In the blink of an eye, it was the second day.
The online discussions about the new video were still maintaining incredibly high heat, but for Aiden, there were more important things at hand right now.
The Lumiose Stadium was still bustling with noise. Before the event even started, it was already a full house.
Although it was only the first round of the knockout stage and the skill gap between the players was almost visible to the naked eye, it didn't stop the audience from looking forward to the performances of the star players.
For example, Master Mustard and Aiden who debuted yesterday, or Professor Oak, who was about to give the rookies a little taste of shock today.
Written win-streak records and trophy counts obviously couldn't give the people of the new era a clear understanding of the veterans' strength; they only knew he used to be an incredibly powerful trainer.
But exactly how strong was he? Was he still as sharp as ever in the new era?
These were questions that couldn't be answered simply through imagination.
The best way, of course, was to witness his battles with their own eyes.
Just like Master Mustard yesterday, who easily secured victory relying solely on an incredibly slick Mienshao. He aggressively attacked his opponents the entire time, yet finished without a scratch, completely toying with them.
This was the best embodiment of strength.
With yesterday's experience, the audience naturally grew even more curious about Professor Oak, whose fame was even greater, and who had even defeated Master Mustard head-on in the finals of a Masters Tournament.
And of course, Aiden was among those people.
"Tch—has Flint finally seen the light? He actually managed to pull off a combo technique with Aaron that looked quite decent."
Sitting in the competitor's lounge, watching a crushing victory unfold on screen, Aiden clicked his tongue.
Magmortar's Flamethrower actually had a subtle chemical reaction with Air Slash, erupting into a surging wave of fire that swallowed the opponents' entire side of the field.
Sure enough, Double Battles are a world of imagination. This move was genuinely interesting.
Especially when the two young opponents were hot-headed rookies who didn't even set up a Grass-type to protect against Water-types on the switch-in, the effect was even better.
"After all, they are practically 'childhood friends' from working together at the League. They still have great synergy with each other."
Cynthia nodded in agreement, looking down at Flint, who was cheering excitedly. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
Including herself, the newcomers of the Sinnoh League had all grown at breakneck speed over the past year, visibly becoming more reliable.
Perhaps it wouldn't be long before the matured versions of them no longer needed Granny Bertha's guidance, becoming elites capable of standing on their own.
When that time came, if Lucian still harbored his obsession with becoming Champion—
It would be another win-win situation.
Thinking of this, a bit more amusement crept into Cynthia's agile eyes.
"But wait, why do I remember that Flint's actual childhood friend should be Volkner, the Gym Leader of Sunyshore City?"
Aiden hadn't noticed Cynthia's expression, so after thinking for a moment, his own expression turned a bit subtle.
"Yeah, he originally did plan to team up with Volkner."
Cynthia nodded, her expression also turning a bit helpless as she brought the matter up.
"But after finding out we were participating, Volkner straight up bailed."
"He said something like, 'My goal is indeed to challenge the Elite Four, but isn't skipping straight to this a bit too much of a leap?'"
"Worthy of being the 'Yellow Flash,' his reaction was indeed fast enough—"
Aiden suddenly blurted out, immediately receiving a confused look from Cynthia.
"Yellow Flash?"
"Nothing, just a nickname I thought up for him."
Aiden pursed his lips, desperately trying to think of a topic to gloss over his slip of the tongue.
The Pokémon world didn't have Naruto, so there was absolutely no way to explain this meme to Cynthia!
Knock knock knock
Right at that moment, the door to their lounge was suddenly knocked.
"Yo, Azurey boy, we're here to drop by~"
After the door was pushed open, Master Mustard's energetic voice was the first to be heard.
Following that, an old man in a baseball uniform and a woman in bright green clothing with heavy makeup walked in.
"Master Mustard, Honey?"
Aiden was stunned for a second, but quickly reacted, standing up to greet them.
A Poké Ball in his pocket immediately started shaking, soon rolling to the ground on its own and projecting a red light into the room.
"Luca!"
Lucario clasped his hands together, bowing respectfully to Master Mustard and Honey.
"Long time no see. You seem to have gotten a lot sturdier, little Luca~"
Lucario's appearance immediately shifted Master Mustard's attention over to him.
