Chapter 210:
"Whoa... so cool! Is that really a Blaziken?"
"Omg Blaziken speed is so fast, man, even some Flying-type Pokémon won't be able to keep up!"
"No more debating. I was still torn about which Pokémon to choose for my kid. Now it's decided—Blaziken! Even if I have to scrimp and save every penny, I'm going to raise a Blaziken this cool!"
"Speaking of which, does anyone know where this Blaziken's Trainer is from? Is he on a journey or something? If he's a Breeder, I'd love to ask him for advice!"
"I know, I know! It's that young guy, Hayashi! There's a small shop called Neighbour Breeding House in Aogiri Town. You should all check it out!"
"Yeah, that's the place..."
"But isn't this speed a bit ridiculously fast? Seriously, is it fair for a Blaziken like this to appear in the Youth Cup? Does anyone know what level of Pokémon this Blaziken's speed is equivalent to?"
...
The moment the match-ending bell rang, the entire stadium erupted into noise.
Initially, they thought Hayashi Kaede agreeing to the Pontya Trainer's challenge was putting himself at a disadvantage.
They never expected that he had absolute confidence in his Pokemon strength.
"This match is won by Blaziken! Hayashi Kaede's Blaziken has demonstrated to us that its strength and speed are truly top-tier," Kondō Satoshi finally announced, concluding the battle.
However, after such an unconventional match, the audience's interest in the following matches noticeably waned.
Some people remained deeply absorbed in the recent race, even searching online for keywords related to the Blaziken and Pontya race right from their seats.
With so many people present, and a live broadcast running, the highlights were quickly clipped by video bloggers chasing the views shortly after the match ended.
Some more thorough bloggers even traced the origins back to Kaede's Breeding House and included it in their edits.
In this situation, whether Hayashi Kaede and Blaziken intended it or not, the existence of Kaede's Breeding House began to quietly spread throughout Nagisuna City.
Meanwhile, Hayashi Kaede, who had returned to the spectators' area with Blaziken, looked at its slightly sheepish expression and laughed. "Why that face? Afraid I'll blame you?"
"Blaziken..." Blaziken grinned awkwardly.
Well, yeah.
During the match, Hayashi Kaede had only given a "Use Quick Attack" command, but Blaziken, getting too excited, had used several other moves.
So, it was worried about being reprimanded.
A scolding was one thing; it wasn't the first time.
What it feared most was Hayashi Kaede cutting its portion of food. That would truly feel like the sky falling for Blaziken.
Hayashi Kaede patted its shoulder. "It's fine. A race like that isn't a formal battle, so it's okay to follow your instincts a bit. But in proper battles, especially against strong opponents, you still need to follow commands, understand?"
In a race like that, if Blaziken could enjoy itself and run freely, even not strictly following orders didn't harm other Pokémon.
In more formal battles, whether the opponent was strong or weak, if it didn't obey commands, Hayashi Kaede would have to seriously discipline it afterwards!
"Blaziken!" (Yeah, yeah!) Blaziken nodded repeatedly.
As Hayashi Kaede walked with Blaziken towards the competitors' seating area, the other competitors looked at him with even more awe, their gazes reminiscent of novice players facing the final boss.
Whispers circulated quietly.
"Is this Trainer someone the League is pushing as the next Championship candidate?"
"Did you see that Blaziken's speed? It was like watching a Speed-type Pokémon in a Gym battle against a quasi-Elite Four candidate – my eyes couldn't keep up! Without slow motion, I wouldn't even know what was happening..."
"Seriously, dude... with skills like that, why isn't he challenging the Pokémon League Conference? Why compete with us bunch of 18-19-year-olds?"
"Uh, maybe because he looks about 18 or 19 too?"
...
Listening to these discussions, Hayashi Kaede pondered silently as he reached the spot where Takagi Megumi, Jirachi, and Alolan Vulpix were.
He saw the girl's eyes shining, full of admiration for Blaziken, as she and Jirachi and Alolan Vulpix praised it. "Blaziken, you were so fast!"
Their praise made Blaziken scratch its head sheepishly, though it felt genuinely pleased inside. It felt like his hard work payoff.
Meanwhile, Hayashi Kaede was contemplating: How should he lose?
Continuing like this, everyone knew that if he didn't want to lose, none of the other competitors could make him lose!
Alolan Vulpix didn't want to win the championship too.
Besides, the champion's prize was reportedly just a B-rank Fire Stone and one million PokéDollars.
As for Fire-type rare items, his system inventory contained not only the Sacred Feather but also several A-rank Fire Stones. He wasn't particularly lacking those rewards.
As for fame... He glanced back at the audience, all eagerly discussing Blaziken's race. At this point, winning the championship might not matter much. Perhaps stepping down voluntarily could even earn him a reputation for knowing when to quit?
But how to lose?
Send out Eevee? That was the only method Hayashi Kaede could think of besides outright forfeiting.
Or just win this match with overwhelming force? Hmm, better ask Alolan Vulpix and the Eevees for their opinions.
Thinking this, Hayashi Kaede released little three, little five, and little nine.
Suddenly, he was surrounded by quite a few Pokémon.
"Eevee? Eevee?" "Eevee~"
The three fluffy little guys immediately crowded around Hayashi Kaede's feet.
Seeing their companions appear, Alolan Vulpix bounded over.
"Vulpix!" (Wow, I forgot to ask Kaede to let you out earlier! You missed it – Blaziken ran super, super fast, like a streak of fire!)
"Eevee?" Little three looked at Blaziken inquiringly.
Blaziken patted its chest, confirming Alolan Vulpix's story.
"Eevee?" Little nine wasn't interested and simply jumped onto Hayashi Kaede's lap.
Little five, however, seemed intrigued, looking at Blaziken with curiosity.
Little three also wasn't interested; it turned and cautiously tiptoed towards Serperior, gently rubbing its head against Serperior before shyly scurrying back to Hayashi Kaede with a timid "Eevee..."
"Serperior?" Serperior looked down, puzzled.
It was only then that Hayashi Kaede had a chance to explain the situation to the three Eevees and Alolan Vulpix.