Chapter 172: 172. Zenia Reginald vs. Roy
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The main tournament of the European Youth Championship was scheduled for two days after the preliminaries concluded.
This delay was designed to allow proper promotion of each qualifying participant and build excitement around the event.
Officially, this competition was presented as a celebratory tournament honoring the successful integration of the Kalos Region, suggesting that profit wasn't the primary motivation.
In reality, however, this tournament served to announce to the world that France possessed an enormous spiritual realm, attracting foreign corporate investment to develop local cities and spiritual realm resources collaboratively.
Therefore, creating maximum publicity and prestige around the competition was crucial.
The following day, the government invested heavily in media coverage, with news stories sweeping across Europe before radiating worldwide.
"Professional Gathering: Europe's Most Prestigious Youth Championship"
"Yoga Master Amora from India Participates, Representing the Honor of Great Dojo Masters"
"Japan's Elite Four Adopted Son Competes at Quasi-Professional Level at Age 21"
"Clash of New Generations: France's Flower vs. The Eastern Prodigy"
Talented trainers from around the globe and various promotional angles immediately captured international attention.
Among all competitors, Zenia and Roy generated the most interest, with constant comparisons between them.
Both were nineteen years old, both recognized as their respective countries' top talents, both had begun their trainer journeys simultaneously, and their birthdays were only ten days apart.
Naturally, China supported Roy enthusiastically.
However, distance and geography meant their voices of support couldn't reach Europe effectively.
Meanwhile, Europeans overwhelmingly backed their beloved "Flower of France." More extreme fans had already begun online harassment campaigns, defacing and destroying Roy's official promotional materials offline, with some even placing dead mice in his hotel room.
Unfortunately for these saboteurs, their efforts proved completely futile since Roy hadn't stayed at his hotel for the past two days, instead remaining at the Pokemon Center.
After turning on the television for the first time in days, Roy felt slightly disappointed upon learning about these recent events.
"A dead mouse? I haven't seen one yet," he mused.
Since Pokemon's arrival in this world, ordinary animals had become nearly extinct, with only a few species surviving through human breeding programs. Mice were genuinely rare creatures now.
Roy was genuinely curious to see one.
"These people..." Lucario turned off the television in annoyance.
"Even if they don't support you, they shouldn't resort to malicious slander," it communicated through their aura connection.
Mimikyu remained silent but dark energy began emanating from its body in response to the hostility.
Even Little Cosmog was so upset that it swallowed two energy cubes without chewing, which deeply moved Roy.
From the Poke Balls at his waist, he could sense waves of dissatisfaction from his other team members.
Seeing all his Pokemon feeling indignant on his behalf, Roy chuckled and patted Lucario on the shoulder reassuringly.
"There's no point in arguing with these people. Only by defeating them with absolute strength can we make them be quiet."
Upon hearing this, Lucario calmed down.
The next moment, its crimson eyes suddenly blazed with intensity as very special psychic energy surged around its body. Feeling this power, Lucario nodded with determination.
"I will succeed," it declared firmly.
If Elite Carter were present, he would definitely recognize the true nature of this energy.
It was unmistakably Psychic energy integrated with natural power.
Indeed, under the effects of Roy's aura fusion over two consecutive days, Lucario had successfully mastered the "Totem Aura" technique.
Subsequently, after using "Shattered Psyche" once, it had successfully comprehended the mysteries of Psychic-type mastery.
Just as Mimikyu's Ghost-type moves had undergone various enhancements, Lucario's Psychic-type abilities had also transformed incredibly.
Of course, this achievement came at a cost - Roy had collapsed unconscious the previous night, only now learning about the external events that had transpired.
He weighed himself and discovered he had lost six pounds overnight. While his aura powers couldn't be widely distributed, he wouldn't recommend this particular weight loss method.
Roy yawned, noting that the tournament would begin that afternoon. He needed more rest.
French local time, 1:00 PM.
