That night.
Mann Chong had insomnia.
He spent the entire night trying to set a goal for himself, but none of them sparked his enthusiasm; the past excitement was gone.
Baimu went downstairs in the morning and saw him dozing at the reception desk with dark circles under his eyes and shook his head.
This kid is hopeless.
Is the absence of a fierce rival affecting him this much?
Speaking of which, during the later stages of Gemstone Reproduction, Mann Chong became a bit obsessed, running around at all hours trying to hatch eggs and obsessing over individual values, earning himself a nickname after being noticed—
"The Green-haired Prince Running with Eggs."
His personality is really easily swayed.
Knock knock.
"Wake up." Baimu tapped on the counter.
Mann Chong startled awake, saw Baimu, and bowed abruptly, only to hit his head on the counter, "Good morning—ah!"
"In this state, you probably won't do well in anything. I suggest you not force things and take a good rest first," said Baimu, looking at Mann Chong clutching his forehead.
"I'll consider it."
Mann Chong replied with red eyes, probably hit himself quite hard.
The difference from his battle demeanor is quite stark, can Pokémon battles really change one's face?
Baimu withdrew his gaze and headed outside.
The battle tent is starting preliminaries today, who knows how many participants there are, whether the competition is intense or not.
Really hope to achieve the final victory.
——
Outside the battle tent.
Baimu was somewhat surprised looking at the crowd before him.
Having been in Verdanturf Town for nearly a day, it was his first time seeing such a crowd. This thing seems more popular than expected? Are all these people contestants?
Luckily, after asking a passerby, he found out they were mostly spectators.
Due to the slow living pace in Verdanturf Town, people are usually quite idle, so events like battle tents attract them to come and join the fun.
But that's all it is.
"There are more of you outside trainers participating. We locals or permanent residents of Verdanturf Town rarely get involved," said a seemingly kind middle-aged man with a smile.
"I see..."
Baimu nodded, thinking it's a bit different from what is said online.
Inside the tent.
He showed his competition proof to the staff, who then led him to a room.
The room was equipped with a sofa, a large LCD screen, an operation console, and basic amenities, even free drinks and fruits as well as a private bathroom.
"When the front indicates the match is about to start, place the selected Pokémon Ball inside to complete the preparation. You can control the choice of the first Pokémon and switch Pokémon," the staff briefly introduced a machine integrated with the table.
Baimu scanned around and memorized the process.
"Please wait, the preliminary rounds will commence in ten minutes, your Pokémon just needs to defeat three opponents to advance. After winning each round, you'll need to wait during which you may move freely, but please make sure to return before the start," the staff bowed and departed.
Three rounds... that'll be nine Pokémon?
Looks like there are quite a few participants, hopefully not facing unreasonable trainers.
Baimu knew Verdanturf Town was home to hidden talents, underestimating could lead to getting slapped hard.
Not long after.
The text indicating the match's start appeared on the screen across from him.
He settled on the sofa and placed three Pokeballs on the transfer device, saying to them, "I'll be counting on you today, good luck everyone."
Three Pokeballs slightly swayed.
Beep!
A signal light lit.
The three Pokeballs vanished before Baimu's eyes, with an icon of three Pokeballs appearing at the lower-right corner of the screen.
Then.
A large rectangular battle arena surrounded by water appeared onscreen, a place for Pokémon matches. The pleasing thing was that the camera could shift, not just restricted to a rear view.
Side and overhead views were both available.
Baimu mulled over it, choosing Mawile as the lead, then pressed the confirm button.
After a brief wait, bang sounded, a Pokéball seemed to be shot out by some machine, opened mid-air, transforming into Mawile's silhouette on the field.
Opposite.
A Machop similarly appeared on the field.
The match began just like that.
Two Pokémon eyed each other, initially inspecting the surrounding environment, then cautiously gazing at one another, eyes hinting at growing hostility.
"Grr!"
The Machop opposite looked very fierce, sprinting towards Mawile shouting, its arm glowing with radiant light, forming a hand chop aiming to strike at Mawile's head.
Mawile stood rooted, awaited the chop, swiftly sidestepping, delivering a fierce Enhanced Fist to its chest!
Bang!
Only a thud was heard from the speakers.
Machop flew up in an arc, then crashed heavily into the water.
When it was rescued by the Dewgong lifeguard, its eyes turned into spirals.
"Seems this one isn't too tough."
Looking at the screen, Baimu leaned back, the previously slightly tense demeanor quickly relaxing.
And in the arena, Mawile defeated the first opponent ushered in the second—
The shimmering Aron.
"Huh?"
It raised an eyebrow, surprised to see a relative of Aggron here, does that mean... mercy is needed?