December 22, League Calendar year 224.
Saturday, clear skies.
A rare weekend, a rare warm winter sun-the Hongqiao Pokémon Arena was packed that day.
The crowd hadn't come for a professional tournament, but to watch the Shanghai Pokémon Cup finals in person.
"Holy shit, there are this many people?"
Even though Xia Chi had competed in the knockout rounds the previous week, the sight of the nearly full stands still made him marvel.
"Myao."
Misdreavus looked even more excited at the densely packed crowd.
So much delicious fear~
Noticing just in time, Xia Chi hurriedly said, "Stop right there. Today's Sprigatito's final. Don't cause trouble!"
"If you can't promise to behave and stay in the lounge to watch the match, I'll put you back in your Poké Ball," he said sternly.
Misdreavus pouted, then nodded in agreement. "Myao."
"But still, isn't this just a Little Cup?"
Despite his grumbling, Xia Chi could more or less understand what had brought the spectators here.
Pokémon battling was the world's most influential competitive sport, leaving its nearest rival miles behind.
Saying that even his great-grandmother could offer a few comments while watching a match wouldn't have been an exaggeration.
Xia Chi remembered that, before he transmigrated, even tickets to Japan's national high school boys' soccer finals had been almost impossible to get.
With the Shanghai Pokémon Cup ranking among the Donghuang Region's premier rookie tournaments, a packed house on finals day didn't seem so hard to understand.
The quarterfinals were scheduled for the morning, and Xia Chi was up first in the opening match.
Both his opponent and her Pokémon were quite interesting.
A woman with a northeastern accent, and a Meditite-a Psychic- and Fighting-type Pokémon skilled at yoga.
(Meditite's evolved form, Medicham.)
Yep, this duo could be dubbed the Northeastern Yoga Lady.
As the saying went, only a mighty Gyarados dared cross the river.
The Northeastern Yoga Lady had traveled all this way to enter the Shanghai Pokémon Cup and made it into the top eight. She clearly had something going for her.
Meditite was a strange Pokémon. Its base stats weren't high, but it had an incredibly terrifying Ability-Pure Power.
A Pokémon with this Ability had its physical attack power doubled!
As for why [Pure Power], an Ability that sounded so unremarkable, was just as powerful as [Huge Power], Xia Chi had no idea.
Perhaps that was what made the Northeastern Yoga Lady so formidable.
Unfortunately for her, she had run into this Shanghai Pokémon Cup's final boss: Sprigatito.
Okay, that was just a title Xia Chi had bestowed himself. Nobody else had acknowledged it.
But when Sprigatito once again unleashed two consecutive Shadow Claws, bringing Meditite down beneath those claws-
The thunderous cheers that instantly erupted from the stands proved at least one thing.
Nobody could still dismiss Xia Chi and his Sprigatito as dark horses who had gotten this far on luck alone.
Meanwhile, Lin Lange's path through the tournament was equally smooth.
Her battling style remained unhurried, like vines growing steadily through a rainforest until they strangled her opponents.
Yet nobody could find an opening in Servine's defenses.
The two dominated the upper and lower halves of the bracket respectively.
Four matches went by over the course of the morning.
In the end, the finalists were, unsurprisingly, Xia Chi, who had displayed overwhelming strength throughout, and Lin Lange, as supple and resilient as grass.
Whether it was to build anticipation for the final or give both competitors' Pokémon enough rest-
Or perhaps both.
The final was scheduled for seven that evening, after nightfall.
It was a very particular time slot.
Because right then, plenty of viewers who usually waited in Xia Chi's livestream for some entertainment to go with dinner had nowhere to go.
So once someone put out a rallying cry in the fan group, what happened next was entirely predictable.
"The Shui army rises from every corner, all here for Shuiye!"
"The other side should surrender now! You're facing Lord Shuiye, who cut down Raihan, captured Iono twice, defeated Nessa, and bravely battled Hoenn's two Champions!"
"What the hell? This is the Shanghai Pokémon Cup final. Which streamer's unhinged fans are these?"
"We're the Shui Family Army! We cause trouble, but we're scared of it too! Negotiations? Sure! A fight? I'll be the first to run!"
"Found this streamer's P Station account! It's called 'Three Kingdoms Kill.' Everyone, go raid it!"
"..."
As the streamer with the most diabolical tactics on the internet, Xia Chi naturally had a following of equally unhinged fans.
Messing around in their own little circle was fine, but running wild out here was starting to earn Xia Chi some hate.
So that highly influential someone once again began rallying the fan group to rein in these chaos-loving jokers.
Before long, peace and order returned to the live chat.
Xia Chi, who was standing in the competitors' tunnel and taking deep breaths to settle his nerves, knew nothing about any of this.
He realized he still couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
No matter how many Gym Leaders, Champions, or Elite Four members he had faced in Victory Road, it had ultimately all been theoretical.
No matter how strong you were in a game, none of it was real.
Xia Chi was merely a rookie Trainer just starting out, with only one little level-15 Sprigatito.
But so what?
Tightening his grip on the Poké Ball that meant so much to him, Xia Chi smiled freely and walked toward the bright, noisy end of the tunnel.
The formidable pass may stand like iron, but today I'll take the first step and cross it anew.
Becoming a battling legend starts with this match!
Beneath the soaring dome of the Hongqiao Arena, glaring white lights illuminated the battlefield.
Xia Chi and Lin Lange stood at opposite ends of the field, quietly waiting for the match to begin.
There was no trash talk, but the air between them still crackled with tension.
Even setting aside the fact that this was the Shanghai Pokémon Cup final-
Because of Sprigatito, this match was equally important to both of them.
Sprigatito had already made it clear that Lin Lange, the former Trainer, no longer mattered.
Perhaps that was indeed true.
But if they could defeat Lin Lange and Servine in this head-on confrontation, the thorn that had once pierced deepest into Sprigatito's heart would finally soften and disappear.
For Lin Lange, the stakes were even greater.
Winning would be fine.
But if she lost, even if Xia Chi said nothing, a voice in her heart would surely keep repeating-
Lin Lange, the choice you made back then was wrong.
In fact, at its very core, the training philosophy you believe in is wrong!
This was a match neither side could afford to lose.
Tweet-!
With a whistle from the referee riding on Aegislash, the battle officially began.
"Servine, get ready to battle!"
"Sprigatito, I choose you!"
Two flashes of white light appeared, and Servine and Sprigatito took the battlefield.
"Servine, attack!"
From the very start, Lin Lange displayed an aggression she had never shown in her previous matches.
Servine raised that proud head toward the sky, and dark green Grass-type energy suddenly gathered into a sphere overhead.
Xia Chi frowned, immediately sensing trouble.
"Sprigatito, Protect!"
His command was drowned out by the roar of the energy sphere's sudden eruption.
The next instant, the sphere detonated.
A raging tornado of razor-sharp leaves expanded at incredible speed, then swept toward Sprigatito.
Wherever it passed, it carved shallow gouges into the solid stone battlefield, sending sparks flying.
Leaf Storm!
Recommending a book written by a friend.
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