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At the same time.
Capital City, Central University, Pokemon Competitive Club.
"Excellent!"
Looking at the tournament bracket results displayed on the large screen, Takeshi Aihara showed an excited smile and clenched his fists tightly.
He hadn't expected to encounter his target for revenge in the very first round!
Next to Takeshi Aihara, the rest of Central University's school team members were also watching the live broadcast, and they displayed surprised expressions at the bracket results.
However...
"Perfect."
As for the famous 'Demon King' Roy, they had long wanted to face him directly to see if he was truly as powerful as the rumors suggested.
As for feeling worried?
Of course there was absolutely nothing to fear.
Except for League University led by Henry, any other schools, including Capital University, which boasted the so-called "future king," posed no real threat.
It wasn't that they looked down on Roy specifically, but rather they looked down on Capital University as a whole.
Strictly speaking, competition between school teams represented "team battles" for Trainers.
When the overall team strength differed too dramatically, it became difficult for a single Trainer to carry the entire team alone.
The most typical example was the active Fighting Elite Sebastian.
He was the only active Elite who didn't graduate from League University or Central University, and he was from Capital University just like Roy.
Sebastian, during his student days, had also been in the spotlight for a time, but unfortunately, he had encountered Frances from the same generation.
The strength of those two at that time could be said to have been comparable.
But under the disparity in overall team strength, Capital University was defeated by a score of 3:5. Sebastian couldn't even face Frances directly before being eliminated.
Because of this, Sebastian never achieved the highest honor during his student life, which remained a lasting regret.
It was extremely difficult to achieve "one god carrying four burdens" on the stage of national competitions, unless there truly was no one in the same generation who could compete with you.
But this year's League University had Henry, and after Central University lost Caroline, they had strengthened their roster with Takeshi Aihara.
Although outside audiences had some complaints about "foreign assistance," since the system of "exchange students" existed, it must be reasonable.
It wasn't unheard of for exchange students from China to win championships in other countries.
As long as it was a major nation, there was no ban on the existence of "exchange students," and national leadership was happy to see the emergence of this competitive effect.
Only those smaller countries that feared their own talents being overshadowed by others would not allow exchange students to compete.
"Captain Fisher."
Takeshi Aihara turned his head to look at a young man with a crew cut, and said in his somewhat broken Chinese: "When the time comes, please give me Roy. He is my prey..."
The young man called "Fisher" was the captain of Central University's school team. He smiled slightly: "Of course, this is the goal of your agreement with our school, and represents the opportunity you deserve."
Takeshi Aihara had paid a very high price for this chance at revenge.
According to the agreement terms, Takeshi Aihara must study at Central University until graduation, and he must also compete for Central University's school team next year.
Simply participating in the National University League didn't mean selling himself, but Takeshi Aihara had undoubtedly sold his precious time.
A team member said with emotion: "I wonder if Senior Caroline will come to watch the matches."
Hearing this, all the team members present except Takeshi Aihara showed the same look of expectation.
For the students of Central University, Caroline's existence represented an unreachable ideal.
Some first-year members who weren't selected even showed longing expressions. They had never seen the famous Psychic Queen in person.
Only Fisher, who had taken over as captain from Caroline, smiled bitterly in his heart.
Not very likely.
With Senior Caroline's disposition, so-called friendship from the same school wasn't worth mentioning at all.
Maybe she didn't even remember his name.
In that person's eyes, there had never been room for other people's figures.
At Capital University, in the Pokemon Arena, there was complete silence.
Elon and Anya looked at each other, both showing helpless expressions.
Terrible luck.
It seemed that even their last ambitious hope had vanished.
"Well, I should be content with winning the East China Championship," Elon murmured.
Even Philip and Patrick, who were always energetic, were speechless at this moment. They still had another year ahead of them, but they still felt sorry for their two seniors.
Looking at the lifeless team with defeated expressions, Roy was stunned.
He hadn't spoken initially, wanting to learn from Blastoise's approach of "evolving secretly, then amazing everyone," planning to make a big impression when the time came.
Unexpectedly, before the fighting even began, his teammates' mentality had already collapsed.
Roy had to stand up and speak out to stabilize team morale.
"Seniors, don't panic."
Everyone looked at Roy and saw a confident smile on his face.
"I can win."
"Just like six months ago, just trust me."
