Compared to the preliminaries, which were conducted in team format, although they were intense, they still could not compare to the individual matches now—especially full 6-vs-6 battles. The spectacle and intensity were on a completely different level.
Moreover, after the preliminaries, the weak had already been eliminated. The remaining ninety teams all had real strength—though a few might have survived through luck.
The ninety teams, comprising nine hundred participants, were split into morning and afternoon sessions. Based on the number of venues, it would take three days to complete all the matches.
All ten participants from Drakoria were scheduled to compete on the first day: five in the morning and five in the afternoon, each assigned to different venues.
Each venue could accommodate up to 200,000 spectators.
It had to be said that although Babath had a small land area, its investment in the trainer industry was substantial.
Every city boasted a stadium capable of seating no fewer than 500,000 spectators, and battle arenas could be found almost everywhere.
The country also placed great emphasis on trainer development.
This was why Babath had earned the attention of several major nations and was even taken under the wing of Celestria as its "godson."
Of course, now that Drakoria had surpassed Celestria in influence, the latter's attention toward this "godson" had sharply declined—to the point of almost forgetting about it.
Among Drakoria's ten participants, the ones drawing the most attention were undoubtedly Ember and Ian.
The former was naturally for her stunning looks and captivating figure—in fact, she had already been voted as the most beautiful female participant in the tournament by enthusiastic netizens.
The latter, Ian, was famous because of his two consecutive ten-man sweeps in the preliminaries, and because his pseudo-legendary Tyranitar had been overwhelmingly dominant.
So compared to these two, the other eight received slightly less attention.
However, after the first day of matches, the spotlight quickly turned to them as well, with people worldwide discussing their performances—especially in Drakoria, where reactions had been explosive.
Among the eight, three defeated all six of their opponents' Pokémon using just one of their own, while five needed only two Pokémon to achieve the same result.
---
> "Damn, I thought Ian was already unbeatable, but it turns out we have nine others just like him!"
> "All of them are at the Pseudo-Champion level—how can we possibly lose?"
> "Ten years ago, we only had three Pseudo-Champion participants. Who would've thought we'd have ten this time?"
> "Ember is absolutely incredible! Her Blaziken completely swept the opponent. She's not just gorgeous—she's insanely strong too!"
> "Pierce is also very impressive—he took down three of the Malasiar trainer's Pokémon. If that trainer hadn't surrendered in the end, Pierce would probably have wiped out his entire team!"
> "I don't like Pierce. Killing opponents' Pokémon during a match? A man like that definitely won't be popular with women."
> "Upstairs, are you brain-dead?"
---
The performances of the ten were truly shocking. Especially after they revealed their full strength, it left other countries utterly speechless.
It was simply unbelievable—all ten of them were at the Pseudo-Champion level.
That said, other major powers like Celestria and Volkaria were still holding back. So far, each had only revealed one Pseudo-Champion participant.
Julian, however, wasn't concerned in the slightest. No matter how strong they were, they couldn't compare to his team.
The only controversial moment of the day was when Pierce took down three of the Malasiar trainer's Pokémon during their match, which led to the frightened trainer forfeiting.
This move drew criticism from some overly idealistic individuals within Drakoria.
Of course, the majority voiced their support, and the critical comments were quickly drowned out by supporters.
Pierce himself paid no mind to the backlash. His only regret was that the opposing trainer lacked guts—surrendering after just three Pokémon were taken out.
As for the other nine participants, their opponents came from countries that, while not on friendly terms with Drakoria, had no active conflicts either. Thus, they saw no need to go for the kill.
The World Youth Championship actually served as an opportunity for countries to weaken their rivals.
If you encountered an opponent from a nation your country was hostile with, and you had the ability, it was almost expected that you would go all out to take down their Pokémon.
After all, those who represented their countries in this tournament were undoubtedly among their nations' most promising talents.
The Championship had been held for 200 years—spanning twenty tournaments in total.
Most participants who made it through this tournament would eventually reach the Pseudo-Champion level, provided they didn't meet an untimely end. And those with sufficient opportunities, talent, and determination could even become Champions.
After all, almost all past participants who were still alive had reached at least the Pseudo-Champion level, and some had even become Champions.
For example, Julian's grandfather had participated when he was young, as did Julian's father. Even Duke and a number of current Drakorian Champions had all participated.
Besides them, the Champions of Celestria and Volkaria also took part in the tournament when they were younger.
Because of examples like these, the winner of the World Youth Championship was often regarded as a "future Champion"—a title with immense prestige.
It was also one of the most-watched competitive events in the world.
Being able to stand out among the prodigies of various nations and claim the Championship title was, in itself, proof of exceptional talent.
After the matches concluded, and with two days before their next matches, Julian allowed Ember and the other nine to spend their time freely.
As a result, the very next day, news broke that nine members of the Drakorian national team had been photographed in the red-light district. There were numerous photos—some showed Asher in a panic, others captured Evan covering his face, Adrian with his head lowered in silence, and Pierce wearing an expression so stern it looked like he was posing for an ID photo.
Of course, it wasn't just them. Many participants from various countries, especially male contestants, had also visited the red-light district.
They were all curious to see what the world-famous red-light district in Babath was really like.
But since Julian was the first to go and held the highest profile, his presence acted like a magnet—drawing more attention to the other nine Drakorian participants than contestants from other countries.
"Dee!"
Love put down the phone and looked at Julian with a stern expression.
"From now on, don't hang out with those nine troublemakers, understand?"
Julian quickly nodded. His previous visit to the red-light district had already been brushed aside with excuses.
"Don't worry, Love. Once the competition is over, I'll cut ties with them completely—no more connections, no more friendship, nothing!" he said, his expression full of seriousness and resolve.
Love nodded in satisfaction. Her cub was indeed very obedient. The parents of those bad kids must be suffering—if only their kids were even one ten-thousandth as well-behaved as hers.
"Love, when are you planning to return to Drakoria?" Julian asked with a smile.
There was no other way—with Love around, forget about visiting the red-light district, he wasn't even allowed to eat sashimi.
*****
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