"…I sincerely wish every trainer here a battle on the stage of this Pikachu Cup that leaves behind absolutely no regrets…"
As the organizer of this Pikachu Cup, Chen Mo still had to go through the usual motions and say a few encouraging words before the tournament officially began.
However—
The opening music and montage had already ignited the passion of most trainers and spectators.
So Chen Mo didn't need to say much.
After a brief speech, he stepped away from the arena and left the stage to the 1,024 trainers who would soon compete.
"Time to head to the commentary booth…"
"If I remember right, Ah Hui's match is the third battle of Group A…"
Chen Mo muttered to himself as he walked calmly through the staff corridor.
Then—
A conspicuous figure in a white lab coat stood against the wall, as though waiting specifically for him.
The moment Chen Mo and Pikachu appeared, the man immediately walked over.
"Xiao Mo, hold off on the commentary booth for now."
"Come with me first—we need your help confirming something."
"Oh?"
"Brother Hu, what's so urgent?"
Chen Mo looked curiously at Hu Chengliang's unusually serious expression.
Hu Chengliang originally intended to explain immediately, but after noticing staff members rushing back and forth in preparation for the tournament, he held himself back.
"Just come with me."
Inside the lounge—
Chen Mo stared at the image on the large screen.
Disbelief filled his face.
Long pale-green hair patterned like musical staffs.
Slender arms ending in oval hands shaped like musical notes.
A black treble-clef-like headpiece.
A black dress.
"Meloetta…"
Chen Mo slowly spoke the Pokémon's name.
Beside him, Hu Chengliang explained:
"At 9:06 AM, one of the drones recording panoramic footage above the arena captured this Mythical Pokémon from the archive."
"At 9:07, Meloetta noticed the drone filming it."
As soon as he finished—
A researcher from the Countermeasure Bureau immediately switched the footage.
A rather adorable face filled the screen.
Gem-like teal eyes stared directly at the camera—
As if examining Chen Mo and the others.
After a long moment—
Meloetta blinked softly and opened its mouth.
"Eita~"
Its voice was crystal clear.
Like spring water flowing through mountain valleys.
In an instant, the restlessness in everyone's hearts settled.
Even Pikachu, perched on Chen Mo's shoulder, looked captivated.
Watching this scene—
Chen Mo inexplicably had the feeling—
That Meloetta had been greeting the people observing it through the drone.
After lingering in front of the drone for around ten seconds—
Meloetta seemed to realize no one would respond.
It quietly flew back above the arena, curiously observing the scene below.
"At 9:10, after circling the arena once, Meloetta disappeared from the drone's field of vision."
The screen shifted again.
Meloetta glided around the circular stadium.
As it flew—
Colorful particles drifted down from its body, scattering across the arena like stardust.
Once it finished—
Meloetta smiled with satisfaction.
Then vanished from the footage entirely.
"Xiao Mo."
"The main reason we called you here is to confirm something."
Hu Chengliang continued.
"Is this Pokémon called Meloetta dangerous?"
"And what exactly are those light particles it scattered?"
Legendary and Mythical Pokémon remained among the Countermeasure Bureau's greatest concerns.
But information was scarce.
And Chen Mo had barely mentioned Meloetta to them before.
To be safe—
Hu Chengliang wanted Chen Mo's opinion.
"No need to worry, Brother Liang."
Chen Mo smiled.
"Like Suicune, Meloetta is extremely friendly toward humans."
"And by nature, Meloetta is gentle."
"You could even say it's one of the safest Mythical Pokémon humanity could interact with right now."
"As for those light particles…"
"You know my situation, Brother Hu."
"My understanding of this kind of Pokémon isn't much deeper than yours."
"I can't tell exactly what those lights do."
"But at the very least, they're harmless to the audience and competitors."
"Who knows?"
"Maybe it's some kind of blessing from Meloetta."
"I see…"
Hu Chengliang looked faintly disappointed.
"That's unfortunate."
"Meloetta disappeared too quickly."
"Nothing we can do."
"Mythical Pokémon are absurdly powerful."
"Meloetta likely has some form of invisibility."
"If it doesn't want to be found…"
"There's probably no way for us to contact it directly."
Chen Mo said thoughtfully.
"My guess?"
"It showed up because it was drawn by the opening music…"
"And the bond humans and Pokémon displayed."
"…Still."
"What a pity."
Lucky or unlucky—
Recently, Chen Mo had indirectly encountered two overwhelmingly powerful Pokémon friendly toward humans.
One—
The Mythical Pokémon Meloetta.
The other—
The Ultra Beast that had secretly stolen Zekrom's scale from his house.
Poipole.
But regardless of whether it was Meloetta or Poipole—
Both had vanished before Chen Mo could truly meet them.
Especially Poipole.
According to Marshadow—
Ever since Gible hatched, it had never returned to Chen Mo's home.
"So…"
"Fated not to meet?"
Chen Mo looked silently at Meloetta on-screen.
Then softly shook his head.
Meanwhile—
At Arena A.
"Brother Hui, let's go!!!"
"Please, Brother Hui! Carry the pride of the Caterpie family!"
"You and Butterfree HAVE to make elimination rounds!"
"I checked the seed rankings again!"
"Brother Hui and Butterfree are ranked 61st!"
"That's insane!"
"Pride of Bug-type trainers!"
