The sun blazed overhead.
The quarterfinals slowly began.
As Baimu set out, nearly all the Quicksand Team members he encountered shouted words of encouragement to him, and by the time he reached Pyrite Arena, the number of people cheering for him to win was countless.
He understood very well that a large portion of these people had turned him into their cash cow, hoping for overnight wealth.
It's said that many underground betting houses had deliberately adjusted his odds to extreme levels to stir up excitement and attract people to place bets.
And the ones behind these underground betting houses happened to be some of the contestants in the current top eight.
Each one was fully ready, waiting to reap the profits today. Every year, there are fools who gamble to near bankruptcy, yet new fools always come back to gamble again the next year.
Everyone is fixated on those few lucky ones who make a fortune, hoping to replicate their success in their own lives.
They have no idea about survivor bias at all.
Baimu neither sympathized with them nor wanted to pity them. He fought for himself. Winning or losing, he just wanted to be true to himself and his Lairon.
Even if he lost miserably, as long as he fought to the last moment without giving up, that would be a victory!
"Hiss—"
He slowly took a deep breath, passed through the rusted corridor, broke through the exit that seemed to lead to his future, and rushed into the arena, where applause thundered.
Today's opponent, Shanren, was already in place, dressed in sportswear and wearing a peaceful smile, exuding outstanding charisma.
"Let's welcome the dark horse that everyone is watching, the rising star of the Quicksand Team, the expert at defeating the strong as the weak – Contestant Baimu!!"
The announcer's voice echoed clearly above the arena, eliciting a wave of cheers.
This is quite ridiculous.
Baimu tugged at the corner of his mouth, feeling that the announcer was blatantly lying with eyes wide open to stir up the audience's enthusiasm, with terms like "watched by all" and "rising star".
It was very much like the Neons with their love for wild exaggeration.
Whatever.
Forget about that.
Baimu held the Pokeball, setting up a battle stance, waiting for the red preparatory light.
Shanren seemed a bit hesitant, fumbling through several Pokeballs before finally making a selection. Judging from the dark color, it appeared that he had nothing but Luxury Balls.
"The match is about to begin. Both Contestant Baimu and Contestant Shanren are ready. Speaking of Contestant Shanren, we must once again mention his illustrious record. At the same age as Contestant Baimu, he has already challenged the league conferences in three regions and achieved outstanding results each time."
The announcer, who was full of enthusiasm just now, suddenly changed his tone, as if introducing some big shot, "Now returning from other regions, he has specially participated in our Pyrite Arena Battle Conference, just to test the strength of Pyrite Town's Trainers.
"I hope the contestants can bring out their best against Contestant Shanren! Let's show our style! Now, let me introduce the special guest group coming all the way from Silicon City..."
Then followed a long list of names.
The audience was quite used to this. Every time Shanren competed, the announcer would specially chant this like a pre-battle incantation.
According to some keen investigators, this gentleman seemed to have a close relationship with the town mayor. It's rumored that the mayor had warmly welcomed Shanren when he first arrived in Pyrite Town, with immense grandeur, resembling the scene of an annual tax inspection from the Silicon City Tax Officers.
In this regard, Shanren was indeed not someone that ordinary people dared to mess with, so for the time being, no one tried to target him.
Even the betting odds were adjusted to match his actual strength level.
Naturally, Baimu was also aware of these facts.
But compared to Shanren's background, he was more concerned about his strength.
Beep—
The preparatory red light finally came on.
Baimu took a deep breath, and when the green light appeared, he dashed forward and threw his Pokeball ahead.
Bang!
The white light landed, transforming into a small, chubby, pink egg-like Pokémon.
"Lucky!"
Chansey ran forward, slightly nervous in expression.
Although it was the first time entering as the first, it was very aware of how crucial a good start was to the overall game situation.
It cannot be a burden to its companions.
With this in mind, it cast its gaze into the distance, but was stunned by the opponent's Pokémon released—it wasn't any Pokémon that Baimu had shown it before.
What is going on? Is the tactic going to fail?
"Stay calm, stick to the plan, release Invisible Rock!"
Baimu's voice reached Chansey, calming its previously agitated mind.
It raised its small hands, summoning countless clumps of earth and dust to condense into rocks shrouded in white light. These then scattered across the field like raindrops, disappearing stealthily.
During this time, Baimu looked over at his opponent's Pokémon—
A humanoid, cute cat with blue and white fur interwoven, and folded ears.
A suppression Pokémon, the psychic attribute Meowstic.
This Pokémon was being used by Shanren for the first time, absent in the intelligence files Flop provided to Baimu, so he had to adapt his pre-planned tactics based on the scene.
"Reflective Wall."
Shanren glanced at the vanishing Invisible Rock, seemingly indifferent, calmly issuing a command.
Meowstic, while running, suddenly had blue glows light up its eyes, and a layer of pink barrier suddenly erected in front, which then silently vanished just like the Invisible Rocks.
Upon seeing this, Baimu felt a slight heaviness in his heart.
Both of his Pokémon excelled in physical attacks, with special attacks merely as auxiliary means. Although it's unclear how much this Reflective Wall could lower physical attacks, it presumably wasn't trivial.
Not being able to use Splitting Tiles is just too tough!
Speeding towards each other, the distance was quickly reduced to just ten meters.
And this distance was just enough for any long-range Pokémon to accept and believe their moves could hit.
Unquestionably, Baimu and Shanren had the same thought.
"Telekinesis!"
"Spiritual Shock!"
They issued commands simultaneously, and both Pokémon attacked simultaneously.
Blue light shrouded their eyes, slight ripples stirred the air and propagated forward.
Chansey's ripples were formless, while Meowstic's ripples transformed into countless visible, sparkling pink-purple balls of light that shot wildly towards Chansey.
Their forces collided fiercely at a central point!
Bang!
The dazzling light shone like a flash grenade, and smoke rose, enveloping a large part of the field in an instant.
Baimu was taken aback.
The earlier clash was primarily in the realm of psychic force between two Pokémon. [Telekinesis] does not have the destructive power of [Strong Mental Will].
Even though Chansey had unusual resilience, it shouldn't have easily matched [Spiritual Shock], an attack move.
Moreover, in Shanren's ongoing script, such confrontations usually crushed their opponent's Pokémon with overwhelming force…
Why?
Feigning weakness to confuse us? Or is Chansey bursting with power?
Baimu glanced at Chansey diagonally, being the Trainer, he was aware of its condition. While Chansey was indeed a bit lively, it was far from bursting with power.
He then looked at the opposite Shanren, who exhibited a rather surprised expression.
Subsequently, his face didn't reveal anger at failing to take down the opponent in a single strike, but instead showed excitement about meeting a worthy opponent.
"Try Telekinesis Again!"
In the mind's quick consideration, he decided to test Shanren once more.
To figure out what exactly is going on with this guy.