Virtual Space, Inside the Main Arena.
The scene was a chaotic masterpiece of destruction. This was the aftermath of a Meteorite Swarm bombing site.
The impact was so tremendous that the audience area, usually protected by system barriers, was affected by the residual shockwaves. The virtual ground shook violently, a strong wind slapped against the faces of the spectators, and hats were blown off heads, tumbling away like tumbleweeds in a gale.
After the deafening roar of the explosion finally subsided, the camera zoomed in to reveal the completely shattered and devastated battlefield. The landscape had collapsed entirely, turning into a cratered wasteland.
Witnessing this apocalyptic scene, countless spectators in the stands swallowed their saliva nervously.
"Meteors!"
"That was a Dragon-type ultimate move!"
In the commentary booth, Hiroshi sat calmly. Beside him, a towering figure exuded an aura of immense pressure and electricity—it was the Deep Black Pokémon, Zekrom. The legendary dragon, obtained through the [Pokémon Popularization System], stood as Hiroshi's guardian and co-commentator, its red eyes glowing with intelligence.
Hiroshi's voice remained steady as he explained into the microphone: "This is a coverage hit. If the venue were not restricted by the virtual walls, the attack surface would be even wider."
"Meteor Swarm..." Hiroshi murmured in his heart, glancing at the devastation. The skills in the game are often just flashy animations, but in reality, when manifested by this System, they are terrifyingly powerful.
"A display of raw power," Zekrom's deep, telepathic voice resonated in Hiroshi's mind, audible to those nearby as well. "However, power without precision is merely noise."
The smoke and dust slowly dispersed, revealing the center of the impact.
Hiroshi and Zekrom both stared intently at the small boy who was still standing there. It was Jiu. Amidst the ruins, only his small figure remained upright.
"I have to say," Hiroshi noted, "he is indeed the Avatar of Azhdaha. As an elemental being, he represents the toughest of the Rock element. He is the least afraid of physical bombardment."
Click!
When the camera froze on the image, the audience could see that the surface of the small figure's body had been covered with a thick layer of Rock elemental protection. As the smoke cleared, this armor turned into stone dust and crumbled away, falling to the ground.
Jiu looked completely indifferent. He casually brushed the dust off his shoulder and reached down to take the Poké Ball hanging from his waist.
Opposite him, Hu Tao was looking a little desperate.
"Holy crap! Holy crap!" Hu Tao screamed internally, her face twitching. "Three... three... three layers of defense?!"
"Where did this little pervert come from?" she wailed in her mind. "That was Meteor Swarm! My Garchomp—my precious Shark Treasure—managed to steal that Dragon-type ultimate move from Goodra! It's supposed to be a finisher!"
She looked at Jiu, who appeared perfectly fine. "You look like you haven't shed a single layer of your skin. Is that really okay?! Is this legal?!"
Hu Tao was in a full-blown panic now. A drop of cold sweat broke out on her forehead, sliding down her cheek.
This Hall Master... absolutely respects her opponent! I don't underestimate the enemy at all! But...
She sniffed the air. "I can already smell the scent of an overturn," she thought miserably. Her face gradually turned bitter.
If she lost the opening game... if she overturned here... then she, the holder of so many records, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor Director, wouldn't she become a joke on the entire Internet?
No! No!
The Master of this Hall has a lifelong reputation to uphold!
While Hu Tao was undergoing a series of complex and panicked psychological activities, Jiu was ready to counterattack. He raised his arm, about to throw his Poké Ball to summon his next Pokémon.
But suddenly, something strange happened.
Jiu paused. He looked at Hu Tao's expression, and his eyes seemed to glaze over, filled with a sudden, overwhelming ecstasy or perhaps... drowsiness?
Hu Tao blinked. "?"
The little energetic player opposite her suddenly swayed.
Plop.
Jiu fell face-first onto the ground.
At this moment, time seemed to freeze.
"Huh????"
The entire audience lost their minds. The arena, which had been noisy and full of a hot, competitive atmosphere, suddenly fell into a freezing silence. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
For a moment, even the guest commentator, the storyteller Liu Su, gulped loudly. The sound was amplified by the microphone.
"Oh... uh..." Liu Su stammered. "The Dragon ultimate move, the meteor and meteorite bombing... Player Jiu didn't even blow up his shield..."
"But actually... he fell down?!"
Hiroshi, sitting in the main booth, answered with a subtle voice that seemed to be holding back a massive laugh. beside him, Zekrom let out a low, rumbling sound that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.
"Cough," Hiroshi cleared his throat. "I have to explain what happened. The truth is—"
He paused for dramatic effect.
"Player Hu Tao's Exeggcute successfully used Hypnosis on Player Jiu!"
"Hypnosis..."
Hu Tao, standing on the ruined field, was shocked when she heard Hiroshi's announcement.
Exeggcute?
