Read up to 30 advanced chapters exclusively on my Patreon at - patreon.com/LoverrBoy
---------------------------------
"Starmie!!"
With a cry of anguish, Reed rushed over to his Starmie. Seeing its once-brilliant gemstones now dull and lifeless, tears welled up in his eyes.
He turned to glare hatefully at Liam before taking out a PokeBall and recalling his Starmie. Then, he ran off crying without looking back.
"…Uh, what just happened? Did I go too far?"
Liam scratched his head and looked awkwardly at Arcanine as he watched Reed flee in tears.
"Grrrr… (Don't look at me—I'm just following orders…)"
Arcanine quickly turned its head away, indicating it had nothing to do with this.
"Ahem… Since the red-side trainer has not sent out a third Pokemon, it is considered a forfeit. Therefore, the winner of the first match on Field 4 – Rock Arena – is the green-side trainer, Liam! Congratulations!"
The referee by the field looked equally embarrassed. Clearly, he hadn't expected things to unfold like this. After glancing at the time and conferring with someone over his headset, he finally announced Liam's victory.
"…Alright then. Come back, Arcanine. Guess I'll head out for now."
Though Liam felt a twinge of guilt, there wasn't much he could do. He couldn't just ask her to come back and battle again. Even if they did, the result wouldn't change—so what was the point?
Recalling Arcanine into its PokeBall and bidding the referee goodbye, Liam headed toward the resting area.
All around the other battlefields, matches were still ongoing. Among them were some familiar faces. On one of the grass fields, a Blissey was locked in a confusing stalemate with a Gastly.
The moment Liam saw the Blissey, he knew its trainer had to be Axu. Watching as Gastly was being slowly driven mad by Blissey's endless status moves, Liam sighed—Axu's match was clearly going to drag on for a while.
As a Normal-type, Blissey was completely immune to Gastly's Ghost-type moves. The remaining Dark- and Psychic-type attacks were either dodged or shrugged off thanks to Blissey's massive Special Defense.
On the other hand, Ghost-type Gastly was immune to all of Blissey's physical moves—since Blissey, without TMs, only learned physical attacks.
These two were basically the worst matchup imaginable. Who knew when they'd finish? Even the referee looked exasperated, clearly having never seen such a bizarre match-up.
Since it was during match time, Liam couldn't go over to offer advice and continued on to the resting area.
Just as he entered the exit tunnel, someone who had been waiting by the entrance stepped forward and called out to him.
"Didn't expect you to be into that kind of thing. That rookie you just crushed probably won't recover any time soon. You don't feel even a little guilty?"
Liam blinked and turned to look at the speaker. Leaning against the wall was a sharp-eyed young man in a black and red trench coat, arms crossed and face expressionless—though there was unmistakable disdain in his eyes.
"Hey, Lance! Is that any way to talk to your superior? Don't you want your salary anymore?"
Liam recognized the flamboyant young man immediately and laughed.
"Hmph. I'm not wearing the team uniform, so I'm not your subordinate right now. I'm just another challenger in the League tournament—and I don't need your salary. What I said just now? That was as a fellow trainer. Don't try to change the subject."
Lance snorted, pushed himself off the wall, and walked over to Liam, giving him a frosty glare.
Hearing this, Liam let out a helpless sigh.
"What do you expect me to do? I already held back as much as I could. It's not like I can throw the match—that's not something I'm capable of."
"I know that what happened might affect that rookie's confidence. But this is a tournament. I can't help that. The only thing I can do is reach the very top—so one day, that kid can look back and think, 'Wow! The person who beat me was that amazing!' That way, maybe losing won't feel so bad. That's the only consolation I can offer."
"Oh, right—you haven't battled yet, have you? I didn't see you earlier. If you end up facing a rookie like I did, what would you do? For the sake of preserving their confidence, maybe you should just surrender right away."
Liam teased with a smirk.
"Hmph! Twisting words to justify yourself! I've got nothing more to say to you. Actually, I've always wanted to face you in a real battle. This tournament gives me that chance. I'm going all the way to the finals—and you better not get eliminated too early. I'd be seriously disappointed."
Lance's voice carried both excitement and challenge. After delivering what amounted to a formal declaration of war, he turned and walked toward the main arena—his match was about to begin.
"Heh… Right back at you. You better put up a good fight—give me a reason to feel at least a little threatened. Otherwise, becoming champion is going to be way too boring."
Liam smiled as he watched Lance walk away, then shouted after him.
Lance paused for just a second before letting out a low, amused snort. Without turning around, he continued walking toward his battlefield.
Liam returned to the waiting area to rest. Having finished his first match, he still had three more matches happening across different battlefields.
Once the first round ended, the League system would refresh and reorganize all the winners into new brackets for the second round, and so on, until the top sixteen emerged and moved on to the main stadium.
The first round had the largest number of participants, taking up most of the day. There was also a lunch break at noon. Liam took this time to grab a meal with Delia and Professor Oak's group, who had come to support him.
After lunch, Liam returned to the Pokémon Center to receive his next battle assignment. After handing his ID card to Nurse Joy, she scanned it, and his next battle information appeared on the monitor.
This time, his match would be held on the Water Field, and his opponent was another unfamiliar rookie trainer. As expected, Liam easily defeated them. Once again, the scene repeated—the defeated trainer ran off, covering their face in embarrassment.
The third match took place the next morning on the Ice Field. By now, the number of participants had significantly decreased, and only the stronger ones remained. Liam's opponent this time was a young girl who seemed decently skilled.
But…
All her Pokemon were Grass-types.
She sent out three in total: an Ivysaur, a Tangela, and a Gloom…
The moment they stepped onto the Ice Field, all three began shivering before the battle even began. Their fighting spirit was already cut in half. Then Liam sent out Scyther…
A quick series of Bug-type moves later, the match was over. Liam easily won his third match. The little girl burst into tears and ran off, crying for her mom.
The final match of the prelims would be on the Grass Field. Only 32 competitors remained, and Liam now recognized many of them.
- Lance (the Dragon prodigy)
- Lorelei (the Ice specialist)
- Bruno (the Fighting master)
- Anon (a skilled trainer from Johto with a Charizard)
- Axu (the mysterious boy with the Chansey)
And others—trainers who already looked quite powerful just by presence alone. This League tournament was destined to be legendary.
Liam stepped into his final preliminary arena—a lush, verdant Grass Field. At the same time, his opponent walked to the other end and took her place.
It was a girl, likely two or three years younger than Liam, with a sweet and innocent appearance. But for some reason, Liam felt like she was glaring at him as though he'd killed her family.
"Begin the match! Trainers, send out your Pokémon!"
The referee raised two flags and gestured toward Liam and the girl.
Liam nodded and reached for a PokeBall at his waist—but the girl was a step faster. With a swift toss, she released her Pokemon.
A flash of light—and a round, chubby, golden-yellow Pokemon appeared on the field.