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The Battle Tower hosted challengers every single day, with competitions running continuously from morning until evening. The facility had established both television and internet streaming channels for local audiences, maintaining respectable viewership numbers throughout the year.
Under normal circumstances, the first twenty-five floors of challenger battles received minimal attention from viewers and media alike.
These initial floors were classified as the "Lower Class," and while the Floor Masters demonstrated solid skill, they weren't professional-level trainers. They were enthusiasts and semi-professionals who served as stepping stones for more serious challengers.
Floors twenty-six through forty belonged to the "Middle Class," where every Floor Master held professional trainer certification. These battles required genuine strategy and skill to overcome.
The final nine floors comprised the "Upper Class," featuring renowned masters and celebrity trainers as Floor Masters. These elite trainers usually weren't present in the tower on regular days, requiring challengers to schedule appointments well in advance for their battles.
The Battle Tower's live broadcast channels only covered Middle Class battles and above, drawing significantly larger audiences. Whenever an Upper Class battle was scheduled, trainers and fans from across Europe would tune in to witness the spectacle.
Today, however, the situation was slightly different.
"What floor is he on now?" one viewer typed in the chat.
"Already cleared the twelfth floor, and he's been climbing steadily without a single loss," another responded.
"Why is that Metang so incredibly fast? I've never seen one move like that."
"This Asian kid looks so young, but he owns a pseudo-legendary Pokemon. His family must be incredibly wealthy."
"Only the filthy rich can afford to be serious trainers these days. The rest of us are just here for entertainment."
A young Chinese trainer accompanied by his Metang had captured significant attention from the streaming audience. The live broadcast room's viewer count had doubled, then tripled compared to typical Lower Class battles. Everyone was speculating about how far this foreign challenger could climb, while simultaneously expressing a mixture of envy and resentment toward someone so young possessing a pseudo-legendary Pokemon.
Normally, only well-established professional trainers were entrusted with pseudo-legendary Pokemon by breeding facilities or research institutions.
When a young trainer possessed such a Pokemon, there was typically only one explanation: exceptional wealth and family connections.
The class divide between trainers and ordinary citizens had become an accepted reality across most of the world. Due to systemic differences, countries like China maintained government programs that supported talented civilian trainers regardless of their background. State-funded Pokemon Universities with substantial capital investment served as evidence of this commitment.
However, in Western nations dominated by private capital, prestigious Pokemon Universities were controlled by wealthy families and corporations. These institutions focused primarily on cultivating the children of the elite, reserving the best resources exclusively for family members and political allies.
Ordinary people without connections or unwilling to become subordinates to the wealthy found advancement nearly impossible, regardless of their natural talent.
Consequently, class stratification in Western Pokemon training communities had become particularly severe.
France had witnessed no fewer than ten major demonstrations in recent years, with protesters demanding government distribution of Pokemon to all citizens, ensuring everyone had an opportunity to become a trainer. These protests had occasionally turned violent when they clashed with official organizations.
Authorities could only deploy professional trainers to suppress violent demonstrations, though the process of suppression proved surprisingly easy with zero casualties.
The French protesters surrendered immediately upon witnessing the overwhelming power of professional-level Pokemon, raising their hands in submission the moment battle began.
Battle Tower, Twelfth Floor.
"Tyrantrum is unable to battle! The winner is Metang and Trainer Roy!" the referee announced officially.
Hearing the declaration, Roy retrieved his Poke Ball and recalled Metang with a gentle smile.
"Excellent work," he said softly.
The Poke Ball trembled slightly in response to his praise.
Unaware that his pseudo-legendary Pokemon had sparked heated discussions among local viewers, Roy remained focused on analyzing the previous battle.
He had deployed Metang specifically to help it accumulate valuable battle experience. The second evolution stage represented a transitional period in any Pokemon's development, and with access to top-tier resources over the past month, Metang had reached the conditions necessary for its final evolution.
The combat experience gained today wasn't quite sufficient yet, but Roy estimated that evolution was merely days away.
"There are so many Pokemon native to the Kalos Region here that you never see in China," Roy murmured with genuine interest.
Pokemon that were extremely rare in his home country appeared to be commonplace in this region.
Additionally, he had noticed that French trainers favored highly defensive battle strategies while showing reluctance toward aggressive tactics.
Their defensive capabilities were exceptionally strong, but once their defensive lines were breached, opponents often surrendered quickly rather than attempting counterattacks. This represented a completely different fighting philosophy from what Roy had encountered in China.
These varied battle styles were broadening Roy's perspective as a trainer considerably.
While contemplating these observations, Roy had already reached the thirteenth floor.
Battle Tower staff offered healing services for his Pokemon, but after brief consideration, he declined.
The twelfth floor battle had pushed Metang to its current limits. For this level, it was time to deploy one of his other team members.
"Hey there, buddy! You're the trainer with the Metang, right?" the Floor Master called out.
The Floor Master was a young Black man with dreadlocks who grinned widely. "Let's have an enjoyable match, shall we? I promise to satisfy you completely."
Roy felt uncomfortable with the man's tone and suggestive expression, so he chose not to respond.
The referee intervened professionally: "The battle format is one-versus-one. Please select your Pokemon."
Due to the large number of daily challengers in the Lower Class, and to manage time and costs effectively, all battles were conducted as single Pokemon matches.
Middle Class battles followed the same three-versus-three format used in university leagues.
Upper Class battles were full six-versus-six matches with complete teams.
