The morning was reserved for the Round of 16 bracket announcement, while the afternoon was a rare break period.
However—
July's weather was unbearably hot.
After leaving the arena, Mo Yu decided to head straight home rather than stay outside any longer.
Following behind her, Fraxure still wore a deeply aggrieved expression.
"Na-ta! Na-ta!"
Looking at Fraxure crossing its arms, grinding its teeth in frustration despite looking rather adorable, Mo Yu couldn't help secretly chuckling.
Unfortunately, her Pokémon caught her in the act.
"NA-TA!!!"
Fraxure immediately shouted in protest, feeling utterly wronged.
During the group stage, most competitors naturally focused on their own groups and paid little attention to what was happening elsewhere.
As a result—
It wasn't until all sixteen finalists appeared together today that Fraxure finally noticed Gible.
And with just a single glance—
It recognized it immediately.
That Gible was the very same bad Pokémon that had suddenly burst out of the ground, slammed into it, and then run away!
Without hesitation, Fraxure rushed over, intending to demand an explanation.
Why had Gible done that back then?
Why had it attacked it?
After all—
That unexpected collision had left a huge psychological scar on the then-young Axew.
But then—
Something completely unexpected happened.
After Fraxure fired off a long list of accusations and questions, that hateful little shark simply tilted its head and asked:
"Who are you?"
At that moment, Fraxure felt as if it had been struck by lightning.
Then—
An endless torrent of rage surged from its heart.
Unforgivable!
Absolutely unforgivable!
And now, after suffering such a tremendous grievance, its own trainer was actually laughing at it.
Did she have any conscience at all?!
"Sorry, Fraxure. I wasn't laughing at you."
Mo Yu quickly realized her mistake and hurriedly explained.
"I just think that maybe Gible didn't recognize you because you've evolved."
"After all, compared to when you were Axew, you're much taller and much cooler now."
"Na-ta..."
Fraxure looked at her suspiciously.
Mo Yu spoke sincerely.
"You should believe me."
"The current you really is much more handsome than when you were Axew."
"Na-ta..."
Fraxure fell into deep thought.
Its trainer's words seemed very reasonable.
That's right.
Their next match was against that shark anyway.
When the time came, it would definitely make that shark apologize!
It had to apologize!
Seeing Fraxure's expression, Mo Yu could already guess what it was thinking and couldn't help smiling.
"I wonder if having an extremely competitive personality and a strong desire to battle is a common trait among Dragon-types."
"Come to think of it, wasn't Brother Mo's Gible the one that insisted on entering the tournament itself?"
Originally, Mo Yu had never intended to participate in the Pikachu Cup.
Her personality was the type that preferred staying home with the air conditioner on, eating cold desserts, and quietly watching other people engage in passionate battles.
She preferred being a spectator.
However—
One day while lounging around at home, Axew happened to see an advertisement for the Pikachu Cup.
It cried and threw a fit, insisting that Mo Yu take it to compete.
Unable to refuse, she registered.
At first—
Mo Yu had never imagined she would go very far in the tournament.
After all, while Axew was a rare Dragon-type Pokémon, Dragon-types were notorious for growing much more slowly than other Pokémon.
Its youth was an undeniable weakness.
Just do our best.
With that mindset, Mo Yu began studying what it meant to be a trainer and how to properly command Pokémon while gaining practical experience through battle.
The preliminary rounds were a constant struggle.
Fortunately—
Most participants at that stage were complete beginners.
Even a rookie trainer like Mo Yu eventually managed to collect ten Shining Stars and qualify for the main tournament.
But once the group stage began—
She immediately felt the difference.
The level of competition had increased several times over.
This was no longer something that could be overcome through last-minute studying.
After barely surviving the first two rounds, Mo Yu had already begun to feel what people called a limit.
Is this as far as we go...?
Just as she started believing she would probably be eliminated during the group stage, Axew showed her a level of stubbornness beyond anything she could understand.
For the second time—
Brilliant evolution light burst forth.
Axew evolved into Fraxure, becoming the second Pokémon in the group stage to evolve during battle after Gao Tianming's Charmeleon.