The Battle Tower was packed with crowds, and the first-floor arena, capable of accommodating 70,000 spectators, was completely sold out with tremendous energy from the audience.
Compared to Chinese audiences, the support style here was much more enthusiastic and provocative.
For example, the front rows featured numerous scantily clad blonde women in bikinis, tennis outfits, bunny costumes, or wearing fishnet stockings and pantyhose.
The philosophy seemed to be maximum visual distraction - the more provocative, the better. During matches, every moment an opposing trainer glanced away, every second of distracted commanding, represented valuable advantage.
Roy entered the official player's private lounge and noticed beverages in the refrigerator. As he reached for water, cautious Metagross immediately sent him a warning thought from its Poke Ball.
Roy paused thoughtfully.
This time, he had to admit that Metagross's caution was completely justified.
While the possibility of officials using such underhanded tactics was low, ordinary staff members prepared these player supplies. Who could guarantee that no fanatical fans worked among them?
Fighting on foreign territory, alone and far from home, maintaining defensive awareness was essential.
"Who's my first-round opponent?" Roy wondered aloud, settling onto the sofa to await the bracket results.
The tournament would span three days total.
Day one featured Round of 32 and Round of 16 battles.
Day two would host quarterfinals and semifinals.
Day three reserved for the championship match.
Unlike typical advance seeding used in normal competitions, this tournament employed live lottery drawings, with organizers claiming this approach provided "excitement and surprise."
To prevent accusations of manipulation from spectators and participants, they had invited a heavyweight guest to conduct the drawing ceremony.
Soon, Roy saw this distinguished guest appear on the player lounge's large screen.
"Welcome our great Champion, Connie Reginald! Today, he will conduct the tournament bracket lottery and extend best wishes to all contestants and audience members!"
Accompanied by the host's extremely enthusiastic introduction, a blonde man in an elegant suit appeared on stage.
The venue erupted with fanatical, almost religious fervor from the crowd.
Feeling the floor vibrate slightly from the noise, Roy clicked his tongue while recalling information about the French Champion.
Connie Reginald, currently forty-one years old - the same age as Frances - and both had achieved Championship status in the same year.
Frances was the world's only Dragon-type specialist Champion.
Connie was the world's only Dark-type specialist Champion.
Initially, the two were frequently compared due to their parallel careers.
However, within a few years, no one continued making such comparisons.
Compared to Frances, who had achieved two championship victories and one second-place finish in global competitions, Connie seemed mediocre. He had only managed third place across three competitions, earning mockery from some international fans as the "Eternal Third Place" Champion.
Despite being France's Champion, Connie wasn't actually French by birth - he had originally held German nationality.
His rise was quite dramatic. Born to a common family, his parents died during their journey to France, after which he was adopted by the wealthy Reginald family.
This story had spread widely throughout Europe as an inspiring tale of civilian advancement.
Incidentally, since Europe contained many small nations, many of them depended on larger countries for survival, existing as essentially dependent territories.
Therefore, Champion Connie's authority extended beyond just French territory.
Europe maintained only three Champions total.
"Parents dying tragically, adoption by a wealthy family... this storyline feels somewhat familiar," Roy muttered.
On stage, the host invited Connie to address the audience.
Demonstrating a Champion's skill at public speaking, Connie stretched two sentences into a thirty-minute presentation, allowing 70,000 viewers to absorb his inspirational philosophy.
European audiences listened to their idol's speech with rapt attention, while foreigners like Roy felt drowsy.
After finally enduring the speech and reaching the lottery portion, Roy regained his focus and attention.
The bracket drawing concluded.
Roy saw his first-round opponent.
"Zenia Reginald vs. Roy"
"Wow!" Roy exclaimed along with the surprised audience.
In the very first round, he would face France's celebrated flower.
Now Roy truly believed the organizers hadn't rigged the brackets - this matchup was simply too dramatic to be planned.