In the card-game anime Yu-Gi-Oh! from Chen Mo's previous life, the protagonist Yugi Mutou once participated in two major tournaments known as Battle City.
Through those two competitions, he firmly established himself as the strongest duelist in history.
Back to the main topic.
The rules of the Battle City tournament were actually pretty simple.
Ignoring the complicated details regarding card battles themselves, the core structure could roughly be summarized into three points:
First: The entire city served as the location for the preliminary rounds.
Second: Every participant began with a puzzle card. Through duels—that is, through winning card battles—they could seize puzzle cards from other duelists. The first eight people to collect six puzzle pieces within forty-eight hours would qualify for the next stage.
Third: There was no restriction on how many puzzle pieces could be wagered in a duel. After each match concluded, the Duel Disk would reveal the location of the next round.
And according to Zhou Yichuan's explanation—
The location for the Pikachu Cup preliminaries could, in a sense, also be considered the entirety of Anping City.
At the start of the tournament, every participant would receive two Shining Stars inside the Pokédex app on their phones.
Afterward, trainers would challenge one another through Pokémon battles.
The first trainers to gather ten Shining Stars within a week would successfully advance to the group stage.
As for matchmaking, everything would be completely random.
Participants would use a brand-new Pokédex function to queue online, which would randomly assign both an opponent and a battle location.
"This really is just a Pokémon version of Battle City…"
"And those Shining Stars are basically Duelist Kingdom's Star Chips…"
Chen Mo muttered inwardly.
Seeing the strange expression on Chen Mo's face, Zhou Yichuan mistakenly assumed Chen Mo had objections to the rules he and Hu Chengliang had devised.
"If you've got issues with it, just say so."
"What's our relationship anyway? Besides, you're the organizer of this Pikachu Cup. Chengliang and I are basically working under you."
"No, it's fine."
"I just got reminded of something from the past."
Chen Mo shook his head.
"Both you and Brother Hu came up with a really solid system."
"I'll post an announcement tonight after I get home."
The two of them continued discussing various details for quite a while.
In Yu-Gi-Oh!, the Battle City tournament only lasted two days, which made it easy to schedule over a weekend without affecting students or office workers.
But the Pikachu Cup was different.
Card games barely required any physical stamina—at least not during the preliminary stages of Battle City.
Pokémon battles, however, genuinely consumed a Pokémon's energy and could even leave them injured.
So even though Pokémon possessed extremely strong recovery abilities—and despite having Pokémon Centers and the Chansey family assisting—
The preliminaries still needed at least one full week to ensure participants' Pokémon stayed healthy and wouldn't suffer long-term damage from excessive battling.
Of course—
Leaving an entire week for preliminaries introduced another problem.
Life moved quickly these days.
Not everyone came from wealthy families like Ah Hui or Chen Haoran.
Most people had their own responsibilities and daily lives.
And according to current plans, the Pikachu Cup would last at least half a month.
For many people, that amount of time would inevitably impact their lives.
Some participants might only be registering on a whim.
But as the organizer of the Pikachu Cup, Chen Mo naturally didn't want to see massive numbers of players dropping out right from the preliminary stage due to various real-life issues.
If they were going to do this—
Then they had to do it properly.
The Pikachu Cup preliminaries were officially set to begin this Saturday.
Since Chen Mo no longer had financial concerns, after discussing things with Zhou Yichuan, he decided to contribute another portion of funds.
Specifically, participants attending matches on weekdays would receive a certain amount of financial compensation.
"You really are too kindhearted."
Zhou Yichuan shook his head while watching Chen Mo seriously calculate how much money he might need to provide.
"For minors, that's one thing."
"But adults participating in the tournament should already understand the consequences and responsibilities involved."
He sighed softly.
"Forget it. You don't need to pay for this."
"Seven days really is a bit too long. Chengliang and I will report it to higher-ups and see what solutions we can work out ourselves."
"As for you…"
"You're finally back in the city, so just relax and rest for once."
"Stop worrying about everything."
"..."
Just as Chen Mo was about to say something else—
A startled cry from Pikachu suddenly sounded from the distance.
Seeing this, Zhou Yichuan hurriedly urged him on.
"If you're worried, then go check on them."
"And bring Psyduck back while you're at it. Tell it we're heading out soon."
"Alright."
Without wasting any words, Chen Mo immediately headed toward the direction Pikachu's voice had come from.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yichuan remained standing where he was, contemplating the problems Chen Mo had just brought up.
