Chapter Sixty: The Tournament

“Xiao Zhi, are you all right?”
“Cheng Cheng, you’re here too.”
At this moment, everyone had gathered together.
“Wow, how adorable!”
Cheng Cheng ran over and hugged Pikachu. Pikachu seemed even cuter now that it was bigger.
“Pika, pika!”
“Look over there, it’s a Natu!”
Xiao Zhi spotted the Natu, but there was only one.
“Natu, you must know how we can return to our original forms, right?”
“Chuu~”
Suddenly, Natu emitted a blinding light. When everyone opened their eyes, they found they had returned to normal.
“That’s great, we’re back!”
“Oh!”
Cheng Cheng still wanted to cuddle Pikachu a little longer; Pikachu was just too cute when it was big.
“Look, everyone.”
At that moment, the Xatu flew overhead again.
“Wait, Xatu!”
Ah Xun was about to give chase, but bumped into someone.
“Chimecho, let’s go.”
Chimecho lifted Cheng Cheng into the air and they took off after Xatu. Xatu wasn’t moving very quickly, yet Cheng Cheng just couldn’t catch up. As dusk fell, Xatu suddenly stopped.
{Do you have something to ask?}
Xatu suddenly turned to Cheng Cheng and inquired.
{Was everything we experienced today your doing?}
{Yes, and no. What happened today was something you all had experienced before. I simply let you live through it once more.}
{Why did you do this?}
{Reliving the past stirs memories and helps you find what you’ve lost.}
{Lost? What have I lost?}
{That’s for you to discover yourself.}
{Can you tell me anything more?}
Xatu looked at Cheng Cheng, and its eyes began to glow.
{I see blood. In your future, I see blood.}
{Blood? What’s going to happen? Why is there blood?}
{I do not know.}
“Blood?” Cheng Cheng pondered deeply. Was there danger awaiting him in the future?
“Um…”
By the time Cheng Cheng came to his senses, Xatu had vanished.
“Let’s go, Chimecho.”
Cheng Cheng walked back, mulling over Xatu’s words. He thought for a long while but came up with nothing, so he decided to let it be—whatever the future held, he’d deal with it then.

When Cheng Cheng returned to Dawn’s home, everyone was waiting for him.
“Cheng Cheng, where did you go?”
“I went after Xatu. Sorry for making you worry.”
“It’s fine. Did you catch up to it?”
Cheng Cheng shook his head.
“All right then, come eat.”
Ayako brought out the food, and after dinner, everyone returned to their rooms.

“Cheng Cheng, there’s a battle tournament tomorrow. Are you going to participate?”

“I suppose I should.”
With that, Cheng Cheng went back to his room. He sat on his bed, thinking over the events of the past few days. After a long while with no answers, he gave up and began to meditate.

Just then, a voice sounded in his mind.
“Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing Task Four. You have received one thousand achievement points.”
“Ding. Now commencing the second reputation point settlement. Since the host was in a dormant state for the past month, the points will now be settled together.
Ding! The previous reputation settlement was 409 points. Current reputation points: 1213. Congratulations, Host, on gaining 804 achievement points.
Since your reputation points have surpassed one thousand, you now have one pass to the Psychic-type Pokémon Sanctuary.”

Hearing the system’s notification, Cheng Cheng realized he’d been away for nearly two months and had completed the three-month task. It seemed Lillie and Alei had been working hard—he’d have to give them a raise when he returned.

Cheng Cheng checked his profile once more.

Cheng Cheng
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Achievement Points: 1270
Host Reputation: 117
Daycare Reputation: 1214
Psychic Ability Level: Six-Leaf Seedling
Items: Two Early Month Lottery Tickets, One Psychic-Type Sanctuary Pass, 20 Pokémon Shards
Bound Pokémon: Chimecho, Ralts, Abra, Gothita, Natu, Spoink, Slowpoke, Mr. Mime, Lunatone, Sigilyph

“Six-Leaf Seedling? Shouldn’t it be a tree by now?”
Cheng Cheng hadn’t expected there to be a ‘seedling’ stage for his psychic abilities. This time, not only did the system page show the daycare reputation, but it also added his personal reputation data.

Cheng Cheng noticed he hadn’t used his early month lottery tickets for two months, so he decided to use them now.
“System, activate the early month lottery.”
“Ding. Beginning early month lottery. Congratulations, Host, you have received an Intermediate Power Cube Recipe.”
Intermediate Power Cube Recipe? Not bad. The intermediate power cubes Cheng Cheng had made before were based on his own experimentation, and the effect differed from those provided by the system.
“System, draw again.”
“Ding. Congratulations, Host, you have received three Basic Pokémon Level Candies.”
“System, what do these candies do?”
“Are you stupid, Host? I made the name so obvious and you still don’t get it? Basic Pokémon Level Candies are, of course, used to raise a Pokémon’s level!”
“Oh. What’s the specific effect? Since these are basic, you must have intermediate and advanced ones as well, right?”
“Correct. Pokémon Level Candies come in four types: basic, intermediate, advanced, and supreme. Basic candies raise the level of a Pokémon from level 0 to 29 by one. Intermediate candies are for levels 30 to 59. Advanced candies are for levels 60 to 89, and supreme candies are for Pokémon above level 90.”
“In addition, because these candies infuse large amounts of energy at once, Pokémon need some time to recover after using them. Please use them with care.”

