Friday, June 30th.
There was still one day left before the Pikachu Cup main tournament officially began, but around eleven o'clock yesterday morning, all 1,024 qualifying trainers had already been decided.
Thus—
For trainers and Pokémon alike, today was essentially a rest day.
Considering the exhaustion Pokémon had accumulated after several consecutive days of battling, most trainers decided to give their Pokémon a break.
Some accompanied their Pokémon to play in Anping City's parks.
Some went on shopping sprees with their Pokémon at Anping City's newly opened department stores, fully enjoying the thrill of shopping.
Others stayed at home with their Pokémon, binge-watching dramas and quietly savoring peaceful moments together.
Of course—
Everyone had their own way of doing things.
Among the successful qualifiers, there was no shortage of trainers hoping to use this precious day before the main tournament to strengthen themselves further.
After all—
Aside from the monsters who had already built reputations during the preliminaries, most rookie trainers were fairly close in strength.
A little more effort.
A little more improvement.
And perhaps they could go farther in the main tournament.
"Enough talking—cheers to all of us successfully qualifying for the main tournament!"
Inside the villa, Chen Haoran raised his cup.
The other three immediately picked theirs up as well.
Beneath a sky full of stars, the cups clinked together.
"Cheers!"
Ah Hui downed his beer in one gulp.
Just then, his pocket suddenly vibrated.
Quickly pulling out his phone—
"It's a text from Brother Mo!"
"What did Brother Mo say?"
Chen Haoran instantly perked up.
However—
He quickly noticed the excitement vanish from Ah Hui's expression, replaced by disappointment.
"He can't come."
"Brother Mo said he has some urgent work tonight and can't make it to celebrate with us."
"Oh…"
Chen Haoran visibly deflated.
Then—
A smile suddenly appeared on Ah Hui's lips.
"But Brother Mo said after the Pikachu Cup ends, he'll treat us all to a meal."
"And if any of us make it to the elimination rounds, he'll even give that person a special gift."
Chen Haoran immediately brightened up.
"Getting through groups?"
"That'll be easy."
After the preliminaries, his confidence had skyrocketed.
Although he caught his Pokémon later than most, his Munchlax had proven absurdly strong.
He qualified for the main tournament undefeated.
Based on what he had observed these past days—
Chen Haoran felt that with Munchlax's strength, making it out of groups and into eliminations would be effortless.
"Overconfident idiot…"
Xiao Cai muttered from the side.
At the same time—
She glanced toward Ah Hui.
Look at Brother Ah Hui.
Also undefeated.
Yet so calm and composed.
As expected of Brother Ah Hui!
Noticing the girl's gaze, Ah Hui deliberately avoided it and instead turned toward Feng Lan, who was sitting quietly scrolling through her phone.
"What are you looking at so seriously?"
"You're not eating?"
"I found something interesting."
Feng Lan looked up and smiled.
"I sent it to your phones. Take a look."
"What's with the mystery?"
Ah Hui instinctively grabbed his phone.
While gently petting the Pidgeotto beside her, Feng Lan explained:
"Some Pokémon battle enthusiasts on the Pokémon Battle Network compiled a rough power ranking of all trainers who qualified for the Pikachu Cup main tournament."
"There are even comments and evaluations attached."
"That actually sounds kinda interesting…"
Ah Hui and the others quickly opened the link.
At the very top—
Was Xiao You and Banette.
#1 — Xiao You & Banette
Commentary: Why place Xiao You and Banette in first?
First, Xiao You qualified for the main tournament as the very first trainer. Bonus points.
Second, in all eight battles, Xiao You and Banette defeated opponents in under three minutes. Their terrifying strength is obvious to all.
Third—and most importantly—
The strength Xiao You and Banette displayed is only the tip of the iceberg.
Allow this writer to explain.
At present, Banette wins through explosive, high-damage attacks, crushing opponents swiftly and decisively.
This has created a misconception among many trainers:
That Banette may struggle in prolonged battles.
Without question—
That is a huge mistake.
Anyone who carefully watched Teacher Mo's Lavender Town stream should remember Banette's absurd power.
Back at the school in Lavender Town, Banette suppressed berserk energy inside itself while simultaneously escaping to the forest outside town at a speed even Pidgeotto couldn't match.
That level of endurance and determination speaks for itself.
This writer firmly believes Banette's sustained combat strength would not decline significantly in prolonged battles.
Some may argue:
"That Banette was only so powerful because it absorbed resentment from Lavender Town's residents!"
However—
Even if current Banette is weaker than the resentment-fueled version, the difference cannot be that large.
Why?
Simple.
Xiao You is among the earliest known trainers to build bonds with Pokémon.
She also receives official support in Banette's training.
And likely guidance from Teacher Mo himself.
Think about those buffs.
Could they possibly be weak?
Furthermore—
Another major reason this writer insists on ranking Xiao You first—and the only S-tier combination currently—
Is Banette's typing.
Do not forget:
Ghost-type Pokémon are widely acknowledged as some of the hardest Pokémon to deal with.
Therefore—
To any trainer unlucky enough to draw Xiao You in group stage tonight:
Good luck.
After reading the absurdly long evaluation—
Everyone fell silent.