"Ah Hui's basically a legend!"
"I watched him grow up in Teacher Mo's livestream!"
The story of Ah Hui and Caterpie had become one of the classic tales every beginner trainer eventually heard.
Combined with Ah Hui's outgoing personality and his connection to Chen Mo—
Even though he ranked only 61st, his popularity rivaled the biggest names.
The roaring cheers when he entered the stage proved it.
"So…"
"My first opponent turns out to be you, Brother Hui."
Standing across from Ah Hui was a young man around his age with messy bangs.
Smiling, he extended a hand.
"To be honest…"
"I'm actually your fan."
"..."
Ah Hui suddenly felt some mysterious force affecting him.
After pausing, he shook the offered hand.
"Thanks."
"I'll give it my all."
"No no, don't misunderstand."
"I really am your fan."
"You checked my profile, right?"
"My starter Pokémon was also Caterpie."
"And honestly…"
"A lot of my Caterpie training methods came from those detailed strategy posts you made online."
The young man touched the Poké Ball in his pocket.
"There's something I've always wanted to ask you."
"And I feel like now…"
"On this stage…"
"Is the perfect moment."
"What is it?"
Ah Hui looked puzzled.
The trainer's name was Ren Liangjun.
Ah Hui had researched his opponent.
Coincidentally—
Just like his preliminary first match—
His group-stage opener was also against another Butterfree trainer.
Honestly—
Judging from Ren Liangjun's words—
He genuinely did seem like a fan.
Ah Hui wasn't being arrogant.
Before Caterpie even evolved into Metapod, he and Chen Mo had spent endless hours discussing Caterpie development.
Combined with his online reputation—
Ah Hui was undeniably something of a representative trainer for the Caterpie line.
A Butterfree trainer idolizing him?
Totally normal.
A bit of pride quietly swelled inside him.
Interesting.
Battling one of my own fans…
Then—
After a brief pause—
Ren Liangjun's expression suddenly turned serious.
"Brother Hui…"
"Have you ever regretted it?"
"Choosing Caterpie as your starter Pokémon?"
Ah Hui froze.
The pride instantly vanished.
Before he could ask what Ren Liangjun meant—
The referee motioned for competitors to take position.
Ren Liangjun turned and walked away.
"The third match of Pikachu Cup Group Stage Round One will now begin!"
"Competitors: Xu Hui versus Ren Liangjun!"
"Battle format: 1v1."
"Standard battlefield."
"The match ends when one Pokémon loses its ability to battle."
After explaining the rules—
The referee stepped off the field.
"Let's do this, Butterfree!"
Ah Hui released his Pokémon.
Across the arena—
Ren Liangjun did the same.
White light flashed.
Another Butterfree appeared.
The atmosphere exploded instantly.
The two trainers locked eyes.
Though Ah Hui still carried countless questions—
The whistle sounded.
His distracting thoughts sank away.
Only one thing remained:
Win.
"Dance, Butterfree!"
"Quiver Dance!"
Almost simultaneously—
Ren Liangjun shouted:
"Safeguard!"
Watching Ah Hui's Butterfree gracefully dancing in the air—
Ren Liangjun's expression darkened.
He had miscalculated.
There were many Butterfree competitors this tournament.
Ah Hui's Butterfree was widely considered among the strongest.
Its speed far exceeded his own Butterfree.
Ren Liangjun had watched Ah Hui's previous eight matches.
He assumed Ah Hui would prioritize moves like Sleep Powder and Stun Spore to disable opponents.
That was why—
He had opened with Safeguard, preventing status effects.
But unexpectedly—
Today Ah Hui completely changed his style.
Not only had Butterfree revealed a move never shown during preliminaries—
Quiver Dance—
It also immediately buffed itself instead of disrupting.
This is bad.
Ren Liangjun gritted his teeth.
"In that case!"
"Butterfree!"
"Sleep Powder!"
"Mui~"
Butterfree fluttered its wings.
Blue, sparkling powder scattered into the air toward Ah Hui's Butterfree.
Ah Hui remained perfectly calm.
The moment he learned his opponent also used Butterfree—
He had mentally rehearsed every possibility.
Right now—
He understood.
Even without instructions—
Butterfree already knew what to do.
Blow them away.
"Butterfree!"
"Mui!"
With a sharp cry—
Butterfree beat its wings.
A violent gale erupted.
William, seated near the front rows, widened his eyes.
The incoming Sleep Powder—
Instead of advancing—
Was forced backward by the storm.
"Don't panic!"
"Butterfree, steady yourself!"
Ren Liangjun shouted through the wind.
Trying to calm his partner.
Then—
He realized something was wrong.
The wind was far too strong.
His Butterfree—
Caught inside the vortex—
Couldn't break free quickly.
"Air Slash!"
Ah Hui seized the opening instantly.
No hesitation.
Butterfree cried sharply.
Gracefully spinning once midair—
Energy surged through its body.
Its wings snapped outward.
A devastating blade of compressed air rode the storm—
Crashing toward the trapped Butterfree.
The impact was overwhelming.
The instant it struck—
The opposing Butterfree was blasted backward.
Then slammed violently into the ground.
No question remained.
A Quiver Dance-boosted Air Slash—
Combined with Ah Hui's clearly superior Butterfree—
Ended the match instantly.
Victory decided in one strike.
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