-shotting Turtwig with a single punch.

Amid the commentator's excited roar, Lu Ze calmly recalled Munchlax into its Poké Ball and turned to leave.

In the stands, Elder Mo stroked his beard and said to Lu Ba,

"This Munchlax is pretty good. Was it the starter Pokémon you prepared for him? Its aptitude should be quite high, right?"

Lu Ba smiled. "No, he chose this Munchlax himself. He didn't let us prepare his starter Pokémon either; he chose that himself too. It was a Zubat. Oh, it has evolved into a Golbat now."

Elder Mo's hand paused as he stroked his beard, then he continued.

"It's good that he chose it himself. Munchlax looks quite gifted to me. I just wonder how that Golbat is."

"Golbat is pretty good too. Xiao Ze said Golbat has always treated itself as Munchlax's older brother, so Golbat's combat ability should be a little stronger than Munchlax's. Though for some reason, Golbat is clearly a girl but insists on being the older brother."

Lu Ba and Elder Mo both laughed. Lu Ma glanced at them curiously, not knowing what they were laughing about.

Lu Ze returned to the lounge and high-fived Tang Yunqin, who was standing at the door.

"A winning start."

"A winning start."

The two smiled at the same time. Beside them, Yin Hanling pouted, still unhappy about her draw number.

The three sat in the lounge, where the match broadcasts and commentary could also be heard. After Lu Ze's match, the camera turned to Field One, where Su Tingxi and his opponent were battling.

On the screen, the commentator was passionately narrating the match.

"As we can see, Contestant Number One's Pokémon is an extremely rare Pseudo-legendary—Dratini! His opponent, meanwhile, is a Graveler with Rock type and Ground type! Dratini strikes first, and a rapid Aqua Jet hits Graveler, which is using Defense Curl!"

"Unfortunately, Aqua Jet is a physical Attack stat move. Even with quadruple damage, it hasn't done much to the extremely high-Defense stat Graveler. Graveler has successfully used Defense Curl. Will its next move be Rollout? It is Rollout!"

"Graveler has used Rollout! Defense Curl plus Rollout means double damage! If it rolls a few more times, even Dratini won't be able to withstand that kind of damage! What move will Dratini use to counter it?"

"It's Water Pulse!! Dratini's Water Pulse has hit Graveler as it rolls toward it! Can Graveler withstand this special Attack quadruple damage?"

"The result is in! Graveler couldn't withstand the quadruple-damage Water Pulse! Dratini wins! As expected of a Pseudo-legendary! It's incredibly strong!"

Yin Hanling rested her chin on her hand and complained,

"This commentator is pretty capable. He can make even a simple Beginner Pokémon battle sound so thrilling."

Lu Ze smiled. "Well, it's his job. Of course he has to throw himself into it with passion."