Chapter 365: The Hype
Between a level 56 Alakazam and a level 59 Scizor, the outcome of the battle was self-evident.
Even if Scizor and its trainer lacked rapport, and it could even be said that it somewhat resisted the trainer's commands.
But its strength and typing were clear.
The gap between the two couldn't be bridged by the trainer alone.
Undoubtedly, Alakazam lost.
Not just Alakazam; the subsequent second Pokémon, Medicham, was also utterly defeated.
Defeating two of the opponent's Pokémon.
According to the tournament rules, the Sakura Country trainer needed to switch Pokémon.
But next, the opposing Sakura Country's second Pokémon also left all the spectators speechless.
It was a ferocious-looking Arbok, with strange heart-shaped patterns on its body...
The main thing was its aura.
As its crimson forked tongue flicked out, the opposing third Pokémon, Hypno, showed signs of trembling.
Undoubtedly, this Arbok was also a peak Master-level Pokémon.
And the opposing Hypno was only at early Master level.
The difference in strength between the two guaranteed that this match would be a completely one-sided crush.
In just one minute.
The psychic field created by Hypno was broken, and sharp poisonous fangs materialized, piercing through and striking Hypno.
Apart from Alakazam, which lasted a bit longer, the other two Pokémon couldn't even last a minute...
On the levitating hoverboard, Tang Fei's voice no longer carried its initial liveliness as she gravely announced the result of the match.
"The winner of this match is contestant Watanabe Jiro..."
"Hahaha!"
Seeing the dejected expression on the Huaxia trainer's face, Watanabe Jiro burst out laughing, "Huaxia's young trainers are merely so-so! Under the Pokémon caught by our Sakura Country trainers' Compulsory Training Devices, they collapse at the first blow!"
Tang Fei's gaze instantly turned cold.
"Contestant Watanabe Jiro, please watch your words! After winning the match, please leave the stage immediately!"
Watanabe Jiro said no more and promptly left the stage.
His mission was complete. Next, it was others' tasks.
And with him stirring things up like this, the enthusiasm of the audience immediately plummeted.
It was as disgusting as a fly suddenly appearing in a delicious meal.
The contestants below also seemed to lose interest in fighting.
The desire to strive for victory and advance further dissipated.
After that Sakura Country contestant appeared, most people began to wonder if the Pokémon of the other two Sakura Country contestants were also all peak Master-level Pokémon.
If that was truly the case.
What worried them more now was.
This tournament... how were they supposed to fight?
In the contestants' seating area, watching Watanabe Jiro come up, everyone glared at their side.
But the other party merely smirked and quickly left the spectator area.
For them.
Step one—making Yamamoto Nika the target of public criticism. Step two—introducing the concept of Compulsory Training Devices. These objectives had all been achieved.
Next was step three...
To use an old Huaxia saying... it was to fish in troubled waters.
Taking advantage of the Youth League, they would heavily promote the Watanabe family's Compulsory Training Devices, which were about to be launched internationally!
So easily obtaining obedient and powerful Pokémon.
There would always be some people who couldn't resist buying them!
This point held true even for the usually united Huaxia...
And Huaxia's population, its trainer base, was the largest in the world!
As long as even a few people were attracted.
Then it would allow him—Watanabe Sanetake—to rise rapidly in his family's hierarchy!
To become the first heir!
Although this expenditure was huge, he felt it was worth it!
Once the few Sakura Country contestants left.
The spectator area immediately fell silent.
If it were a competition among trainers from their own country, they would be very enthusiastic, perhaps trash-talking now, maybe even resorting to underhanded tactics against each other.
But now, facing a common external opponent,
Their first thought was, who had the ability to defeat this Sakura Country contestant?
Pan Shanyu? Or Liu Xuan from North China University?
The crowd directed their gazes towards the two, only to see both their brows tightly furrowed, like a twisted thread that couldn't be undone.
It seemed neither of them had this ability...
Beside him, sensing the oppressive atmosphere, Sakura subconsciously held onto Hikaru's arm.
In the past, when they were scolded together by the Dean Grandma, she liked to hold Hikaru's shoulder like this.
This way, it felt like Hikaru was the one being scolded, not her.
Hikaru patted her head. The fighting spirit that had long been dormant in his eyes blazed fiercely once more.
The first time he had felt this passionate was when he helped
Charmeleon defeat Sceptile.
Then it was "commanding" Kyogre to one-shot Team Rocket Executive Athena.
Now,
These few Sakura Country trainers had undoubtedly reignited this competitive desire in him.
Hikaru chuckled lightly, "Hmm... they seem a bit too arrogant..."
"Let's go, Xiao Xue. I have some things to attend to."
Sakura was a bit curious, "Huh? Aren't you watching the matches anymore?"
"Not watching. Something more important than the matches has come up."
It wasn't just Hikaru who left; some other contestants, after seeing such a scene, also sighed silently and departed.
Over there,
Liu Xuan, standing in the spectator area, thought for a moment, then walked over to Pan Shanyu, "Well? Do you have a plan?"
"..."
Pan Shanyu adjusted his glasses, "If the opponent only had those two Master-level Pokémon, I could still handle it, but looking at the trend..."
He spread his hands, somewhat helplessly.
Publicly, everyone saw him and Liu Xuan here as strong contenders for the top three.
But once they encountered this kind of situation.
Undoubtedly, their pressure was also the greatest...
"We'll just have to see if we can meet them in the early rounds, and then find a way to eliminate them..."
Otherwise, when it came to the 6v6 segment later, it would be really hard to deal with...
"But there are three of them on the other side..."
Pan Shanyu rarely lost his composure: "I f***ing know there are three of them too! What can we do about three!"
"Just because there are three, you won't fight?"
...
And so,
The first day of the tournament gradually came to a close in this atmosphere.
That same evening, on Douyin short videos and various other short video websites and new media platforms, information about the Sakura Country trainers' Pokémon all being at peak Master level was widely publicized.
This level of hype was clearly abnormal.
Someone had spent a large sum of money to buy Dou+.
Although it was quickly suppressed by the officials.
But the speed at which the news spread was already beyond what suppression could achieve.
The Compulsory Training Device, a term that had appeared a hundred years ago, once again entered the public eye.
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