Get Stronger by Pleasing Pokémon? Who Needs to Be a Trainer!

After the first round of battles ended, the second round quickly followed, with only a five-minute break in between.

But honestly…

For Snivy, who had only used two moves so far, the break was almost unnecessary.

The second round turned out rather uneventful.

Lin Feng's opponent was the Trainer with the Spearow. The moment he saw he'd drawn Lin Feng, his face completely fell.

Even though he technically had a type advantage, he simply didn't have the confidence that his Spearow could dodge that Snivy's Vine Whip.

And it wasn't just him.

Every single Trainer in Group Nine looked equally dejected.

In the first round, they'd already witnessed Lin Feng's strength.

So their hopes of making it out of the group stage were pretty much dashed.

Just as Lin Feng expected.

Spearow tried to dodge from the get-go, but still couldn't avoid Snivy's Vine Whip. In the blink of an eye, it was smacked out of the air.

If they'd been out in the wild, Snivy might not have been able to catch a Flying-type like Spearow.

But in this confined indoor arena, there was nowhere to run.

Next came the third round.

This time, the opponent's Pokémon was a Pikachu…

Well, Lin Feng did have a strong impression of Pikachu.

But not every Pikachu was that Pikachu, capable of defying type disadvantages.

Snivy easily wrapped it up with Vine Whip and flung it right out of the ring.

And with that…

The morning's group-stage matches came to an end.

In total, nine Trainers emerged as winners from their respective groups.

During the break, the organizers of the Baobao Cup provided lunch and a two-hour rest period.

The moment the matches ended, Qin Shu came running over, beaming with excitement, eager to share her good news. She'd also made it out of her group successfully.

Lin Feng simply nodded, not the least bit surprised.

He'd basically kept an eye on every group.

Qin Shu had been pretty lucky.

In her group, the stronger Pokémon had all been countered by Squirtle's type advantage, and the weaker ones simply couldn't avoid that razor-sharp Water Gun. Making it through the group stage was just a matter of her and Squirtle performing decently.

But for Qin Shu, it felt entirely different.

That initial victory had given her a huge boost of confidence.

She was already happily imagining herself as a top Pokémon Trainer, standing beneath the stadium lights at the Pokémon Championships, battling alongside the Elite Eight Masters.

And winning, of course.

Lin Feng could only chuckle at that.

Qin Shu had always dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Master, standing in the spotlight while crowds roared for her and her Pokémon, though she chased that goal with her usual pattern of "three days of enthusiasm, two days of slacking."

Still, there was nothing wrong with having dreams and ambitions.

Everyone, when they're young, wants to be the hero of their own story.

Whether or not those dreams come true doesn't matter as much as creating memories worth remembering.

...

Two hours flew by in a flash.

Compared to the tightly packed schedule of the morning, the afternoon matches felt much more relaxed.

After all, only nine Trainers remained. They needed just four matches to determine the semifinalists.

To save time, all four battles were held simultaneously.

As for the ninth person, a draw would determine who advanced directly into the top five without a fight.

At this moment…

Ten minutes before the next round was set to begin…

In the seating area for Field 7, Boss Chi Heng from Wang Wang Supermarket, the man behind all these arrangements, was studying the nine Trainers who'd emerged from the group stages.

Well, technically eight.

Because he'd excluded his own kid from consideration.

These eight Trainers all seemed perfectly average on the surface.

Which, under normal circumstances, would have been the outcome he wanted.

But there was one new Trainer and his Pokémon that he couldn't quite figure out.

That was Lin Feng from Group Nine and his Snivy.

Through four battles…

Other than in the first match, when Snivy had used Vine Whip and Leaf Blade, every subsequent battle had been won with Vine Whip alone.

Even though Chi Heng wasn't exactly a Pokémon battle expert, being a businessman and all…

He knew one thing for certain: this Lin Feng guy was probably holding back on purpose, either for the prize money or for reputation.

With that thought, he couldn't help calling Li Bing over.

"What's up, boss?" Li Bing asked as he floated over, looking puzzled.

Chi Heng got straight to the point. "I want to see the match-up sheet."

"Huh?"

Li Bing pulled out the bracket while asking curiously, "Why, boss? It's set up just how you asked. There's only ten minutes left before the matches start…"

"There's one Trainer I can't shake a bad feeling about." Chi Heng scanned the bracket, his brow furrowing deeper. "Where's that Lin Feng kid?"

Li Bing replied lazily, "Oh, him? He drew the bye this round. Didn't you say that the early matches should be random, and we'd let Lapras finish things off with a one-hit KO in the final round?"

Chi Heng shook his head. "No good. That Snivy hasn't shown its full power yet. I'm not comfortable with this. Here's what we'll do. Pair Xu Kun against Lin Feng. His Torchic has a type advantage over Snivy. Let's see if that can force Snivy to go all out."

"Uh… alright…"

A flicker of resignation passed through Li Bing's eyes.

Looked like his plan to keep Lin Feng under wraps was falling apart.

He was about to fly up and change the bracket, but Chi Heng called him back again, flashing a bright smile. "Li, my friend. I might not know much about Pokémon battles, but only you and I know about this whole arrangement. If it works out in the end, I'll double your pay."

Li Bing froze, his resignation deepening. But he forced a smile and said, "You're too generous, boss."

"It's only fair," Chi Heng said with a grin.

As he watched Li Bing take off toward the sky to adjust the matchups, Chi Heng's smile gradually faded.

He might not know Pokémon battles.

But he definitely understood business.

Only relationships built on mutual interests were truly solid.

Unfortunately, in this era, Trainers ruled the world…

Which meant he had to pave the way for his own kid.

...

Five minutes before the matches began…

The nine remaining Trainers were gathered together for the final draw.

Xu Kun, who had Torchic, glanced at the bracket and looked at Lin Feng in surprise. "Looks like we're matched up?"

He'd been busy on Field 1 earlier and hadn't paid attention to what was happening in Lin Feng's group.

But this was completely unexpected.

Back during the college entrance exams, Lin Feng hadn't even chosen his first Pokémon yet.

And now he already had a Pokémon strong enough to fight through the Baobao Cup group stage?

"Seems that way," Lin Feng said with a shrug, not thinking much of it.

Xu Kun let out a long sigh, stepping closer. "Man, tough luck for you. Don't worry. I'll go easy on you…"