-039- The Arrival of the Joint Tournament

After the three poachers were apprehended, Tong Si, Qi Qi, and the old man Lianye each gave their own statements. The elven police did not overlook a single detail, even asking precisely how Tong Si had managed to defeat the trio of poachers. In the end, the elven officers gave Tong Si an encouraging pat on the shoulder, expressing high hopes for his future. If possible, they hoped he would become a professional trainer and someday join their ranks.

Once the poachers were taken away, the Lotad children in the pond regained their freedom. Tong Si noticed that his points balance on the data panel had risen to thirty thousand—defeating the three poachers had earned him a reward of thirty thousand points.

Afterward, both Lianye and Qi Qi thanked Tong Si profusely. If not for his help, a large number of Lotad children in the southern pond would have been captured, and Lianye’s position as caretaker might have been lost as well. The sixteen Pokémon eggs were offered to Tong Si free of charge, but feeling embarrassed, he insisted on paying Lianye one hundred sixty thousand Alliance coins, considering it compensation for raising the Lotad children. It amounted to ten thousand per egg—a price far below the industry minimum.

Then, Tong Si told Lianye he wanted a Mudkip egg. Lianye personally took him to the neighboring marsh and selected a high-quality Mudkip egg for him. Of course, the caretaker next door had no idea the egg was of superior quality. Tong Si also picked out three ordinary Wooper eggs. Spending a total of eighty thousand Alliance coins, he acquired one high-quality egg and three ordinary ones.

Before leaving, Qi Qi helped Tong Si transport the eggs to the station. On the way, Tong Si learned that Qi Qi was also a new student at Jiahua University. After calling a Tauros freight vehicle, Tong Si bid farewell to Qi Qi and returned to the JOJO Breeding House.

Unlike the speed and smoothness of Dodrio Express or Arcanine Express, the Tauros freight was bumpy. Two Tauros pulled the truck, galloping along. Fortunately, the sixteen eggs were well-packaged, and after a thorough inspection upon arrival, Tong Si found not a single egg damaged.

After arranging the eighteen ordinary eggs on the shelves, he carried the two high-quality eggs to the incubator. Though he still had a quick hatch voucher, he needed to incubate multiple eggs and thus had to use the machine. He activated both incubators, placing one egg in each. Luckily, the eight eggs he sold were going to be hatched by their new trainers themselves; otherwise, his two incubators would have been fully occupied.

“I really need to earn more points and use quick hatch vouchers,” Tong Si thought, gazing at the two machines in operation with a headache. Hatching a Pokémon egg took five to seven days, but with a quick hatch voucher, it took only half a minute. Yet, each voucher cost fifty thousand points—far too expensive, he felt.

With everything settled, Tong Si went out to the yard. Besides the three runaway brothers and the Carvanha duo, five other Pokémon were being temporarily housed there.

“Bzzt bzzt!” Electabuzz immediately came forward upon seeing Tong Si return.

“Thank you, Electabuzz,” Tong Si said, asking it to guard the house. It was visibly exhausted. The five Pokémon originally in the yard were manageable, but the five newcomers were mischievous. Without Electabuzz’s strength, the situation would have been hard to control.

“Eevee, eevee~” Eevee emerged from its ball and started playing with the three runaway brothers, boasting about its triumph over three Voltorb at once. The brothers, hearing its tale, became fired up, and the Carvanha duo splashed even more energetically. The five Pokémon, impressed by Eevee’s story, eagerly challenged it. Previously, Eevee would never have accepted such challenges, but after defeating three Voltorb, it was no longer afraid of battles—in fact, it seemed exhilarated.

Three minutes later, the five Pokémon lay panting on the ground, while Eevee wore a proud look. The three runaway brothers clapped for their big sister, Eevee.

“Bzzt bzzt?” Electabuzz was astonished—when had Eevee become so strong? Tong Si checked the data panel and saw that Eevee had reached level fifteen, just one below Electabuzz.

“Hard work can’t compare to talent,” Tong Si sighed. Electabuzz, for all its effort, was only level sixteen. Eevee, blessed with talent and luck, had leaped to level fifteen simply by defeating three Voltorb.

…

The following day passed uneventfully, until the joint tournament of the four clubs arrived. Early that morning, Tong Si went to the Pokémon Battle Club. The finals weren’t held there, but Tong Si wanted to give Electabuzz some extra training, ensuring it absorbed plenty of electricity.

“Electabuzz, the club tournament is about to begin. Are you ready?” Tong Si asked.

“Bzzt bzzt!” Electabuzz replied confidently, charged up with energy.

“Eevee~” Eevee tugged at Tong Si’s trouser leg, urging him—it wanted to compete too.

“Don’t rush, Eevee. The Gorgeous Contest in Jiahua City hasn’t started yet. When it does, I’ll take you,” Tong Si reassured it, patting its head. Unlike gym challenges, the Gorgeous Contest isn’t held whenever one wishes. Each city with a Gorgeous Contest stage hosts a rotating performance throughout the province, culminating in a grand festival at year’s end. Coordinators who win five ribbon badges can participate in the grand festival. Jiahua City’s contest schedule hadn’t been announced yet; unless one traveled to another city, joining was impossible for now.

“Tong Si, it’s time to go,” Zhang Shanji entered the electrical room to notify him. As Tong Si was representing the club, Zhang Shanji personally escorted him.

From Zhang Shanji, Tong Si learned the names of the four clubs: Sunday Club, Monday Club, Star Club, and Gold Club. Zhang Shanji’s club was Gold Club. The finals stage was at Sunday Club, the first Pokémon Battle Club in Jiahua City, located in the city center with grand scale—far beyond the reach of Gold Club.

… (To be continued)