After leaving the venue, Ashborn went straight back to the hotel and released Dragonair, allowing it to eat the tomato fruit.
Dragonair had eaten tomato fruit before, and now there were about 30 of the 100 remaining.
"How about it? Do you feel any resistance to ice-type moves?"
Ashborn asked, noticing Dragonair quickly finished the fruit with an satisfied expression, suggesting the tomato fruit was quite tasty.
"Draa..," Dragonair paused for a moment, then nodded.
"About 3.5 times weaker."
Ashborn, possessing Aura, could roughly understand Dragonair's meaning.
70 fruits would reduce the damage of ice-type moves by 0.5 times. Although Dragonair could eat these without limit, it was unclear how many tomato fruits were needed to reduce ice-type damage by 1 time. The amount consumed would multiply later on.
The daily quest rewards were random, and the chance of receiving tomato fruit was relatively small. There were 18 kinds of fruit that weakened Type attacks.
Of course, Ashborn could also buy them from the system mall. Each fruit that weakened a Type attack cost 1,000 points, which was too expensive. A price of 100 points would be more reasonable.
"Draa," Dragonair whispered softly, its beautiful eyes shining with a covetous light, as if asking Ashborn if he had more tomato fruit.
"No, no, I'll save them for you in the future,"
Ashborn hurriedly shook his head, unable to bear Dragonair's longing gaze.
"draa," Dragonair responded with a disappointed expression, looking pitiful, which made Ashborn sigh helplessly.
"Two, I can only give you two more, no more."
"weeee!!"
Dragonair nodded immediately, excitement and success flashing in its eyes. Its tail wagged excitedly, as if possessed by a Growlithe.
Gritting his teeth, Ashborn bought two tomato fruits from the system space, instantly reducing his points by 2,000.
"Here," he said, handing the tomato fruit to Dragonair. Dragonair didn't eat it immediately but rubbed its head against Ashborn's cheek before consuming the fruit.
Ashborn had a relatively cold temperament and didn't actively make friends.
Currently, his only friend was Terry, Even Stephanie, Warner, and Zekiel were, at most, teammates and classmates.
This indifference disappeared when it came to Pokémon. For Ashborn, Pokémon were his partners and family.
At ten in the morning, Ashborn, who was scrolling through his phone in bed, received a PokeChat message from Terry:
"Come out for lunch, Stephanie and I are waiting for you in the lobby."
Ashborn replied, "OK."
The Conference had arranged for all contestants to stay in this hotel. Most contestants didn't come alone and were accompanied by their families.
It was lunchtime, and the hotel lobby was already bustling with people eating and discussing the Conference.
Ashborn entered the hall and was quickly recognized. Many people even took out their phones to take pictures of him.
In the team match against Lincheng Middle School, Ashborn single-handedly defeated three opponents, including future pseudo-legendaries like Mega Evolution's Venusaur and Pupitar.
This team competition led many to believe Ashborn would achieve a top-three or even first-place finish in the individual competition.
When the individual competition began, Ashborn displayed even greater strength than in the team competition, becoming a popular candidate for the championship.
However, due to Ashborn's aloof aura, no one dared to approach him for a photo or a greeting.
"Here," Terry's voice called out as Ashborn searched for him and Stephanie in the hall. He spotted Terry waving at him.
"Honestly, I forgot to ask you for lunch. Did you eat in your room?" Terry complained as Ashborn sat down.
"Did you two lose the game?"
Ashborn asked, looking at the dejected Warner and Zekiel, both exuding an aura of defeat.
They nodded bitterly. Terry had already informed them that both Stephanie and Ashborn had been admitted to Imperial College in advance.
They had hoped to perform well in the individual competition and secure a spot at a top university.
However, both had suffered a defeat, only making it into the top 30.
"Who were your opponents?" Ashborn inquired while enjoying his meal.
The two were skilled and should have placed within the top 15. Since they lost, it was likely due to their opponents' strength.
"Zekiel faced Oliver Chirst, and Warner faced the Gengar Trainer from Lincheng Middle School," Terry revealed with a hint of schadenfreude.
After all, in a sense, the two of them could also become his opponents in the individual competitions.
"The luck of you two is the same as Stephanie's. It seems that I am the only European Emperor on our team," Terry boasted, quite proud of himself.
Luck is also a kind of strength.
"You're so proud. Let's see if you win the afternoon game first,"
Warner retorted, unable to stand Terry's triumphant attitude. He glared at Terry, rather unhappy.
"A mere Bug Type Trainer. You think they'll be a match for me, a Fire Trainer?" Terry scoffed.
"Scum," Zekiel remarked, sharing Warner's displeasure.
He couldn't deny Terry's good luck.
When the competition narrowed from 60 to 30, Terry's opponent was a Grass-type trainer, and when it went from 30 to 15, his opponent was a Bug Type trainer.
His main Pokémon, Charizard, was Fire and Flying-type, both of which were strong against Bug-type Pokémon.
"Hahaha, I just love the look on your faces. You're clearly envious and jealous of me, but you can't do anything about it,"
Terry laughed proudly, with Zekiel and Warner as his spoils The food in front of him tasted even better.
"Don't get too cocky. At the end of today's games, the Conference will resurrect one player from the eliminated contestants to make up 16 players. I still have a chance," Warner declared, vowing to leave "Black stars" and join the "Unicorn Union" that night.
All the eliminated trainers shared Warner's sentiment, imagining themselves as the lucky ones to be drawn back into the competition.
"Ashborn, my match is at two o'clock this afternoon, at the fifth venue. You have to come and cheer for me this time," Terry said, ignoring Warner's words.
Black stars were Black stars, and they would never become Togetian emperors, he thought to himself.
"Just watch me defeat three of them with Charizard!"
The thought of Ashborn defeating three Pokémon with Metagross that morning made Terry's blood boil, even though he knew he couldn't replicate that feat.
But with Charizard, a one-versus-three victory should be possible. After all, his opponent was a Bug Type Trainer, and their strength was definitely not as formidable.
Among the eighteen types, Bug Type was relatively weak at the same level, so Bug Type Trainers were often underestimated.
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Ara ara ~~ Sayo nara~~