But then—
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Gible standing beside Absol nearby.
At that moment—
The two Pokémon were staring up at a large LCD television hanging on the wall inside the mall.
Curious, Zhou Yichuan walked over.
Very quickly, he realized the television was currently playing the promotional commercial for the Pikachu Cup that Chen Mo's team had recently rushed to produce.
"Garchomp…"
Gible watched with complete fascination.
Beside it, Absol wore an expression full of helplessness.
Since Gible had only recently arrived in this world, Absol still wasn't comfortable letting the little shark wander around alone.
So it had decided to accompany Gible until it finished choosing what it wanted to buy.
Who would've thought—
The moment Gible saw the Pikachu Cup advertisement, it completely froze in place.
Even though it had already watched it multiple times back at home…
"Gible, are you interested in this tournament?"
A voice suddenly spoke from nearby.
Absol had long noticed Zhou Yichuan approaching.
It lifted its head slightly, glanced at him once—
Then quietly stepped between Zhou Yichuan and Gible.
"..."
Zhou Yichuan's smile instantly stiffened.
Are you seriously trying to shield Gible from me right now?
And what's with that suspicious, wary look!?
I'm your trainer's close friend, not some creep trying to lure away other people's Pokémon!
"Sigh…"
Zhou Yichuan took two steps backward and helplessly spread his hands.
"I really don't mean you any harm."
"I just noticed Gible seemed really interested in the commercial, so I wanted to ask whether it liked the tournament."
"Absol…"
Absol always wore a cold expression around Chen Mo anyway.
Naturally, it had even less patience for someone who clearly had ulterior motives like Zhou Yichuan.
Just as Absol was about to chase the human away—
Gible suddenly stepped forward on its own.
Looking at Zhou Yichuan, it hesitated briefly before finally nodding.
"Garchomp."
As the youngest Pokémon on the team, Gible had received enormous care from all the others these past few days.
But—
It had also been quietly troubled.
Back when it was still inside the egg, Gible had sensed the aura of the legendary Dragon-type Pokémon Zekrom and had been so frightened that it refused to hatch.
Although it no longer remembered those experiences after being born—
It still carried deep insecurity inside.
That was why the newborn Gible had been so overly sensitive back then.
Over this period, thanks to Chen Mo, Absol, and the other Pokémon caring for it, Gible was no longer as afraid of the world as before.
Still—
Some lingering effects remained.
One of them was Gible's fear stemming from its own lack of strength.
Especially after resolving its misunderstandings with Pikachu and the others and hearing about Chen Mo's dreams and hardships during the trip home—
Gible became even more frightened.
Honestly—
Being beside Chen Mo made Gible incredibly happy.
But at the same time—
It was terrified that Chen Mo might abandon it for being too weak.
After all, every single one of its companions was astonishingly powerful.
Compared to them, Gible felt unbearably far behind.
That was why—
When Zhou Yichuan challenged Chen Mo several days ago, Gible had voluntarily stepped forward.
It wanted to prove its worth by winning the battle.
At the time—
After defeating Nidorino and receiving praise from Chen Mo—
Gible had felt like it owned the entire world.
But then—
That evening's training session hit it like a bolt from the blue.
Chen Mo's training schedule…
Didn't include Gible.
The little shark completely stopped thinking.
Sitting quietly off to the side while watching the others train—
Gible only felt farther and farther away from them.
It wanted to become stronger.
It desperately wanted to become stronger.
It wanted to prove its value.
Thus—
When it saw Pikachu in the promotional video constantly growing stronger through battling powerful opponents—
Gible felt overwhelming envy.
It regretted things deeply.
It had arrived in this world too late.
And met Chen Mo too late.
"..."
Naturally, Zhou Yichuan had absolutely no idea the tiny shark before him was experiencing such intense emotional turmoil.
Originally, he had only come over out of curiosity and amusement.
Ever since Chen Mo firmly declared that he wouldn't participate in the Pikachu Cup, Zhou Yichuan had felt somewhat disappointed.
Only after Hu Chengliang proposed allowing challengers to face Chen Mo as a special post-tournament event had his mood improved somewhat.
But now—
Seeing Gible's fascination with the Pikachu Cup—
The idea that had once died inside him suddenly reignited.
Chen Mo had only said he himself wouldn't participate.
He never said his Pokémon couldn't participate on their own.
