First round breakthrough in the decisive championship.
This news quickly spread to the Quicksand Team's turf.
The other two groups are not worth mentioning for now, but at least the Sand Group's base became extremely lively. With a member achieving excellent results in the battle tournament, many felt honored by association.
This also led to a continuous flow of visitors when Baimu went to report to Liu Ge in his office, even including several other managers from the Sand Group.
It is enough to prove how popular and attention-grabbing the Pyrite Town battle tournament is.
So, why do the squad leaders and managers within the Quicksand Team rarely participate in such reputation-making and fortune-building events?
Flop told him the reason is simple. Besides some people being truly unavailable, it boils down to two words—
Fear of losing.
The qualifying and preliminary matches are fine, as the semi-enclosed venues only let you and your opponent know the result.
But the decisive championship is fought out in front of thousands of spectators! They don't have the ability to set up gambling tables, and if they lose too miserably, not only will they not earn money, but how will they ever show face again?
How can they lift their heads in front of their underlings?
The more high-profile the boss or leader, the more they care about their reputation and status in the underworld. They deeply dislike having people talk about them behind their backs, and might not even like hearing good things.
Laughter at their failures feels exceptionally harsh, like they're being mocked.
That's what the Extreme Path is all about.
Other factions are similar. The big man who lost to Baimu today is on the brink of disgrace. People used to call him a big boss, but now that he's lost face publicly, who knows how many in the underworld are secretly laughing at him for losing to a young punk.
Moreover, the fact that he bribed guests to deliberately guide gamblers to buy tickets was exposed. His underground gambling den was ransacked by angry gamblers, though it's said he still earned a lot of money.
Because White Bird tricked many into buying tickets at his place, and no matter who you bet on, the house got a cut. He earned a lot just from that.
But compared to the steep decline in his reputation, whether it was worth it is up to individual judgments.
From the rumors about his furious outburst afterward, it's clear that he cares more about underworld status than money.
In comparison.
While Baimu didn't earn as much, his name spread rapidly, and more people learned that there was a squad leader in the Quicksand Team who defeated a leader from another faction as the underdog.
Normally, when a member brings the organization such face, the organization is bound to respond in kind.
Before leaving, Flop specifically told him that Yogo, the Stone Team leader, thinks highly of him. Once the competition ends, the rewards won't be small, and he should aim for even higher ranks.
——
"Higher, huh..."
Baimu sat on his bed, turning to look at the dim night outside, while across from him sat three small Pokémon quietly.
Having a pre-battle meeting to plan for tomorrow's match.
Since the start of the competition, they've done this every day. Not only does it increase the probability of winning the next day, but it also fosters closeness between the Trainer and the Pokémon.
Of course.
Reviewing today's match is also part of the process.
The victory today was quite precarious.
If Lairon hadn't taken out the giant's Hitmontop, Mawile would have had almost no chance of defeating three Pokémon in quick succession.
Fighting is exhausting too.
Especially when launching attacks under high-intensity exercise.
If it came to that point, their chances of winning would plummet to the lowest point.
Baimu didn't hesitate to praise Lairon, reaching out to stroke the scars on its forehead from being kicked by Hitmontop.
"Goo-doo~"
Lairon raised its head, responding to its Trainer's touch.
In its view, battle scars are a sign of strength, and those received from drawing with a superior foe like Hitmontop are akin to a splendid medal. It just wonders if it will retain them once it evolves.
"You are just a step away from that boundary, and evolution could occur at any time,"
Baimu gently advised Lairon.
Lairon nodded.
"Mawile also worked hard today," he turned to praise Mawile holding a plush toy, and seeing it look understandably proud, he couldn't help but smile softly.
Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan were nearly all defeated by it.
But that doesn't mean the Chansey that successfully put Hitmonlee to sleep is without credit.
On the contrary, if Hitmonlee hadn't been put to sleep, the match following Hitmontop wouldn't have gone so smoothly. However...
Baimu rubbed Chansey's smooth head, thinking that even though it played a significant role,
not being able to inflict damage on its own is a huge drawback.
After all, opportunities to switch in a serious match are rare, and if Chansey takes on the role of a support Pokémon, it might not have the chance to retreat safely. Even if it does manage to get out, it could lead to the replacement teammate taking hits.
He realized deeply that he must quickly have Chansey learn [Severe Poison].
Speaking of which, he has two move tutors for attribute-specific moves unused; should he try tutoring a Poison Type move?
