Freshman Tournament.
Traditionally, it marked the first major event of every new semester at Shanghai Pokémon University.
Why traditionally?
Because this year, thanks to Guo Yi's appearance—the true main event had already been his public lecture the week before.
According to the school's estimates, more than forty thousand people had attended.
And if entry hadn't been limited for safety reasons, that number could've easily surpassed a hundred thousand.
Still, Guo Yi's explosive popularity brought an unexpected side effect—sign-ups for this year's Freshman Tournament had multiplied several times over compared to previous years.
You could say that every freshman with even a sliver of confidence had joined.
Even a few upperclassmen were tempted to throw their hats in.
Their shared goal was obvious:
To show off their talent and hopefully catch Guo Yi's eye—to become his next disciple.
Inside the stadium, contestants held number tags in hand, crowding around a massive screen that displayed their matchups and assigned battlefields.
The stadium officially had six regulation battlefields, but for the preliminary rounds, half-sized ones were more than enough.
To speed things up, each participant would only use a single Pokémon during the preliminaries and elimination rounds.
Only once they reached the top 32 could they bring out a second partner.
"Yan'er, which group are you in?" Su Qingxue asked, glancing at her tag. "I got Group A."
For efficiency—and a little flexibility—all contestants were divided into sixteen groups under a knockout system.
Anyone who lost three consecutive matches was eliminated.
Only the top two from each group advanced to the final 32.
That meant losing twice in a row basically spelled the end.
"Group C," Hu Yan'er answered with a quiet sigh of relief.
"Looks like we won't run into each other before the top 32."
Not sharing a group definitely eased her nerves.
Even though two contestants per group could advance, there was no telling who might be hiding their true strength.
As for Su Qingxue—with her two Ace-level Pokémon, she was the undisputed favorite, practically guaranteed a finals spot.
If Hu Yan'er had been grouped with her, the pressure would've been crushing.
"Qingxue! Yan'er!"
While the two were talking, He Yongsen strode over, holding his own number tag.
Both girls blinked in surprise.
Su Qingxue even stepped forward. "Yongsen? Why are you in the Freshman Tournament?"
Technically, He Yongsen was a freshman—but older than most of his peers.
His ace, Arcanine, had already reached Gym-Leader level. Even some instructors struggled against him.
Him competing here was basically bullying.
And more puzzling still—he'd said earlier he wasn't planning to enter.
So why the sudden change of heart?
A faint smile tugged at He Yongsen's lips. "It was Teacher's idea. He said I'm here to test you, Senior."
"A test?" Su Qingxue arched an eyebrow.
"Yes!" He Yongsen nodded eagerly. "Teacher told me to use Arcanine when I face you."
Of course, that "Teacher" was Guo Yi.
He knew full well that, at Su Qingxue's current level, first place was practically hers already.
But if there were no obstacles ahead—he'd just create one himself.
As for whether He Yongsen might cross paths with Hu Yan'er too early, Guo Yi wasn't worried.
With his current standing, adjusting the brackets to make sure they only met in the top 32—or even 16—was child's play.
After all, fairness was always a matter of perspective.
Guo Yi would never blatantly rig things for his disciples, but subtly influencing matchups later on? That was another story.
To make things more interesting for He Yongsen, he wasn't allowed to use Arcanine until he reached the top 32.
In other words, compared to Hu Yan'er and Su Qingxue, his path there would be much harder.
"So that's how it is."
Hu Yan'er smiled sweetly. "Then what group are you in, Yongsen?"
"Group E."
"Perfect!" Hu Yan'er beamed. "We're all in different groups. Looks like we won't face each other until the top 32."
Seeing her cheerful expression, Su Qingxue and He Yongsen exchanged a helpless glance.
Lucky?
More like Teacher planned it that way.
Even after reaching the top 32, the odds of them actually fighting each other were probably slim.
After chatting briefly, the three of them headed to their assigned fields.
...
Half an hour later—
Su Qingxue finally stepped onto the battlefield for her first match.
"Next up—Freshman Class 3's Su Qingxue versus Freshman Class 5's Wu Hao!"
"Both contestants, please take your positions!"
At the referee's call, Su Qingxue and her opponent walked to their marks.
Wu Hao was short, with dark, skinny limbs, a long face, and narrow eyes that looked even smaller above his protruding cheekbones and forehead.
Because of his peculiar appearance, his classmates had cruelly nicknamed him Ancestor—a mocking jab that he looked more simian than human.
At this moment, Wu Hao's face was clouded with gloom.
