Get Stronger by Pleasing Pokémon? Who Needs to Be a Trainer!

January 13th.

Before dawn had fully broken, Lin Feng woke the Pokémon who would accompany him to the Zongheng Championship. One by one, he recalled them into their Poké Balls, then gave instructions to the Indeedee siblings staying behind.

Although most of his team would be leaving with him, Salamence remained at home. If anything unexpected happened, they could rely on it.

”Indeedee~”

The two nodded obediently. With nothing major going on at home, they could easily take care of the remaining Pokémon.

Lin Feng felt at ease. After all, this was not his first time traveling.

With a light leap, he climbed onto Dragonite’s back. In the next instant, with a sharp whoosh, Dragonite shot into the early morning sky and disappeared into the pale light of dawn.

...

Jinghua City.

7:30 AM.

East China Arena.

This was the largest stadium in the entire East China League.

Its size rivaled several football fields combined, and the battlefield itself was constructed from reinforced stone. It was also equipped with an energy barrier capable of withstanding the shockwaves of elite-level Pokémon battles.

During competitions, the League even stationed numerous Psychic-type Pokémon behind the scenes to prevent emergencies.

At the Zongheng Championship registration area, located at the arena entrance, a staff member named Old Wang felt a growing sense of unease.

The tournament was about to begin.

Spectators from all over had already started entering the venue.

Yet among all registered participants, one person still had not shown up to check in.

Old Wang had handled registration for five consecutive years. Registration always opened three days before the competition.

Normally, almost all participants checked in on the first day. Only a handful would arrive on the second day.

But someone failing to show up until the very day of the competition was practically unheard of.

”Lin Feng… from Wutong Town, Wutong City…”

”Heh, looks like Wutong City actually has two participants this year.”

Old Wang chuckled as he scanned the list.

At that moment, a young man rushed into the room, slightly out of breath.

Beside him stood an officer named Jenny.

”I’m here, I’m here…” the young man muttered.

It was, of course, Lin Feng.

Dragonite’s speed had been astonishing. They had departed at 6 AM and arrived in Jinghua City by 7.

However, as soon as Dragonite entered the city’s airspace, it was immediately detected by authorities. After explaining the situation, Lin Feng had been escorted here by Officer Jenny.

”Lin Feng?”

Old Wang looked up at the approaching young man.

”Yes, that’s me.”

Lin Feng nodded.

”Why are you only arriving now?”

Old Wang gave him a look, though he still verified the information and checked Lin Feng’s identification.

”Well… it’s a bit far,” Lin Feng said awkwardly.

”Far? You’re not the only one from Wutong City. Another young man arrived on the very first day.”

Old Wang countered while continuing the registration.

Lin Feng let out an embarrassed laugh.

But soon, his curiosity was piqued.

Another participant from Wutong City…

If he guessed correctly, it should be Fang Youzhi.

After completing registration, Old Wang glanced at him.

”There will be staff at the entrance to guide you to your assigned room. Matches start at 9 AM today. Meals will be delivered by service staff. You can also register your Pokémon’s dietary preferences.”

”All right, got it.”

Soon, Lin Feng was led by a staff member to a hotel suite beneath the spectator stands.

Before long, a server came to ask about his meal preferences.

Lin Feng requested several ingredients but did not specify any particular dishes.

The room was spacious and equipped with a large screen.

Outside, there were many similar rooms, clearly prepared for other participants.

The screen displayed the tournament schedule, participant count, and various related applications.

The matches would also be broadcast live.

Participants could watch the ongoing battles from here or head out to the spectator stands.

There were a total of 128 participants.

Lin Feng glanced through the list, taking in only the basics: gender, origin, and personal photos.

Some participants who preferred privacy even had their faces pixelated.

”Is that really necessary?”

Lin Feng couldn’t help but mutter.

Even if their faces were blurred here, they would still appear on stage later.

Were they planning to wear masks the whole time?

Moments later, his question was answered.

Some participants on the screen were indeed wearing masks.

Still, the overall level of this tournament seemed far higher than the Youth Cup.

Lin Feng shook his head and turned away from the screen.

Instead, he began releasing his Pokémon one by one.

”Indeedee~”

”Shii…”

”Woo…”

One after another, Pokémon emerged from their Poké Balls.

The once spacious room quickly became crowded.

Lin Feng even took out a larger water tank from his storage sphere and released Milotic.

Its long, elegant body instantly filled much of the room.

Fortunately, it could control its position and floated slightly above the ground, carefully avoiding the furniture.

”Milotic won’t be battling, so it’ll need a transformation Energy Cube.”

”You all probably don’t need one, right?”

After consuming a transformation Energy Cube, they would be unable to change form freely for 8 to 24 hours.

Hearing Lin Feng’s words, no one objected. Instead, they were all more curious about their new surroundings.

Pokémon like Dragonite and Gardevoir, who were used to being outside, remained calm.

Gardevoir quietly sat on the bed.

Dragonite sat on the floor, scratching its head.

Even Serperior, Alolan Ninetales, Blaziken, and Primarina, who had already experienced the outside world, began exploring curiously before eventually focusing on the large screen.

As for Alcremie and Meowscarada, one had grown up in a cake shop, making desserts every day, while the other had never left home at all.

”This is a screen. Our opponents will appear on it later.”

Seeing their curious gazes, Lin Feng explained.

At that moment, his phone rang.

He picked it up and saw that it was Feng Yang, asking if he had arrived.

”I’m here,” Lin Feng replied.

Just then, the screen began to change.

The portraits of all 128 participants started spinning rapidly.

Clearly, the matches would be decided by random draw.

The avatars spun wildly.

Soon, the first round of competitors was selected…