However, everyone looked at each other in confusion, their reactions still hesitant.
"Junior, we don't doubt you," Anya sighed. "You are far stronger than us. I even believe that you are stronger than everyone in this competition. What Takeshi Aihara, Henry from the outside praise—in my opinion, they are all just stepping stones for you, merely future defeats."
Roy was slightly taken aback, not expecting Senior Anya to favor him so highly.
He glanced at Elon and the Philip brothers next to him, and all three also showed expressions of agreement.
They had witnessed Roy's increasing dominance in the Regional competition, and they believed in his potential more than anyone outside.
But.
"We doubt ourselves."
Elon added with a bitter smile.
"As a senior, I'm ashamed to say such things."
"But in fact, in matches against 'League University' and 'Central University,' we might hold you back."
"Sorry."
Capital University was also a well-known strong school in the country.
Facing other schools, even Stonecrest University, which had the "National No. 3" school team, they gritted their teeth and wanted to create a fair environment for Roy.
But League University and Central University were different...
The strength of trainers from these two schools exceeded normal specifications.
Almost all top talents and students with elite backgrounds in China targeted these two schools.
The true prodigies of heaven were gathered there.
Take League University's strength as an example.
Captain of League University, No. 1 position, Henry, Master-level trainer.
The No. 2 position of League University, Qian Feng, eldest son of the active Ghost-type Elite, quasi-Professional level, during the winter Regional competition, already had three Professional-level main Pokemon.
The No. 3 position of League University was also quasi-Professional level.
Positions 4 and 5 were veteran top elite trainers, and even Elon, their captain, might not be able to win against them.
Central University's lineup, replacing Henry with Takeshi Aihara, was nearly equivalent.
This was the strength of the two famous powerhouse schools in China.
The weakest No. 5 player was comparable to the strength of captains from other prestigious schools.
The genetic anomaly in the East China division had been quite positive this year, and when placed in the two major school teams, it only represented No. 3 position strength.
Otherwise, the national championships for the entire twenty years wouldn't have been monopolized by these two schools.
Roy fell silent.
Elon and others thought he was trying to accept this cruel reality.
But in fact.
How should he tell his seniors that he actually hadn't counted them in his combat calculations...
Roy thought to himself.
Being straightforward about that would be hurtful.
The seniors treated him well, Patrick even called him 'Boss,' so he had to show some consideration...
"Ahem!"
Roy organized his words carefully, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I still say I can win even knowing this situation."
"I have a secret weapon."
Roy was referring, of course, to Mega Evolution.
Yes.
He no longer intended to hide Mega Evolution.
With his status as "Mew's Divine Emissary," coupled with the importance and protection the country placed on him, and his strength reaching Professional level, he believed he was sufficient to withstand the attention that Mega Evolution would bring.
Hearing this, everyone was stunned.
"..."
"Secret weapon!"
Patrick's eyes lit up, suddenly thinking of something, lowering his voice, and saying quietly: "Junior... could it be the power of 'that lord' standing behind you?"
"Oh?" Elon showed surprise, "If it's 'that lord'..."
Anya clapped her hands excitedly: "That's right, why did I forget about 'that lord'?"
Philip stood up excitedly: "Haha, with the help of 'that lord,' why should we worry about conquering the world!"
"???"
Roy was completely confused.
Why were they speaking in riddles with him?
The team members clearly knew something about his background that he wasn't aware they knew. Their sudden excitement and mysterious references to 'that lord' made Roy realize that his connection to Mew might be more widely known among his teammates than he had originally thought. This could work to his advantage, as their renewed confidence might actually help stabilize team morale without him having to reveal the truth about Mega Evolution just yet.
However, Roy remained puzzled about exactly what they thought they knew about his mysterious benefactor. The way they spoke suggested they believed some powerful figure was supporting him from behind the scenes, which wasn't entirely wrong considering Mew's involvement in his training, but their excited reactions indicated they might be attributing even more significance to this relationship than actually existed.
"Well," Roy decided to play along for now, "let's just say I have reasons to be confident. Trust me when I say we have a real chance in this tournament."
The team members exchanged meaningful glances, their earlier despair replaced by cautious optimism. Whatever they believed about Roy's mysterious backing, it had certainly improved their mental state heading into what would undoubtedly be the most challenging competition of their academic careers.