Chapter 603: A Great Victory in the Preliminaries

On the mountain foothills.

The noisy crowd lined both sides of the road, cheerfully waving colorful flags in their hands.

"Go for it! Go for it!"

"Baimu, I'm rooting for you!"

"Ya— Baimu-kun—"

As the torchbearer, Baimu ran against the wind with steady breathing, the torch in his right hand held as level as if fitted with a spirit level.

Behind him was a massive Aggron, its thick silver-white metal armor glinting in the sunlight, making it look like a moving heavy assault tank; every step it took made the ground tremble.

Its thick, long horns stabbed diagonally toward the sky, and calm composure settled in its azure pupils.

Many onlookers took one look and felt this metal beast was truly awe-inspiring; when it passed right by them, they instinctively held their breath.

They only came back to their senses once Aggron had run off into the distance.

Was it very scary?

Not really — these people simply had sharper senses and had picked up on the oppressive aura Aggron radiated from its sheer power.

The reason they could become so enamored with Pokémon battles was precisely because the auras released by powerful Pokémon stimulated their bodies, triggering the secretion of various hormones that made them feel thrilled and excited.

On another level, it's pretty much the same as taking part in extreme sports with an element of danger.

Of course.

This was merely a small interlude during Baimu's torch relay.

The true stars were still the torch in his hand, the drones in the sky, the motorcade clearing the way ahead and blocking the rear, and the spectators on both sides — all of them had their gazes locked firmly on the torch at this moment.

The on-site live broadcast reporter patiently explained the origins of the sacred flame to the camera, then talked up past editions of the Lily of the Valley Conference, before handing the microphone off to the livestream hosts.

And so it went, round and round.

Until the sacred flame safely reached the entrance of the Lily of the Valley Conference venue.

Media from all sides surged forward in a frenzy of photos; reporters praised Baimu in rising tones for not being out of breath at all, along with the Aggron guarding him from behind like an escort.

"After a slow jog of a full fifteen kilometers, competitor Baimu is still perfectly composed, showing off his extraordinary physique and jogging ability — let us look forward to his performance at the Conference!"

At the same moment.

Guided by three Officer Jennys, Baimu alone safely delivered the torch into its storage case.

He deliberately took a look around at the people and objects nearby.

He didn't spot anything suspicious.

Then again, that kind of flashy move of stealing the sacred flame had only been pulled off by the Team Rocket trio over all these years; ordinary thieves, even if they wanted to make a name for themselves, wouldn't casually make themselves a target for everyone to attack.

Besides, messing with the Conference's sacred flame — were they worried there weren't enough hot-blooded trainers around?

"Good work, good luck in the competition!"

Carrying the Officer Jennys' well-wishes, Baimu regrouped with the others at the second-floor rest area of the Pokémon Center.

Brock had recently gathered intel on plenty of trainers and big sisters through various channels and was itching to share — just the former, though.

"There are a lot of strong trainers this edition, you'll have to watch out."

He was holding a palm-sized notebook, filled with the names of numerous trainers and their commonly used Pokémon.

Iris listened very attentively, nodding again and again. "Ooh, ooh!"

Baimu, meanwhile, had Porygon-II cross-check it, to see how much of its own data overlapped with the competitor info Brock had collected, and how much differed, so as to compile a more detailed intel booklet to share with Iris.

To know both oneself and the enemy is to be victorious in every battle.

This saying plays a pivotal role in Pokémon battles.

After all, first-strike kills and intel warfare were the two tactics Baimu used most often in his Gym battles.

Before every challenge, he would use intel gathered online to deepen his understanding of the Gym Leader's commonly used Pokémon and devise tactics around that.

The Gym Leader, on the other hand, beyond the evaluation of Baimu from the previous Gym battle and a small amount of Pokémon data, basically had no other information that could play a decisive role.

This information gap once made Baimu's Gym battles go especially smoothly — he often obtained the Badge without a single one of his Pokémon fainting.

"In short, you've got to be on your guard!"

Brock's tone was solemn, but the moment he turned to the next page, he became unserious again. "Next one, ahem, the next beautiful lady is from Veilstone City, her favorite color is pink, her favorite food is ramen…"

Baimu twitched the corner of his mouth, not much interested in hearing this guy show off his XP, and silently pulled out his phone and opened it.

On the screen was a boy of about fourteen.

Miss Liuqi caught it from the corner of her eye, leaned over for a peek, and said: "Is he your preliminary-round opponent?"

The moment those words were spoken.

Volkner and the others also looked over curiously.

Baimu nodded and said: "Pretty strong — he took part in Sinnoh's Lily of the Valley Conference before."

After the sacred flame arrived.