...Forget it.
Newly learned moves have low proficiency, and their accuracy and speed of release aren't great. Using them might even become a hindrance.
"Let's review tomorrow's plan one more time."
Baimu spoke softly to the trio of small Pokémon.
Half an hour later.
He comforted his Pokémon, letting them rest and recharge in peace.
Tomorrow's match was enough to make anyone anxious.
Just looking at the data provided by Flop, all the top eight competitors, except for him, almost all possessed strength at least at Manager Level, meaning their Pokémon had an average level of over fifty.
They were at least as strong as the big burly ones, if not stronger, and often quite young, eager to make big money, not caring much about their reputation in Pyrite Town.
Their Pokémon might not all be raised by themselves.
But regardless, as long as they were willing to obey their commands, to shed blood and tears for their big money plans, they became the equivalent of their strength.
The top sixteen matches have completely ended.
The opponent for the next round was confirmed, it was the remarkable male Trainer named Shanren who he encountered in the morning.
Despite Shanren's youthful appearance, Baimu felt he was the most likely to win, judging by his performance in battles, Shanren was the real deal.
In every aspect, he far surpassed the standards expected in Pyrite Town.
Just like the Divine Beast Man Tobias who appeared out of nowhere in the Jewel Drill animation, even without a Divine Beast, he still moved forward effortlessly with sheer power.
Even the round of sixteen to eight was no exception.
How could one win?
Unless Shanren went easy on them.
Speaking of which, if Shanren really came from another region, which level would his strength belong to? Could he obtain the eight Gym Badges to participate in the tournament?
The simulation couldn't display the levels of the Pokémon he would face, leaving him uncertain.
Even if it did display, the strength required to challenge a Gym at different timelines might differ, and there could even be a possibility of a Gym Leader giving a badge out of pity.
He reached out for his phone on the bedside, planning to search for related keywords on some public social platforms.
The screen lit up.
"Huh?"
A new message occupied his vision, and the sender was...
"Dr. Yamanashi!"
Baimu jumped up, startling the two Pokémon at the foot of the bed, and even the Mawile in the next room came over holding a stuffed doll, rubbing its eyes.
"Chiddo?"
"It's nothing, it's nothing, hurry up and go back to sleep."
He coaxed the Mawile with a few words, quickly soothed the Lairon and Chansey, then opened his phone to carefully read the reply signed by Dr. Yamanashi.
The very first sentence from the other party made him blush.
What do you mean by "Little kids need to sleep well to grow strong, playing with the phone at midnight is not right."?
But on second thought, he found it quite normal.
Baimu's formal language had never been very good, leading the other party to mistake him for some kid who sneaked their parents' phone, and due to the timezone difference, he sent his message in the middle of the night in Sinnoh.
A beautiful misunderstanding.
As he read further, he found detailed answers to some of his questions, the one he was most concerned about was whether evolution in a short period would harm the Pokémon, the answer was—
"No, evolution belongs to life's miracles and transitions, time does not affect the Mighty Power inherent in their genes."
As for when and under what circumstances it's easiest to evolve, the reply stated that such things are hard to describe.
Pokémon are creatures easily affected by emotions.
Therefore.
Often particularly intense emotions can trigger miracles.
At the same time, natural progression of evolution was also very common, as long as the level reached a certain degree, even while sleeping or eating, Pokémon might evolve.
But level is not the shackle to evolution.
The reply provided several examples, including the differences in Growlithe's evolution at low levels versus high levels...
At last.
It mentioned that Dr. Yamanashi greatly admired Baimu's courage to ask questions and his motivation to learn, and apologized for the delayed response.
He also expressed the hope that if there were things he didn't understand, Baimu should bravely ask his teacher, and work hard at school to learn more knowledge. Someday in the future, he would be welcome to attend his public lectures at Yuhong University.
Or come to his research facility to receive a novice Pokémon to become a Trainer and begin a journey, which was also highly recommended.
He even left phone numbers, emails, and other contact information.
"Looks like they really mistook me for an elementary school student..."
Baimu read it through awkwardly, showing a look of helplessness.
However, was the one replying really Dr. Yamanashi? Or perhaps one of his assistants?
He shook his head, dispelling such thoughts.
What mattered more was tomorrow's match.
Baimu turned, gently touched Lairon's head, "Looks like my judgment was spot on... Lairon, I look forward to that moment of your growth."
"Huff..."
Lairon's breathing was calm and deep.