Chapter 344: Pokémon Marathon Tournament, Open!

Time passed swiftly; in the blink of an eye, several days had gone by.

July 25th, sunny, Sunday.

The entire Pingdie Town seemed to have plunged into a festive atmosphere; streets and alleys were unusually crowded with people. Although it hadn't reached the point of streets being decked out with lanterns and decorations, the heat brought by the tournament had already drawn many visitors from out of town.

This also meant that today was the day for Pingdie Town's Pokémon Marathon Tournament.

The starting point of the competition was chosen at the highly commemorative Pingdie Town Central Plaza.

Here at Pingdie Town Central Plaza, decorations like lanterns and banners had been hung up to make things look a bit more formal, truly creating a festive atmosphere.

In the peripheral areas outside the central plaza, a group of mobile food stalls had parked, resembling a festival, filled with various fragrant snacks that wafted enticing aromas.

Luo Mu, accompanied by his Luxray, was admiring the scenery along the way just as he happened to pass through here.

Relying on his iron-clad willpower to forcibly ignore the aromas lingering around his nose, Luo Mu passed through the area clustered with food stalls and arrived at Pingdie Town Central Plaza.

At this moment, besides the local residents of Pingdie Town who had come to watch the race, many trainers traveling through Pingdie Town within the Paldea region were lingering here, and there were even quite a few ordinary students from Grandma Ju Zi's Academy.

Unfortunately, these students rarely interacted with Luo Mu and couldn't recognize his face, while the students, being in the middle of summer break, didn't need to wear their Grandma Ju Zi's Academy uniforms even when going out, causing Luo Mu to be unable to recognize the unfamiliar ones either.

Perhaps during some inadvertent eye contact, these students and wild trainers would connect on the same wavelength and immediately start a Pokémon battle right there in the open-air venue.

Even Luo Mu received numerous battle invitations from trainers due to Luxray's domineering appearance, but considering that the registration deadline was approaching, he could only politely decline the invitations and rush to the registration desk.

By the time Luo Mu and Luxray made their way to the registration desk, they seemed to have successfully missed the peak hour; there were only a few people left queuing here.

Even the several registration points that had originally been set up now had only one middle-aged man operating them.

Joining the queue, Luo Mu noticed that the person at what used to be the very end of the line, standing right in front of him, looked somewhat familiar, and he voiced his confusion: "Miss Miss Junsha?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Luo Mu clearly saw the figure in front of him, whose slender feminine curves were hard to conceal even beneath professional riding gear, stiffen up, before turning around to look at him with a face almost entirely filled with shock.

On such a hot day, Miss Miss Junsha, who had wrapped her head tightly inside a helmet, turned around in disbelief, completely unable to understand why someone would still recognize her when she had covered up nearly all her exposed skin meant for cooling down.

Only after she clearly saw Luo Mu's face did she blurt out: "How did you recognize me? No, wait, why are you participating in the competition too!?"

Luo Mu pointed strangely at the Poké Ball hanging from Miss Miss Junsha's waist: "Isn't the police station logo clearly plastered on your Poké Ball? Plus, your hair color is quite rare."

"By the way, has your Growlithe evolved?"

"Do you still plan to bring it to participate in the marathon tournament?"

"Then why are you being so secretive? As far as I know, the only person in all of Pingdie Town who has a Feng Su Gou is you, Miss Miss Junsha, right?"

Miss Miss Junsha: "."

Luo Mu's rapid-fire questions completely silenced Miss Miss Junsha.

After a good while, she finally took off the helmet that, despite being a ventilated model she had bought, had nearly stewed her brain, and said somewhat helplessly: "Mainly, if I participate in the competition as 'Miss Junsha,' it seems a bit inappropriate."

Suddenly, an elderly voice rang out from not far away, causing Miss Miss Junsha to pause in surprise.

"How could that be, Miss Miss Junsha?"

Accompanied by the rhythmic sound of a cane tapping against the ground, Grandma Ju Zi, who had specially dressed in bright-colored clothes to match Pingdie Town's "festival," slowly walked over.

Luo Mu's eyes lit up as he greeted her: "Grandma Ju Zi, long time no see."

Grandma Ju Zi first flashed a kind smile at Luo Mu: "Hearing that you were going to participate in the tournament, I came to watch."

Then, patting the slowly approaching Luxray, Grandma Ju Zi looked at Miss Miss Junsha: "Miss Miss Junsha usually works so hard to maintain the stability of Pingdie Town; if everyone heard you were participating in the tournament, they would surely be very happy."

"At the very least, I am already looking forward to seeing Miss Miss Junsha and her partner perform; of course, this old lady is also looking forward to your performance, Luo Mu."

"Are you planning to participate in the tournament with your Feng Su Gou this time?"

Beside Miss Miss Junsha, who had fallen into deep thought upon hearing Grandma Ju Zi's remarks, Luo Mu shook his head: "This time, I plan to participate in the tournament with another Pokémon from the farm."

"Is that so? What a pity then."

"It's alright; although it looks slightly different from my Feng Su Gou on the outside, Miss Miss Junsha's partner should also be a Feng Su Gou."

"Oh my, is that true?"

After this brief exchange, facing the curious gaze cast by Grandma Ju Zi, Miss Miss Junsha could only nod lightly.

"Not long ago, Growlithe evolved into Feng Su Gou."

"This Pokémon Marathon Tournament will depart from the main road connected to Pingdie Town Central Plaza, leading all the way to the suburbs."