She had absolutely no hope for that move. The strategy was for her Vibrava to skim the formation, and for Garchomp to solve the battle with brute force! Before Garchomp came out, she had given Exeggcute a casual instruction just to give the eggs a sense of participation.
She hadn't thought about back-up moves. There was no so-called insurance.
"We can't let a level 39 Pokémon just hang up behind us without doing anything!" was her only thought at the time.
Hiroshi's commentary voice continued to explain to the bewildered crowd: "In fact, the hit rate of Hypnosis is not high. Especially when you use it against targets far higher than your own level and rank."
Zekrom nodded his massive head. "The discrepancy in power levels is vast. The probability should have been negligible."
"But," Hiroshi continued, "Just now, Exeggcute probably only tried two or three times... and the Hypnosis was successful."
As the words fell, a wave of realization washed over the guest group and the audience area.
Everyone looked at Hu Tao with completely different eyes.
Such luck!
On the battlefield, can you really bet on the odds with just your face and luck?
"The point is," Hiroshi added, "I don't think Hu Tao even thought about gambling on this."
Hu Tao thought about this for a split second. But then, realizing she had won, she immediately put her embarrassment down and threw her hands up, loudly announcing her victory.
"I won this round!" she shouted, posing dramatically. "This Hall Master is number one in the world!"
Beep—
The intelligent referee system in the virtual space announced: "Player Jiu falls into sleep and loses the ability to fight. Player Hu Tao wins!"
Immediately, a rescue team quickly rushed out of the side passage.
It was Nurse Joy—or rather, a local medical leader named Azhi who had taken on the role—accompanied by two assistant nurses. They brought their Chansey and Audino with them, quickly loading the sleeping Jiu onto a stretcher.
The two assistant Pokémon, demonstrating impressive strength, lifted the stretcher.
...
Meanwhile, in the Real World.
Mt. Hulao, beneath the Dragon-Queller Tree.
"Roar——!!!"
An angry roar resounded from deep underground. Golden seals and magical restrictions flared up around the tree, and strong geo-elemental fluctuations shook the mountain.
"Mean!"
"So despicable!!"
"I will never agree to this kind of defeat——!"
Hiroshi, still in the virtual booth, felt his ears twitch. He had a direct connection to the underlying energies of the world thanks to the System.
When Jiu was randomly assigned to the first opening match, Hiroshi had been prepared. He had Jirachi, Meloetta, and Cresselia on standby in his inventory. Even Zekrom had tensed up, ready to intervene.
They had all been staring toward Mt. Hulao. If Azhdaha, the Ruotuo Dragon King, really broke out in a rage, they would have to work together to fight the "Fatty" back into submission.
But...
Hiroshi now felt that he had obviously underestimated the prudence of the Geo Archon, Rex Lapis. The suppression and seal were as stable as an old dog.
"The seal holds," Zekrom communicated telepathically, his tone unimpressed. "The prisoner remains caged."
After all, the Emperor is not Venti. Liyue's disasters have always been handled with extreme caution, unlike the chaotic freedom of Mondstadt. It was like the suppressed dangers hidden at the bottom of the Chasm—shocking disasters known to everyone, yet contained.
Underground, the Ruotuo Dragon King was very angry. But he was also very powerless.
In the heart-rending cry echoing through the ley lines, Hiroshi heard the subtext clearly.
"I can't accept it!"
"My career as a Trainer cannot be insulted like this!"
"What the hell is Exeggcute?! An ant-like creature can also hypnotize ME? The Lord of Vishaps?!"
Fatty... No, Brother Tuo, I'm sorry for you, Hiroshi thought.
In fact, nobody expected Psychic-type Hypnosis to be useful against a being like Azhdaha. But in the Pokémon world logic provided by the System, as long as there is a probability, it can take effect. Even a god can bleed; even a dragon can sleep.
Just... rest in peace!
Hiroshi couldn't stop laughing in his heart. He signaled mentally to withdraw the alert status for his legendary Pokémon. There was no need to monitor an aggrieved fat dragon who was about to cry himself to sleep.
He was already miserable enough! The majestic Dragon King didn't even get to release his Pokémon; he was knocked down personally with one move.
After giving the order to stand down, Hiroshi turned around in the booth and glanced toward the VIP seating area where Zhongli sat.
Zhongli, the mortal guise of Rex Lapis, seemed to have just regained his focus from the direction of Mt. Hulao. He had an inexplicable look on his face—a mix of relief and second-hand embarrassment.
Venti, sitting nearby, blinked hard at Hiroshi and gave a cheeky grin.
Meanwhile, the Conqueror of Demons, Xiao, kept a close eye on the broken arena on the screen.
Just now, he had felt the power of the rock coming from that child, Jiu. That kind of suppression and the character of the energy... it was not inferior to the Emperor himself. It was a familiar feeling.
