"Mr. Lance, I've long admired your reputation."
"May I ask, have you been watching my Eevee all this time? Is there something wrong with it?"
Fang Yuan cracked a knowing smile and asked as if he were unaware.
"Nothing..."
Mr. Lance laughed heartily. By this time, he had determined this Eevee was the one that had blown up his Inspection Glasses.
However, there was no need to fuss over it.
Although he was still rather fond of those Inspection Glasses, there was no need to bring it up, especially with Miss Erika right there.
It would be too embarrassing for the Museum Owner to know that "the Champion had his equipment blown up by a gaming Eevee during a mission."
Didn't Mr. Lance care about his face!
In any case, knowing which Eevee had damaged his Inspection Glasses and who its Trainer was, Mr. Lance was quite satisfied.
Among Trainers, there are ways to work things out.
Moreover, Mr. Lance hadn't forgotten the main reason for his visit...
He was there at the behest of Yingkena to meet Fang Yuan!
Mr. Lance's gaze sharpened in an instant.
After a day's trouble, he had failed to find a trace of Rocket Team, those rats, which was quite vexing. Now, he just wanted to have a good battle to alleviate the day's frustrations.
Mr. Lance beat around the bush and said, "Actually, this morning, Miss Erika and Mr. Fang Yuan, you had a very exciting battle..."
Fang Yuan: "Hmm..."
Erika: QAQ Stop bringing that up.
"Since it's Mr. Fang Yuan's first time participating in the tournament, and you've had few battle records before, the Pokemon Battle Committee was quite surprised by your strength."
"Fortunately, I have a friend working at the Committee, so she asked me, while I'm resting in Rainbow City, to check out how strong this powerful newcomer really is."
Mr. Lance smiled and said, "That way, she can better arrange your battles."
"If you want to climb the ranks in the tournament, you can challenge opponents on your own, but you can also request matches arranged by the Pokemon Battle Committee. The Committee often selects Trainers with exceptional strength for public battles, ranging from Pokeball level to High Level Ball competitors. These battles offer higher rank advancement than regular matches and also provide a hefty appearance fee for the competing Trainers. Quite worthwhile, I'd say. Mr. Fang Yuan, would you be interested? My friend believes that with your strength, you can definitely put on very exciting public matches."
Fang Yuan: "Eh..."
Is there such a good deal?
Erika felt disheartened in the background. So, she had become a stepping stone for Fang Yuan's rise, huh? Wuu wuu wuu...
"Public battle... I have no problem with that," Fang Yuan said.
Whether challenging opponents or being randomly matched, Fang Yuan was fine with either. Though random matches might be a hassle, Mr. Lance had personally come to request it, and since Eevee did damage his equipment, Fang Yuan casually agreed.
After all, it didn't matter where the tournament battles took place; advancing in rank was all that mattered!
"That's great," Mr. Lance said with a smile. "By the way, I wonder if Mr. Fang Yuan is available right now. How about, we have a battle?"
"I'm quite curious about your strength as well. Feeling it firsthand would give me something to report back to my friend."
When Mr. Lance said this, he glanced at Eevee. He could measure Fang Yuan's strength and give this Eevee a little lesson. After the battle, they could call it even for the Inspection Glasses.
Fang Yuan: "Uh..."
Erika: "Eh...!!"
What, is it finally going to turn into a battle??!
As for the news of Champion Percy challenging a tournament newcomer??
Erika was suddenly alarmed.
Mr. Lance... the Alliance Champion, one of the Eight Masters recognized by the Committee!
To think that... that really...
"Bwoo!!" Only Eevee was indignant. Well, he thought Mr. Lance didn't care much about the Inspection Glasses. Not mentioning it right away, Eevee assumed he was a magnanimous Champion. But now, it seemed Mr. Lance still held a grudge!!
Don't look at me... even if you do look at me... Fang Yuan probably won't...
Emmm, Eevee thought about it, and at present in Fang Yuan's Team, it seemed it was the only one that could match Mr. Lance.
"Alright," Fang Yuan said after a pause, with a helpless smile.
He understood now.
Mr. Lance wanted to have a battle with the Eevee that damaged his Inspection Glasses.
A battle to resolve grievances, got it!
As long as they didn't have to compensate any losses, which they couldn't afford at the moment, everything was negotiable.
After accepting the challenge, Mr. Lance nodded with satisfaction and then asked Miss Erika, "Miss Erika, may I... borrow the dojo's arena for a bit?"
"Ah... alright," Erika nodded, feeling today's developments were a bit odd.
She had called Fang Yuan over to observe his Venusaur and figure out a way to defeat him!
How had it come to the Alliance Champion picking on the newcomer?
While the tournament newcomer was indeed strong, and his Venusaur was of King Level strength, Erika did not believe that Fang Yuan was a match for Mr. Lance.
Forget about King-level Pokemon, Champion Percy had defeated many Champion Level Spirits in various competitions.
...
At the Rainbow Dojo, ready for battle.
Mr. Lance had prepared himself and taken position on one side of the arena. While he might seem invincible in the eyes of Erika and others, Mr. Lance couldn't afford to be careless himself.
He still hadn't forgotten the Wave Motion he detected that morning. Could this Eevee actually possess Champion strength?