A rigged draw!!
A rigged draw?
Baimu had assumed the Pokémon League Chairman had pulled some strings, but Shan Ren's strange expression told him it had truly been pure luck.
Heaven's will!
Even the heavens wanted him to take down that bastard Tobias!
Baimu grasped the Space-Time Wristband hanging from his chest and devoutly prayed to the one supreme God.
Yet good fortune seemed to favor only him.
Familiar faces would clash ahead of schedule. Cheng Hong had drawn Gladion, Ayana would face Ryuto, and...
Shan Ren would battle Tetsuya.
That alone proved it had indeed been entirely random. There were still plenty of better choices among the thirty-two contestants if he wanted to win.
Even if he had planned to lose in the second round beforehand, there was absolutely no need to face Tetsuya.
There was no other reason.
Tetsuya was a League Conference winner.
In Baimu's view, Shan Ren's lost confidence had all stemmed from his four past League Conference defeats.
Could a knot in his heart that had lingered until now, one he still could not let go of, really allow him to calmly face success?
The livestream drawing soon ended.
Baimu stepped forward. "Your luck's pretty average."
"This is average?"
There was nothing unusual in Shan Ren's tone. "You drew Tobias, the one you were obsessing over all day."
"Who said anything about me? Look at our Pyrite Town people. You messed up all their draws!"
Baimu pointed at Cheng Hong and Ayana's respective brackets.
Shan Ren snorted and said nothing.
Then Baimu added, "And the draw you got for yourself—"
"You think I'll lose?"
Shan Ren cut him off and asked seriously, "So this is a bad draw, is that it?"
Baimu froze briefly. Looking at his friend's bright, clear eyes, he said happily, "No