The Pikachu Cup was progressing in full swing.
June 26th, Monday, 3:05 PM.
As the opponent's Pokémon collapsed and the referee at the side officially announced the result, Xiao You and Banette claimed victory once again.
This was already Xiao You and Banette's eighth battle victory.
At the same time, she also became the first trainer in this Pikachu Cup to collect ten Shining Stars and successfully advance into the main tournament.
As expected, many media outlets closely following the competition immediately spread the news across the country. Even the official Special Countermeasures Bureau publicly issued congratulations for Xiao You's advancement.
At the same time—
Many trainers currently gathered in Anping City began feeling a growing sense of pressure.
"So someone already qualified on just the third day? That's insane."
"You can find compilations of Xiao You's matches on Bilibili. All I can say is—she's ridiculously strong. Against Xiao You and Banette, very few trainers and Pokémon can even last three rounds. Most get instantly one-shot."
"Champion material…"
"Suddenly feels like those thousand-or-so qualification spots really aren't that many…"
Xiao You and Banette's advancement completely ignited the enthusiasm of trainers everywhere.
Starting from the afternoon of the 26th, more and more trainers gradually advanced into the main tournament.
The Pikachu Cup preliminaries had officially entered their most intense phase.
Meanwhile—
As all of Zhuxia focused its attention on the Pikachu Cup, the commotion it created gradually began attracting the attention of countless foreign netizens beyond the borders as well.
Everything had happened too quickly.
Many foreigners still held onto the image of that ancient Eastern nation recklessly attempting to coexist with magical beasts, even going so far as to rename them with the sacred-sounding title of "Pokémon."
At the time—
Most Westerners mocked the decision, believing the Eastern nation was essentially inviting disaster into its own home and marching itself straight into ruin.
Thus—
Influenced by preconceived notions, even when news gradually spread that some lucky individuals in the Zhuxia region had successfully captured magical beasts, most people dismissed it outright, even believing the reports were fabricated fake news.
And when news of Pikachu spread beyond the walls, roughly ninety percent of people reacted with complete disdain.
"What? Someone captured magical beasts and is fighting alongside them? They even held a magical beast tournament? It's not April Fool's Day, stop joking around!"
"I get it now. I completely understand. That Eastern country must have found some way to control weaker magical beasts and force them to fight in front of civilians… like ancient gladiator arenas."
"Displaying bonds between humans and magical beasts? These Easterners have completely lost their minds."
"Fake News!"
Prejudice did not only exist between humans and Pokémon.
It also existed between humans themselves.
However—
As more and more videos of "magical beast battles" spread across forums outside the borders, people began watching the trainers in those videos command magical beasts amidst roaring cheers from the audience, fighting opponents with everything they had.
And after victory—
When humans and magical beasts embraced each other excitedly—
Many viewers could not help but become confused.
A terrifying thought gradually emerged in some people's minds.
Could it be…
That those "fake news" stories from before were actually real?
Still—
No matter the world or the place, most people on the internet followed the same eternal law:
Forever young. Forever angry. Forever emotional. Forever manipulated. Forever refusing to learn.
Rational people were always the minority.
Most simply drifted with the current.
Just like Chen Mo.
Despite spending so much time livestreaming Pokémon education in the early days, the number of people he could influence compared to the entire Zhuxia region was still only a tiny fraction.
Without official support and government backing, Chen Mo alone would have needed who knew how many years to truly change the state of this era.
Thus, under deliberate manipulation from certain parties, the number of people overseas willing to rationally view these matters remained extremely small.
[William, forget it. There's no point arguing seriously with those people.]
[Exactly. Most people only live inside their own little worlds. Arguing with them just makes yourself miserable. Look at me—I never even bother discussing Pokémon with them anymore.]