After observing him up close, he quickly came to a conclusion: "Mm, with your current strength, you probably wouldn't be at a disadvantage even if you faced those two masters of yours again!"
"But, that alone still isn't enough. A disciple must aim to surpass their master. You still need to keep working hard~"
"Lucario!"
Lucario nodded heavily, seemingly taking Master Mustard's words deeply to heart.
"Alright, great spirit!"
Master Mustard laughed heartily in satisfaction, but then his expression suddenly turned serious.
"However, having spirit alone is far from enough!"
"In this tournament, let me witness the growth of you and Little Azurey!"
"If you lose before you even get to face this old man, I won't acknowledge you as my disciple!"
Seeing this, Aiden could only smile helplessly.
It seemed Master Mustard's goal for entering this Masters Tournament was already very clear.
I didn't expect him to be gunning for me too. Why does it feel like my aggro has been a bit high lately?
"Alright, didn't you just say you were coming to encourage the youngsters?"
Honey patted Master Mustard on the shoulder, perfectly smoothing things over. She pulled the topic back and then turned to look at Aiden.
And Cynthia beside him.
"Don't be nervous, we really are just here to drop by this time, and to say hi to our future opponents in advance?"
Honey smiled and casually sat down on the other side of the sofa.
"After all, the one taking the stage next is Professor Oak."
"My dear here talks about him all the time; it seems he's been brooding over it for almost half his life~"
"Tch—After all, this old man only has so few regrets in his life!"
On this topic, Mustard suddenly dropped his usual humorous demeanor. His expression grew melancholic as he sat down.
Aiden raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
Normally, this would be the part where the older generation starts their "back in my day" segment, right?
Like, "If only my Urshifu could have held on, I definitely would have been the one to win instead of Oak"?
However, Mustard's next words were somewhat unexpected to Aiden.
"Aiden, I must remind you of something."
As he spoke, Master Mustard's expression was incredibly serious.
"Oak is very strong. In our era, his strength was absolutely in a tier of its own."
"Losing to him in the Masters Tournament back then, I only felt regret, not pity."
"Because even if we fought a hundred or a thousand more times, I probably still wouldn't have been able to beat him."
"If he hadn't retired to become a Pokémon Professor, his accolades would have only continued to grow, until he crushed everyone else."
"So, I can more or less understand Oak's motives for suddenly coming out of retirement after being out of the game for half a lifetime."
Seeing Aiden's expression gradually become serious and focused, Master Mustard suddenly let out a hearty laugh and continued.
"We are indeed relics of the old era, and we have both found new directions in our lives."
"But precisely because of that, before truly 'retiring,' we still need someone to take the baton from our hands."
"For a trainer, there is naturally only one way to do that—"
"Defeat us!"
Aiden fell silent for a moment after listening, before nodding in agreement.
He could more or less understand Master Mustard's thoughts.
After all, the titles held by these two veterans were a bit too intimidating.
One had an undefeated career; the other had dominated Galar for eighteen years, with a flawless record against everyone except Professor Oak.
Therefore, the passing of the "Battle Legend" title had remained in limbo. Even after so many years, no new "Legends" had emerged.
Because the predecessors were simply too strong, the generational transition had completely awkwardly stalled out.
Just like the online discussions before this tournament started. Whether it was Aiden himself, or Champions like Steven and Leon, comparing them to the two Battle Legends always made them seem slightly lacking.
And for Master Mustard to suddenly come before him and Cynthia today to say these words—
The implied meaning seemed to be his expectation that they would defeat him, defeat Professor Oak, and complete this generational transition that desperately needed a conclusion.
It didn't even matter if it was through a less formal Doubles tournament.
After all, if they had actually signed up for the Masters Tournament, that would have been a true horror story. It probably would have scared off quite a few participating trainers right off the bat—
So, calling it an entertainment-oriented Doubles tournament was actually just right?
Aiden shook his head helplessly and exchanged a glance with Cynthia. Both could see a hint of nervousness in each other's eyes.
Rather than feeling honored, perhaps "immense pressure" was the better way to describe it?
