NOVEL NEXT Chapter 319: Tournament Reform
The head coach of the Starlight and Frost singles division was a middle-aged woman with glasses. Her posture was ramrod straight, and she radiated a powerful aura, easily bringing to mind the image of a strict headmistress…
The moment she arrived, she tapped the whiteboard in front of her with a marker, signaling for everyone to look.
"Quiet down. First, an announcement. Today's Devon Cup will be using a new tournament format. The captain's tiebreaker will become a permanent fixture. If anyone is unaware of this, you have three seconds to process it."
Silence, announcement, then three seconds to process. The entire sequence was executed with brisk, efficient precision.
It instantly commanded the attention of everyone in the room.
Arthur glanced around and quickly confirmed one thing—
Including himself, no one here had known about this beforehand…
Well, then!
These teammates might be interesting, but their attitude is as zen as it gets. How could no one have bothered to ask about such an important piece of information?
He himself had an excuse, being busy lately and not spending much time online. But his teammates didn't seem to be the same self-disciplined, reclusive type as him.
It looked like they were just genuinely that chill!
In fact, even after the head coach had just announced the news, Aaron merely gave a faint "oh," then lifted his thermos and calmly took another sip of tea…
It was the captain, Leo, who finally spoke up. "Why the change? How will the points be calculated with a permanent tiebreaker? How many points is the captain's match worth?"
The head coach explained, "The specific reason is likely related to next year's Champions Cup reform. The International Competitive Committee is planning to adjust the format, adding a permanent 12-on-6 singles match. The points will be determined by the final score difference. But no final decision has been announced yet. The league plans to use this Devon Cup as a trial run. If the committee officially announces the reform next year, then the professional league will change accordingly."
Everyone finally understood.
The format of competitive Pokémon battles was not set in stone. On the contrary, the rules had been constantly changing since the sport's inception.
The earliest competitive rules even allowed trainers to participate in the battles themselves, though that rule was changed after a very short time.
Now, the rules had gradually been perfected, and the International Committee hadn't changed the major tournament format for many years.
But precisely because the current format had been in place for so long, the audience was beginning to experience fatigue.
At this point, Aaron offered a sharp critique.
"Is the committee planning to target the Hoenn League?"
The head coach pushed up her glasses and shot him a glare. "Watch your words!"
Aaron shrugged and said nothing more.
But everyone couldn't help but have their own thoughts.
The Hoenn League had indeed won the Champions Cup trophy too many times in recent years.
For years, teams from the Hoenn League had frequently won the championship. In the last four years, the Grand Master Team had achieved a dominant back-to-back victory!
And the Hoenn League's own national power was only average. Most of the members of the International Competitive Committee came from the three major leagues: Kubfu, White Eagle, and Sinnoh.
The committee's intentions were as clear as day.
But Arthur really disliked this approach.
"Do they really have to resort to this?"
Changing the rules just because you can't beat someone else—to be honest, it was a bit shameless.
Aaron spoke again, his words as sharp as ever.
"What else can be done? It's our own fault for being so pathetic, getting crushed by them every time."
Aaron really dared to say anything, his words as sharp as a knife.
It was just that the habit of taking a sip from his thermos after every sharp comment really ruined his cool demeanor…
The head coach tapped the whiteboard again.
"So you know you're pathetic? If you know, then there's still hope! Regardless of the purpose behind the reform, playing your best and fighting for the cup is more effective than any dirty trick! If the rules really change next year and the Grand Master Team still manages to establish a three-peat dynasty, that will be the real disgrace!!"
Arthur sighed silently.
Indeed, changing the rules wasn't the disgrace. Changing the rules and still losing—that was the real disgrace!
The Grand Master Team, currently the number one ranked team in the world. They were a massive mountain standing in the way of the entire Kubfu Alliance, and even for the other two global powerhouses, White Eagle and Sinnoh!
Whether they could overcome this mountain would be determined in the latter half of next year!
But—
"Focus up. It's too early to think about the Champions Cup. Let's deal with the Devon Cup first! The biggest impact of this format change is that each team will need to field another starter! In the past, when setting our starting lineup, we almost never had to consider the captain's tiebreaker. The captain would just participate in the normal 1v1 matches. But now it's different! Once the tiebreaker becomes a permanent fixture, even though players who have already competed are allowed to play again, fighting two matches in a short period of time means a Pokémon's stamina will most likely not recover!"
The coach tapped the whiteboard, explaining point by point.
Although Pokémon have incredible vitality and heal quickly, in reality, they certainly can't fully recover in a second like in the games.
While the rules allow a captain to fight a 6-on-3 singles match and then immediately compete in the 12-on-6 captain's match, if the format really changes, it's unlikely any team would actually do that.
Unless the opponent is an amateur team, how could a Pokémon not be drained after a full match?
Fighting two consecutive matches against opponents of the same caliber is unrealistic.
This means that in the future, four starting players will be needed for the singles matches!
At this moment, Aaron, who had been calmly sipping his tea, finally put down his cup.
His eyes suddenly sharpened!
And the head coach looked at him at the same time.
"So, Aaron, stop slacking off. In the upcoming Devon Cup, you will also be a starting main!"
Besides him, the expressions of Alex and the captain, Leo, also grew more serious.
With this new format, the pressure on everyone had increased!
Only Arthur's expression remained unchanged.
His desire to win had never been extinguished.
Time flew by, and the Devon Cup was about to begin.
A full ten teams were participating this year, breaking the historical record for the tournament.
The schedule was temporarily changed to a group stage followed by a knockout stage.
In the past, the Devon Cup had no group stage; it was a straight single-elimination tournament to the end.
The ten teams were divided into two groups. They would first play a round-robin within their group, and the top two teams from each group would advance.
The four advancing teams would then enter a single-elimination knockout stage, with two rounds to decide the champion. It was simple, brutal, and fast.
This schedule was much quicker than the professional league's, as it was just a preseason tournament.
Not only was the schedule fast, but the matches were too. The opening day would feature four matches, and the entire group stage would only last a week.
The first day's matches were full of drama. The organizers clearly knew their audience, scheduling two very high-profile matches right at the start.
First, in Group A, the Otter Team versus the Blaze Team!
Then, in Group B, the Starlight and Frost Team versus the Sea Carp Team!
The sub-headlines for both matches were strikingly similar—
Slaying the Traitor? or The Cast-off's Revenge?
Because in the previous transfer period, the Otter Team had later bought one of the Blaze Team's All-Star main players, and the Starlight and Frost Team had traded for the Sea Carp Team's Best Rookie.
Both sides were a case of the new replacing the old.
Familiar faces, different team logos.
This was the kind of drama the audience loved to see.
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