That battle—
Fraxure stood victorious at the very end despite being covered in wounds.
Yet—
Mo Yu wasn't happy.
Not at all.
Because afterward, Chen Mo had sent her a text message.
Unlike Gao Tianming's Charmander evolving naturally into Charmeleon, Axew's evolution into Fraxure had actually been a case of premature evolution.
And what exactly was premature evolution?
Chen Mo had explained this before during one of his broadcasts.
For most Pokémon, evolution required their physical condition to reach a certain standard.
The stronger a Pokémon's individual physique, the greater the likelihood of evolution.
If physical maturity were represented by a percentage, most Pokémon evolved around eighty percent.
That was the normal pace.
As for Axew—
When it evolved, its physical development had probably only barely reached sixty percent.
After all, it had only gone through its first tooth replacement two or three months earlier.
That was premature evolution.
Without question—
Obtaining power too early would negatively affect Fraxure's future growth.
Mo Yu was troubled.
And full of regret.
Haxorus, Axew's father, had entrusted Axew to her.
Yet before much time had even passed, she had already turned Axew into a textbook example of poor development.
If only we had never entered this tournament...
For the first time, Mo Yu considered withdrawing.
But she also understood—
Quitting now would deal a devastating blow to Fraxure.
While she remained trapped in hesitation, she encountered the strongest opponent she had faced in the entire Pikachu Cup.
Zhao Xue'er and her Frosmoth.
It was a one-sided battle.
Faced with endless snow and ice, Mo Yu and Fraxure were crushed without any meaningful resistance.
After the match ended—
The icy beauty Zhao Xue'er said something during the post-match handshake.
A sentence Mo Yu would never forget.
"Fraxure could have fought much better."
She was right.
The difference in strength had been enormous.
But it wasn't so large that Fraxure had been completely incapable of fighting back.
The real problem was—
Mo Yu herself had hesitated.
She had become so obsessed with Fraxure's premature evolution that she could no longer cooperate with it as seamlessly as before.
That very night—
Mo Yu noticed something.
Instead of sleeping in the perfectly sized new bed she had bought the previous day, Fraxure curled up inside its old bed.
Its body trembled.
Yet it stubbornly refused to cry.
Fraxure was strong.
But compared to it—
She, the trainer, had been pitifully weak.
After that day, Mo Yu finally understood something.
She regained her determination and began taking every subsequent match seriously together with Fraxure.
And now—
They had reached the Top 16.
"We're finally home."
Mo Yu hurried inside and waved toward Fraxure.
"It's way too hot outside. Come in quickly."
"Na-ta."
Most Dragon-types disliked winter but didn't mind summer.
Fraxure wasn't particularly bothered by the heat.
Still, seeing its trainer looking like she was about to melt, it quickly followed her inside.
The air conditioner switched on.
Cold air began flowing through the room.
Mo Yu collapsed onto the sofa like a salted fish.
"I've finally come back to life."
Fraxure walked over to the refrigerator.
It skillfully opened the door, took out two popsicles, then ran back and handed one to Mo Yu.
"Thanks."
She accepted it without hesitation.
Just as she was about to tear open the wrapper, the phone on the table suddenly rang.
She glanced at the screen.
The caller ID displayed:
Homeroom Teacher
"Hello, Teacher Jiang. What's up?"
Mo Yu spoke rapidly.
"If it's not something urgent, I'm planning to hang up."
"I walked all the way home from the arena, it's way too hot, I'm sticky all over, and I haven't had a chance to shower yet, so—"
"..."
At that moment, Jiang Yulin sat in his office with a face full of helplessness.
As a responsible teacher, he still asked:
"Mo Yu, are you coming to class this afternoon?"
"Huh? What? The signal's bad!"
"Teacher Jiang, the connection suddenly got really poor on my end!"
"Hold on, I'll hang up and call you back!"
"..."
Veins popped out on Jiang Yulin's forehead.
While reminding himself not to get angry, he hurriedly shouted before she could disconnect.
"Enough! Stop pretending!"
