Chapter 159

"Next, we just have to wait for the Liyue competition to end."

"Uncover the era of great exploration and adventure in Hisui!"

Takumi pasted and uploaded the match list for tomorrow's top 50 knockout rounds to the group chat.

Everyone, look forward to it! Perform well, everyone!

Inazuma visited the hotel where the group was staying. Ningguang was suddenly startled.

Yae Miko, sitting opposite her, asked curiously: "What's wrong?"

Ningguang showed the battle notification message that popped up on her Pokédex:

"Player Ningguang, please arrive at the virtual arena before 9:45 tomorrow to participate in the first top 50 match at 10 am. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the event, please be sure to arrive on time to register. If you are late for more than 15 minutes, you will be deemed eliminated."

Raiden Shogun and Yae Miko were amazed.

"Are you actually the first one tomorrow?"

"So, who is your opponent?"

They focused on opening the match list on the group chat interface and took a look at it:

"Mondstadt... Cold Wind Swordsman Kaeya."

Kaeya? The Cavalry Captain of the Knights of Favonius?

Ningguang said confidently:

"I must advance to the top ten! That way, I can choose an evolution item. If possible, I would like to choose a Metagross Mega Evolution Stone!"

Mega Evolution Stone...

Raiden Shogun was silent. The corner of Yae Miko's mouth twitched.

She thought to herself, Tianquan Star, how dare you dream so big. Evolution stones are not the same as Mega Evolution Stones. The value of the two is not even in the same dimension!

---

At the Headquarters of the Knights of Favonius, Kaeya also found out that he was scheduled to play in the first game tomorrow.

Moreover, the opponent was the Tianquan Star among the Seven Stars of Liyue!

Lisa clicked her tongue: "Did you make it, Kaeya? The popularity of Ningguang, Tianquan Star, remains high on the Pokémon Era official website."

Kaeya felt pain he couldn't express. Indeed, a while ago, the Pokémon Era official website launched a support event, but it was limited to Super Series players. The female player with the most votes and the most popularity—Ningguang—easily ranked in the top five.

As for why, it was simple. Wealth and elegance are attractive, and in the Pokémon Era, nurturing Pokémon means burning money. If there is a wealthy woman who can offer luxury, who wouldn't want a rich, powerful, and prosperous like Ningguang?

The existence of Ningguang just satisfies the desires of countless people.

As for the other top five female characters—Hu Tao, Ganyu, Keqing...

It's a pity that Inazuma's Raiden Shogun and Miss Kamisato Ayaka did not participate in this competition. Otherwise, they would have had many fanatical fans.

Lisa held back her laughter and gloated:

"It's okay. That Tianquan Star only has one Pokémon, just like our Acting Grand Master Jean. She hasn't even trained a second one!"

Kaeya said with a bitter face: "The problem is that the Pokémon Ningguang has is a pseudo-legendary with a base stat of 600... o(╥﹏╥)o!"

Noelle, the maid of the Knights, added weakly:

"Lord Kaeya, believe in your fighting power. You are very strong!"

Kaeya felt like he'd been hit by an arrow in the heart again.

Pfft—his position had always been the brains of the Knights. He was not the most powerful like Diluc and Eula! He could usually brag, but if there was a real fight to the death, many characters in the group chat would make Kaeya feel nervous.

---

Time moved forward to before the top 50 knockout competition the next day.

Due to the large Inazuma visiting group, the guest seats were temporarily expanded again. There were several people from Watatsumi Island, the Kamisato siblings, Thoma the housekeeper, and Sayu the ninja.

The shogunate was represented by Raiden Shogun and Yae Miko. Everyone gathered!

The venue was already packed with people early on. There wasn't a single vacant seat among the more than 8,000 seats!

In the Super Match livestream room, there were even more comments:

"Damn!! I really want to buy a live ticket, but the black market price is too high!"

"Wow, despite entering the market with an exclusive Pokédex, scalpers and the black market still have room to operate. That's really impressive!"

"After waiting for half a month, I finally got to see the top 50 matches with lots of excitement!!"

"Hu Tao, make us proud!"

"Lady Ningguang, I want to cheer for you..."

"Even if it is just the light of a grain of rice, I will still send out the roar in my wind—I declare you, traveler! And little Paimon!!"

The livestream chat was full of chaos, with so many comments that it was hard to keep up.

The time came to 9:45. The lifting platform of the virtual arena slowly rose, and Takumi appeared, wearing fresh and simple clothes, but floating beside him were all members of his team, including Jiraichi—all cute mythical beasts.

"Ah—(screaming, breaking voice)!"

"Takumi, the Club Manager!"

"Meloetta, my beloved, was taken first!"

"Club Manager Takumi, look at me, just look at me, I'm aiming for greatness!!"

---

The entire venue was roaring, shouting the names of Takumi and his Pokémon. Nowadays, everyone knew of Takumi, the founder of the Pokémon Era. And, what about these mythical beasts around him?

The forums and discussion areas on Cheers Station were almost noisy about these cute Pokémon.

