Shop System In Pokemon World

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Roy returned to his hotel and immediately contacted his network of connections. He called Professor Christian, Elon, and acquaintances like Avery from University of Science and Technology whom he had met during the college league tournaments.

For matters like this, Roy had already established his own information network rather than bothering Elite-level trainers with routine inquiries.

Soon, Roy received comprehensive information about Arlo.

Arlo was exactly twenty-five years old, positioned right at the upper age limit for youth competition eligibility. He was a professional-level trainer who had only gained recognition within the past year. His primary activity area was near Yun Province, and he specialized in Dark-type and Steel-type Pokemon. The photograph in his file matched exactly with the person Roy had encountered.

There appeared to be no previous conflicts or grudges between them, which made Roy wonder why he had become a target.

Being marked by a professional trainer might have caused other people to panic and immediately pack their belongings to return home.

However, Roy was confident in his various capabilities and strategies. He still carried the emergency teleportation scroll that Caroline had given him, which would allow him to escape even in a worst-case scenario.

He decided to remain alert and adapt to whatever situation developed.

The next day, Roy arrived punctually at the Battle Tower and registered at the competition counter.

Due to his tower-climbing performance the previous day, many people around him had recognized him and were whispering among themselves.

"That's him - supposedly the strongest genius from China right now."

"At the same age, I wonder how he compares to Lady Zenia?"

"I heard he can defeat professional-level trainers, but I doubt Zenia could do that."

"Ha! Those battle videos must have been staged by the Chinese government. It's impossible for anyone to break through the professional barrier at that age."

The crowd was filled with curiosity, wonder, and doubt, but notably absent was any praise or support.

This was completely different from Roy's experiences competing in China. When he competed domestically, even when he wasn't favored to win, there were always fans supporting him. Even during his early days at Capital University, he had admirers cheering for him based on his appearance alone.

But in foreign territory, the atmosphere was entirely different.

In fact, due to his extremely high reputation and evaluation in China, he could detect clear malice in the surrounding gazes. Many seemed eager to witness him lose and return home in defeat.

'So this is what they mean by the difference between home and away games when competing internationally,' Roy thought with interest.

Pokemon competitions determined a country's international influence and prestige, which had created an extremely polarized phenomenon.

One nation's hero was another's enemy.

Although Roy hadn't yet achieved "hero" status, he undoubtedly possessed that potential. He would likely become a major obstacle in future international competitions. Europeans naturally hoped he would fail to live up to his reputation or be eliminated quickly.

"Today begins the preliminary rounds," the counter attendant said with a cold, unwelcoming attitude, showing no trace of a smile.

"This is your number plate - contestant 777 in Group B. The competition venue is on the first floor."

Roy shrugged, accepted the number plate, and walked away.

The entry threshold for the European Youth Championships was deliberately set low, while the prizes were extraordinarily valuable, resulting in massive numbers of applicants with widely varying skill levels.

If they conducted traditional tournament brackets with individual matches, the competition would take an impossibly long time to complete.

Therefore, the first stage of preliminaries wasn't held as actual "battles" but instead tested the raw power of Pokemon moves.

Only trainers whose Pokemon ranked in the top 500 for move power would advance to the second preliminary stage.

This system efficiently screened out the vast majority of trainers attempting to compete far above their skill level, saving considerable time and resources.

Soon, Roy arrived at the venue that occupied the entire first floor of the Battle Tower.

"So many people..." Roy muttered in amazement.

The arena was enormous, with stadium seating that could accommodate up to 70,000 spectators.

The move power testing was divided into four simultaneous areas - A, B, C, and D. Each area featured a single arena equipped with specialized machinery designed to measure move power and durability.

Roy made his way to the edge of the arena marked "Area B," where thousands of contestants were waiting in organized lines.

The participants represented every imaginable ethnicity and nationality, truly demonstrating the global scope of the competition.

Roy encountered several Korean trainers who initially mistook him for a compatriot, but after hearing him speak Chinese, they walked away with expressions of disappointment and hostility.

Finding a place to sit, Roy observed the ongoing move power testing in the arena.

The current trainer had brown skin and wore clothing suggesting Middle Eastern origins.

His Pokemon was an exceptionally muscular Machamp with impressive physical development.

"Focus Punch," the trainer commanded.

The preliminaries only tested move power, not execution speed, making Pokemon capable of Focus Energy and power-building techniques particularly advantageous.

Machamp took a deep breath and assumed a charging stance with all four arms. After five seconds of concentration, it launched all four fists simultaneously toward the testing apparatus with tremendous force.

The impact was thunderous! The power was sufficient to demolish a small mountain, yet it only caused the testing machine to tremble without sustaining any visible damage.

The machine immediately displayed a score: 523 points.

The spectators erupted in excited discussion.

"That's the new highest score in Group B!"

"That power level is approaching professional grade, isn't it?"

"Focus Energy charging moves like that take too long to be practical in real combat, though."

Roy observed with genuine interest.