The Lily of the Valley Conference entered its initialization phase.

Similar to the Conference procedure in the simulator, competitors had to first take part in the preliminaries, where over five hundred rivals would be whittled down to the two hundred and fifty-six who advanced to the main tournament.

The preliminary format was singles one-on-one, one match decides the winner.

Opponents were determined by the computer and were completely random; competitors were given only one day to prepare.

After Baimu registered the Pokémon he would use in the morning, his opponent had already been decided, and Porygon-II promptly dug up some info on that person —

These days, interaction between regions was frequent.

As a Pokémon trainer, you'd be embarrassed to open your mouth if you hadn't taken part in one or two Conferences.

Setting aside what final results they'd achieved, the strength of the Pokémon they regularly kept by their side had, more or less, accumulated to a certain degree.

Baimu's preliminary-round opponent was exactly such an elite trainer.

"Anyway, let's both do our best!"

He extended his fist toward Alice.

Alice blinked, then grinned and bumped fists with him. "Oh!"

——

The next day.

The small arena on the outermost edge of the venue.

As the preliminaries kicked off, the long-awaited audience filed into their seats one after another.

Fifteen arenas would host matches simultaneously; the first day was set to determine two hundred and fifty-six contestants advancing to the main tournament, so the overall schedule was fairly generous.

All Baimu was lucky enough to be in the first batch of bouts.

And because the contestant list and specific match venues had been posted online the day before, the number of spectators at his arena was terrifyingly large.

Theoretically speaking, All Baimu didn't have that many fans in the Trainer world, but the tournament committee's recent promotional push across various platforms had piqued other people's interest in him.

Everyone had come because of his reputation.

As the one being watched, he didn't feel much about it — he was long used to being stared at intently by a crowd — but his opponent seemed to have gotten nervous because of it.

Socially anxious?

That's not going to work, buddy.

You need to help me make a good start.

All Baimu gripped a Poké Ball; last night Xiong Xiong had specifically instructed him that his first match had to be won beautifully.

No matter how strong or weak the opponent, no matter which tactic he chose to employ, he had to display his strength completely in the simplest way possible.

Promotional duties are such a hassle…

So many demands.

He sighed inwardly, his gaze sweeping to a certain spot in the stands — Miss Liuqi and Xiao Guang were clearly dressed in cheerleading outfits, watching him with excited faces.

But All Baimu paid little attention to the two of them, focusing instead on the equally cheerleader-outfitted Bai Mao and Xiong Xiong.

Sure enough, cute-type Pokémon wearing human clothes are also cute.

No wonder so many people buy skins in Pokémon Unite.

While he was thinking.

The referee's shout rang across the entire arena.

"Now about to begin is the preliminary match between contestant All Baimu and contestant Kesheng. Each side may use one Pokémon; if either side's Pokémon is rendered unable to battle, the match is considered over—"

The voice paused for a moment.

"Match start!"

Beep—

Amid the crisp whistle, both sides of the match threw their Poké Balls forward.

Bang bang!

Light flashed.

The Pokémon were all decided at registration, but the contestants didn't know which one the other would pick, so All Baimu was somewhat looking forward to Kesheng's choice.

If nothing unexpected happened…

A white-furred monkey with blazing flames burning atop its head landed, its bright, spirited large eyes full of fighting spirit.

It gazed at the fierce-looking Hydreigon opposite, as a terrifying roar rang beside its ear:

"Shaao—!!"

"Gaahou!!"

Infernape grinned, baring its sharp, pale fangs at Hydreigon in equal defiance, fists clenched tight as if ready to strike at the opponent's head at any moment—

And it did exactly that.

Kesheng: "Mach Punch!"

Whoosh!

Infernape pushed off with both legs, reaching Hydreigon's side in the blink of an eye.

Twist the waist, rotate the hips, throw the punch!

A white-glowing fist swung out at what seemed like the speed of sound!

Fizz—boom!

A milky-white burst of energy exploded on the left head of a seemingly unable-to-react Hydreigon, then turned into a pale-gray smoke from the energy bursting apart, bursting outward and spreading.

It hit!

Kesheng's face lit up with joy — he hadn't expected the probing attack to land on the opponent so easily.

Could it be that All Baimu, as some people online said, was only good at flashy performance battles like Contest matches? The few Pokémon in yesterday's video clearly looked pretty fierce!

Or maybe this particular Pokémon was a bit weaker?

And to think he'd been scared by so many of All Baimu's fans just now!

"Houga!"

Infernape nimbly hopped back two steps, calmly watching the smoke drift before its eyes.