People from Inazuma, people from Liyue, people from Mondstadt.

Among the famous characters gathered, some also shouted like crazy, such as the Head of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Hu Tao, who rarely paid attention to the outside world.

Everyone's eyes were bright, staring straight at Takumi.

"Hello~ I feel everyone's enthusiasm." Takumi didn't have a microphone near his mouth; the facilities in this SR hall were very advanced.

"As for me, I don't need to introduce myself."

"Now! In the following match days of the Super Series, from the top 50 knockout rounds to the finals, I will personally serve as a guest commentator every day."

"First of all, congratulations to the top 50 players in the Super Series, because starting from this ranking, even if you do nothing, you will still be qualified to explore the Hisui region after the competition ends."

Takumi's voice was clear and gentle.

"However, I believe that players who have reached this stage will not fail. They will do their best in every battle."

"So—invite the first group of contestants! Good luck in martial arts!"

Takumi bowed slightly to the audience and the camera, and several cute mythical beasts floated into the air with him, flying to the commentary platform and taking a stand. On the big screen above the venue, the avatars and Pokémon information of the players appeared, along with the experience of their previous battles.

Seeing the player's profile picture, the scene suddenly burst into warm cheers.

"Ningguang!"

"Kaeya!"

The contestants from the first game were all standing on the field.

*Beep!*

The scene/map simulation options appeared in front of every audience member. The Inazuma visitors found it very novel. They read all three options carefully before voting.

The results of the audience vote popped up on the big screen:

Hisui Region/Obsidian Wilderness/Rose Island, with 38% of the votes. The simulation was in progress.

Takumi couldn't help but smile mysteriously.

"Haha! Did people vote based on gut feeling, or was it just random? There's an easter egg in this map scene!"

Kaeya and Ningguang, who had just appeared, were stunned when they heard this.

Easter egg... This word made Kaeya feel a sense of dread.

Damn!

Kaeya suddenly remembered the map/scene simulation for the battle at Lake Valor. Gyarados and Staraptor. Pikachu with the Traveler's hat hit them with Volt Tackle—it was electrifyingly powerful! So far, the edited video of the battle was still a great pleasure for people to watch repeatedly on Cheers Station.

Hiss...

Kaeya's face, full of exotic features, turned darker. Her skin was already quite tan, but now it was as black as the bottom of a pot!

Damn, I don't want to be a backdrop! I'm going to fight!

The venue referee announced:

"The top 50 knockout rounds begin now!"

"The rules of battle are unrestricted!"

"The battle ends when one of the trainers loses consciousness!"

"Start—"

The referee blew the whistle.

Kaeya wasn't wasting any time; he had already done a good job of psychological preparation. At the beginning, he threw out two Poké Balls.

He only had two Pokémon.

"Dewgong, come out~"

A pure white Dewgong appeared. It was nearly 2 meters long, strong but not bloated. Water/Ice-type!

"Alolan Muk, come out~"

A colorful Alolan Muk appeared. It was nearly 1 meter tall and unlike the regular Muk, this was an Alolan Muk! Poison/Dark-type!

The colorful Muk suddenly made the atmosphere at the scene become tense, and the stench even spread to the guest seats.

A group of people subconsciously pinched their noses.

"Damn it, Kaeya's second Pokémon is so nasty?"

"What a ruthless guy!"

"Every player who trains a Muk is ruthless!"

Takumi, serving as a guest commentator, smiled as he explained:

"It's just a subconscious physiological reflex for everyone. Actually, the Alolan Muk does not emit a disgusting smell, because all of its odor and toxins are stored within its body!"

At this moment, Ningguang also threw out her only Poké Ball.

"Come out, Metagross!"

Whoosh.

The red light fell to the ground. A white shiny Metagross appeared. Its level was an impressive 52. It had already reached its final evolution, attaining a base stat of 600. As it stood there in the light, Kaeya, his Dewgong, and Muk seemed to be oppressed by Metagross' aura!

The atmosphere at the venue and in the livestream room suddenly exploded.

"Wow, it appeared!"

"Here it comes, the perfect pseudo-legendary!"

"The first trainer to evolve a pseudo-legendary into its final form has appeared!"

"I have no doubt about Lady Ningguang's ability to burn money. Really, it's not surprising at all. Isn't it just money? It could give us a fever!"

In the guest seats, a little cold sweat appeared on the foreheads of Mondstadt's group.

A complete pseudo-legendary!

It's also a Steel/Psychic-type Metagross!

And, what the heck, it's a shiny Metagross!

Even Diluc couldn't help but take a deep breath:

"This is bad."

"Last time, it was a shiny Beldum that had evolved into a Metang, but now it's a Metagross!"

Jean, Lisa, Noelle, and others looked helpless.

Kaeya's Alolan Muk was already quite an unexpected trick. But the problem was... his opponent was a Steel/Psychic-type Metagross, capable of both offense and defense, not afraid of Poison or Dark types at all.

On the contrary, Dewgong, who is Water/Ice-type, seemed to be the main attacker.