Who enters a tournament without wanting to win? But if they really ran into Master Mustard or Professor Oak—
At the very least, Aiden didn't dare say he could guarantee a win.
Even with Legendary Pokémon backing him up, it was the same. After all, Master Mustard himself was the best user of the two Ursaluna forms.
"Haha, don't overthink it. Just treat it as this old man reminiscing about life!"
Master Mustard quickly returned to his usual unserious demeanor. He slapped his thigh, laughed, and pointed down at the battlefield.
"Old man Oak is finally taking the stage. Watch the match, watch the match!"
"Let's see how much gas this old coot has left in his tank!"
Aiden's gaze quickly followed.
When Professor Oak walked out of the competitor tunnel, he actually froze for a second.
In his impression, Professor Oak and Master Mustard actually had quite similar personalities. They were both old boys with no real airs of a senior, who loved to suddenly crack a joke.
But this time, Professor Oak's expression was unbelievably serious, his aura in no way inferior to Granny Agatha standing next to him.
So this is what you meant yesterday by "I'm mainly here to do research"?
This looks more like you're here to give your opponents a lesson.
Aiden's gaze turned playful. By now, he was certain that Master Mustard's words held truth.
I almost got played by this old geezer!
So, he chose to silently take out a pen and paper, standing at full alert.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the battle quickly began.
Professor Oak and Granny Agatha's opponents this round were a locally famous Dragon Tamer couple.
Generally speaking, because Dragon Tamers deal with Dragon Pokémon year-round, they tend to have a very oppressive aura.
But obviously, they couldn't suppress their opponents this time. In fact, they had clearly shown fear the moment the match started.
Aiden could understand. After all, this was the overwhelming aura of a "Founding Father". What normal person could withstand that?!
Soon, both sides sent out their lead Pokémon.
The Dragon Tamers sent out a Goodra and a Kingdra combo. The moment they appeared, Aiden basically guessed this was a Rain Team setup.
But wait, they were having Goodra manually set up the Rain?
Aiden's expression turned a bit subtle.
Because standing right across from them, Professor Oak and Granny Agatha's Pokémon were Gengar + Kangaskhan.
They're going all out right from the start?
"Tch, that's ruthless."
Master Mustard's timely snark perfectly echoed Aiden's thoughts.
These two were their signature Pokémon that made them famous. And who knows, in this new era, they might have gone a step further and unleashed even greater power.
The rules of this tournament allowed players to choose one special battle mechanic, and both members of a duo could use it.
If both of these Pokémon Mega Evolved—
Aiden imagined himself standing on the opposite side of the field and couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine.
How terrifying!
The battle began swiftly.
Professor Oak's Kangaskhan made the first move, slapping out a palm right before Goodra could open its mouth to gather Water-type energy.
"Fake Out. He directly broke the opponent's rhythm, just as expected."
Aiden narrowed his eyes, observing the match while silently pondering.
A very solid choice, and he completely read the opponents with that very first move.
The battle might have ended right here—
No, it was a foregone conclusion before the battle even began.
After Kangaskhan moved, the purple chunky Gengar beside it immediately took a deep breath, violently roaring out a burst of pink light forward.
"Dazzling Gleam. Its lethality against Dragon-type Pokémon is absolutely terrifying, and its area of effect covers the opponents' entire half of the field."
In other words, there was nowhere to hide.
Watching the two defenseless Dragon Pokémon instantly drop, Aiden couldn't help but sigh. As expected, Professor Oak and the others had never planned to hold back from the very beginning.
They could only blame the couple across from them for their bad luck, running headfirst into a brick wall in the very first round.
Not only was their strength completely crushed, but their information processing ability in the first few seconds of the battle wasn't even on the same level.
How was Professor Oak here to just casually mess around? He was clearly using this battle to declare war on every other contestant!
He directly put his full strength on display, making it obvious he wasn't afraid of anyone trying to target him.
All the contestants who might run into Professor Oak and Granny Agatha in the later rounds were probably sweating bullets right now—
Even Aiden himself had a somewhat subtle expression at the moment.
Didn't we agree this was an entertainment-oriented smurf pond?
Why is the vibe of this tournament gradually going in the wrong direction?!
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