Ye Li's counterattack was like a boulder dropped into a still lake. The ripples spread rapidly, swelling into towering waves that swept across the entire Kanto Region.
Within twenty-four hours, Lin Feng and the Cyber Ghosts under his command had carried out Ye Li's orders flawlessly. The Pokémon League's financial markets experienced a bizarre "minor tremor." No systems crashed, and no funds were stolen, yet an invisible panic spread like a virus. At the Saffron City stock exchange, traders roared in frustration at market data delayed by three-tenths of a second; countless depositors checking their transfer records found the amounts correct, but the arrival times inexplicably off. Panic bred suspicion, and suspicion triggered sell-offs. A disturbance neither large nor small, but enough to leave the League's financial regulators overwhelmed, unfolded.
Meanwhile, the sudden emergence of the Rainbow Arena acted like an enormous magnet, drawing the unwavering attention of every Trainer in the Kanto Region who harbored a dream.
"Have you heard? The Rainbow Game Corner's become an arena! The weekly champion gets a Hyper Beam TM!"
"That's not all! The monthly champion gets an exceptionally gifted Eevee raised by Team Rocket's chief breeder!"
"The annual grand champion... my god, it's a Dratini! A living, breathing Dratini!"
Word spread faster than any virus. The game corner, once deserted because of negative publicity, was now packed, with Trainers lining up from its entrance to the end of the street. Countless young people, hot-blooded teenagers, and even veteran Trainers long established in their careers poured into this former den of crime for the lavish prizes and the glory of being a "champion." Battles that continued day and night, roaring cheers, and the thunder of colliding Pokémon moves completely replaced the monotonous sounds of slot machines, bringing the place unprecedented vitality.
Rather than declining,