"After circling the entire Pingdie Town three times in the suburbs, you must return to the Central Plaza; the total distance is approximately 500 kilometers, so please ensure your Pokémon has enough stamina to run such a long distance before registering..."

The registration clerk in front of him, wearing a numb expression, explained the general race course to Luo Mu once again.

Judging by his speaking speed and expression, he had obviously said this countless times already.

Luo Mu nodded slightly: "I understand."

The registration clerk didn't express much else and asked directly: "Then let's confirm one last time: the Pokémon participating in the tournament is Mudsdale, correct?"

"There is still a chance to make changes now; once the data is submitted, the participating Pokémon cannot be replaced."

Luo Mu affirmed: "Confirmed."

After receiving Luo Mu's answer, the registration clerk fell silent, buried his head to finish registering the information, then handed Luo Mu the contestant vest and the number tag to be stuck on the Pokémon's back that had been prepared long ago, pointing in a direction.

"The waiting area for contestants participating in the tournament is over there; staff members will receive you when you arrive, so please rest assured."

"I wish you success in the competition!"

Having said that, the registration clerk buried his head again to continue registering the contestants behind Luo Mu.

Sensibly exiting the queue, Luo Mu went over to where Miss Miss Junsha and Grandma Ju Zi were waiting nearby, having not waited long.

At this moment, Miss Miss Junsha asked curiously: "What is your number?"

"26." Glancing at the number tag and contestant vest in his hand, Luo Mu replied, "It seems the number on the Pokémon's tag and the number on the contestant vest are consistent."

"I am number 25." Miss Miss Junsha also nodded slightly in agreement, then looked at the nearly empty queue beside her and added: "It seems that including other travelers and trainers participating out of curiosity, the total number is probably around thirty people."

Grandma Ju Zi said with a beaming smile at this moment: "Then this old lady will go ahead to the starting point to save a spot; you two must do your best."

"Take care on your way!"

The two waved to Grandma Ju Zi, and only after her figure gradually disappeared into the crowd did Miss Miss Junsha stretch her waist and sigh: "Before, I was worrying too much."

"Thanks entirely to Grandma Ju Zi, I now have the confidence to step onto the stage of the tournament openly and honorably as 'Miss Junsha'."

Luo Mu glanced at Miss Miss Junsha as if pondering something: "It seems you two were just discussing something."

Miss Miss Junsha nodded without denying it, reminding him, "Let's go; we should head to the waiting area to prepare. It seems the Mayor will be giving a speech shortly."

The waiting area was a section cordoned off by curtains in a corner of the central square, featuring a direct passage to the race's starting point, ensuring that the crowds gathering around would not startle the Pokémon participating in the competition.

At this moment, quite a number of contestants had already gathered in the waiting area.

Beside these contestants were Dodrios with three heads, massively built Onix, Zebstrikas whose black-and-white striped manes crackled with electricity, Rhyhorn clad in thick armor, and the most numerous of all, Paldean Tauros, including both the Blaze Breed, the Aqua Breed, and the Combat Breed.

There was also a Rapidash that looked incredibly majestic, its whole body engulfed in raging Xiong Xiong flames, its physique agile and robust, its gaze sharp.

Rapidash were not common in the Paldea region; Luo Mu guessed that this Rapidash's Trainer was likely a traveler from another region who had come to Paldea on a journey.

But the Pokémon that shocked Luo Mu the most was neither the Onix, nor the Zebstrika, and certainly not the Rapidash.

Luo Mu's gaze landed on an elderly man with graying hair; beside him stood a Slowbro, entirely pink, walking on two legs, with a cream-colored belly and a giant spiral shell clamped onto its tail.

Luo Mu was dumbfounded.

Could it be that the legendary saying 'Slowpoke is also a horse' is true?

Then in the future, will I also have the chance to ride Necrozma to participate in the tournament?

Fortunately, this was a Pokémon Marathon Tournament, not a Pokémon Horse Racing Tournament, so even registering with a Slowbro would pass the audit.

"Slowbro!?"

Clearly, Miss Miss Junsha beside Luo Mu had also spotted the Slowbro; she covered her mouth and let out a soft exclamation audible only to her and Luo Mu.

"Since this is a town tournament, entertainment takes precedence over competitiveness, which is why there are no restrictions during registration."

"After all, Miss Miss Junsha, even you managed to successfully register while wearing a helmet that looks suspicious."

Stroking his chin thoughtfully, Luo Mu added another blow to Miss Miss Junsha's dignity.

"... Can you not mention that again?" Miss Miss Junsha blushed as if her dark history had been exposed, then shook her head and shouted with full momentum, "Come out, Feng Su Gou!"

In the next instant.

A Feng Su Gou nearly two meters tall, with fluffy flaxen fur, black and orange tiger-like stripes across its body, fur swirling around its paws, looking even more heroic and spirited than that Rapidash, appeared beside Miss Miss Junsha.

The moment the Feng Su Gou appeared, it drew the attention of the surrounding contestants; especially upon seeing the combination of Miss Miss Junsha and the Feng Su Gou, their expressions added several degrees of Solemnity.

The contestants unanimously thought that they never expected to one day compete on the same stage as Miss Miss Junsha and her Feng Su Gou, making the pressure immense.

Stroking the spirited Feng Su Gou, Miss Miss Junsha's usually iron-faced and impartial expression now bore a hint of determination to win, influenced by the tournament's atmosphere.

Pointing at Luo Mu, she confidently declared her vow of victory: "Even if you are the champion, since you are not sending out your Feng Su Gou or Luxray, then victory shall be claimed by me and the Feng Su Gou!"

(End of Chapter)