Given that Metang had struggled somewhat to reach the twelfth floor, Roy decided to prevent any potential upsets by deploying Lucario for this round.
"Lucario?" The Black Floor Master paused in surprise, not expecting to face such a rare Pokemon.
His thoughts raced: 'Could this be the illegitimate son of some Asian Elite Four member or Champion?'
'Perfect. Time to teach this rich kid a lesson.'
He sent out Meowstic, a Psychic-type Pokemon native to the European region that held a clear type advantage over Lucario.
The moment the battle commenced:
"Psychic!" the Floor Master commanded.
"Extreme Speed," Roy countered simultaneously.
Meowstic began condensing its psychic energy into a powerful attack, but its pupils suddenly contracted in alarm. Lucario had already appeared directly in front of it, moving faster than the eye could follow.
"Meow!" (This is bad!)
In an instant, Lucario struck through Meowstic's position, coming to a stop behind the Psychic-type with a calm, focused expression.
Two seconds later, Meowstic's eyes rolled back and it collapsed unconscious.
One-hit knockout.
"What the hell!" the Floor Master exclaimed in shock.
He had expected this to be an easy victory against an inexperienced rich kid, but instead had encountered a genuine threat.
The speed and power displayed by this Lucario had reached the absolute pinnacle of non-professional level capabilities.
That Metang wasn't even Roy's strongest Pokemon.
After the match concluded, Roy offered a polite smile and proceeded directly to the next floor.
Bringing out Lucario signaled that Roy had shifted into serious tower-climbing mode.
Fifteenth floor...
Eighteenth floor...
Twentieth floor...
Soon, Roy had accomplished his original goal of reaching the twentieth floor. However, rather than stopping to claim his prizes, he chose to continue the challenge.
'I've made it this far already. Let's see what my actual limits are,' he thought.
Unfortunately, his desire to test his boundaries wouldn't be fulfilled so easily.
Lucario's exceptional speed was its greatest strength, but its qualities in other areas were remarkably well-balanced, with no obvious weaknesses for opponents to exploit. Against non-professional level trainers, victory was virtually guaranteed. Lower Class opponents no longer posed any meaningful threat to Roy.
Roy continued his dominant performance, successfully clearing the twenty-fifth floor and gaining promotion to the Middle Class.
At this point, the Battle Tower's official operations team had noticed this dark horse challenger from abroad and quickly began collecting information about Roy.
The more they discovered, the more impressed they became.
Roy was recognized as one of China's strongest trainers of his generation, the first person in recorded history to defeat a professional-level trainer using only non-professional Pokemon, and the creator of Z-Moves...
The European Youth Championship attracted talented trainers from around the world, but the organizers never expected to host such a formidable competitor.
They immediately began promoting information about Roy, placing his live stream in prominent featured positions across their platforms.
Audiences from France and across Europe flooded into his broadcast room, watching Roy dominate the Lower Class and advance to Middle Class competition.
"Amazing! Will we finally get to see the legendary Z-Move in action?"
"Such incredible strength at only nineteen years old. Does our country have any geniuses at this level?"
"Don't get too excited yet. I suspect those videos from China were staged! I want to see if he can really defeat professional-level trainers."
The audience eagerly anticipated Roy's next challenge.
However, after earning his promotion to the Middle Class, Roy made the decisive choice to end his challenge.
It would be foolish to continue.
Unlike trainers like Jaxon who possessed only one professional-level Pokemon, the Floor Master on the twenty-sixth floor was a genuine professional trainer with at least six professional-level Pokemon in his roster.
Since Middle Class battles followed a three-versus-three format, Roy would be facing three professional-grade Pokemon simultaneously.
Roy had a clear understanding of his current capabilities. During recent training, he had refined his mastery of both Aura and psychic powers, enabling him to support the release of Z-Moves twice per day.
Mimikyu had mastered instant Z-Move execution, capable of delivering one-hit knockouts against professional-level Pokemon, though using a Z-Move typically left it unable to continue battling effectively. Ninetales had reduced its Z-Move preparation time to just three seconds, and with proper planning, it could likely defeat a professional-level opponent with high probability.
However, handling a third professional-level Pokemon would prove extremely difficult.
Moreover, genuine professional trainers possessed far more combat experience and tactical decision-making skills than semi-professionals like Jaxon.
In competitive battle formats, Roy could realistically defeat at most two professional-level Pokemon.
But...
In unrestricted combat situations, Roy's true potential extended far beyond these limitations.
Without tournament rules constraining him, his Pokemon could utilize various items and healing supplies, including Max Revives that functioned like miraculous recovery beans, instantly reviving fallen Pokemon at full strength. Mimikyu could potentially use Z-Moves multiple times in succession with proper item support.
With unlimited resources at his disposal, Roy truly became an unstoppable force.
Even Roy himself wasn't certain of his absolute limits in unrestricted combat, or whether he could genuinely challenge professional trainers under those conditions.
After completing his challenge, Roy proceeded to the prize redemption area.
Under the astonished gaze of the staff members, he claimed every single Mega Stone available in the Battle Tower's catalog.
Twelve stones in total.
Holding the Mega Stones in his hands, Roy began identifying them one by one.
This deep red stone belonged to Charizard, the green one was clearly for Venusaur, this unfamiliar purple stone he couldn't immediately identify, and this sky-blue stone appeared to be for Altaria...
Roy's attention stopped on the final stone in the collection.
This particular stone was pale blue with silver accents, featuring the distinctive leaf pattern that marked all Mega Stones.
"A Lucario Mega Stone," he whispered in recognition.