Chapter 205:
"That's Hayashi Kaede! Did you hear? His Blaziken's speed is unreal."
"Wow, it's him... How are we supposed to fight that? A Gym-level Blaziken! I wonder if my Swampert can withstand it!"
"No, no, Blaziken isn't even the main issue. The key is he also has a Goodra that acts like a child, and it's rumored to be Elite Four-level..."
"What? Elite Four-level? This is the Junior Cup! How are we supposed to compete? Does the officials even care?"
"Wahhh, you're all underestimating Hayashi Kaede. He has more than just Blaziken and Goodra. He has plenty of Pokémon under one year old..."
"I originally thought his Pokémon were just for show. Who knew they were this strong..."
Hearing the murmurs around him, Hayashi Kaede was initially taken aback.
Then he realized: His performance in yesterday's preliminaries had spread through various channels.
Thinking about it, he was a bit busy yesterday and didn't consider this aspect. Plus, he didn't bring Rotom with him; otherwise, he could have had Rotom record some videos to post on his channel.
But it wasn't a big deal. The main tournament hadn't started yet.
He could always capture some clips from the official tournament footage later.
He didn't pay too much attention to the discussions around him and instead turned his gaze to Takagi Megumi.
As soon as she entered, she scanned the spectator stands and quickly spotted a middle-aged couple. She lightly ran over to them, a sweet smile on her face.
They were her parents.
Hayashi Kaede also brought Jirachi over to greet them.
"Uncle Takagi, Auntie Megumi."
"Hayashi Kaede,"
"You've grown so tall in the blink of an eye. We really owe you for looking after our daughter."
The couple smiled as they looked at Hayashi Kaede.
They both worked in Aogiri City—the father was a teaching staff member at the Gym, and the mother was a nurse at the Pokémon Center.
Lately, they had naturally heard about the famous breeding house opened in Aogiri Town.
Through their daughter's phone calls, they learned that this breeding house was run by Hayashi Kaede and that he had helped their daughter a lot.
While feeling melancholy, they also felt grateful to Hayashi Kaede.
As the saying goes, parents know their children best. It was unlikely she could have progressed to the Junior Cup this quickly on her own.
"Ahem, Megumi helped me a lot before too." Hayashi Kaede certainly wouldn't say he had no ulterior motives.
In the early days of the breeding house, he would have been quite troubled without Takagi Megumi.
First, he couldn't find ideal Pokémon quickly, and second... he was reluctant to entrust the breeding house to someone he didn't trust.
He had experienced this deeply before the Indeedee siblings arrived.
Whereas, it was different with someone he watched grow up; whom he felt comfortable relying on.
Takagi Megumi stuck out her tongue beside him, looking embarrassed.
She didn't speak, because last night she caught Wartortle staying out overnight. After some "interrogation," she found out that during their time in Aogiri Town, Wartortle would swim through the irrigation channel to Hayashi Kaede's plantation every day to mooch meals.
She only realized it later, while recalling the past.
No wonder Grandpa said Wartortle didn't eat much at home but kept growing bigger and even getting a little fat, suggesting she take it for more runs.
So that was the problem.
Hayashi Kaede knew about it and never told her.
To hide her embarrassment, she quickly said, "Oh, oh, the match is starting! We should head down now."
With that, she fled towards the lower area.
Hayashi Kaede was momentarily puzzled by her sudden reaction, especially since she hadn't seen her parents in so long.
After exchanging a few more greetings, he returned to the contestants' area.
The matches were indeed about to begin.
With a dazzling flash of light, a commentator riding an Aegislash jumped into the center of the field.
The sharp suit, the familiar Aegislash... Hayashi Kaede instinctively rubbed his eyes. Once he confirmed it was indeed Kondō Satoshi, the commentator from the Aogiri Town Baby Cup, he couldn't help but smile.
Hey, it was you commentating at the small-scale Aogiri Town Baby Cup, and now it's still you at the official provincial-level Nagisuna City Junior Cup.
When it comes to commentary, you're the professional, right?
However, at this moment, Kondō Satoshi, flying in the air, was somewhat nervous.
As Hayashi Kaede guessed, after evolving Doublade into Aegislash, due to financial reasons, Kondō Satoshi obtained a certificate for major tournament commentary.
On one hand, it was to pursue his love for travel; on the other, he needed to earn a living.
Originally, this was his first time commentating a provincial-level competition, so he was a bit nervous.
Especially today, when he saw the Fire-type Elite Four member sitting in the judges' booth, he grew even more nervous.
Goodness, the scale of this competition isn't that big, right? Why did it attract an Elite Four member?
Could it be because of...?
Kondō Satoshi's peripheral glance swept over the contestants' area. When he spotted a familiar figure, he couldn't help but sigh.
As a professional commentator, before the competition started, he had to familiarize himself with most of the popular contestants' information.
This was to engage the audience's emotions once the matches began.
Just like during the previous Baby Cup, but this Junior Cup was different.
Most contestants wanted to hide their strategies before the main tournament.
This resulted in relatively unremarkable matches before the main event.
However...
This young man named "Hayashi Kaede" was different.
While most were trying to conceal their strength, he openly displayed his Pokémon's power.
This caused almost all the spotlight to focus on him.
Excluding the Eevees, his remaining Pokémon—Blaziken, Goodra, Alolan Vulpix—each made the other contestants feel despair.
This young man never mentioned which school he attended or which Gym he apprenticed at.
It was as if he appeared out of thin air.
This led to Hayashi Kaede being called the biggest dark horse of this year's Nagisuna City Junior Cup!
And one darker than a black hole at that.
Gathering his thoughts, Kondō Satoshi flew a circle on his Aegislash, took a deep breath, and began his work.
"Oh, dear audience members, welcome to this year's Junior Cup hosted by the Nagisuna City Pokémon League Center. I am your commentator, Kondō Satoshi."
"The judges for this event are the head of the Nagisuna City League Branch, Tachibana Ryo, and the Fire-type Elite Four member, Kaito."
"Alright, I'm sure you don't want to hear me ramble any longer. Let the battles begin! Contestants number 1 and 2, please come to the stage."
"Time limit: five minutes. After five minutes, the winner will be determined based on the damage sustained by both Pokémon..."