Pokémon: Starting With An Overpowered Gameboy Advance

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"Trainer for water racing, sign up here!"

Chris followed the sound and found a place to sign up for the water race in the square.

However, there was no rush to sign up. Chris first needed to understand the event, focusing on the rewards before considering whether to participate.

If the rewards were ordinary Water Stones or similar items, Chris wasn't interested.

Grabbing a manual at the door, Chris gathered some general knowledge about water racing.

Alto Mare's water competition had four levels: Rookie, Official, Talent, and Master.

"It looks like a fairly regular event," Chris mused, rubbing his chin. But what he really wanted to see were the rewards—rewards!

The rewards for the first three levels of competition didn't catch his interest. Even the first place prize in the Talent-level competition—one million Pokédollars, a rare Pokémon egg, rare skill TMs, and rare evolution items—seemed underwhelming.

Among the rewards, the Rare Skill TM was mildly intriguing, but nothing else stood out.

The real prizes were at the Master level.

First place in the Masters competition included five million Pokédollars, a random Pokémon Mega Evolution Stone, and the title of "Guardian of Water."

Second place offered three million Pokédollars, random high-level Pokémon items, and rare Pokémon evolution stones.

Third place came with a million Pokédollars and random advanced Pokémon items.

The chance to win a random Pokémon Mega Evolution Stone for first place was enticing! Even second or third place offered exclusive Pokémon items, which weren't bad.

But... it was daunting.

Rookie tournaments were held weekly, Official tournaments monthly, Talent tournaments quarterly, and the Masters tournament annually.

Only by finishing in the top three at each level could a participant advance to the next.

With enough skill, one could theoretically compete in all four levels during the month of the Masters tournament and go straight for the championship—but the difficulty was unimaginable.

The Masters tournament was held in August, during summer vacation.

It was still nine months away.

The Breaker would only stay in Alto Mare for two days, so Chris pondered whether he should start at the Rookie level and aim for future participation.

But unfortunately, this week's Rookie class competition had already ended—it was held earlier that morning.

He would have to wait another week for the next water race.

"Trainer, do you want to participate in the Summer Carnival Water Race~~?" called the uncle at the registration desk as he noticed Chris standing at the door, reading the booklet.

"Summer Carnival Water Race?" Chris flipped through the booklet, finding no mention of it.

"Look at this!" The uncle pointed to a board at the door.

Chris saw the bold letters: "Summer Carnival Water Race." Below the title was an introduction to the event.

The Summer Carnival Water Contest was a competition for tourists. Winning it awarded the "Alto Mare Medal of Excellence," a prize on par with the Masters championship trophy in terms of rarity.

Both the Carnival and Masters competitions were annual events. The Carnival was scheduled for 7 a.m. the day after tomorrow.

"If I can't participate in the Rookie class competition, I could join the Summer Carnival," Chris thought. Winning the Alto Mare Medal of Excellence would appeal to his collector's spirit.

But...

"Isn't winter coming soon? How is this still the Summer Carnival?" Chris asked curiously.

"This year's Summer Carnival Water Race was delayed due to some reasons," the uncle explained casually, offering no further details.

Chris began to think about the Water-type Pokémon he could use for the water races.

Among his Water-type Pokémon, Greninja was the one he had primarily trained. But would it be enough?

Chris suddenly remembered seeing a Totodile zipping along the river with a girl cheering beside it. If Totodile could manage it, why couldn't Greninja?

Of course, it could!

Greninja might look slender, but Pokémon and humans had entirely different physiques. Greninja's agility and strength on land must translate to exceptional swimming speed!

Now that he had decided on which Water-type Pokémon to use, Chris needed to buy a racing boat—a specialized vessel designed for water racing.

Several shops near the registration area sold racing boats, so Chris chose one at random to browse.

The prices, however, left him stunned.

A regular racing boat cost 20,000 Pokédollars.

A competition-grade racing boat was 50,000 Pokédollars.

And a luxury racing boat? A whopping 200,000 Pokédollars!

Alternatively, he could rent one: the ordinary version for 200 Pokédollars a day, or the competition-grade one for 500 Pokédollars a day. These prices were standardized across the Water Capital, so shopping around didn't make much difference.

From a practical standpoint, the prices were steep, especially the luxury racing boat, clearly marketed toward the wealthy elite.

But as luck would have it, Chris was wealthy.

"Luxury racing boat, bought! 200,000 Pokédollars—pocket change!" he declared.

Chris chose a sleek black racing boat accented with golden wave-like stripes. The boat's built-in foot straps provided extra stability, while its high-quality, lightweight yet collision-resistant metal construction made it stand out. It was as close to a top-tier racing vessel as the competition rules allowed.

As an added bonus, the shop owner included two special ropes for tethering Pokémon. These ropes were designed to secure the Pokémon without restricting their movement, maximizing their speed while helping the rider stay balanced. The owner even gave Chris a hands-on tutorial on using the ropes effectively.

Before Chris left, the shopkeeper also gifted him two pairs of gloves, designed to prevent rope burns while gripping the lines. Judging by the quality of the gloves, Chris suspected that part of the 200,000 Pokédollars he spent went toward these extras.

With his equipment in hand, Chris was eager to experience the thrill of water racing immediately. But by then, it was already 7 p.m., and the waterways were shrouded in darkness. Racing boats were strictly prohibited from speeding through Alto Mare's narrow channels at night.

Even the city's iconic passenger boats had stopped operating for the day.

Reluctantly, Chris packed everything away, resolving to test it all out the next day.

Before heading offline for the night, Chris stopped by the nearest Pokémon Center to ensure his team was in perfect condition.