Hehehe.
If he managed to trick Gible into entering the Pikachu Cup—
Then once Chen Mo eventually found out—
Wouldn't that be absolutely hilarious?
Thinking this—
An increasingly suspicious grin spread across Zhou Yichuan's face.
In Absol's eyes, it looked downright creepy.
"Absol absol."
(Gible, let's stay away from this weird human.)
Seeing Absol preparing to leave with Gible, Zhou Yichuan quickly straightened his expression and hurriedly spoke.
"If you're interested in the Pikachu Cup, I have a way to let you participate."
"Garchomp!?"
(Really!?)
Gible's eyes instantly lit up.
But then—
It remembered Chen Mo saying he wouldn't participate in the tournament.
Its expression immediately became conflicted again, and it lowered its head.
"Garchomp garchomp…"
(Maybe I shouldn't…)
Though he couldn't understand the exact words, after spending so much time around Pokémon, Zhou Yichuan could roughly guess what Gible was thinking just by watching its expression and body language.
Newborn Pokémon really were easy to fool.
Zhou Yichuan continued speaking.
"Your trainer doesn't want to participate because Pokémon like Pikachu and Absol are already far too strong."
"A tournament like this wouldn't help them improve much."
"But Gible, you're different."
"You were only just born."
"This is exactly the period when your strength can grow rapidly."
"A tournament like this would be perfect training for you."
"Garchomp…"
A visibly tempted look appeared on Gible's face.
Without question—
Zhou Yichuan had struck directly at the thing Gible cared about most.
Just as Zhou Yichuan prepared to press his advantage—
Absol could no longer sit still.
"Absol absol!"
(Don't listen to him!)
Trying to run now?
Zhou Yichuan turned toward Absol and spoke seriously.
"Absol, I understand what you're thinking."
"And I know how much you care about Gible."
"But think about it carefully."
"Can you—or Chen Mo—protect Gible forever?"
"Gible also needs to grow."
"If you keep sheltering it endlessly, you'll only hold it back."
"Absol…"
"You don't want Gible to eventually become a burden who can't do anything on its own, right?"
Under Zhou Yichuan's relentless barrage of words—
Absol hesitated.
Finally—
It looked toward Gible beside it.
"Absol."
(This choice should be yours to make.)
At that moment—
Under the gazes of both Zhou Yichuan and Absol—
Gible lowered its head and thought for a long time.
Then—
It raised its head again.
Its expression had become extraordinarily serious.
It nodded gently toward Zhou Yichuan.
Success!
A smile appeared on Zhou Yichuan's face.
But right then—
Gible suddenly looked nervous again.
"Garchomp…"
(What if Chen Mo finds out…)
Thinking this—
Gible subconsciously turned around to look toward the direction Chen Mo had gone to find Pikachu and the others.
Seeing this—
How could Zhou Yichuan possibly not understand what the little shark was worried about?
He crouched down and spoke in a voice filled with devilish temptation.
"It's fine."
"We just won't let him find out."
At that exact moment—
A voice suddenly rang out nearby.
"Won't let who find out about what?"
"..."
The smile on Zhou Yichuan's face froze instantly.
Turning around—
He discovered Chen Mo standing behind him at some unknown point, accompanied by a whole group of Pokémon and his own Psyduck.
Zhou Yichuan immediately straightened up.
Glancing at the visibly nervous Gible and Absol nearby, he coughed awkwardly.
Then his eyes landed on a special Suicune-themed crystal ball displayed at a nearby counter, and he instantly changed the topic.
"Ah, right, it's like this."
"I noticed Absol seemed to like this crystal ball, so I wanted to buy it as a gift."
"But it probably felt awkward accepting something from me since it belongs to you, so it refused."
"So you were trying to force a gift onto it?"
Chen Mo frowned immediately.
I didn't expect you, with those thick eyebrows and righteous appearance, to secretly have designs on my Pokémon too!
"Absol, I'll buy it for you."
"And stay farther away from this guy in the future."
"Come on, don't say it like that!"
"I seriously didn't have any weird intentions."
"I just thought Absol's fur looked really soft and wanted to get closer and pet it…"
"Get lost."
"Absol is my Pokémon. Only I get to pet it!"
"..."
Meanwhile—
Watching the noisy argument between Chen Mo and Zhou Yichuan—
Absol and Gible, both aware they had done something wrong, lowered their heads nervously without daring to make a sound.
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