Ah Hui, deeply influenced by Chen Mo, firmly believed the bond between trainer and Pokémon was the strongest power of all.
A force capable of creating miracles even in impossible situations.
After everything he and Butterfree had gone through—
Ah Hui believed their bond would lose to no one.
But Xiao You was different.
That image—
Of Xiao You running through the rain toward Banette despite life-and-death danger—
Still lingered vividly in his memory.
"I really want to battle Xiao You…"
Chen Haoran sighed sincerely.
"Kids these days are terrifying."
"I heard a bunch of student trainers made the main tournament."
"Xiao You's the youngest, right?"
"Hmph."
"I qualified too—as a student trainer."
Xiao Cai puffed out her chest.
Chen Haoran calmly continued reading from his phone.
Rank #421 — Trainer Chen Xingcai (Pokémon: Vulpix)
Evaluation: Trainer Chen Xingcai possesses a very rare Fire-type Pokémon, Vulpix, and is among the few Fire-type trainers seen during preliminaries.
Vulpix is fast, agile, and demonstrates excellent mastery of Fire-type techniques. A very capable Pokémon.
However, Trainer Chen Xingcai appears relatively inexperienced due to young age. Coordination with Vulpix remains rough.
As a result, qualification for the main tournament was barely achieved.
If Trainer Chen Xingcai hopes for better results, significant improvement is necessary.
Worst-case scenario: follow Teacher Mo's Gible example and just let Vulpix freestyle.
Clearly—
The ranking author had already exercised considerable restraint.
Feng Lan hurriedly added:
"Xiao Cai, ranking 421 out of over a thousand trainers is already pretty good."
"If Pidgey hadn't evolved into Pidgeotto during my last two matches, I think I'd rank around the same."
"Feng Lan-jie, what rank are you?"
"One hundred eighty-one."
"Oh…"
"That actually is pretty close…"
Xiao Cai's mood instantly improved.
Then Chen Haoran mercilessly interrupted.
"The comments for Feng Lan are incredibly positive."
"They praised her command ability and chemistry with Pidgeotto."
"The only reason she's ranked 181 is because Pidgeotto evolved recently and needs adjustment time."
"Honestly, even without evolution, she'd still rank top 300."
"Not remotely comparable to your Vulpix carrying you to 421."
Then—
Remembering Xiao Cai's evaluation—
He nudged her teasingly.
"Didn't know you'd become a Teacher Mo-style trainer, Chen Xingcai."
"That evaluation is honestly unique."
"CHEN. HAO. RAN."
Xiao Cai's expression darkened.
The murderous aura instantly made Chen Haoran cough awkwardly.
He pointed toward the trembling Vulpix in her arms.
"Building trust and chemistry with Pokémon is essential for a trainer."
"See? You scared Vulpix."
"..."
Glaring viciously, Xiao Cai hurriedly soothed the puffed-up Vulpix.
"Chen Haoran."
"This isn't over."
"You think I'm scared?"
Chen Haoran grinned proudly.
"Rank nine on the list."
"Actually top five among tied trainers."
"I'll be waiting in main tournament."
"If you've got guts—bring Vulpix."
"Hope you crash and burn."
The siblings instantly descended into chaos.
Unable to take it anymore, frightened Vulpix leapt from Xiao Cai's arms.
Sending her scrambling after it while apologizing profusely.
At that moment—
Chen Haoran noticed Ah Hui still staring at the rankings.
Thinking he was upset—
He walked over and slung an arm around Ah Hui's shoulder.
"Caterpie are super common this tournament."
"And Butterfree too, since evolution's easy."
"Your ranking getting affected makes sense."
"But I know you and Butterfree are stronger than rank sixty-one."
"Don't take it personally."
Ah Hui felt warmth in his chest.
Then shook his head.
"No."
"That's not it."
"You know me."
"I've always believed strength can only be decided through actual battle."
"Rank sixty-one or sixteen—it doesn't matter."
"I'm fine either way."
"Then what are you thinking about?"
"This list still has some value."
Ah Hui stared toward the top names.
Chen Haoran. Qiao Cheng. Zhiping. Mo Yu. Gao Tianming. Ideal (gengar)…
The evaluations made clear—
Each had their own strengths.
But one name especially caught Ah Hui's attention.
Zhao Xue'er
"Zhao Xue'er…"
Chen Haoran blinked.
"That sounds familiar."
Opening the rankings—
He found her at #3.
Trainer Zhao Xue'er — Pokémon: Frosmoth
"Huh?"
"Never heard of that Pokémon."
Ah Hui nodded.
"She's supposedly a trainer from the north."
"Performed incredibly well in preliminaries."
"Second only to Xiao You."
"Her Pokémon, Frosmoth, is an Ice- and Bug-type."
"There isn't much Pokédex info."
"Not Flying-type?"
"No."
"I thought so too at first."
"But nope."
"If Butterfree runs into her…"
"That'll be rough."
"Bad matchup…"
Chen Haoran rubbed his chin seriously.
Thinking about how Munchlax might handle Frosmoth.
Then suddenly—
Feng Lan interrupted.
"It's out."
"The Pokémon Home website just posted the group stage brackets."
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