Under Chen Mo's insistence, Hu Chengliang let out a soft sigh.
"I'll need to call the professor first and discuss it with him."
Hearing that, Chen Mo immediately thought of Professor Zhou's personality and knew this matter was probably already settled. A faint smile appeared on his face.
Beside him, Zhou Yichuan asked curiously,
"If the tournament goes through successfully, Xiao Mo, will you participate?"
"Well…"
Chen Mo hesitated slightly.
Challenging Gyms, battling through a League, winning one Pokémon battle after another before countless spectators—
Perhaps that was the dream of every Pokémon fan.
And as the first-ever Pokémon competitive tournament in this world, the significance of this event naturally went without saying.
To claim he had absolutely no desire to participate would definitely be a lie.
But—
Most trainers right now had known Pokémon for less than a month.
The Pokémon they'd caught were mostly common species like Caterpie.
Not to mention systematic training, many of those Pokémon probably only knew basic moves like Tackle.
In Chen Mo's eyes, letting those rookie trainers participate in a tournament would probably result in some painfully awkward battles.
Most likely, the matches wouldn't even compare to the earlier battle between Jun and Xiaoyou.
At best, it would only qualify as a beginner's cup.
Under those circumstances, if Chen Mo joined in—
It wouldn't be a competition anymore.
It'd just be blatant smurfing.
"I'll pass."
Chen Mo shook his head and ultimately declined.
As a trainer, he enjoyed battling strong opponents.
Bullying beginners, however, wasn't one of his hobbies.
"Looks like you're pretty considerate of those rookie trainers' tournament experience."
After teasing him lightly, Zhou Yichuan's expression turned serious again.
"That's fine. The main reason I originally wanted you to participate was for your influence and appeal."
"But now that the tournament is being hosted under your name, the effect may be slightly weaker, though it's not a major issue."
"Next, Xiao Mo, let's discuss some tournament rules."
"For example, Dig users not being allowed to stay underground forever."
Chen Mo: "..."
Hu Chengliang, standing nearby, also burst into laughter.
Right at that moment, a spark of inspiration suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Oh right, I've got an idea."
"What?"
"If Xiao Mo isn't participating in the tournament, then for many of his die-hard fans, it might really lessen the excitement."
"So how about this—"
"To better motivate everyone to participate, after the official tournament ends, besides the standard prizes, the champion can additionally earn one opportunity to challenge Xiao Mo."
Adjusting the black-rimmed glasses on his nose bridge, Hu Chengliang spoke with complete confidence.
"Trust me. With that incentive, the tournament will attract even more attention."
"And those trainers, in order to earn a chance to battle Xiao Mo, will absolutely give it everything they've got."
"That's actually brilliant, Chengliang!"
Zhou Yichuan's eyes lit up.
"You've even got me fired up enough to want to enter."
Chen Mo helplessly rubbed the Pikachu sitting on his shoulder.
"Is it really that exaggerated…?"
"It is."
Zhou Yichuan gently patted Chen Mo's other shoulder.
"You need to believe in your status among Pokémon trainers."
News that the first-ever Pokémon competitive tournament in the country—and perhaps the world—was about to be held spread explosively across the internet through Chen Mo's livestream.
Related keywords shot to the top of trending searches at astonishing speed.
Countless people eagerly awaited further updates.
But very quickly, something strange happened.
Over the next several days, although discussion about the Pokémon tournament remained scorching hot—
The official Countermeasure Bureau, which had supposedly been organizing the event, showed no signs of movement whatsoever.
Fans who had grown impatient continuously flooded the Bureau's official account and Chen Mo's Bilibili posts with comments, asking and urging for information regarding the tournament.
But—
There was no response.
That immediately gave some fans a bad feeling.
[Is there a possibility—and I'm just saying possibility here—that the tournament got canceled…]
[Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Me and my Furret are still training every day! I want to participate, battle other trainers, and make friends!]
[Judging from Director Hu's attitude that day, maybe it really is doomed.]
[Can't Teacher Mo do something about it?]
[Stop fantasizing. Teacher Mo isn't Doraemon. Something this big definitely requires tons of discussions and procedures. He alone can't decide how things turn out. Stop making things difficult for him in the comments section.]
