"The battle is over! The winner is Gu Yuan!"
As the referee's voice rang out, the selection tournament officially drew to a close.
After recalling his Dragonite, Taishi Utsunomiya left without looking back. He had not given up on the position of captain. The rules stated clearly that during the Regional Battle Tournament, any team member could challenge the current captain; the winner would then take the position. Consequently, what Taishi needed to do now was help Dragonite improve its strength as much as possible. He believed that once Dragonite broke through to the Leader Rank, Sylveon would no longer be a threat.
Regardless of Taishi's thoughts, the current captain was Gu Yuan. With this, the roster for the Regional Battle Tournament was officially confirmed. The captain was Gu Yuan, and the members were Taishi Utsunomiya, Koji Kurata, and Aiko. The substitute members were Kazuo Akatsuka and Basque.
Upon returning to the hotel, Gu Yuan noticed he had been added to a group chat. The owner's nickname was "Leader," though their identity remained unknown for the moment.
"Regular members and substitutes, come to room 315 at 3:00 PM for a meeting."
Seeing the message, Gu Yuan made a mental note and pinned the chat to the top. This group would likely be filled with useful information in the coming days, and he could not afford to miss anything. Since it was still early, he immersed himself back into his cultivation. He aimed to break through to become a Middle-tier Psychic soon to ensure his safety during the upcoming tournament.
Inside the training room, Charizard launched continuous attacks at a specialized target. Although Charizard had appeared in the previous battle, Dragonite hadn't provided enough pressure for it to truly enjoy the fight. Now, it had to vent its excess energy through training. Gu Yuan had promised Charizard that in the Regional Battle Tournament, he would send it out first to let it fight to its heart's content!
What Charizard didn't know was that the tournament rules involved two teams taking turns sending out members. Each person was limited to three Pokémon and would be eliminated once all of them lost the ability to battle. The first team to be completely eliminated would lose. As the captain, Gu Yuan would likely be the "anchor" of the team, meaning he might not actually face many opponents.
At 3:00 PM, six people gathered in room 315. Joining them was the leader for this tournament, Dar. He was an assistant to Elite Four member Bruno and a genuine Elite Rank trainer. However, this information was several years old. In recent years, Dar had been handling League affairs for Bruno and rarely fought. When he did, his opponents were easily crushed, leaving his true strength a mystery.
"This Regional Battle Tournament will last a long time, meaning you will have significant room for improvement. However, remember that while you are getting stronger, the contestants from other regions are as well. You cannot afford any slack."
"The first region we will visit is the Johto region. We hold an absolute advantage in terms of strength, so the purpose of this stop is for you to familiarize yourselves with the rules and buy yourselves more time."
"Gu Yuan, Taishi Utsunomiya, I expect both of you to break through to the Leader Rank before we reach the Hoenn region. Otherwise, with your current strength, you won't be able to defeat them."
"Yes!" the two responded in unison.
Gu Yuan felt confident about Dar's requirement. Taishi felt the same, firmly believing he would break through before Gu Yuan did.
"Furthermore, you are representing the Kanto region. The League's support for you will be immense. Your job is to use these resources to continuously grow stronger. I will send the specific details to you later. There are ten days left before we depart; you may use this time to settle your private affairs."
"In ten days, I will take you to Johto. At that time, I expect you to follow my every command. Any objections!?"
As he spoke the last sentence, Dar released his aura. In an instant, his ordinary face became sharp. His presence, mixed with a chilling killing intent, easily suppressed Gu Yuan's own. It was clear that this seemingly kind man had a great deal of blood on his hands.
"No, sir!"
"Good. You may leave."
Dar nodded in satisfaction and retracted his aura. He understood these geniuses well; if he didn't suppress them from the start, they would be harder to manage later. He gave them a "show of strength" immediately to ensure future operations went smoothly.
After leaving the room, Gu Yuan spoke briefly with Agatha and then informed Professor Oak that he had passed the selection and become the captain. Aside from them, he had no one else to contact. He believed Shadow would find out about his situation on his own; as for how to make contact, he would wait for a better opportunity. Gu Yuan was no longer the person he used to be, and contacting Shadow recklessly would only increase the risk of exposure.
"While we still have time, let's work hard together to get even stronger!"
In the spacious training room, Gu Yuan cheered for Charizard and the others. The resources Dar mentioned included not only cultivation items but also the deployment of Pokémon to act as sparring partners for special training. This was exactly what Gu Yuan needed.
Charizard and the rest of the team soon sought out the opponents Gu Yuan had prepared. Thanks to their previous training at Professor Oak's, they were capable of fighting independently, allowing Gu Yuan to focus entirely on breaking through to become a Middle-tier Psychic. To maximize his strength, he even prepared opponents for Ceruledge and the four little ones; this was an extra benefit of the League's support.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Gu Yuan's psychic power surged, striking at the barrier of the Middle-tier Psychic rank. Having experience with breakthroughs, he was well-acquainted with the process. Under his control, the psychic power acted like a drill, relentless against the barrier.
After days of accumulation, he managed to create small cracks in the barrier right at the start. Concentrating his mind, he maintained a steady frequency to widen the gaps. He silently gathered his strength until the cracks were large enough, then suddenly released his full power.
The sound of something shattering echoed in his mind. In the next instant, a massive amount of psychic power poured out. Gu Yuan seized the chance to continuously compress it, increasing the quality of his psychic power significantly!