"It was definitely the Dragon King!" Xiao sighed in his heart.
Once upon a time, this Dragon King was also a comrade who conquered the world together with them. To see him felled by a floating egg... it was complicated.
"Happi~!"
A Chansey standing by Xiao's side sensed his distress. Its little pink hand patted Xiao's head skillfully, like a gentle angel comforting a child.
Xiao's body stiffened instantly. He wasn't used to such contact.
But, feeling the warmth and the pure intent of the Pokémon, the stoic expression on his face gradually softened.
...
Back on the Field.
The map scenes, which cycled through locations like Watatsumi Island, the Ultramarine Coast, and Tranquility Bay, were already devastated by the battle.
Hu Tao ran towards her Pokémon.
"Awesome!" she cheered. "Hug one~"
Hearing this, the six cracked eggs that make up the Pokémon Exeggcute jumped up and down happily. They leaped hard onto Hu Tao's shoulders and head.
Soon, the picture on the screen was hilarious. On Hu Tao's head, and on her left and right shoulders, each spot was occupied by a light pink egg. There were three other eggs vying for favor in her arms.
"Jiji~"
"Gugu~"
The Exeggcute started to quarrel among themselves. It was like a nest of birds, arguing about who was the prettiest one or who deserved the most praise.
But Hu Tao was not impatient at all. She wore a benevolent, almost aunt-like smile on her face.
"Psychic Hypnosis is very useful," she told the camera, beaming. "However, I have made a decision! I still choose to evolve these eggs into an Alolan Exeggutor!"
She struck a pose. "I will replace the Psychic attributes with Dragon attributes! We need more dragons in the Funeral Parlor!"
...
The Livestream Reaction.
In the live broadcast room, the chat exploded with fanatical discussions. The barrages passed by like meteors on the screen.
"Damn it! A swarm of meteors just hit me through the screen, I felt like the sky was falling!"
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!"
"You can travel the world with just one sentence, right? 'Go, Hypnosis!'"
"As expected, this Jiu is also a pervert. As expected, as expected! Those who dare to sign up for the Super Competition are all monsters!"
"Indeed, after being hit by sky fire, he only lost a layer of stone skin. I suspect that Jiu is the incarnation of some elemental lord participating in the Pokémon competition..."
"Upstairs, you have such a big brain! But maybe you're right!"
"Hhhhhh, I almost burst into tears from laughing. It took the Dragon-type ultimate move with the power of destruction to knock off the blood skin, but the hypnotic spell in the backhand settled the world!"
"I declare, Psychic type is YYDS (God Tier)!!"
"As long as there is a probability, and it's not zero, and your luck points are full, even a Devil God can be sent away, right??"
The opening game of the Super Series was full of twists and turns, and the battle situation turned around in an instant. The audience was excited, and the live broadcast room was full of discussions on details and tactics.
"Wonderful! It was so exciting!"
Yae Miko gasped, sitting in her private viewing room. She was replaying the battle just now in her mind.
Among all the chaos, the scene of Jiu, a mere "little girl," perfectly controlling the power of Rock elements played repeatedly in her thoughts.
"Jiu clearly does not have a Vision," Miko mused.
You know, although Yae Miko is of the blood of the Hakushin Kitsune, she still takes an Electro Vision to strengthen her resonance with the earth's ley lines. She is a great Youkai, but her raw connection to the elements was far inferior to what Jiu displayed.
Then the answer to Jiu's identity was revealed!
Thinking of this, Yae Miko was shocked.
"A living Adeptus... or perhaps an ancient God... actually used an incarnation to join in the Liyue Trainer Competition?"
At this moment, Yae Miko raised her eyebrows. A shrine maiden came in a hurry, bowing low. She reported the situation regarding the security forces of the Tenryou Commission and a conflict involving the Arataki Gang in Hanamizaka.
"Well, it's time to get active," Miko said, dismissing the report with a wave of her hand.
Miko Yae stood up and stretched her limbs gracefully. Taking advantage of the fifteen minutes left before the next game, she decided to go down the mountain.
However, she did not go to Hanamizaka where the conflict broke out. That was too boring.
Instead, she went straight toward the Tenshukaku—the Castle Tower where the Raiden Shogun resided.
"My old friend," she chuckled to herself, "Because she can't eat desserts and read light novels at the same time, and she refuses to change..."
"Now, she doesn't have a Pokédex, and she doesn't have a smartphone. She can't see any of these exciting Pokémon events."
Miko imagined Ei sitting alone in the Plane of Euthymia. "I bet she is so angry that she's collapsed inside, crying and fussing! Ooooooooooh, I want to watch too!"
Yae Miko made a rude, mocking comment, and her beautiful smile turned into a mischievous flower.
Deep in the Tenshukaku.
There was a wave of nothingness, a stillness that was about to be broken by a very smug fox.
???: "..."