Unexpected Encounter

Upon seeing the defeated yellow Pokémon, Yuga quickly exclaimed, "Quick, use a Poké Ball!"

At this point, Rand wore a slightly pained expression as he said, "I don't have any Poké Balls."

Yuga then remembered that Rand wasn't an official Pokémon Trainer, so he didn't carry Poké Balls around like Yuga did. Yuga took out a Friend Ball he had previously obtained through exchange and handed it to Rand.

"This is a Friend Ball. It can increase the bond between Trainers and Pokémon. I'm giving it to you."

Rand took the Friend Ball that Yuga handed to him, said "Thank you," and then tossed the Poké Ball at the yellow Pokémon.

The taming process went smoothly. Rand released the yellow Pokémon from the Friend Ball, fed it an Oran Berry provided by Yuga, and soon it regained consciousness.

"Qua!"

The yellow Pokémon tilted its head, staring blankly at Rand. Rand, with a wry smile, asked Yuga, "Is it really a good idea to tame this Pokémon? It seems a bit dull."

Yuga chuckled and explained, "This Pokémon is called Psyduck. It's a Water-type Pokémon with the potential to learn a variety of Psychic-type moves.

Don't let its appearance fool you; it's actually quite intelligent. However, its powerful psychic abilities tend to suppress its cognitive functions. Once it evolves into Golduck, it will improve.

Psyduck is quite common in the Kanto region but rare in the Johto region, so your school probably doesn't cover it much."

Rand nodded in understanding.

The reason Yuga had Rand tame this Psyduck was that it was the first green-aptitude Pokémon they had caught during their fishing trip.

After taming Psyduck, Yuga noticed that it was getting late and time for lunch. He took Rand to the dining area to prepare for a meal.

As they passed by Edward, he cast an unfriendly gaze at Yuga and Rand. Clearly, despite occupying Yuga and Rand's previous spot, he hadn't achieved any improvement in results.

Though Yuga and Rand walked past Edward without a single glance, he was infuriated to the point where he might break his teeth from biting them too hard.

Yuga found this person to be quite peculiar. Despite his age, he had an excessive desire to prove himself and compete, which Yuga found rather unnecessary.

After having lunch, Yuga and Rand heard about a Pokémon battle competition organized by someone in the battle arena.

Upon investigating, Yuga discovered that the cruise's organizers had arranged the competition as a way to pass the time for the passengers. The participants were mostly amateur enthusiasts.

In the Pokémon world, humans and Pokémon had become inseparable races. Not only Trainers, but many ordinary people also kept one or two Pokémon as companions, treating them like family members.

The requirements for these Pokémon weren't stringent because people sought comfort from them rather than focusing on their battle prowess.

For instance, Rand's grandma, who had previously purchased a Pokémon Egg from Yuga's shop, as well as the Strawberry that accompanied Suzuki Koen and Dian, fell under this category.

The participants of this competition were such people. In simple terms, most of the participants weren't serious Trainers, so Yuga lost interest in participating.

However, Yuga managed to goad Rand into joining the competition.

Rand's strength wasn't exceptional, and he hadn't had his Pokémon for long. This kind of competition, which didn't demand much from Trainers, suited him well.

Rand performed quite decently in this competition.

Though these were just amateur enthusiasts, and their Pokémon hadn't undergone professional training, they had taken good care of their partners for years. Often, Rand, as a rookie, found it challenging to face them.

Yet, Rand's advantage lay in his calmness during battles and his clear strategic thinking, which set him apart from other kids.

This reminded Yuga of the protagonist in the original story, who was known for using brute force in battles. It was all about being reckless.

It could be said that the battling style of the original protagonist and Rand were complete opposites.

However, due to his age disadvantage, Rand couldn't make it to the final stages of the competition this time. He was eliminated before reaching the top eight. Additionally, besides amateur enthusiasts, there were some legitimate Trainers participating in the event. Though their numbers were limited and their strength not too high, they still held the advantage.

Seeing Rand returning with a downcast expression after losing the competition, Yuga patted his shoulder and said, "You performed really well. I didn't expect you to have such potential as a Trainer."

Though Rand didn't become elated due to Yuga's praise, his despondent demeanor vanished. He firmly stated to Yuga, "I'll definitely become stronger in the future."

Speaking of which, that middle-aged man named Edward also participated in the competition. He used a Lanturn, which was both Water and Electric type. Among the group of amateur participants, his strength was quite impressive. Shortly after Rand's elimination, he advanced to the top four.

However, Yuga speculated that he probably wasn't a professional Pokémon Trainer. With his age, his level of skill was rather inadequate. Even if he had poor natural talent, it wouldn't be enough to justify his performance.

As expected, he was eliminated in the semifinals by another Trainer. He ended up securing the third place.

Both the first and second place winners were young and clearly had received formal Trainer education, exhibiting a more professional approach to command.

When the top three winners went on stage to receive their prizes, Edward's expression grew sour when looking at the first and second place winners. It was apparent he wasn't pleased with their results and paid no mind to his own significantly older age.

Yuga thought this man must have been grown on a lemon tree—sour towards anyone better than him. However, the first and second place winners paid no attention to him, treating him like air. He was left to stew in his own sourness.

After watching the competition, Yuga and Rand left the battle arena and explored other areas of the cruise ship.

While wandering around with Rand, Yuga discovered there was actually a movie theater on the ship, and it seemed quite crowded.

Yuga had never watched a Pokémon World movie before, finding it rather intriguing. He decided to go in and have a good look.

In the end, they chose a film called "Pikachu and Eevee's Underground Adventure." It was Rand's choice, who mentioned that this movie was currently quite popular, and many of his classmates had seen it.

However, after watching it, Yuga realized that Rand's idea of "popular" referred to the popularity among their age group. The movie was completely aimed at children. Yuga nearly fell asleep throughout the film, whereas Rand enjoyed it from start to finish.

After the movie, as Yuga yawned while leaving, he accidentally bumped into someone. Unfortunately, this person was holding a cup of juice, which ended up spilling on Yuga's clothes.

Realizing he had collided with someone, Yuga immediately woke up and offered his apologies.

"I'm sorry, really sorry. Are you okay?"

The person Yuga bumped into was quite understanding, knowing that Yuga hadn't done it intentionally, so he didn't blame him.

As he wiped the juice off his clothes with a handkerchief, he said to Yuga, "It's alright, don't worry. You didn't mean to."

When the person lifted his head, Yuga recognized him as the one who had won the championship in the previous competition.

Yuga blurted out, "It's you!"

The person paused for a moment and asked, "Do you know me?"

A bit embarrassed, Yuga said, "I watched the previous competition. You were the champion, so of course I've seen you."

The person smiled and said, "Ah, I see."

Then, he noticed Rand standing next to Yuga and remarked, "This young fellow also participated, right? I remember him. He did pretty well."

Rand was the youngest participant in that competition. Considering his notable performance, it wasn't surprising that people remembered him.