Litten was still warming up and trying to get into the right state. Since Abilities like Blaze and Torrent were emergency measures triggered when stamina dropped below a certain threshold, Xin Mu and Meownei had devised a training plan.
The general idea was to have Litten hypnotize herself into believing her surroundings were dangerous, then draw out Blaze.
But practice had proven that approach unworkable. That was not the state Litten needed to find. Sometimes, having Meownei stroke her fur and give her a little encouragement afterward helped her reach it faster.
Secretly stacking buffs like Dragon Dance or Swords Dance below the arena before taking the field would definitely violate the rules.
Getting into the right state, however, did not count. Or perhaps Pokémon with this ability were so rare that no one had ever considered the issue.
"Meow." (Wasn't this just an ordinary Little Cup? There seemed to be quite a few contestants.)
Meownei roughly counted the people in the preparation area. As a stadium in a major metropolis, it had more than one such area, and a quick glance around Xin Mu's Area E alone revealed several hundred people.
Adding all the other areas together, there had to be several thousand.
That would be perfectly normal for an official tournament, but seeing so many people at an ordinary recreational event still made Meownei curious.
"True, plenty of people love battling, but only a small fraction can specialize in it full-time. Most people just experience these battles as part of their everyday lives. Joining in now and then is nice too."
The contestants here were a mixed bunch: Bug Catchers, Dock Workers, Fossil Maniacs, students, flower shop owners...
All sorts of professions straight out of an NPC roster could be found here, along with plenty of people like