This Machamp hadn't reached professional level, but could deliver a single blow that exceeded its normal limits. While the extended charging time made Focus Punch impractical in actual battles, it demonstrated exceptional training and breeding quality.

This particular Middle Eastern trainer hadn't appeared in any of Arlo's intelligence reports, confirming that the tournament truly contained hidden talents.

"Number 457! Contestant number 457, please prepare for testing."

The Group B announcement echoed through the arena.

As contestant 457 appeared, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly intensified, followed immediately by thunderous cheers from the spectators.

"Go Lady Zenia!"

"Show these foreigners the brilliance of France's finest!"

The competitor who entered the arena was a young woman with golden wavy hair, pale skin, and delicate, beautiful facial features. She wore a dignified purple dress in an elegant, conservative style.

The dress wasn't fashioned in the modern Lolita style but resembled the more traditional Victorian era, with no excess skin exposed and impeccably proper coverage.

Despite the enthusiastic cheers from her supporters, Zenia showed no emotional response and made no acknowledgment of the crowd. She walked gracefully onto the field, and at some point, a Poke Ball had appeared in her hand, which she threw with practiced precision.

Light flashed brilliantly.

The Pokemon that materialized was a humanoid bipedal frog with a dark blue body and legs, large white bubbles on each limb, four-pointed star markings on its legs, and a pink scarf around its neck.

"Greninja," Roy recognized immediately.

He was extremely familiar with this Pokemon. Ash's bond-evolution Greninja had left a lasting impression on viewers worldwide, and Roy had always admired this particular species.

"Water Shuriken," Zenia commanded in a flat, emotionless tone.

Greninja formed hand seals in front of itself, and instantly, more than a dozen identical copies appeared through Double Team.

Immediately, several shurikens formed from concentrated water appeared in the hands of each Greninja clone.

The individual shurikens were small, resembling throwing darts.

But in the next moment, all the Greninja clones hurled their shurikens simultaneously, and dozens of water projectiles merged together to form one massive water shuriken with meter-long blades.

This application technique gave Roy an increasing sense of familiarity.

In the following instant, Greninja grasped the enormous water shuriken and launched it at the testing apparatus.

Water exploded and churned violently as the testing machine swayed dramatically under the impact.

The score appeared: 674 points.

If 500+ points represented just crossing the A+ level boundary and approaching professional grade, then move power exceeding 600 points had undoubtedly reached true professional level.

Several foreign contestants who were unfamiliar with Zenia displayed shocked expressions.

So this was France's strongest current genius...

"That massive shuriken only took two seconds to form and launch. It's definitely applicable in real combat," Roy analyzed thoughtfully.

Double Team normally created mere illusions, but using phantoms to execute genuine Water Shuriken attacks, and even having the phantoms amplify the original's power, indicated that these two techniques had been significantly modified and enhanced.

Ash's Greninja had only achieved similar feats after undergoing the incredible "bond evolution" transformation.

This application method was undoubtedly a high-level Water-type secret technique.

Using non-professional level Pokemon to generate attacks comparable to professional-level Z-Moves - without technically violating regulations - was something even Roy could only accomplish with a limited number of moves.

Zenia's demonstration made all subsequent performances seem lackluster by comparison.

No one paid attention to the testing candidates who followed, as everyone was discussing the incredible strength of that Greninja. This was also partly because none of the subsequent testers managed to exceed 500 points.

One contestant even scored only 100 points, drawing laughter and mockery from the crowd.

Finally, the announcement came: "Number 777! Contestant number 777, please prepare for testing!"

Roy stood up and walked into the arena.

The previously casual audience suddenly became alert, recognizing this as the Chinese genius who had dominated the Battle Tower the previous day.

"I want to see exactly how many points he can score."

"It has to be lower than Lady Zenia's."

"Hard to say. Our country has recently established several laboratories to study Z-Moves, which proves they're legitimate. If Roy uses a Z-Move, he'll definitely exceed 600 points."

"Ha! Then he's only strong because of Z-Moves."

Off the arena floor, Zenia, who had been resting with her eyes closed, slowly opened them upon hearing the crowd's commotion and directed an evaluating gaze toward Roy.

On the field, Roy's facial features had become sharper after his recent mental strength improvements, and he felt genuinely annoyed by the surrounding noise.

Based on Roy's observations, anyone scoring 500 or above would advance to the second preliminary stage. He had originally planned to simply have Lucario perform a routine demonstration to achieve the minimum required score, seeing no wisdom in revealing his capabilities during preliminaries.

During his entrance examination at Capital University, Roy had thought Cade was too immature and arrogant for exposing his "psychic" abilities prematurely.

But now, Roy suddenly understood those feelings.

The constant negativity was genuinely irritating.

Therefore, he reconsidered his approach.

'The audience is being so disrespectful,' Roy thought, reaching for a different Poke Ball.

"Let me give them something to be quiet about."

Roy's hand moved past Lucario's ball toward another option entirely. The crowd was about to witness something they weren't prepared for.