[I argued with someone last time. I told him everything happening in Zhuxia right now was real. He said he didn't believe me. Then when I sent him videos, he claimed the videos were fake. Then he said Zhuxia's leaders were deliberately spreading false information to mislead us, and that if we copied Zhuxia's methods, humanity would head toward destruction… So honestly, what else could I even say at that point?]
[Simple. If they haven't personally seen something with their own eyes, then to them, it's fake.]
The blond, blue-eyed William Adams sat before his computer, reading the rapidly scrolling messages on the screen. Then he glanced at the stream of insulting private messages on Twitter from the opposing side and slammed his fist heavily onto the desk.
[But it's seriously infuriating! That bastard actually said I was bribed by Zhuxia's government and even questioned whether I'm really British! Tell me, isn't that ridiculous!?]
The moment he sent the message, replies from friends quickly appeared.
[Those people are completely delusional already. The more you argue, the more excited they get. There's no point wasting time on them. Time will prove we're right.]
[William, instead of wasting time on those stubborn idiots, why not talk with us about the "Pikachu Cup"? You know Chinese is insanely difficult. Trying to search Chinese websites for videos I actually want to watch is a total nightmare.]
[Seriously jealous of William. Not only are you already in Zhuxia, you even managed to grab tickets for the main tournament and can watch Pokémon battles live in person. That's way too lucky.]
[Jealous +1]
Hmph!
You all laughed at me last year, but now you know who the real lucky one is!
Thinking that, William could not help revealing a smug smile.
Just as he had mentioned in the chatroom, William was a very pure-blooded Brit. Last year, due to company business, his fluency in Chinese led to his boss assigning him to work in Zhuxia.
Back then, Pokémon had not yet appeared in the world.
By the time William finished handling the company's affairs in Zhuxia and planned to return to Britain after spring arrived, the arrival of Pokémon completely disrupted those plans.
William had always been deeply interested in Zhuxia culture. Originally, he intended to use the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of Zhuxia's traditional festivals.
However—
Because of the overwhelming propaganda at the time, along with all the incidents of "magical beasts attacking humans," William had been terrified out of his mind.
Forget enjoying the New Year atmosphere.
He barely even dared leave his apartment, spending his days trapped indoors.
He desperately wanted to go home.
Back to Britain.
Back to the place that made him feel safest.
But—
The sudden appearance of Pokémon had put every nation on high alert. At that time, returning from Zhuxia to Britain was no easy matter.
During that period, William could only feel anxious and despairing.
Every day spent in Zhuxia felt like torture.
Like everyone else, aside from work, William's daily routine was venting online alongside countless others against the creatures still called "magical beasts" at the time.
Until one day—
A streamer nicknamed "Mo-bao" by fans entered William's field of vision.
"What!? Some lunatic wants to teach us about magical beasts and even make us coexist peacefully with them!? Where the hell did this crazy person come from!?"
That's right.
William had entered Chen Mo's livestream carrying a belly full of anger and resentment.
What a joke.
Wasn't the biggest reason he couldn't return home because of magical beasts?
And now someone wanted him to coexist peacefully with them?
Over his dead body!
William had already prepared to unleash every classic Chinese insult he knew upon this streamer called "Mo-bao."
But unexpectedly, the moderators in the livestream acted extremely quickly.
William had only just finished insulting "Mo-bao's" parents and hadn't even reached the grandparents yet before his account was permanently muted by a moderator named "How Brightstone Works."
Watching the comments celebrate his ban, William felt his sanity evaporate entirely.
Madness!
Everyone had gone mad!
How could such a scumbag have so many followers!?
Were they all insane!?
William refused to accept it.
Borrowing a friend's account, he prepared to return for round two.
But this time, William learned his lesson.
Instead of immediately charging in recklessly, he used a private message sent to his old account to join an anti-fan group.
The group's objective was clear:
Wait for this streamer "Mo-bao" to expose a weakness, then everyone would swarm together and attack him.
Thus—
William's next mission became very simple.
Watch the livestreams.
Wait for opportunities.