Side effects? Then what’s the point? Cheng Cheng put the candies away in his backpack, not intending to use them. After glancing through the system data again, he entered a meditative state.

“Everyone, the Twinleaf Festival has entered its final day. Let’s all celebrate to our hearts’ content!”
Ayako, dressed in splendid attire, stood in the center of the battlefield, stirring everyone’s excitement.
“Come out, Glameow, Umbreon!”
“Glameow, Umbreon, use Quick Attack!”
The two Pokémon leapt gracefully through the air, their movements elegant and refined.

“Cheng Cheng, aren’t you going to participate in the battle?” Xiao Zhi asked Cheng Cheng, who was eating nearby.
“No, you all go ahead.” When Xiao Zhi mentioned the tournament the night before, Cheng Cheng hadn’t paid much attention, but learning about the battles today, he figured he’d rather eat than fight.

“Everyone, thank you sincerely for participating in this year’s Twinleaf Festival. Now, for the final event—the Battle Tournament! Let’s welcome our special guest, the Frontier Brain of Sinnoh’s Battle Zone, Mr. Palmer!”
“Wow!!!”
The audience erupted in excitement. Mr. Palmer was clearly very popular.
“Mr. Palmer? Mr. Palmer, please come to the stage.”
Everyone waited a long time, but Mr. Palmer was nowhere to be seen.
“Xiao Zhi, I’ll go look for Dad.”
With that, Ah Xun ran off.
“Wait, I’m coming too.”
Xiao Zhi and the others followed, while Cheng Cheng stayed where he was, continuing to eat.

Soon, Ah Xun and the others brought Mr. Palmer back.
“All right, everyone, let me reintroduce the Frontier Brain of Sinnoh’s Battle Zone, Mr. Palmer!”
“Hello, everyone! I’m Palmer.”
“Whoa!”
The crowd cheered once more.
“I’m honored to be part of this tournament. I hope you’ll all give it your best and enjoy the battles!”
Palmer continued to fire up the crowd, and the atmosphere reached a fever pitch.

“Everyone, today’s battle rules are simple. Each trainer may use one Pokémon per match. The tournament will be single elimination, and the final winner will have a match against Mr. Palmer.”
Ayako enthusiastically explained the rules.

And so, the tournament progressed round by round. Xiao Zhi had good luck and strong Pokémon, making it all the way to the final battle against Palmer.

“Octillery balls for sale, delicious octillery balls!”
“I’ll have three orders, please.”
“Coming right up—thanks for your patronage!”
“Long time no see, Meowth.”
“Huh? You are—?”
It was only then that Meowth recognized Cheng Cheng.
“Oh, it’s you, Meowth.”
“How have you all been lately, Meowth?”
“Ugh, funds have been tight, Meowth. To catch Pikachu, we’ve had to take on part-time jobs.”
No sooner had Meowth said this than he realized he’d let something slip.
“No, no, forget what Meowth just said.”
“Hahaha, it’s all right. I know you’ve always wanted to catch Pikachu, but after all this time, you haven’t succeeded once. Why should I mind?”
“Are you looking down on us, Meowth?” Meowth was a little angry.
“Not at all. I’ve always said I’m interested in you all. You’re really capable—it’s just that catching Pikachu is no easy feat.”
“What are you getting at, Meowth?”
“I’ll be direct. You need money, right? I’d like to hire you. The pay is generous. Interested?”
“Team Rocket doesn’t take just any job, Meowth.”
“I know, but you need money, don’t you? With my payment, you can try for Pikachu again.”
Cheng Cheng tossed out Pikachu.
“Well, I’ll have to discuss it with Jessie and James.”
“No problem, we’ll talk later.”
Cheng Cheng handed Meowth his contact information.

“Meowth, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and help!”
“Coming, Meowth.”
As Meowth went back to selling octillery balls, Cheng Cheng glanced at his retreating figure, a small smile on his lips.
With Team Rocket’s help, things would progress much faster. As for them using the money to go after Pikachu, Cheng Cheng had no worries at all. If they ever managed to catch Pikachu, it would be a miracle.

When Cheng Cheng turned his attention back to the battle, it was already over. Unfortunately, Xiao Zhi lost, and even though Palmer went easy on him, the outcome was inevitable. After all, Palmer was a Frontier Brain—a match for even the Elite Four or Champions.

Following the final evening celebration, the Twinleaf Festival came to an end. Cheng Cheng and Xiao Zhi’s group prepared to continue their journey.