Jinling has two major centers.
One is the Jinling Olympic Sports Center, and the other is the Jinling Elf Sports Center.
Even though the Elf Sports Center is not as large as the Olympic Sports Center, as a national-level comprehensive Pokémon Competition center, it has also earned numerous honors, having been chosen multiple times as the venue for national competitions.
With the capacity for the province's high school Pokémon battle league of two hundred players, holding it at such a sports center is more than adequate.
Water Arena, Rock Arena, Grass Arena, Ice Arena, Sky Battlefield...
As well as some mixed-type arenas, all will make an appearance in this competition.
"The design inspiration for the sports center comes from the admiration of clouds in the sky and from the blessings for the thriving Pokémon Competitions in Hua Nation. The theme of the design concept is 'Freedom and Competition,'" explained a teacher.
4.19.
The competing team from Pingcheng No.1 Middle School had already arrived in Jinling, at the Jinling Elf Sports Center.
In addition to the ten team members, the group was led by Ping City Trainer Association Professional Trainer Zhuang Xin, Pingcheng No.1 Middle School's Director of Teaching Wu Pingqiu, and two teachers from Pingcheng No.1 Middle School, including Teacher Bai Ning.
This was the first batch of people from Pingcheng No.1 Middle School.
Once the competition officially begins, various school authorities will certainly come as well.
Moreover, some teachers from the first and second year, junior students, and families of the competitors will come to form a cheer squad and audience.
If they are fortunate enough to make it to the end, perhaps even the third-year students, currently engulfed in intense preparation, could come here to watch the games for a couple of days.
Of course, if Pingcheng No.1 Middle School's team gets eliminated on the first day, then it's all for nothing!
Utterly tragic.
"So white, so big," Liu Le touched the spotlessly clean white wall and looked at the grand scale of the arena, remarking aloud.
"I don't want to lose. Competing in such a place, with juniors cheering us on, industry bigwigs watching, and media interviews, losing would be too embarrassing," he said. "Boss, can I borrow that dictionary of yours that doesn't have the word 'lose' in it?"
Fang Yuan was annoyed, why do you talk so much.
Can't you be like your boss, a quiet, handsome man?
"Why... why... why exactly..." Zhou Xueyao held Lin Jing's hand, feeling a bit resentful. Just now, they had seen another school's team, all decked out in uniformly customized beautiful team uniforms, whereas they were only in school uniforms.
The thought that perhaps nineteen schools were all in gorgeous team uniforms, and only they were in school uniforms made not only Zhou Xueyao but also the other competing players feel disheartened.
"Let's go register first, and then I will take you to the players' village. After you guys settle in, you can freely visit the sports center. Volunteers will be here all day today," Zhuang Xin clapped his hands and said.
Upon hearing this, the ten team members all beamed, eagerly awaiting this very statement.
...
The players' village at the Jinling Elf Sports Center is where competitors who come for a match stay.
Within the village, there are 18 training grounds and battle arenas of varying sizes and types.
Beyond that, there's also a designated restaurant providing meals and a Spirit Hospital responsible for checking the Pokémon's conditions.
The competing team from Pingcheng No.1 Middle School stayed in the northern part of the village.
At this time, teams from other schools had started moving in one after another. They hadn't arrived particularly early, and feeling the atmosphere around them, the ten students from Pingcheng No.1 Middle School were somewhat excited.
"Now that's what I call a presence," Fang Yuan muttered to himself.
What a joke that Little Phoenix King Cup is, they even make me, the champion, find my own hotel and don't reimburse the accommodation expenses…
After checking into the room, Liu Le soon found Fang Yuan and asked, "Boss, do you want to go check out the battle arenas later?"
"What's there to see at the battle arenas? We don't have Water Arenas or Ice Arenas at Pingcheng No.1 Middle School, haven't you seen them on TV?" Fang Yuan's remark made Liu Le realize, yeah, what's there to see at the battle arenas.
"Shouldn't we get familiar with the location of the different competition zones then?"
"At that time, there will surely be someone to guide us... volunteers... staff members, etc., so no need to worry about not finding the competition spots." Fang Yuan reasoned.
"That's true."
Liu Le was convinced by Fang Yuan's argument and asked, "But we can't just stay here, right?"
Fang Yuan chuckled and said, "I want to go gather some intelligence."
Liu Le was immediately baffled and asked, "How are you going to do that?"
The competition hasn't officially started yet, and each school's knowledge about the other schools' contestants is limited, at most to the Pokémon species and personal background.
But for trainers like Fang Yuan who have participated in some small competitions, videos of their battles might also be dug up.
However, the competitions Fang Yuan participated in are so old that there are only one or two useful references, and even after analyzing them thoroughly, the insights into Eevee's capabilities are still unclear.
After all, at the novice stage, every trainer is progressing rapidly.
This time it's an official competition, and every school will take it seriously. If the friendly matches can be taken lightly, no one dares to underestimate the official competitions since winning or losing directly affects the school's educational funding and honor.
The school provides free nutritional supplements to team members, focuses on rigorous training, and the participating team members strive for glory for the school, creating a mutually beneficial and joyful situation for all.
Fang Yuan said, "We'll explore through battling. Anyway, our team's coach hasn't said we can't battle today, what if the other schools' coaches haven't either?"
Liu Le was shocked. Not revealing one's strength before the competition and avoiding intense battles are basic common sense, aren't they? Doesn't it go without saying?
But ultimately, Fang Yuan is cunning and strategic.
"I'll use Little Magnetic Monster and see if I can challenge some participants from other schools. There are so many arenas here, it would be a waste not to use them." Fang Yuan cleaned his ears.
"Oh my..."
Liu Le finally understood that Fang Yuan wasn't actually going to gather enemy intelligence but wanted to utilize these participants to grind some experience points for his second Pokémon...
...
So, while the other members of their school went to visit the various arenas at the sports center, Fang Yuan and Liu Le slipped away.
Zhuang Xin didn't worry about Fang Yuan and Liu Le; he trusted Fang Yuan quite a bit.
Actually, not every school's contestant wants to visit the sports center. For example, the local students from Jinling are likely to be so familiar with the place that it would be unnecessary to spend time visiting.
Instead, it might be better to go to a nearby supermarket to stock up on daily necessities or buy some snacks to stash in the contestants' dormitory to stave off hunger in the middle of the night.
"Do you recognize that school uniform?"
In the contestants' village, Fang Yuan and Liu Le walked past a small store.
Looking through the transparent glass at two girls wearing red school uniforms who were shopping, Fang Yuan's eyes lit up and he said.
They must be the contestants, right? Hopefully, they'll accept a challenge...