The intense battles continued.
In the corridors of the Mercedes Sports Center, the cheers from the different arenas echoed, rising and falling.
This event was indeed a rare spectacle, bringing together major colleges and universities to vie for a chance to challenge the Magic City Gym and earn their badges.
"In Stadium C, the winner of the first round is Angela Shen from Magic City University!"
Angela Shen, with a serious expression, returned her scarred Granbull, feeling a slight sense of relief.
Thankfully, I didn't let Teacher Luke down.
Brushing aside the wet strands of black hair from her forehead, Angela Shen made her way back to Magic City University's lounge, only to find her teammates looking utterly astonished.
"Co, Coach Lu's Squirtle, is incredibly strong!" Wright mumbled.
Coach Zhai couldn't help but smile and nod in agreement. "Luke's training has been exceptionally effective."
Luke had only taken Squirtle under his wing for two weeks, and within that short time frame, Squirtle had decisively defeated QL Province's Rookie Champion, despite the type disadvantage. The rate of improvement was truly remarkable.
"You all should learn from Luke's training methods," Coach Zhai suggested earnestly. "If we can pick up even a fraction of his techniques, we won't have to work so hard."
The team members nodded in agreement.
A little while later, Captain Johnny returned to the lounge with a smile. "Mission accomplished without disgrace!"
All three contestants had made a strong start.
Coach Zhai felt a sense of relief. Truth be told, this school team was one of the weakest he had coached. However, with Luke's addition, everyone's strength was rapidly improving. It seemed that Luke was truly a role model for them.
"After this competition is over," Coach Zhai mused, "maybe I should reward him with a Secret Move or something..."
Meanwhile, Luke was in the pharmacy with Squirtle.
Squirtle, now fully restored thanks to a plethora of Top Rank Potions, looked ecstatic. "Uirt~!"
With so many Potions, Squirtle thought it could endure anything, even a beating from big sister!
Luke, on the other hand, had mixed feelings. Squirtle got knocked by Onix, and now he had to spend a small fortune on ten cans of Top Rank Potion? It almost felt like he was getting scammed!
The pharmacist was already grinning from ear to ear. "That will be 20,000 yuan in total. Thank you for your patronage!"
Squirtle looked at Luke with a questioning gaze. "Uirt~?"
Luke let out a resigned sigh. One million yuan for the bicycle was already a stretch, and now he had to add another 20,000 yuan for potions.
But Squirtle had performed admirably, and a little reward was well-deserved. Besides, with this many Top Rank Potions, they should last quite a while.
"Let's buy them!" Luke said resolutely.
Squirtle's eyes sparkled with delight, and in addition to the pharmacy, it had another great wish – to collect various items like Water Stones and Mystic Water. This would allow it to better serve its master.
Seeing Luke's unwavering agreement, Squirtle's determination to develop steadily was reinforced.
"Uirt~..."
Squirtle gazed at Luke's face, its eyes brimming with emotion, and nodded slowly.
It was clear that its master understood its thoughts perfectly.
The schedule for the Open Challenge was packed to the brim.
In the afternoon, the promotion lists for the branch venues were posted.
The unexpected elimination of QL Province's Rookie Champion left many people bewildered.
"Duan Cheng earned the QL Province Badge... and then got eliminated like this?"
Tommy Lu, who had no connection with Luke, was dumbfounded on the bus. "Could it have been a non-professional student?"
At the bulletin board, Chen Tingyu, the Rookie Champion from BA Province's Hutstate City, wore a stern expression and furrowed his brow. "Haven't you been watching Teacher Luke's live broadcasts?"
"Huh?" Tommy Lu scratched his head, looking somewhat surprised.
"I don't usually follow that kind of information... Who's Teacher Luke?"
"No wonder..." Chen Tingyu coldly nodded. "That explains why you're making such a fuss."
Tommy Lu was left speechless.
"Why... Aren't you all college students? The difference can't be that huge, can it?"
Watching Chen Tingyu's indifferent departure, Tommy Lu muttered to himself, took out his phone, and started searching for 'Teacher Luke.'
With an air of arrogance and disdain, Tommy Lu clicked on a video. After listening for less than three minutes, his expression turned peculiar.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Tommy Lu's forehead.
"This Spike Squad tutorial... it's way too detailed!"
Tommy Lu's uncle had once used Spike Squad to win championships. But even with that experience, he couldn't help but feel that Teacher Luke's understanding was on another level.
Wiping away the sweat from his brow, Tommy Lu decided to watch a live video recording and was stunned.
Once you set your eyes on that handsome and charming young man, you couldn't easily forget him.
"Wait a minute... Isn't this guy the one who came to stir up the fish pond?"
...
Suddenly, Teacher Luke sneezed.
Fresh from a battle, he had taken Squirtle to the pharmacy. With the pharmacist's utmost respect, Squirtle picked up two cans of Top Rank Potion spray and applied it carefully to its turtle shell, which had lost a layer of paint.
Squirtle felt quite emotional.
Sandslash from Z-University really lived up to its reputation. A simple touch, and it nearly left claw marks on my shell!
After the recent battle, Squirtle had purchased ten cans of Top Rank Potion.
Luke's expression was rather complex.
"Why do I always feel like I'm at a loss...? Losing 20,000 yuan in just one battle..."
Despite being unharmed, he had already visited the Pokémon Center. But Squirtle remained cautious, applying Potion with great care from start to finish.
Squirtle proudly declared, "Uirt~!ヽ(￣▽￣)ﾉ," tossing the empty spray can aside and pulling out two new potion sprays.
Luke couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. The number '-4000' seemed to be dancing on Squirtle's head again, even though it had no injuries at all. Squirtle was being overly cautious.
...
The first day of the competition came to a close.
The winners of the eight venues had been determined and were now eligible to challenge Gym Leader Tang Hui.
For many participants, the 1 million prize money was insignificant compared to Magic City Gym's "Stored Power" and "Calm Mind" Move Secrets.
With these Move Secrets, even non-Psychic-type Pokémon could greatly enhance their mental power through training.
Luke rubbed his chin and pondered aloud, "Hmm... I have a feeling these two Move Secrets aren't as valuable as 1 million. Well, I can always give them to Eevee to play with."
If he needed training methods like "Calm Mind," he could just ask Sabrina to provide guidance. The 1 million prize money would be more immediately useful for paying off Squirtle's Water Stone debt.
Satisfied with his decision, Luke thought about the Gym Leader challenge.
Tang Hui was the only officially recognized Gym Leader by the Association in Magic City, so his strength should not be underestimated. The performance in the Gym challenge was linked to the bonus, and it seemed Luke would have to face the Gym Leader eventually.
Luke looked up at the sky, wondering if he could just make it through the competition without challenging the Gym Leader. However, Gym Leader Tang Hui would likely provide a strong challenge since Luke didn't have a Badge.
Coach Zhai must be expecting this, right?
In a standard Gym 3v3 match, the Gym Leader would select different reserve teams based on the challenger's number of Badges. Since Luke didn't have a Badge, Tang Hui's Pokémon wouldn't be too strong in theory.
But Tang Hui was still a Gym-level Trainer, and the challenge would be risky.
Luke rubbed his chin and thought aloud, "I guess I'll let Haunter give it a try. We're not after the bonus; we just don't want any injuries."
Haunter, who was busy slurping noodles, perked up when it heard Luke's call. It wiped sauce off its face with its tongue and nodded in agreement.
"Jie jie~? (￣～￣)"
So, you want me to face the Gym Leader directly... without getting injured?