Chapter 336: What a Speedy Blaziken!
December 5th.
Just before dawn, Hikaru and Sakura arrived at the school field.
This was the designated gathering spot for the school team members, already surrounded by crowds of onlookers.
After a short wait, the president of Zhongqing University, Xie Ming, stepped forward to distribute a Rotom to each member of the school team.
"Each Rotom has the coordinates of your first assigned island stored. Soon, Flying-type Pokémon will take you to the preliminary zone...
From here on, I wish you all victory and fortune!"
"Loto~ Loto~!"
Two Rotoms—one red, one blue—flew to Hikaru and Sakura's side.
Then, a dozen Pidgeots descended from the sky, landing before the other team members.
Those who had their own flying-type Pokémon could, of course, ride those instead.
Hikaru and Sakura were firmly in the latter category.
After all, neither Dragonite nor Latias could be compared to Pidgeots in speed.
"You two go ahead first, I'm going to pick up Yan'er!"
Leaf Meishuang waved to them before hopping onto her Dragonite and shooting into the sky.
Their Rotoms were all marked with each other's locations, so regrouping later would be easy.
Upon hearing that, Hikaru summoned Latias. With Sakura on board, they soared into the sky—
Tangerine Islands.
From high above, the sea stretched out like a deep blue canvas, dotted with vibrant orange glows from the abundant Oran berry trees.
The leaves of the Oran trees gave off a faint orange hue, like fireflies scattered across the sea.
As one of the fastest Pokémon, Latias naturally delivered them well ahead of others.
Using the map embedded in Rotom, Hikaru quickly located their assigned island.
It wasn't too big, nor too small—just right.
His aura (Wave Power) could perfectly cover the entire island.
Upon landing, the two dismounted and started examining the Oran trees around them.
"Fruit trees that still bear fruit in December, that's rare," Hikaru remarked, using his [Observation Eye] to check the berries.
He clicked his tongue in surprise:
[15-Year Oran Berry — Grade D Relic: Excellent for restoring stamina and energy.]
All participants could only bring a small knife and some clothes—nothing else.
So food gathering had to come from these Oran berries.
"Mmm, sweet~"
Before Hikaru could grab one, Sakura had already plucked a berry and taken a bite. Judging from her blissful expression, it tasted great.
Latias followed suit, picking a berry of her own.
It wasn't yet the official start time of the prelims, so they weren't allowed to leave the island.
Only at 9 a.m., once everyone had arrived, would the preliminaries officially begin.
From that moment on—hide, hunt, escape, or pursue—the choice would be left to each Trainer.
"Come out, Dragonite~"
Seeing Latias snacking away, Sakura summoned her Dragonite.
As soon as one finished its snack, she'd swap to another.
After all, the prelim rules allowed only one Pokémon to be out at a time. The flying Rotoms would be supervising this in real time.
Which meant—team coordination was paramount.
Speaking of Rotoms…
Hikaru picked a 20-year Oran berry and held it up to the flying Rotoms.
"You guys want one?"
"Loto?"
The red Rotom paused mid-air, surprised.
No participant had ever offered them Oran berries before.
Sakura added encouragingly, "C'mon, the match hasn't started yet. A little snack won't hurt~"
The Rotoms exchanged glances and finally nodded, grabbing the berries from Hikaru and munching away contentedly.
Seeing them enjoy it, Hikaru took the chance to ask the question that had been bugging him:
"Rotom, do you guys have Trainers of your own?"
Clearly, these Rotoms were human-allied. But how, exactly?
The red Rotom swallowed a berry with a satisfied look and answered:
"We technically do have Trainers! We're part of an official registry and assigned to professional Trainers!"
When it said "official registry," Hikaru could sense its pride.
Seemed like their lives outside work weren't bad at all.
Hikaru chuckled and asked, "So, tell me about your benefits…"
With time to kill before the preliminaries started, chit-chatting with Rotoms was a great way to pass the time.
And so, in this easy-going atmosphere—
Time ticked by.
Soon, another Dragonite streaked across the sky.
Several flying Pokémon silhouettes appeared in the distance as more participants arrived.
"Hellooo, Hikaru junior~ Waiting for your big sisters?"
A teasing voice came before the person even arrived.
As Dragonite landed, two graceful figures descended from the sky.
To prepare for the prelims, the flirtatious Yan'er had swapped her previous red dress and heels for a bold red crop top and athletic shorts—cool and spicy.
Meanwhile, Meishuang remained the same as always: white windbreaker over a cozy sweater.
"Cough, cough..."
Hikaru cleared his throat.
He suddenly realized something—
His team was entirely made up of gorgeous women—each with their own charm.
"Good morning, seniors…"
He quickly sidestepped Yan'er's flirt and greeted them politely.
"You two got here so fast…"
Meishuang raised a brow, surprised as she noticed the pile of berry cores at their feet.
Considering they'd left at nearly the same time—and she only made a short detour to North Hua University—it was impressive how many berries they'd managed to down already.
Hikaru and Sakura exchanged awkward glances.
Yeah… maybe they had snacked a bit too much.
At that moment, the Rotoms hovering above made an announcement:
"Rotom Reminder: The preliminaries have officially begun! To view the map, say 'map.' To check remaining players, say 'count.' Best of luck to all Trainers!"
Preparation time was over.
The real battle had begun.
"Come out, Blaziken!"
The last to reveal her Pokémon, Yan'er summoned her main fighter.
A flaming-red humanoid Pokémon with flowing white crest feathers appeared before them.
Its gaze was sharp like an arrow.
Its entire body radiated explosive speed and power.
Hikaru's [Observation Eye] quickly swept over it.
[Pokémon: Blaziken]
[Ability: Speed Boost]
[Gender: Female]
[Potential: Champion]
[Level: 52]
[Moves: Blaze Kick, Scratch, Double Kick, Fire Punch, Flame Charge, Slash, Flare Blitz...]
What a speedy chicken...
To be continued…
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