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Espurr's days were quite difficult.
Milcery had become more and more energetic, always curious about strange and unusual things.
Since no one played ball with her anymore, she would run around everywhere, making it very difficult for Espurr to keep an eye on her.
Fortunately, Beautifly could never resist the urge to take a sip of Milcery's cream. With Beautifly following her around, Espurr felt much more at ease.
Chikorita was in that awkward stage of "growing up but not quite grown." Sometimes you could see her helping Espurr take care of Milcery, and other times you could see Chikorita running to the artificial lake to fish like crazy, creating the bizarre scene of angering the Quagsire that had been stocked in the lake.
Larvitar was no less troublesome. Thanks to the excellent food, Larvitar had developed very well. Now that he was full of energy, he spent the whole day wanting to test his strength.
Probably after seeing Espurr display overwhelming power during the battle with Hayata, Larvitar had gotten the urge to spar. He would always charge out from strange corners, trying to ram into Espurr.
Without any surprise, Espurr would easily throw Larvitar away, then pin him to the ground with Psychic Power and make him eat dirt before it was finally over.
Luther did not stop Larvitar from challenging Espurr. The whole process was actually very similar to how Exeggutor once suppressed Ralts. Although it looked like he was being beaten miserably, he could gain a lot of experience and benefits from it.
The groupings and matchups for the seven groups in the points tournament had all been announced.
Luther, Etorre, Ash, Dakota, and Paul were all assigned to different groups.
The "fine-paying guy," Barry, was also placed in a different group.
Conway, the bespectacled strategist known for his flexible tactics and strategy-focused battle style, had surprisingly been placed in the same group as Luther.
Moreover, Luther's very first match in the points tournament would be against Conway.
He was definitely not an opponent who could be underestimated. His ability to utilize information was at a very high level. If Gible hadn't performed like it was cheating, Ash's match against him might not have gone so well.
Luther also believed that in a six-on-six battle, Conway might be one of the few trainers capable of going head-to-head with Dakota. After all, Conway was someone who built strategies for his entire team and carried them out with unwavering determination.
Suddenly, Luther thought of something.
Conway seemed to have the "good habit" of secretly collecting information about his opponents. Could it be…
Luther turned his head and looked around, trying to find him somewhere in the courtyard of the Contestant Village. When he didn't see him, he relaxed and sat down.
"To be honest, Trainer Luther, your team lineup is much thinner than I imagined. Is that confidence?" A bespectacled man who looked like a science nerd suddenly popped out beside Luther.
'He had appeared like a ghost. When had he gotten there?'
There was no need to guess. That appearance, that habit of pushing up his glasses, this had to be Conway. Sure enough, he really did have the habit of gathering information before every match.
But…
When he collected information about Ash, he clearly did it secretly. Why was he being so open about it with Luther?
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Conway. If you've seen the group assignments, you should know that we're trainers in the same group, and opponents in the first round."
"Nice to meet you," Luther said, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Let me ask something, do you always investigate people this openly without even trying to hide it?"
"Not really. But once I learned that you have Darkrai, whether I hide or not doesn't really make much difference. Instead of getting caught and making things awkward for both of us, it's better for me to be straightforward."
Conway continued,
"The main goal of the points stage is to secure qualification. Since each group has nine qualifying spots, I only need to observe a few trainers who have the highest chance of advancing. As for the rest of the information, I can collect it during the main tournament."
Luther smiled.
"Are you already thinking about how to counter Darkrai? After all, there are two Darkrai appearing in this tournament. I heard from Ash and Dawn that you're best at prescribing the right remedy for the problem."
Conway pushed up his glasses and grinned.
"I already have a team lineup that can perfectly seal Darkrai. If we meet again in the main tournament, I'll show it to you."
Luther could hear the implication behind his words.
Tomorrow, Conway would probably just use his usual main lineup to battle.
The points tournament stage was said to give trainers who had advanced this far more opportunities to appear on the battlefield. It allowed them to enjoy the benefits brought by the Pokémon League, and to enjoy the glory of having the cameras broadcast their shining moments to the world.
But it was also a test for the trainers.
Because in order to keep the schedule tight, Pokémon Trainers would sometimes have to fight two matches in a single day according to the timetable. At this stage, team rotation became especially important.
After the points tournament came the main tournament. If a trainer overexerted some of their main Pokémon during the qualification process, causing injuries that couldn't recover in a short time, then for trainers without deep team reserves, the main tournament afterward would become fatal.
Once the early rounds established the standings, the leading trainers in each group could arrange suitable rotations based on their points and advance comfortably.
If Conway had not met Luther in the first round, but instead encountered him later when the standings were mostly settled, he would probably have chosen without hesitation to use a more ordinary team lineup.
Even though trainers with more wins would receive higher prize money in the end, Conway would most likely prioritize preparation for the main tournament.
After wandering around for a while, Conway eventually left. No one knew what conclusions he had drawn after poking and examining Luther's Pokémon here and there, or what strategy he had come up with to deal with him.
'It couldn't still be Trick Room, could it?'
Luther didn't return to his room. Instead, he sat quietly on a bench beside the artificial lake, silently waiting.
The sunset was gradually swallowed by the pitch-black night sky. Larvitar and Marill, who had gone to eat with Ash and the others, returned and began playing again in the courtyard.
Luther pressed a hand against Hoothoot's loudly growling stomach and was just about to stand up when shadows suddenly appeared in the night sky, Flygon and Altaria.
Although… Altaria seemed to be flying a little slower.
The wind stirred up by the wings of the two Pokémon rippled across the artificial lake. Before Flygon had even fully steadied itself, Mai lightly jumped down from its back and landed firmly on the ground.
The somewhat depressed Altaria saw Mai run over to hug Luther, and quickly flapped its wings, signaling someone to deal with the wardrobe.
Embarrassed, Mai hurried over and released Dusknoir, asking it to unload the wardrobe.
Aggron was also released, tasked with managing the Pokémon she had brought out with her.
Luther gently held Mai's face and asked with a smile, "I took care of Hayata. What about you?"
"He won't be able to control me anymore."
The two looked at each other for a long time. Mai stood on tiptoe, only then realizing that Luther, standing straight, was actually a bit too tall… she couldn't quite reach him.
Luther bent slightly, finally giving Mai her chance.
Dusknoir was carrying the wardrobe and had just been about to ask Mai where to put it when it saw what was happening in front of it. Startled, it almost dropped the cabinet.
No one knew how Aggron had somehow ended up hanging around with Houndoom, but they both seemed very dissatisfied with Dusknoir's rare display of surprise. They almost made a noise that would have ruined the atmosphere Luther and Mai had finally managed to build.
Marill dragged Corsola into the artificial lake.
Eevee covered Milcery's eyes with its tail, even though Milcery insisted she wanted to watch.
Kirlia and Espurr exchanged a glance, then silently pulled Larvitar to turn around with them. They leaned against Chansey and looked up at the night sky.
Mismagius really wanted to float over and join in, but Jumpluff grabbed hold of her, forcing her to stay far away from Luther and Mai.
Aggron crushed Gengar's Poké Ball in its hand. At times like this, that troublemaker was better off staying inside the ball.
After all, tonight… the moonlight was quite beautiful.
(End of Chapter)