"If you don't want to come, then don't come! I'm not forcing you!"
"And besides, that's not even why I called."
"The school is organizing another event."
"Tomorrow afternoon during your match, we're sending a group of students to cheer you on."
"Do your best."
"And don't put too much pressure on yourself."
"Oh, is that all?"
Hearing that she wasn't being summoned back to school on a Saturday, Mo Yu immediately relaxed.
She sweetly replied:
"Thank you, Teacher Jiang."
"Also, Mo Yu."
"Even though your grades are excellent, I still think—"
Before he could finish speaking—
The call disconnected.
"..."
Jiang Yulin slowly clenched his fist.
Meanwhile, the other teachers in the office couldn't help teasing him.
"Teacher Jiang, was it that student Mo Yu again?"
"Sigh. Yeah."
Adjusting his black-rimmed glasses, Jiang Yulin looked helpless.
"That girl has brought a lot of honor to our school this time."
"I heard our principal attended a seminar in the provincial capital a few days ago and received plenty of praise because of her."
Someone looked at Jiang Yulin with envy.
"Old Jiang."
"You've really found yourself a treasure."
"A treasure?"
"A kid who used to climb over the school wall and skip class every few days counts as a treasure?"
Jiang Yulin rolled his eyes.
"Seriously, everyone."
"That girl's personality is really strange."
"Come on."
"Geniuses are always like that."
Another teacher waved it off.
"If I remember correctly, she's been an outstanding student since enrolling, right?"
"Always top ten in her grade."
"And now that she has a Pokémon, she's skyrocketed."
"Top 16 nationwide."
"There aren't even enough spots for each province."
"One spot per province?"
"And yet over half the Top 16 are from our province."
Jiang Yulin couldn't help retorting.
"We have Teacher Mo."
"No helping it."
"We embraced Pokémon earlier than everyone else."
"At this stage, we're naturally ahead of the other provinces."
Someone laughed.
"But Old Jiang."
"You know Mo Yu's circumstances."
"They're special."
"Try to be understanding."
"Once her class graduates, you might even get promoted."
The office buzzed with conversation.
Everyone envied Jiang Yulin for having a student like Mo Yu.
"Another promotion..."
Jiang Yulin muttered softly.
Looking at the file displayed on his computer screen, he fell silent.
Name: Mo Yu
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Family Status: Parents divorced
...
"Hoo..."
After hanging up, Mo Yu let out a sigh of relief.
Taking another bite of her popsicle, she muttered:
"That was close."
"Almost got trapped listening to Teacher Jiang lecture me again."
"Good thing I'm smart enough to hang up quickly."
Finishing the popsicle in a few bites, she stretched lazily.
"I've fully recovered."
"I'm going to take a shower."
"Fraxure, want to come?"
"Na-ta."
Fraxure shook its head.
Without even looking up, it continued licking its popsicle with its small tongue.
At that moment—
The phone rang again.
"Don't tell me it's Teacher Jiang again."
"Tch."
"Still this persistent today?"
"Maybe I should just turn it off—"
At first, Fraxure paid little attention to Mo Yu's muttering.
But after a while, it noticed the familiar ringtone was still playing.
Confused, it looked up.
Mo Yu had already turned around and was heading toward the bathroom.
"Na-ta!"
Thinking she'd forgotten the phone, Fraxure quickly picked it up and chased after her.
But her next words froze it in place.
"Don't worry about it."
"I'm going to shower."
"If it's too noisy, Fraxure, just go back to the bedroom."
"Na-ta?"
Fraxure looked completely confused.
Still, it obediently followed her instructions and placed the phone back on the table.
On the illuminated screen—
The caller ID displayed two simple characters:
Mother
Fraxure couldn't read them.
🌟 The story is already written… waiting to be unleashed.
Go check it out and dive into the full experience.
Claim early access here: [email protected]/plotwired
🔓 You hold the keys to bonus chapters:💬 10 reviews unlock 1 bonus chapter🔷 100 Power Stones summon another
🔥 Your power determines how fast the tale unfolds.