The Monster Handler License Examination Tournament would start today, with about three days allocated for the preliminary rounds to select the 128 Monster Handlers truly qualified to be issued Monster Handler licenses. Following that, formal matches would take place to decide the strongest, and the top fifty would have the opportunity to join the academy and become Academy School Monster Handlers.
When Chu Xin arrived in Jindu, many people had already made special trips to rush over, but fortunately, Aier was experienced and had already booked a hotel back when Chu Xin was heading to Jindu, which spared Chu Xin from sleeping on the streets.
"I really haven't wandered around Jindu City in a long time."
For several months, Chu Xin had been training Xiao Wu at home without much time to rest. The Hell Training was not only painful for Xiao Wu, but Chu Xin, who accompanied Xiao Wu through the workouts every day, suffered too.
Now able to finally relax a bit, Chu Xin hummed a tune along the way while happily strolling down the street, feeling a long-lost sense of ease.
Wu! (If you can't sing, don't sing. You're driving me crazy!)
Xiao Wu looked at Chu Xin with an irritated expression. Having finally managed to relax for a bit, it still had to listen to Chu Xin's tone-deaf singing-it truly was painful. Couldn't he just be quiet and peaceful like Farfetch'd?
Xiao Wu turned its head to look at the adjacent Farfetch'd. This Farfetch'd that Chu Xin had rescued was really somewhat strange, clutching a book to read all day long. Were the things inside the book really that absorbing to it?
Xiao Wu yawned, resting its head back on Chu Xin's shoulder. It wriggled its body against Chu Xin to find a comfortable angle and continued its sleep. Now that training had finally stopped, it naturally needed to make up for its sleep deficit.
Farfetch'd had been reading the whole way, and had followed Chu Xin the entire journey. Chu Xin originally hadn't planned on catching Farfetch'd, but since this Farfetch'd kept following him, Chu Xin wasn't going to throw it away if it was willing to tag along.
However, he hadn't expected this Farfetch'd to actually understand human writing, which greatly piqued Chu Xin's interest. Other than Meowth, Chu Xin had never seen such a peculiar Pokémon capable of understanding human text.
Still, since it could read text, Chu Xin casually took out a few books for Farfetch'd to exercise this ability. Yet it seemed the types of books were chosen incorrectly; Chu Xin had given Farfetch'd fantasy-genre books, and the magical worlds within the books had deeply captivated Farfetch'd. Now it had to carry a few books wherever it went, and its fondness for novels surpassed even its own leek stalk.
Along the way, Chu Xin wasn't just doing nothing; he had also been searching the Official Forum for information on his opponents.
Chu Xin originally thought such confidential information shouldn't appear on a place like the Official Forum, but he still underestimated netizens' desire to show off.
Scyther, Torkoal, Onix, Tauros...
Among them, the most eye-catching was Lei Jing's Growlithe. A photo that looked heavily photoshopped was posted at the top of the Official Forum, domineeringly proclaiming his champion declaration.
This Lei Jing was really quite uninhibited. Were kids playing on their phones not subject to a minor protection system?
After browsing the forum for a while, Chu Xin put down his phone. There were many strong enemies among the tournament opponents, and keeping on looking was unnecessary and only added a trace of pressure to himself. He just needed to go all out and display his own strength.
"Xiao Wu, let's secure this preliminary tournament. We will definitely win the championship in this competition!"
Wu! (That goes without saying!)
Quack quack! (Go for it, boss!)
At the Jindu Monster Handler Committee's registration center, there were three lines of people waiting. Even Chu Xin had to queue for half an hour before it was his turn to register.
"ID Card."
"Here."
Amidst the nimble operations of the front desk lady, Chu Xin quickly received his license plate.
His contest number was 666, a great omen!
"This is your participant number. On the back are precautions; keep it safe and don't lose it. If you lose it, come and get a replacement in time."
"If you have any other questions, use the Trainer ID on your license plate to check the Tournament Official Website. There is manual customer service on the official website to answer your doubts. I wish you good results."
"Thank you."
After walking out, Chu Xin looked at the small license plate in his hand, which still had his match information on it.
Zone C, Arena 3. Unfortunately, there was no opponent information, but that didn't matter. Chu Xin was confident he could defeat any opponent he encountered. The Hell Training over the past few days hadn't been a waste of time.
After getting his match license plate, Chu Xin was finally able to enjoy a proper stroll. As someone about to compete, Chu Xin hoped to buy himself a hat-he would just get an Ash-style Baseball Cap. In the end, Chu Xin bought his favorite hat; from now on, this would be his trademark!
The next day, Chu Xin brought Xiao Wu to the match arena and quickly found his zone. There were even more people than he had imagined; Zone C alone had a full eighty-plus people, and out of these eighty-plus people, only twenty would successfully obtain Monster licenses. The competition was even fiercer than he had expected, but fortunately there was enough rest time.
Not only were Trainers present at each zone, but the surroundings were also crowded with spectators. The Monster Handler examination wasn't just a test; it was also citizens' favorite competition. Every match would be packed with people, and by the top sixteen, media and public figures would also come to watch the matches.
"There are a lot of people!"
Chu Xin turned his head to look at the surrounding crowd. Both opponents and spectators were very much looking forward to the upcoming matches.
The scene was noisy, with many familiar contestants gathering together to chat. The place was simply louder than a vegetable market.
"Hey, did you hear? There's a super powerful Scyther in Zone A. Almost every opponent is taken out in a single slash, and the speed is so fast that even after the match ended, no one saw the Scyther's shadow."
"What's so special about that? I heard there's a very strong Shinx in Zone B that can actually use Electric Terrain. Once Electric Terrain is activated, no opponent can catch that Shinx."
"No way, it can actually use Electric Terrain? Isn't that a move only Luxray can use? A mere Shinx can use it!"
"That's nothing. I heard that among the participating contestants, someone even has an Abra-that's a Psychic-type Pokémon."
"Whoa, I hope I don't run into an opponent like that."
Listening to the surrounding contestants' conversations, Chu Xin felt even calmer inside.
He had also watched the matches they were talking about, but there were plenty of people just making up the numbers, and some even came out to fight using newly hatched Pokémon. For Trainers who had prepared seriously, an opponent of that strength posed no problem at all.
Soon, the matches for Zone C were about to begin, and the surrounding spectators started cheering. This enthusiastic atmosphere made Chu Xin's heart very excited.
"Xiao Wu, are you ready? Our match is about to start!"
Wu! (I've been ready for a long time!)
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