The spectator stands were in an uproar — on one hand, marveling at Infernape's ultra-fast punch speed; on the other, wondering why not only had All Baimu not ordered Hydreigon to dodge, but the latter showed no reaction at all after taking a punch.

Could it have been knocked down in one hit?

And while Kesheng was anticipating the results of Infernape's Mach Punch, and the audience was curious about the situation.

Whoosh~ whoosh~

The smoke dispersed.

Hydreigon was seen remaining in place, slowly flapping its six wing-like fins; its unmoving, imposing figure caused an immediate stir in the spectator stands, and the slightly smug expression on Kesheng's face quickly stiffened.

No… no reaction?

He and Blaziken stared in disbelief at the utterly unmoved—and even contemptuously glaring—Three-Headed Hydreigon.

Mach Punch admittedly wasn't an especially powerful move, but it shouldn't have produced zero reaction at all?

The audience was equally curious about this, their eyes fixed intently on the field.

Kesheng frowned and said: "Close-quarters combat!"

I refuse to believe you can take that hit completely unscathed!

"Gyaaah!"

Blaziken let out a fierce, vicious shriek; brown-red flames ignited across its body as it suddenly leapt toward Hydreigon, as if cloaked in a battle aura condensed from fighting spirit.

Who would have thought that the moment it moved, the latter would also begin flapping its wings with great force.

Whoosh!

A gale howled!

Hydreigon abruptly climbed higher and higher into the sky, causing Blaziken's close-range pounce to miss, forcing it to tilt its head back and track where it had flown before giving chase.

Kesheng's gaze had also been following Hydreigon, but in his peripheral vision he caught sight of the ground slowly cracking beneath Blaziken's feet.

His pupils contracted sharply!

"Earth Power."

All Baimu issued his first command since the match began.

Kesheng screamed frantically: "Blaziken! Dodge—now!"

But his command couldn't outrun the orange-red radiant light rising from beneath the fissured ground!

BOOM!!

Surging Ground-type energy erupted like a volcanic explosion, its terrifying force instantly blasting the dumbfounded, head-lowered Blaziken skyward!

The battle aura on Blaziken's body shattered, and it let out a piercing wail of agony.

"Gyaaah—"

The situation that had just been in Kesheng's grasp reversed in an instant!

However.

The Hydreigon in the sky wasn't about to let the airborne Blaziken off. All three of its heads drew deep breaths simultaneously, its chest swelling at extreme speed like a balloon.

The instant it reached a certain critical point, Hydreigon's three great mouths opened at once and roared furiously!

"Roaaar—!!"

Rolling flames merged into a tri-colored energy dragon that plunged downward!

Kesheng was powerless to stop it, and could only watch helplessly as Blaziken, the moment it crashed to the ground, was swallowed by a ferocious, multicolored dragon of flame!

BOOM!

The ground trembled violently.

Accompanied by a deafening explosion, devastating flames burst apart into a colossal vortex of fire, rumbling as it spun across the field!

Some spectators were dumbfounded; others waved their flags and cheered without pause.

Hydreigon's terrifying Dragon Pulse had shaken their very souls, as if delivering a vicious slap in the face to everyone who had doubted All Baimu and his Pokémon's strength.

Inside the arena.

The flames dispersed.

Kesheng stared at the figure standing amid the smoke, and couldn't help calling out joyfully: "Blaziken! Are you okay—"

The words had barely left his mouth.

The figure, as if hearing his call, swayed and toppled, revealing eyes glazed with unconsciousness.

Without hesitation, the referee raised the red flag representing All Baimu's side. "Blaziken is unable to battle. Hydreigon wins. The advancing contestant is—Contestant All Baimu!"

"Roaaar—!!"

Hydreigon threw back its heads and roared wildly.

Excited cheers rose once more from the stands.

Although the battle between Hydreigon and Blaziken hadn't lasted long, the former's strength had already been demonstrated in many ways.

Endurance—took a punch without flinching.

Mobility—reacted far faster than Blaziken.

Offense—the combo of Earth Power and Dragon Pulse was virtually airtight, giving Kesheng no opening to counter at all.

All Baimu dared to make that kind of oath at the Grand Splendor Festival—he truly had the goods!

Countless reporters excitedly snapped photos of Hydreigon and Blaziken, and more importantly, of the composed and unhurried All Baimu—just how much of Hydreigon's strength had Contestant Kesheng's Blaziken forced out?

Everyone was dying to know.

Seeing the fervent atmosphere in the arena, All Baimu quietly let out a small sigh of relief.

This should satisfy Shanon's request, right? He had specifically chosen the most flamboyant of his Pokémon, Hydreigon, for the match. In terms of form, it might not be as flashy as a Mega Evolution.

But when it came to volume, it was absolutely the loudest!