Very soon, the preliminary stage of the Martial Arts Tournament officially began!
When all the evaluated participants in Ethan's area had fully gathered, the examiner began calling the participants by number.
By pure coincidence, the first to step onto the stage was precisely the young man who had earlier been the first to mock Ethan.
After stepping onto the stage, the young man even cast a provocative glance at Ethan before taking his position within the testing area.
With the opening of the Poké Ball, a humanoid-looking Machamp appeared on the field, with four arms, gray skin, and an extremely robust body.
"It's a Machamp!"
As Machamp appeared, the atmosphere throughout the entire venue became noticeably more tense.
Machamp, as one of the most popular Fighting-type Pokémon, had always delivered outstanding performances in every edition of the Martial Arts Tournament.
After so many editions of the tournament, almost more than half of the champions had been Machamp, clearly demonstrating its tremendous power.
"It's him, Kevin Brooks from the Machamp Dojo!"
"No wonder he seemed so familiar! Kevin's father was the champion of the tournament in the previous edition!"
Seeing Machamp take the stage, some people immediately recognized Kevin's identity and began to exclaim in surprise.
Ethan also heard the audience's comments and lightly stroked his chin. No wonder he was so arrogant; he had the capital to back it up.
On the stage, Kevin, seeing the enthusiasm of the other competitors, felt very satisfied. He then directed his gaze toward the power meter in front of him and began giving orders to Machamp.
"Machamp, use Focus Punch."
The moment he opened his mouth, Kevin ordered a powerful Fighting-type move.
Machamp positioned itself in front of the power-testing meter. After taking a deep breath, energy began to gather in one of its fists.
According to the rules, the Pokémon could only use a single move, and the score would be determined based on the power of that attack.
Boom!
A loud explosion rang out.
Machamp's fist slammed heavily into the testing meter.
In an instant, the numbers on the device began to jump frantically, increasing at high speed.
When the third digit stopped at the number 2, the rate of increase slowed, and finally it stopped at 285 points.
"Damn, this is insane!"
"285 points! Kevin really lives up to being the son of the previous tournament champion!"
Seeing the terrifying power of Machamp's attack, the entire venue gasped in amazement.
When Kevin's father had won the championship in the previous edition, his Machamp had only reached 302 points. In comparison, Kevin's result was already not far behind.
"Only 285 points. Looks like my Machamp's performance this time was just average."
Although Kevin was very satisfied inside, on the surface he spoke with complete nonchalance.
His friends, seeing this, immediately began to flatter him nonstop, inflating his vanity to the extreme.
"Is that score really that high?"
"If this meter is the same one used in the Cross Cup... then 285 points doesn't seem like a particularly high score, does it?"
Ethan couldn't help but feel a bit confused.
In the Cross Cup, his Litwick had reached over 500 points. Compared to that, Machamp's score could only be considered average.
"And besides... are 302 points already enough to win a championship?"
"It seems the value of the Martial Arts Tournament title isn't as high as I thought."
Ethan pondered for a moment and then understood the reasoning behind the tournament rules.
The Martial Arts Tournament was like the martial arts tournaments from his past life: it wasn't favored by all trainers. Compared to the Cross Cup, its audience was much smaller, making it more of a recreational event.
"If that's the case... then Cacturne still has a chance to win the championship."
Ethan took out Cacturne's Poké Ball, feeling a growing sense of anticipation.
After that, one by one, competitors dressed in combat uniforms stepped onto the stage to perform the test.
Most of the results hovered around 100 points. One participant who scored 120 points was so happy that he seemed convinced he had already secured his spot in the main stage.
Finally, the examiner called Ethan.
"Finally, it's my turn."
Ethan smiled faintly and stepped onto the stage.
Immediately, all of the audience's attention focused on him, with expressions full of anticipation for a show.
Based on experience from previous years, most Pokémon from the Multitype Martial Dojo failed to advance to the main stage.
In the eyes of many, they were nothing more than insignificant fillers.
"Go, Cacturne."
Ignoring the gazes of the crowd, Ethan released Cacturne.
The moment Cacturne appeared, almost everyone in the venue was stunned.
"Cacturne?"
"This guy really came just to make up the numbers. He's dressed like a bear, and his Pokémon isn't any better!"
Kevin immediately went into mockery mode, laughing so hard he was almost in tears.
"Huh? What's going on in that testing field?"
"Is that Pokémon Cacturne? Someone actually brought a Pokémon like that to the tournament?"
"It really is Cacturne! Is this the first time a Pokémon like this has appeared in the tournament?"
"That's right, that's right. But I don't see anything strong about that Pokémon. It must be from the Multitype Martial Dojo again."
The spectators outside the field were also drawn by Cacturne, and many turned their attention toward the testing area where he was.
"It's Ethan's Cacturne!"
"Those annoying guys dare to mock our dojo!"
"Come on, Cacturne! Use your fists to make all those guys shut up!"
Among the audience, there were also students from the Multitype Martial Dojo, who clenched their fists with suppressed anger.
Ethan, of course, noticed all these reactions. The corner of his lips curved slightly upward.
"Cacturne, begin."
Upon hearing Ethan's order, Cacturne nodded and positioned itself in front of the testing meter.
Then, Fighting-type energy wrapped around its fist, emitting a faint white glow.
However, Cacturne did not throw the punch immediately. It remained motionless, maintaining its charging posture, like a lone cactus standing firm in the desert.
"What is that Cacturne doing?"
"Isn't it daring to attack? Just punch already!"
Seeing that Cacturne wasn't moving, the crowd began to show confusion.
Gradually, as it continued to remain still, some spectators started to grow impatient.
"What is that Cacturne doing?"
In the guest area, some people also turned their gazes toward it.
"That move... could it be Power-Up Punch?" another guest said.
This guest was wearing a white research coat, and judging by his appearance, he was likely a Pokémon Researcher.
(End of chapter)