Just when everyone had begun to feel the Pokémon tournament might truly be dead—
On Saturday, June 17th—
A post from Chen Mo's official Bilibili account finally brought a turning point.
"Amber, do you think this looks good?"
Inside the villa, Xiaocai carefully placed a handmade red ribbon accessory onto Vulpix's head while nervously watching the little fox standing before the mirror.
"Awoo…"
A trace of helplessness flashed through Vulpix's eyes.
But after seeing the girl's expectant gaze, it still nodded gently in the end.
"Yay!"
Seeing Vulpix approve of her creation, Xiaocai immediately cheered happily.
"Amber, let's try this one next—"
Wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and carrying a handful of metal skewers, Haoran walked through the living room. Seeing the scene, he couldn't help shaking his head.
"Xiaocai, stop forcing Amber to wear the clothes you make all the time."
"It's summer already. The weather's so hot."
"If you pile all that random stuff onto Amber, won't it feel uncomfortable?"
"Mind your own business!"
Xiaocai rolled her eyes at Haoran.
"You're not Amber, so how would you know whether she likes it or not?"
"Besides, I'm only dressing her up at home. Why are you even trying to control that?"
"Fine, fine!"
Too lazy to argue further, Haoran waved dismissively.
"The barbecue's almost ready."
"You and Amber hurry up and come over."
After saying that, he immediately headed toward the backyard without looking back.
After all—
A certain bottomless stomach was still waiting to be fed over there.
A short while later—
After fully satisfying her own dressing-up urges, Xiaocai gently hugged Vulpix and rubbed her cheek against the little fox's face, smiling blissfully.
"Vulpix, you're the best."
"That's enough for today. Let's go eat barbecue now."
"If we're too late, Snorlax Jr. will eat everything."
"Awoo~"
Hearing that, Vulpix first sighed in relief.
Then its amber-colored eyes sparkled brightly.
Time to eat!
Understanding exactly what Vulpix was thinking, Xiaocai burst into laughter.
"You little foodie."
"But behave yourself today. Don't compete with Snorlax Jr. over who can eat more again."
"Know your limits. That little guy's stomach is literally a bottomless pit."
"Awoo…"
Vulpix instinctively touched its own tiny belly.
Recalling Snorlax Jr.'s horrifying appetite over the past few days, it shook its head frantically like a rattle drum.
No more.
Never competing with that monster again.
Xiaocai smiled warmly.
Just as she carried Vulpix toward the backyard—
The doorbell suddenly rang.
"Brother Hui!"
Seeing the young man standing outside, Xiaocai's eyes lit up as she hurried over to open the door.
"Brother Hui, what brings you here?"
"I need to talk to your brother about something. Is he home?"
Ah Hui looked extremely anxious.
Seeing his expression, Xiaocai quickly replied,
"He's making barbecue in the backyard. Actually, Brother Hui, you—"
Before she could finish—
The moment Ah Hui learned Haoran's location, he had already rushed off impatiently while shouting loudly:
"Haoran! It's here! It's finally here!"
His voice echoed throughout the villa.
Haoran, currently grilling barbecue in the backyard, looked utterly confused.
"Huh?"
"The tournament…"
Holding up his phone, Ah Hui's face was filled with excitement.
"The tournament is really happening!"
"!"
Haoran's expression changed instantly.
He set down the metal skewers and wiped his hands, preparing to walk over—
But from the corner of his eye, he noticed Snorlax Jr. beside the grill staring obsessively at the meat skewers, completely disconnected from the outside world.
Shaking his head, Haoran looked toward his sister, who had just arrived in the backyard behind Ah Hui.
"Xiaocai, come help with the grilling."
"Once the meat's done, you and Snorlax Jr. and Vulpix can start eating first."
"Huh!?"
One minute later—
Standing before the grill while holding metal skewers, Xiaocai felt the scorching gazes coming from Snorlax Jr. and Vulpix and gritted her teeth in annoyance.
"What the heck… it's just a tournament…"
Meanwhile—
Haoran stared at the post Chen Mo had uploaded onto Bilibili with a serious expression.
[First of all, thank you everyone for your concern during this time. The answers you've all been waiting for are now contained within the website below. So—let us raise a toast to celebrate the birth of the "Pikachu Cup"!]
