Seed Candidate

Soon, it was Chu Xin's turn. When the referee called his number, he raised his hand, then followed the referee's directions to a cordoned-off arena.

Is this where I'll be battling?

At the same time, Chu Xin spotted his opponent, a chubby boy.

"Hello. Let's have a good match."

Unexpectedly, the chubby boy was quite friendly and greeted Chu Xin as soon as he entered the arena. Chu Xin smiled in response.

"All right, the match is now underway. This will be a one-on-one battle. Begin fighting on my signal."

The referee interrupted their conversation and began explaining the rules.

The chubby boy smiled at Chu Xin.

"This is my first time here, so please go easy on me."

Well, my first opponent is practically handing me a win. This competition is even easier than I imagined. It takes a special kind of talent for Dad to lose in a competition like this. He really has no talent for battling!

Chu Xin helplessly recalled his conversation with his father and couldn't help grumbling to himself.

His opponent quickly summoned his Pokémon, a very young-looking Zubat. At Chu Xin's command, Xiao Wu also entered the arena.

Chu Xin was certain to win this match. Zubat was a nocturnal Pokémon, so battling during the day went against its natural habits. On top of that, his opponent's Zubat looked very young, probably only recently born. Compared with the battle-hardened Xiao Wu, it would be a pushover.

"Xiao Wu, just use Thunder Wave to knock Zubat out."

Since my opponent already asked me to go easy, I'll send Zubat off gently.

"Zubat, dodge it, quick!"

Clearly, his opponent didn't want to suffer such an embarrassing defeat. But the young Zubat immediately exposed its lack of battle experience. Upon hearing its trainer's command, it panicked instead, not knowing what to do. In the end, it failed to dodge Xiao Wu's Thunder Wave and was knocked unconscious in a single hit, unable to battle.

Chu Xin rubbed his forehead awkwardly. Is this really the Monster Handler assessment? Why do my opponents feel so weak?

"Zubat is unable to battle. Dratini wins this match. Number 666 advances."

After hearing the referee's verdict, the two left the arena. The moment Chu Xin stepped out, he eagerly took out his phone.

"Dad, this competition is really easy. How did you fail to win back then? That doesn't make sense!"

"..."

"What's wrong? Is the signal not getting through?"

"I heard you, I heard you! I know you won. What's there to be so happy about? It was only the first round. There are plenty of stronger opponents waiting for you. Get your Monster Handler License before you come bragging to me."

After reading his father's reply, Chu Xin smiled. He hadn't expected his usually composed father to get so embarrassed that he lost his temper.

That afternoon, Chu Xin's next match soon began. As he entered the arena, he couldn't help marveling at how many people were competing. No wonder the preliminaries took three days. He even wondered whether a week would be enough to get through everyone.

But Chu Xin didn't dwell on it. Soon, he stepped up for his match.

"Hello. Your Monster is a Dratini, right? It's a powerful Monster, but I'm definitely winning this round. My Machop won't lose!"

Chu Xin stroked Xiao Wu's head and looked seriously at his opponent.

"Xiao Wu isn't a Monster. He's a Pokémon, and he's my family."

"A Pokémon? What's that?"

While his opponent was still puzzling over that, the referee promptly interrupted their conversation, announced the usual rules, and started the match.

"Machop, go!"

At its trainer's command, Machop charged at Xiao Wu, attacking with a karate chop.

"Too slow. Xiao Wu, dodge, then counter with Dragon Tail."

Hearing Chu Xin's command, Xiao Wu nimbly twisted out of the way of Machop's attack, then lashed his tail into its waist. The tremendous force sent Machop flying, and it collapsed unconscious on the ground.

"Machop is unable to battle. Dratini wins this match. Number 666 advances."

Under his opponent's dumbfounded gaze, Xiao Wu easily advanced to the next round. Chu Xin hadn't expected the opponent to be so unimpressive that it couldn't even withstand one hit.

As Chu Xin left the arena, even the referee gave him a second look. Monsters of such outstanding quality were truly rare.

Just as Chu Xin was about to leave the competition grounds and head back to rest, a familiar figure caught his attention.

Oh, isn't that little brat Lei Jing?

"Growlithe, finish your opponent with Flamethrower!"

With a roar, Growlithe unleashed a pillar of fire from its mouth. Its opponent was a Wooper, a Water-type Pokémon that would evolve into Quagsire.

Despite the type disadvantage, this was a Growlithe trained by Lei Xiao. Wooper had no chance to attack at all. Even after desperately trying to fend off the attacks, it was still struck in a weak spot by Growlithe's Flamethrower, ending the battle in one hit.

"Yay! We won! I knew my Growlithe was the best!"

The victorious Growlithe beside Lei Xiao cheered along with her.

Watching from the sidelines, Chu Xin had to admit that Lei Xiao's Growlithe was formidable. It had also grown considerably lately. This was the first time he had seen such a thick stream of fire from Flamethrower. Even Xiao Wu would have a hard time taking that hit.

Looks like I'll have to make some preparations.

The third match soon began. His opponent was a well-trained Geodude, though it still fell somewhat short of Growlithe.

This opponent didn't greet Chu Xin like the previous ones, and Chu Xin couldn't be bothered to speak either. Right now, all he wanted was to think of ways to give Xiao Wu a better chance of beating Growlithe.

"Xiao Wu, get moving with Agility."

"Geodude, use Rock Throw to cut off its routes."

His opponent's command made Chu Xin's eyes light up. Sure enough, not all his opponents were like the earlier ones. This one seemed to know a thing or two, but compared with Xiao Wu, Geodude was still far too weak.

"Xiao Wu, dodge, close in, and use Dragon Tail!"

Moving at high speed, Xiao Wu relied on his astonishing reflexes to dodge the falling rocks while steadily closing in on his opponent.

"Geodude, use Rollout to dodge!"

"Too late. Xiao Wu, finish it!"

Xiao Wu quickly closed in on Geodude and swung his familiar Dragon Tail once more. Even Geodude was sent flying by the blow. It slammed heavily into the ground and lay unconscious, unable to battle.

Good. Keep winning like this, and Xiao Wu and I will definitely become champions!

The referee at the side glanced at Chu Xin again. A competitor of this caliber could be designated a seeded contestant if he kept winning this easily in the afternoon.

This boy's Dratini was on an entirely different level from the other contestants.