Pass information to the others so reinforcements could arrive.
As long as they had enough people and occupied the moral high ground, even if the enemy had rabid supporters, they could still sway neutral viewers and ultimately claim victory.
This was the power of mobilizing the masses.
In the morning, William watched the streamer "The Silent One" explore the forest alongside a magical beast called "Pichu," teaching viewers about the various magical beasts they encountered.
In the afternoon, William nervously watched the territorial conflict between the Combee colony and the Beedrill swarm.
At night, William saw all the Pokémon introduced earlier in the day safely return, which made him smile. He also developed a bit of curiosity toward a Pokémon the viewers called "Pidgey."
The second day—
The species war between the Pidgey flock and the Spearow flock was incredibly brutal.
The story of Zekrom and the Hero of Ideals was unbelievably passionate and inspiring.
The third day—
I'm going to die if there's no livestream today!
By the second day, William had already planned to leave the anti-fan group he joined.
Well.
Actually, before William even quit, many others had already left first.
Even the group owner transferred ownership and quietly disappeared.
No one mentioned attacking Mo-bao anymore.
When the new group owner saw the situation, it seemed they finally couldn't endure it anymore.
In the end—
The new owner changed the group name to:
Pichu Fan Club Discussion Group
Day after day passed.
William's love for Pokémon grew stronger and stronger.
By the time the official renaming of "magical beasts" into "Pokémon" caused a major stir overseas, William had already begun proactively speaking out, using everything he personally witnessed to defend Pokémon.
Eventually—
Thanks to William's solid character and persistent efforts, some of his friends gradually changed their preconceived views toward Pokémon as well.
"Time really flies…"
William glanced at the time displayed in the bottom-right corner of his monitor and sighed softly.
He no longer obsessed over leaving Zhuxia.
In fact, he even hoped Zhuxia's ongoing travel restrictions would last longer, giving him an excuse to continue staying on this land.
At that moment—
A new message popped up in the chatroom.
[William, are you heading to Anping City tomorrow?]
William glanced at it before quickly replying.
[Yeah, tomorrow. I booked a hotel the moment Pikachu Cup registration opened. If I didn't still have so much work to finish recently, I would've gone to Anping City long ago. Even the preliminaries have been exciting as hell. Sadly, by the time I arrive tomorrow, I'll probably only catch the tail end of them.]
William had already made up his mind.
The city where he lived wasn't far from Anping City—they were both in the same province.
If he departed tomorrow morning, he would arrive by noon at the latest.
And once there—
He planned to enjoy himself all the way until the Pikachu Cup ended.
[So jealous. Apparently William's company leadership feels super guilty because they were the ones who originally sent him to Zhuxia for work, leading to him getting 'trapped' there. They treat him incredibly well now. Half a month of vacation approved instantly.]
[It definitely sounds awesome. But William, I have an idea. Want to try it?]
Seeing the message, William paused.
[What idea?]
[Haven't you always talked about this streamer called 'Teacher Mo'? He used livestreams to change people's opinions. Since you're going to Anping City for the Pikachu Cup anyway, why not livestream the whole thing?]
[Hey, that's actually a great idea!]
[Honestly, I've wanted William to livestream the Pikachu Cup for us forever. Searching random videos online and getting spoiled constantly sucks. Watching live would be way better.]
[Interesting idea. William, just start streaming. Didn't you use to stream before anyway? Even if it was only gaming streams back then.]
[I remember there's a Zhuxia saying: 'Open your eyes and see the world.' If William livestreams the Pikachu Cup, maybe it could help change more people's views on Pokémon too.]
Message after message passed before William's eyes.
He fell into deep thought, recalling how Chen Mo had gradually changed their perception of Pokémon through one livestream after another.
After a long while—
William finally typed a message into the chatroom.
[Alright. First I'm going to post an announcement on Twitter for those idiots. Tomorrow, the moment I arrive in Anping City, I'm starting the livestream!]
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