When he saw that his first opponent was Su Qingxue, the thought of withdrawing flashed through his mind.
But after thinking it over, he forced himself to drop the idea.
The school took the Freshman Tournament seriously.
If you weren't strong enough, losing was understandable.
But running without a fight?
He'd never live it down if he stayed here.
So, even knowing defeat was inevitable, Wu Hao stepped onto the field.
"Both contestants, send out your Pokémon!"
With the two in position, the referee waved his flag, signaling the start.
"Come out, Primeape!"
"Beedrill, let's shine!"
They threw their Poké Balls.
Twin flashes of red—a jet-black Shiny Beedrill and a Primeape with a porcupine-like face landed at center field.
[Primeape (Fighting-type)]
[Gender: ♀]
[Level: Lv35 (Veteran-tier)]
[Ability: Vital Spirit (prevents sleep by maintaining high energy)]
[Moves: Seismic Toss, Cross Chop, Fury Swipes, Pursuit (common moves)]
[Tutor Move: Brick Break]
[Egg Move: Close Combat]
[Held Item: Black Belt]
[Potential: Gym Leader-tier]
Primeape, a primate Pokémon. Like Mankey, its round body is covered in pale yellow fur.
However—after evolving, the fur on its limbs recedes, black bands circle its arms and legs, and its hands become glove-like fists, greatly boosting its punching power.
Primeape is notoriously irritable and easy to provoke.
In the wild, it's angry for no clear reason most of the time; make eye contact and it'll chase you down and beat you senseless.
Even asleep, a Primeape might snap awake mid-rage and go after enemies that aren't there.
That said—trainer-raised Primeape are usually steadier; they don't fly into a fury the moment a battle starts.
At Lv35, Wu Hao's Primeape was undeniably strong among this year's freshmen.
Unfortunately—Wu Hao drew Su Qingxue in his group.
If not for her, he'd likely have made the top 32.
As soon as the Pokémon appeared, murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Huh? Su Qingxue didn't open with Nidoqueen?"
"What, you think Beedrill's beneath her? Don't forget which Pokémon made her teacher famous."
"Exactly! Other people's Beedrill might be mid, but hers is straight from the source—and it's Shiny. Not to be trifled with."
Ever since Beedrill blew up—trainers everywhere started raising their own.
Yet the results were… mixed.
Short growth cycles, limited ceilings, and so-so combat performance frustrated a lot of would-be Beedrill specialists.
After a while, reality set in: someone else's Beedrill might be god-tier—five instant KOs on Elite-level Fire-types—but theirs?
Forget legendaries—even Fire-types felt like a hard counter.
Now, this tournament would finally test whether that was a one-off miracle or a training issue.
...
Wu Hao shut his eyes and drew a long breath.
When he opened them, his gaze was razor sharp.
"Primeape, stoke your rage!"
"Charge in—[Brick Break]!"
He knew his Primeape was a full tier below Beedrill.
So he went all-in from the start, unleashing her pent-up fury.
Studies show that Primeape's rage boosts circulation, rapidly increasing muscle power and punch speed.
However—staying enraged too long takes a heavy toll.
Wild Primeape have been known to die of sheer fury—faces oddly peaceful in the end.
Which is why—managing that anger is a trainer's toughest task.
Handled well, rage becomes Primeape's trump card.
Judging by her current state, Wu Hao had raised his Primeape exceptionally.
At his command—the naturally restless fighter surged with barely contained agitation.
Huff! Huff!
She bounced on her feet like a boxer warming up, barking threats across the field.
At the same time—a faint, steam-like mist rose from her fur: her blood pumping so fast that heat evaporated sweat on contact.
"HAAAA!"
Primeape roared, both fists flaring with a hard white light—the telltale glow of Brick Break—and blurred forward at Beedrill.
"Beedrill, [Twineedle]," Su Qingxue said calmly, meeting the charge head-on.
---
T/N: "Mm. If you've read this far, I suppose you're at least a little invested."
"If you want to support the translator, there's a Patreon here: patreon.com/wisetl. It's optional—think of it as tossing a few extra coins on the counter. Early chapters are just a bonus side-effect of that support."
"This place also has its own strange currency… Powerstones. For every 100 Powerstones the story gets, you'll receive 1 bonus chapter. 100ps = 1 chp, 200ps = 2 chp, 300ps = 3 chp… you can do the math."
"If you'd rather talk than throw money or stones, there's a Discord: discord.gg/wisetl. Go there if you want to complain, theorize, or poke the translator for more updates. Just don't expect me to mediate your arguments."
Say thank you to Maomao guys