NOVEL NEXT Chapter 312: From Doubt to Concern
Hearing Arthur's words, Ivy burst out laughing.
"What do I think of you? Hmm, you're a nice guy~"
"..."
Three black lines appeared on Arthur's forehead.
He suspected Ivy was deliberately teasing him, but he had no proof.
Don't think I don't know the "nice guy card" meme just because I don't spend a lot of time online!
Beside her, her sister Bianca let out an unkind laugh.
Fortunately, after a few seconds, Ivy let him off the hook and became serious.
"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. When you ask what I think, you're referring to a transfer, right? I heard you mention you were interested before. But you've only been in the professional circuit for a year. Your contract can't be up yet, can it?"
Ivy didn't know the specific length of Arthur's contract, but she couldn't imagine any club would be charitable enough to sign a rookie to a one-year deal.
When players first come out of the youth camp, their market value is at its lowest. If a club doesn't seize the opportunity to sign them for several years at the lowest possible price, are they even a commercial club?
"I know. My contract still has a year left. But as long as you're willing to pay the transfer fee, you can still buy me out."
Arthur's words made Ivy's smile turn playful.
"Little brother Best Rookie, do you really know what your market value is right now? With your current fame and popularity, your transfer fee would be incredibly expensive."
This statement was meant as a compliment, but in the current context, the meaning wasn't so positive.
A huge transfer fee meant an unprecedented cost.
Even with Arthur's outstanding performance this year, buying out the last year of his contract at such a high price would still be a bad deal for any club.
Especially since the Starlight and Frost club wasn't weak in the doubles department. Ivy and Bianca themselves were just one spot behind Arthur in this year's Best Rookie vote.
They didn't lack doubles players—because the two sisters, who were also part-time owners, were guaranteed a starting spot.
No matter how strong the new rookie was, could he really push the owner's daughter to the bench?
What the Starlight and Frost team really needed right now was a main singles player.
But they were far from the only club with this problem!
Unlike doubles players, who are consistently produced by the youth camps every year, and because the skill gap at the main singles level is much larger, every team is in desperate need of a good main singles player!
Even the current world number one team, the Grand Master Team from the Hoenn League, was still actively scouting for better main players, let alone the lower-ranked professional teams like theirs.
So, for now, Ivy wasn't particularly interested in Arthur's proposal. Her willingness to meet was more out of friendship.
However, Arthur's next sentence finally surprised her.
Arthur leaned forward, his elbows on the table and his fingers intertwined, and said in a low voice:
"No matter how high they set the transfer fee, it's still the price for a doubles player. But next season, I can play as a main singles player! I'm only telling you this."
Before Ivy could speak, the straightforward Bianca was the first to exclaim.
"You're saying you can play main singles? Are you kidding? You've only been a pro for a year! This year you're only… only—how old are you this year?"
"Seventeen this year. I'll be eighteen next season."
"Eighteen is still ridiculous!!"
Seeing Arthur's calm and confident demeanor, with no hint of showing off or bragging, Ivy's interest was gradually piqued.
"Are you serious when you say you can play main singles?"
"Yes."
"Can you prove it?"
"I can. I don't think I need to demonstrate the Pokémon I've already used this season, right? I now have two more… or rather, three more Pokémon that are ready for battle."
Ivy's expression was slightly skeptical.
"I heard your training methods are very time-consuming. How did you get three more battle-ready Pokémon so quickly? You're not counting Doublade and Little Eevee, are you? They're still a bit lacking… Wait! You didn't force-evolve Little Eevee, did you?! You—!"
As she spoke, Ivy herself became agitated.
Don't be fooled by how she often teased Little Eevee. In reality, she had long since decided that Arthur's Little Eevee was the perfect match for her Vulpix. If Arthur dared to waste Little Eevee's potential like that, she would be the first to object!
Arthur quickly waved his hands.
"No, no, Little Eevee is still a long way from evolving."
"Then where did you get three new main Pokémon? And you can't realistically hold your own in the main singles scene with just quickly raised, professional-level mains."
A main singles player might have some professional-level Pokémon, but they certainly couldn't only have professional-level Pokémon!
Ivy guessed that among Arthur's current Pokémon, only the strongest, Greninja, was close to the main singles level. The others still had a ways to go.
But hearing this, Arthur just smiled faintly.
What others would never guess was that Greninja had never been the strongest in his lineup.
"Perhaps it would be faster to just show you."
The two sisters exchanged a look and said in unison, "Alright."
They then took Arthur to a nearby high-end indoor Pokémon battle center and rented a private battle room.
At the start of the battle, they were still in the mindset of "auditioning" Arthur's new Pokémon to see if they were up to snuff.
Then, less than five minutes later, both of their Pokémon were being carried out for a round of treatment…
After that, they changed their strategy, forced to use a two-on-one format to test the depth of Arthur's new main Pokémon.
The result was another complete and utter thrashing. They couldn't even begin to see where their opponent's limits were!
At this moment, both Ivy and Bianca were dumbfounded.
"Your… your Gengar, and that Charizard… how on earth did you train them?!"
Of the three new Pokémon Arthur had shown, only the strength of Old Flame's daughter was something they could barely comprehend.
Especially since Old Flame's daughter had no chemistry with Arthur; it was obvious she had just been caught. She would often get carried away in battle, giving the two sisters multiple opportunities to turn the tables, and they eventually managed to take her down.
But she was the only one they could take down.
Against Specter and Old Flame, even with both of them teaming up, it was a lightning-fast defeat…
Old Flame didn't even need to Mega Evolve. In his normal Charizard form, he ended the match in two minutes, completely crushing the two sisters' team.
It left Ivy and Bianca in a state of shock.
This…
Just over a month ago, they were all rookies on the same level. Could someone please tell them what had happened in the past month?
All they did was skip one All-Star Weekend, yet in this moment, the sisters felt as if they had been separated from Arthur for three years…
It wasn't until halfway through that Bianca finally remembered something and quickly opened her phone.
The big news Arthur had just made was still trending online.
"This is it!! Your Charizard is the one from the news, right?! The meritorious Pokémon left behind by the deceased Champion from two hundred years ago!"
Emm… although it was a bit strange to hear someone talk about you being "deceased" to your face, Arthur could only go along with it.
"Yes, that's right."
Now, Bianca finally breathed a sigh of relief.
So it's a meritorious Pokémon left by a Champion. That makes sense. It's not so ridiculous then…
…as if!!
Then who could tell them what was up with the other Gengar?!
Were Pokémon left by Champions being sold in bulk now?!
The two sisters now looked at Arthur with a mixture of resentment and a strange sort of pity, which for some reason made the hair on his arms stand up.
They were no longer questioning whether Arthur had the strength of a main singles player.
Instead, they were now worried about Arthur, worried that he had sacrificed too much of his own lifespan…
To this, Arthur could only say nothing.
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