Afternoon.
A young female journalist walked about the arena.
Lu Shuang, an official journalist at Dawn News, felt very lucky.
Not only did she join one of the hottest live streaming platforms, Dawn, as an intern after graduation, but she also stumbled upon two hot topics in a row, easily signing a formal contract.
The competition for contracted journalists at Dawn News had always been fierce, but Lu Shuang, just starting her internship, gained a good reputation for interviewing a player named Fang Yuan, who was full of flashy moves, during the Little Phoenix King Cup. Later, due to Fang Yuan's championship victory, she reaped both professional success and acclaim.
Since then, Lu Shuang, driven by her outstanding professional instinct, quickly found another hot topic.
It was the gaming strategy paper that Fang Yuan had submitted.
She wanted to contact Fang Yuan immediately for an interview and then report on it extensively. She believed that with the gimmick "Shocking! A New Trainer Discovers a New Pokemon Ability," she could definitely attract a lot of attention.
Unfortunately...
Pingcheng No.1 Middle School had gotten ahead of Lu Shuang, capitalizing on the topic before her.
But, as someone who had previously interviewed Fang Yuan... Lu Shuang still managed to ride the wave of the topic a bit and secured her formal contract—a big win with no loss.
"Life is so wonderful."
As a newly recruited novice journalist, Lu Shuang was very fortunate again to join the Dawn News team responsible for covering the Su Province High School Pokémon Competitions.
After watching the opening ceremony, the gleam in her eyes never ceased.
She was determined to make another big scoop!
Now, she had indeed found the opportunity.
Because Lu Shuang saw her lucky star, Fang Yuan.
"That Fang Yuan student is the captain of the Pingcheng No.1 High School Team," Lu Shuang resolved after seeing Fang Yuan at the opening ceremony. She decided to follow and film Fang Yuan throughout this competition, putting in extra effort. If Fang Yuan achieved good results again, it would be beneficial for her as well.
...
Pokémon Arena, Section B, Field No.3.
Lu Shuang arrived early at the journalists' area and waited. Before long, she noticed Fang Yuan calmly proceeding towards the field.
"Just as expected of a New Trainer who has defeated Dojo Apprentices. Big sis has her eyes on you!!"
Fang Yuan's composed expression excited Lu Shuang. This time it should be a sure thing.
Meanwhile, Fang Yuan was unaware of the attention he was attracting. After asking the staff along the way, he finally arrived at the field before the competition started.
"For the selection exam, each field has three referees..."
Seeing the huge number of referees reminded Fang Yuan of the college entrance examination. The provincial government's emphasis on this competition, even if it wasn't as serious as the college entrance exam, was almost on par.
However, whether it's individual or team battles, the stages before the final match were all held on multiple fields simultaneously. The leaders definitely wouldn't make frequent appearances afterward.
Aside from the referees, there was also no shortage of spectators. Disregarding the teachers from other schools who came to scout, each school's own supporters had traveled along with their competitors, going wherever there was a match involving their school to cheer them on.
"This is your senior Fang Yuan, who is also the captain of our school team. Remember to cheer for him later!"
A teacher from the lower grades of Pingcheng No.1 Middle School brought the junior students to the spectators' section and earnestly instructed them.
"Senior Fang Yuan... he'll win, right?" The junior students all looked forward to seeing Fang Yuan's performance.
The captain... that was the face of a school.
"Huh..."
But, as the match was about to start and the teacher who came to cheer for Fang Yuan was a bit puzzled.
It seemed that only one of the main teachers leading Pingcheng No.1 Middle School had come to watch Fang Yuan???
Sweating, are they really so confident in their team captain's abilities?
...
"Liang Yan's situation this time is a bit grim, his opponent is the team captain of Pingcheng No.1 Middle School."
Meanwhile, at Lvcheng High School, the teachers who had come to watch the battle were looking surprised and serious.
Even though Fang Yuan's Pokemon was an Eevee, they dared not underestimate him; after all, the teachers of Pingcheng No.1 Middle School and the professional trainers of the Pingcheng Trainer Association weren't fools. If Fang Yuan didn't possess enough strong abilities, he definitely wouldn't be the team captain.
The odds of winning are not great...
They could only pray that Liang Yan would perform better and earn the approval of the three referees; that way, he might still have a chance to advance!
"Contestant Fang Yuan of Pingcheng No.1 Middle School, contestant Liang Yan of Lvcheng High School..."
Finally, the match was about to begin. Fang Yuan glanced at the time and then walked onto the field under the watchful eyes of the three referees.
Fang Yuan's opponent was a bespectacled man with a strong build. At the referee's command, both released their Pokemon.
On one side was a Golem, looking like a boulder some sizes larger than a Geodude.
On the other, an Eevee with a spirited and handsome gaze.
"Grrrr..." Even though Eevee didn't seem threatening, Liang Yan still swallowed nervously. He had been disoriented ever since he learned from his teacher that Fang Yuan was the captain of a rival school's team.
Even when the match began, he was still in a daze.
As the referee declared "Start of the match," Liang Yan nervously issued a command, "Golem, use Rock Slide to block Eevee's movements!"
Fang Yuan, however, just smiled at him without giving any orders.
For Eevee, the referee's voice was the command.
All tactical moves!
Before Liang Yan could finish speaking, Eevee had already launched two consecutive Shadow Balls. By the time Liang Yan completed his command and came to his senses, the Shadow Balls, fast as a blur, had already exploded on the dumbstruck Golem!
Boom!!
"Golem is unable to battle..."
Upon the referee's announcement, all the spectators were astounded. It's over??
Indeed, it was over.
"Yawn~~"
Watching its opponent fall, Eevee yawned out of boredom.
Its Spiral Shadow Ball wasn't for nothing. Practicing Spiral Shadow Ball with two bodies, from control to application, no one knew how much thought Eevee had put into it, how much effort it had expended. If it couldn't control the spin properly, how could it not master the ordinary Shadow Ball?
Originally, Yang Han and Zhuang Xin had described Eevee's Shadow Ball like this: within Pingcheng No.1 Middle School, only Liu Le's Little Kabigon could withstand this move, and Lin Jing's Growlithe could dodge it if prepared... As for the others, ninety percent would not escape a quick defeat.
"This Fang Yuan..."
The referees discussed among themselves, and the teachers from Lvcheng High School furrowed their brows tightly. The team captain from Pingcheng No.1 Middle School had unfathomably strong abilities and might be even stronger than what the data suggested.
Teachers from other schools who had come to gather intelligence also frowned and took note of this battle's process. These notes would likely be useful in later matches; they needed to pay special attention to this Fang Yuan.
"So cool!!"
Seeing Fang Yuan achieve victory so easily, the happiest were the teachers and students from Pingcheng No.1 Middle School, and the reporter Lu Shuang, who was shaking with excitement, unable to contain himself.
That trash-talking new trainer, has he now become a super rookie of few words?! People really do change.