"Unbelievable! After seven years, another team has managed to send both its competitors to the individual finals! This is also the Eastern Campus of Donghuang Pokémon University's first top-three finish-no, they've actually secured both first and second place in the individual competition, finally breaking their duck!"
Donghuang Pokémon University was the largest university in the Donghuang region and was divided into six campuses. Although they nominally belonged to the same university, all six were managed separately and could be regarded as independent schools.
"Yes, there's no question that this new competitor recruited by the Eastern Campus is a dark horse. His Meowscarada has fought her way through every obstacle with an undefeated record, taking down every formidable opponent.
"This also has a lot to do with this year's group assignments. By coincidence, all the strongest opponents ended up on the Rock Field, producing clashes more intense than the finals right at the start of the competition!"
This was the result of allowing teammates to swap fields before the competition began. The other teams hadn't known who their opponents would be before entering their fields, so nobody had deliberately avoided a particular competitor. They had all simply chosen the field that suited them best.
That had indirectly created a group of death on the Rock Field.
And that had another consequence. Normally, the finals were the most intense part of the competition, so many spectators hadn't arrived when the matches first began.
After all, the later matches should theoretically have been more exciting, but now...
The strongest fighters had all clashed early on, wearing one another down. As a result, the later the round, the faster the matches ended. By the finals...
"Referee! I concede!"
Xin Mu's teammate didn't even want to fight. She had already suffered enough crushing defeats during training and didn't want to lose again in front of so many spectators.
Besides, they still had the Team Competition tomorrow. Fighting each other would only wear them down for no reason.
"Yes, competitor Lü You has conceded. Although her Charizard has the type advantage, this is probably a tactical decision by their coaching staff..."
Protean was an Ability that was genuinely hard to identify. More precisely, without established records, determining an opposing Pokémon's Ability by sight alone was difficult to begin with.
Meownei hadn't really used type changes to evade enemy attacks, either. The host only knew that Aggron's Ability because it had competed so many times.
Thus, even with their broader but incomplete perspective, they would only think Charizard had the type advantage.
"That's perfectly understandable. Given the level gap, if the other teams can't come up with a counter to this Meowscarada tonight, she'll give them a headache in the Team Battle, too."
The judges understood the decision, as did the other members of the Eastern Campus team. The teams that had already lost no longer cared about such things.
But the spectators didn't understand.
From their perspective, the final they had eagerly awaited had ended in a thoroughly bizarre fashion.
Someone started it, and soon boos rang out across the stands.
"Ahem, today's competition did end rather quickly... Spectators who arrived late needn't worry. Please log into the online portal, and we'll refund a proportion of your ticket price based on your entry time.
"Competitors, please also leave in an orderly fashion and prepare for tomorrow's matches..."
Such things were rare, but not unprecedented. All tickets were day passes, with prices calculated by time. Following the principle of charging nothing extra for overtime and refunding money for an early finish, the Tournament Organizers enjoyed a fairly high satisfaction rate.
Meanwhile, countless comments in Iono's livestream were telling her to go "arrest" the target right now.
But Iono brushed them off, saying she couldn't interfere with someone else's competition and that anything else could wait until the matches were over.
What if this wasn't the right Meowscarada? Wouldn't she be disrupting someone else's match for nothing?
That was her genuine reason, but there was another factor. According to her plan, once she accomplished her objective, she would have to return to Levincia and resume work.
If she didn't spend a few more days playing around... no, working on this sort of livestream, she would be getting a bit of a raw deal.
As the first day's competition ended, it was also time for the Traveling Nurse Joys to get to work.
An essential facility for a large Battle Arena like this was a sufficiently spacious Pokémon Center.
The Traveling Nurse Joys accompanying the various university teams began working in their assigned sections.
While they worked, they also began greeting their relatives.
"Hello, Auntie."
"Sis! A new bubble tea shop opened on Tianfu Road. Want to put in an order together?"
"Hey, little sister, it's been over a year, hasn't it? Want to have a drink tonight?"
Yes, all Nurse Joys belonged to one family. Those in a particular region formed a branch of that family, and they were all relatives. Since their parents had had children at different ages, their generations within the family differed as well.
As usual, these Nurse Joys would also get together after the competition.
The Traveling Nurse Joy accompanying Xin Mu's team received even more greetings. Meowscarada's blank record was still a difficult puzzle to solve, and Nurse Joy might offer a new avenue of inquiry.
"Oh, stop it. Don't try playing the family card with me. I don't know anything."
Nurse Joy remained tight-lipped and said nothing. She quickly broke through the encirclement and reached her university's assigned area, where she began the routine examinations.
"Your Meowscarada... doesn't need treatment. A little rest will do. Chansey, go give her a massage."
Nurse Joy released a pink, egg-shaped Pokémon from the Poké Ball at her waist, a standard partner for Nurse Joys in many regions.
Just as the Jenny Family had the largest Growlithe breeding center, the Joy family had dedicated facilities for raising Happiny, along with a Chansey Nursing School specifically devoted to teaching Chansey medical knowledge.
Of course, despite their harmless appearance, these Chansey bore the nickname Pink Demon on the battlefield. They were also experts at infuriating opponents with their tactics.
Outside the training grounds, however, Chansey remained Nurse Joy's trusty assistant.
While Nurse Joy used the equipment to examine the Pokémon one by one, Chansey expertly unfolded a massage table, arranged the pillow, and gestured for Meownei to lie face down on it.
"Lucky~"
"Meow?"
"Lucky~"
"Meow."
Lying on the table, Meownei watched Chansey warm up her limbs with a seemingly puzzled look, then waved to Xin Mu beside her.
"What's wrong?"
"Meow~ (Aren't you giving me the massage? I don't want Chansey to do it. You do it instead.)"
"Chansey should be a bit more qualified than I am."
Pokémon Massage was part of a breeder's studies, and there were even specialized programs for it. Depending on a Pokémon's anatomy, applying a certain amount of pressure to specific areas could help it relax more thoroughly.
"Meow... (Nooo~ Just give it a try first...)"
At that moment, Boss Meow had become picky about her massage therapist. Technical skill had become a secondary consideration.
"All right, we'll do it your way. Chansey, roughly where..."
"Meow~ (We don't need Chansey. I know where I'm sore. Start by rubbing my shoulders.)"
"Lucky..."
Now "out of a job," Chansey helplessly shook her head-or rather, swayed her body-then returned to Nurse Joy's side to continue assisting her...
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