So close, but in the end, it wasn't enough…
With a final look at its unscathed opponent, Dratini fainted.
Gabriel glanced around at the other competitors who, like him, had been selected. Most of them were young—around his age.
Why aren't there any older trainers? The Monster Tamer Exam doesn't have an age restriction, and he'd even seen some adults at the test site. Logically speaking, older trainers should be more experienced and dedicated to their Pokémon's training. If the selection was purely based on strength, there should be at least one or two adults here, right?
Could it be because of potential?
Gabriel didn't dwell on it. If there were no adults, all the better—he could fully enjoy the perks of being a seeded player. Even though he was ranked only eighth, he was confident that he wouldn't lose to any of his peers.
The benefits of being a seeded player were nice, but staying in this room was making him uncomfortable. Reporters were constantly snapping photos of them, and to make matters worse, Rafael—the most extroverted guy he'd ever met—was sitting right next to him. Because of Rafael's overwhelming presence, Gabriel had become an unintended center of attention.
Being in the spotlight wasn't bad. But definitely not like this!
Luckily, the awkward situation didn't last long. A new arrival—a fellow seeded player—soon diverted everyone's attention. Even the usually noisy Rafael fell silent.
One by one, the remaining competitors arrived, and soon, all sixteen seeded players were present. Aside from Rafael, gabriel didn't recognize a single one of them.
"Hey, do you know who these people are?"
It was rare for Gabriel to initiate a conversation with Rafael, but since he was the only person he knew, there wasn't really anyone else to ask.
Rafaelm turned to look at him.
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"
"Aren't you the social butterfly? How do you not know?"
Rafael scratched his head and looked at Gabriel with genuine confusion.
"What do you mean by 'social butterfly'? That doesn't sound like a compliment… Anyway, I have no clue who they are. Just a bunch of nobodies. My Growlithe could probably—"
Before he could finish, Gabriel shoved him back into his seat.
Does this guy have zero emotional intelligence? Every single person here is a seeded player! Even Gabriel wasn't confident he could beat all of them. If Rafael kept running his mouth like this, it wouldn't be surprising if people started targeting him. That was fine, but he'd better not drag Gabriel down with him!
Right now, Gabrielnwas seriously regretting signing up for this Monster Tamer Tournament. If not for his desire to defeat Rafael's Growlithe, he wouldn't have even admitted to knowing this guy.
Fortunately, the host, Roland, arrived just in time to shift everyone's attention. Even Rafael finally settled down, allowing Gabriel to sit in peace for once.
"Alright, everyone, let this old man say a few words."
Roland's speech lasted more than half an hour—nothing but formalities and pleasantries, without getting to the main point. Gabriel was dozing off by the time he finally reached the important part.
As seeded players, the sixteen of them would be distributed across different tournament brackets. After each bracket determined its top sixteen, those winners would advance to the final stage.
But the biggest perk of being a seeded player? A personal promotional photoshoot, with their best pictures featured on the official website.
That actually sounded pretty cool.
Soon, they were each assigned a photographer.
"What kind of picture do you want?" the photographer asked.
"What kind? Just a simple side profile shot will do."
In no time, Gabriel's exclusive promotional image was ready. The photographer was truly a pro!
With his naturally good looks, plus the signature baseball cap he got from Aka-nii, Gabriel's side profile had an unmistakable air of confidence and dominance. And with a digitally added Dragonair in the background, the whole image exuded an untouchable aura.
Absolutely stunning!
After saving a copy for himself, Gabriel immediately posted it on his social media.
"Selected as a seeded player! Check out my cool pic!"
His dad was the first to comment.
"No way, you actually got your Monster Tamer License and became a seeded player? You even get a promo photo? Kid, are you really planning to ditch the family business for this?"
Gabriel fell silent. Somehow, being a seeded player didn't feel so exciting anymore. Was becoming a Pokémon Trainer really better than inheriting a fortune?
Before he could find an answer, his mom completely sealed his fate.
"Let the boy do what he loves. Why are you holding him back? I'm still strong and healthy—I can manage for a few more years. Worst case, if this one doesn't work out, we'll just have another kid."
What?!
Now, there was no turning back. If he didn't become a Champion, he'd have no home to go back to!
A moment later, Rafael posted his own promo shot.
"I'm the real MVP here!"
This guy totally saw my post and felt the need to one-up me. Wait a second—didn't I block him? How is he still seeing my posts?!
After checking his settings, Gabriel realized he had never restricted Rafael's access to his social media.
That was quickly fixed. He had no desire to deal with this social menace any longer.
With Rafael out of sight, Gabriel could finally focus on preparing for his battles. He spent the rest of the day warming up his Little Mu. The other seeded players all looked strong, but Gabriel believed in Little Mu. He had even prepared a special trump card just for this tournament.
"Little Mu, we're going to win this. If we take the championship, I'll grant you a reasonable wish."
Little Mu's ears perked up at the mention of a wish.
"Muu! (Really? Anything?)"
"Well, as long as it's something I can actually do."
"Muu! (For the championship! Let's go!)"
Tournament Kickoff
To prevent seeded players from clashing too soon, the tournament was split into sixteen brackets, with one seeded player assigned to each. The brackets were labeled with different letters.
Gabriel was placed in Bracket H—likely because he was the eighth seed.
As soon as he arrived at the venue, he was met with a familiar, overly enthusiastic voice.
"We meet again, Gabriel! Make sure you win! I'll be waiting to defeat you in the finals!"
Gabriel nearly jumped. Rafael had actually come all the way to his bracket to cheer him on? Weren't they… not that close?
Whatever. He decided to pretend he didn't know him. No way was he going to relive yesterday's embarrassment.
"Young Master, you've got this!"
Unexpectedly, Elle was here too! And nestled in Aier's arms was Farfetch'd.
So even Farfetch'd came to watch?
Gabriel gave them a small wave before stepping onto the battlefield.
Before long, his first opponent arrived, standing across from him.
"Hello, please go easy on me!"
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