At the bottom of the post was a website link.
The moment he saw the words Pikachu Cup, Haoran—who had long been unable to suppress his excitement—hurriedly tapped the link.
The phone screen switched instantly.
Then—
A website titled Pokémon Home, with an orange-yellow Poké Ball as its logo, appeared before him.
The background of the website looked extremely fairy-tale-like.
Within a lush green forest, a little Pichu wearing a backpack stood with its back facing the viewer while gently opening the door to a cozy cabin.
At first glance, Haoran roughly scanned the categories at the top of the site.
It looked just like a web-based Pokédex.
Nothing especially noteworthy.
But—
The real focus was the large image underneath.
A golden trophy shaped like Pikachu stood quietly at the center of the screen.
Below it was a line of text:
[Anping City "Pikachu Cup" registrations are now open. Click for details.]
At the very bottom of the image was a number that continuously flickered upward.
At this moment, it displayed: 381.
Haoran understood immediately.
That probably represented the number of registered participants for the Pikachu Cup.
"Teacher Mo only posted this an hour and a half ago, and there are already this many applicants…"
"The competition pressure is insane…"
Watching the number continue climbing, Haoran felt both excitement and tremendous pressure.
Ever since Chen Mo first revealed during his livestream that a Pokémon tournament would be held—
Both Haoran and Ah Hui had already decided they would participate together.
To train themselves.
And also to see what trainers of this era were truly like.
Unlike ordinary people outside still worrying whether the tournament would get canceled—
Ah Hui, who was extremely close to Chen Mo, had already figured out through various hints that the tournament definitely wasn't going to die.
Right then—
While Ah Hui kept urging him to hurry up and register, Haoran suddenly realized something.
"Wait, Ah Hui, something's weird here."
"Why is registration for the Pikachu Cup happening through this 'Pokémon Home' website?"
"Why isn't it posted on the Countermeasure Bureau's official website?"
"Or are registrations actually available on both?"
"No."
Ah Hui shook his head.
"The only place you can register is Pokémon Home."
"Nowhere else."
"..."
A strange expression appeared on Haoran's face.
He sharply sensed something off.
Ah Hui quietly explained:
"Just like you guessed."
"The tournament is connected to the authorities, but officially…"
"It's being hosted under Brother Mo's own name."
"This…"
For a moment, Haoran didn't know what to say.
Chen Mo technically held a position within the Countermeasure Bureau.
The authorities could verify related information as well.
To ordinary people, registering through Pokémon Home instead of the Bureau's official site probably wouldn't feel all that different.
At most, they'd think it was slightly strange.
But—
Anyone who understood even a little about the situation knew that Chen Mo's official position was essentially symbolic.
A leisurely role with little actual authority.
Because of their family backgrounds and previous relationship with Chen Mo—
Haoran and Ah Hui understood the subtleties involved far better than most.
For example—
When the Bureau changed the official term from "Magical Beasts" to "Pokémon," the family member of the forest police officer who first attacked Chen Mo online had deliberately avoided mentioning his official government position entirely.
From beginning to end, they only referred to him as "that streamer."
"Brother Mo's trying to gather all the hatred onto himself…"
Haoran muttered quietly.
Ah Hui sighed inwardly.
Then he firmly patted Haoran on the shoulder.
"Right now, we can't change any of that."
"Brother Mo has already given so much to this era."
"The only thing we can do in return is become stronger."
"This time, I'm definitely winning the championship!"
"Yeah, you're right."
Haoran nodded instinctively.
But immediately afterward—
He realized something felt wrong.
Very quickly recovering, Haoran looked at Ah Hui with disdain.
"You?"
"You want to win the championship?"
"Come on. Your Metapod's just going to stand there as a giant target."
"Honestly, with the tournament date still undecided, you'd better pray it starts later."
"That way your Metapod might actually evolve into Butterfree in time."
"Otherwise, the champion will definitely be me—Chen Haoran!"
"..."
The veins on Ah Hui's forehead bulged violently.
But he said nothing.
Instead, he silently repeated to himself over and over—
Soon… soon…
Metapod will evolve very soon.
When the tournament begins, me and Metapod will absolutely shock all of you.
Just wait and see!
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