The host let out a quiet laugh as he glanced at the screen."Ha! You really chose an… interesting tactic for your first tournament."
Alex stared at the footage for a moment before looking away.It's not exactly embarrassing, he thought, but it's definitely uncomfortable seeing myself like this on TV.
Despite that, he kept his expression mostly neutral, even managing a faint smile.
"Yeah," Alex said, "it looks pretty ridiculous now. But I can't say it didn't help—at least against my first strong opponent it help me very much."
"Mason," he continued, "was the first person who really showed me the value of that tactic. He was ranked third in the tournament, and without it, my chances against him would've dropped significantly."
He shrugged lightly. "So even if it's awkward to watch, I don't regret using it."
The host nodded thoughtfully. "That's fair. Without it, there's a real chance you might've lost to Mason. Though I'm not entirely sure how much it actually improved your odds."
Alex considered that for a moment."Hard to say. The effectiveness of that kind of tactic depends completely on the opponent. Against some people, it can massively increase your win rate. Against others…"He paused."…it can actually make things worse."
The host frowned slightly. "Worse? How does that work?"
"That part's simple," Alex replied. "If your opponent realizes you're using a specific tactic, they can predict when and how you'll try to take advantage of it."
His expression grew a bit more serious."And once a skilled trainer understands your plan, they can prepare countless counters."
The host nodded slowly. "Right. When you think about it that way, the strategy definitely isn't without risk. Did you consider that beforehand?"
Alex smiled. "Of course. But the likelihood of that happening was much lower than people might think."
"This was my first tournament," he explained. "I was completely unknown. Even if someone watched that interview or my early matches—where I deliberately underperformed—the chance of them figuring out my real plan was close to zero."
The host's eyebrows rose. "So you intentionally played poorly in the early rounds against weaker opponents?"
He chuckled. "Alright, I have to admit—that makes the tactic a lot more impressive than it first appeared."
Alex returned the smile. "Exactly. It may not look flashy, but the details matter."
"Fair enough," the host said. "Now, let's talk about the finals—because that match had some very memorable moments."
He grinned. "Your opponent was Misty, and if I remember correctly, you used a… rather unconventional approach."
The screen lit up again, and Alex already knew what was coming.
"Are both participants ready? Three… two… one… GO!"
A younger Alex immediately struck an arrogant pose and shouted toward Misty.
"Misty has no bust. Completely flat. Flat like a lake."
"A pirate's dream—nothing but a sunken chest."
"Those aren't even boobs. They're mosquito bites."
Misty, who had been calmly issuing orders, froze—then snapped.
"Starmie, use H—AHH!! What are you even saying, you bastard?!"
"Haha! Sorry, sorry," young Alex laughed. "I shouldn't say things like that about Stunfisk—I mean, your chest."
"SHUT UP, YOU BASTARD!!"
The Crew erupted in laughter. The host wiped a tear from his eye as he looked at the screen behind Alex. "That was… an incredibly effective tactic, Alex. Truly impressive."
Alex gave a small, resigned smile. "What can I say? Without that head start, I had no chance against Misty. It's a dirty tactic," he admitted, "but I can't honestly say I regret it."
The host continued talking with Alex about the tournament for a few more minutes before briefly touching on his Top 8 finish in the Kanto Champion Tournament.
Compared to the Rookie Tournament, however, this part of the discussion was noticeably shorter.
Alex noticed it immediately. He kept smiling for the cameras, but inwardly, he couldn't help but feel irritated.
Fuck, that's unfair, he thought. Top 8 might not sound impressive to normal people, but I was ranked 20th in that tournament. That result was absolutely comparable to winning the Rookie Tournament. He clicked his tongue mentally. …In the end, people only care about winners.
The host cleared his throat and smoothly shifted topics.
"Alright, Alex," he said, turning slightly toward him, "before we wrap things up, you mentioned earlier that you recently acquired Elite Entertainment. Can you show us what you've been working on since then?"
Alex's expression brightened—this part, at least, was prearranged and something he'd been expecting.
"Yes," he said confidently. "I had a prototype tested by a small group, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. I'm fairly certain that both you and the viewers will be pleasantly surprised."
He held up a sleek box toward the camera.
"I'm calling the card game Yu-Gi-Oh!"
In truth, Alex had already tested the reactions of two Card Games extensively. Among the 2 prototype Card Games, most people in the Pokémon world had actually preferred Yu-Gi-Oh! over the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
That result was and wasn't surprised to him.
This world already had an oversaturation of Pokémon-themed card games. Something completely different with good quality was bound to stand out.
The host leaned forward slightly, interest flickering across his face as he examined the image on the 2 boxes that Alex was holding—specifically, the Kaiba starter deck artwork.
Alex had prepared thoroughly. He knew that roughly fifteen minutes of the broadcast would be dedicated to this "promotion" in the final cut.
That was why he'd brought two decks with him.
The Yugi and Kaiba starter decks weren't perfectly identical to those from his original world. Alex couldn't remember the exact forty-card lists with absolute precision. Still, he had recreated most of them from memory, resulting in decks that were functionally—and visually—very close to the originals.
Alex placed both decks on the table.
"Go ahead and choose one," he said. "You've already been briefed on the rules, so I'll leave it to you to explain them briefly for the viewers."
The host nodded. He'd received the rules several days earlier and had read them enough to explain everything clearly within three minutes.
After a moment's thought, he picked up the deck with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card box.
"I'll take this one," he said.
Alex raised an eyebrow and put on a slightly exaggerated, theatrical expression.
"Very well," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice."Let's duel."
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if the story gets 150 powerstones in 24 hours, I will upload 1 bonus chapter tomorrow.
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