Greatest Pokémon Trainer

"I'm already on the train, yeah, don't worry, this is my second time going, there won't be any problems."

"Just wait for my good news."

Fang Yuan hung up Mother Fang's call and then yawned.

He was on the maglev train, and yes, he had already taken an early morning ride on the maglev train heading to Magic City.

The Little Phoenix King Cup New Trainer battle competition would be holding its three-day qualifying rounds tomorrow, with the entire competition lasting a week including the main event.

Which meant that Fang Yuan and Eevee would be staying in Magic City for an entire week.

Fang Yuan wasn't worried about other things, but the cost of the hotel was truly expensive... it seemed he had no choice but to cut from Eevee's snack money.

"Tch..."

"Luckily, I'm clever. I've already booked the room in advance, otherwise, I'd definitely be sleeping on the streets by now."

"Speaking of which... the trip is really boring..."

The maglev train sped on its way; sitting by the window, Fang Yuan felt a sense of emptiness, with a hint of drowsiness, as he glanced at the scenery outside. It was better to quickly reach the destination...

...

Eastern Magic City.

Fang Yuan alighted from the train in this city by the East Blue.

This was the venue for the Little Phoenix King Cup.

"Through fire, water, grass, forests,

soil, clouds, beneath that girl's skirt..."

Muttering the anime theme song "My Goal is to be a Pokémon Master," Fang Yuan stepped into this strange city.

After getting off the train, he immediately released Eevee from the Poké Ball. Perhaps because Eevee was raised by Fang Yuan from the start to detest it, Eevee really didn't like staying inside the Poké Ball...

"Bwoo..."

As soon as it came out, Eevee complained about Fang Yuan's singing.

If you're tone-deaf, just don't sing.

"Nope, you're the only one who has to listen."

Fang Yuan pressed down on its head and continued to mutter, leaving Eevee lying on his shoulder with a sudden urge to cry.

"Oriental Pearl Stadium, let's see, which way should we go..."

"Hmm... forget it, let's first head to the hotel we booked to drop off the luggage, and then go register."

"Bwoo!"

Since they were going to stay for a week, Fang Yuan didn't choose the cheapest hotel. Even though staying at an expensive one would pain his wallet, at least the environment would be better, and the sleep would be more comfortable.

However, the hotel wasn't close to the competition site, so Fang Yuan and Eevee would have to turn in early and get up early in the days to come.

After spending some time finding the hotel, Fang Yuan first sent a message to reassure his parents and then started browsing the official forum of the Little Phoenix King Cup.

"Posts are refreshing so quickly..."

"Eevee, look quickly, there's already someone making a champion declaration now, so cringey..."

"Bwoo?"

"Should we make one too?"

"Bwoo!" Eevee shook its head vigorously.

Showcasing Pokémon, flaunting wealth, bragging, gossip news, this forum had it all.

Fang Yuan skimmed through a few posts and found some contestants to actually have some good stuff.

"Scyther... Armaldo..."

"Onix... Mr. Mime..."

"Hitmonlee... Torkoal..."

"Zangoose... Seviper..."

Looking at these Pokémon pictures, he realized that neither he nor Eevee had the advantage. As the competition neared, all sorts of bizarre creatures were popping up.

"No, can't keep looking, or there'll be trouble." With three 'no's' in one sentence, Fang Yuan immediately put down his phone and said, "Let's go, Eevee, we're going to register for the preliminaries right now."

Fang Yuan had signed up for the Little Phoenix King Cup at the very first opportunity, given that there was a cap on the number of participants and latecomers would not be able to join.

There must be many others like Fang Yuan who weren't local to Magic City but still came to compete. When it came to Hua Nation, it was all about the population. Any competition would be inundated with people, never lacking competitors or spectators.

In truth, other regions also had similar competitions for new Trainers, but none were as renowned as the Little Phoenix King Cup. The rewards for winning elsewhere weren't as significant, and moreover, Fang Yuan was after the Soothing Bell, so naturally, it had to be the Little Phoenix King Cup.

...

Oriental Pearl Stadium, registration area for competitors.

Fang Yuan first took a taxi here, then stood in line for half an hour before it was finally his turn to register.

The young lady behind the counter, maneuvering the computer, extended her hand, and Fang Yuan knew what she was after.

"ID card."

"Here."

Fang Yuan took out his ID card and handed it over. His ID card was now linked to his Trainer ID; one could simply swipe it to access their registration details.

"Fang Yuan, student at Pingcheng No.1 Middle School, Trainer registration location Pingcheng Pokemon Center, beginner Pokémon is Eevee..."

After a quick verification of Fang Yuan's information, the registration lady nodded and said, "Here's your competition information. The back has instructions—don't lose it."

"If it gets lost, you can check the information with your Trainer ID on the official competition website."

"Thank you."

Fang Yuan took the palm-sized card and his ID card, then stepped out of the line.

His competitor number was... 444?

"Damn, that's not lucky at all." Seeing his competitor number, Fang Yuan was instantly dumbfounded. What was happening? Where was his 666?!

"Forget it, pulling 444 must also mean some kind of luck, good luck, it seems I'm quite fortunate."

After consoling himself, Fang Yuan noticed more details about the preliminaries on the back of his competitor number.

"Area E's No. 7 field, time is tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock..."

"My opponent's competitor number is 587."

"Being able to see the opponent's competitor number means that scouting out the opponent's information before the match is supported. Intelligence warfare is also an indispensable aspect of battling. But just a number, what does that mean..."

Fang Yuan was worried; he had no means to scout out information.

At the very least, he should know what kind of Pokémon his opponent had!

"This isn't right, I've seen something like this somewhere before."

After walking out of the registration area, Fang Yuan furrowed his brows, then quickly took out his phone and opened the official forum for the Little Phoenix King Cup.

Then he saw a post marked with a "Fire" symbol.

"Still worrying about not knowing your opponent's Pokémon information? Click here, and you won't regret it!"

Fang Yuan found that this post, which had the strong color of a small advertisement, was precisely for gathering information on opponents. This operation was so slick it made his scalp tingle.

"You just need to know the opponent's competitor number, and the price is like giving it away... Let's try it." Fang Yuan's mouth twitched.

After returning to the hotel, Fang Yuan immediately contacted the person following the post's instructions and paid a certain price to acquire his opponent's information, finally allowing him to rest easy.

At the same time, like Fang Yuan, Eevee too was waiting for information about its opponent. It too wanted to know who it would face in its first battle.

Ding...

In less than a minute, the reply came.

The details were sparse—no photo, no name, just the type of Pokémon his opponent had.

Competitor number 587, Pokémon, Lotad.