The Path of a Genius to Becoming a Pokémon Champion

After this round, Starlight and Frost had finally locked in the overall victory.

The current score was 8-2!

This meant that the Otter Team's captain would have to shut out Leo in the upcoming captain's match just to force a tiebreaker.

Getting a shutout in a 12-on-6 captain's battle is incredibly difficult. The last time such an absurd situation had occurred was over twenty years ago.

Therefore, although there was still one match left to play, the suspense was basically gone.

Most of the home fans in the stadium now wore dejected expressions, their disappointment palpable.

The Devon Cup victory had made the fans pin high hopes on this new Otter Team. The internet was abuzz with talk of the "Galactic Battleship" taking off!

Everywhere you looked, there were GIFs of planes taking off.

But now, in their first match of the new season, this battleship, laden with dreams, had crashed right after takeoff. For a moment, the fans were lost and bewildered.

Of course, not everyone looked so defeated.

In a certain section of the stands, the Starlight and Frost fans who had traveled for the away game were celebrating as if it were a holiday, wishing they could bang gongs, beat drums, and set off firecrackers to commemorate the occasion!

For a moment, the stands were a portrait of human emotion, some happy, some sad.

Finally, after the field was repaired, Leo went on stage to complete the final captain's battle. Although he lost by three points, it no longer mattered. This concluded the biggest upset of the first week of the season.

It also, incidentally, made a certain commentator with the surname Hwang a trending topic once again.

This commentator had a history of many accurate reverse-predictions, and today's match had undoubtedly added another chapter to his legend.

"A Failed Sacrificial Play"

"A Stable Point-Scorer"

"I'm Still More Optimistic About…"

In a single competition, this commentator had produced three best-selling works. It was impressive, and people were calling him a true expert.

Of course, fans and casual viewers could joke about commentators and jinxes, but within a professional team, victory and defeat would never be attributed to something so ethereal.

After this loss, the Otter Team immediately held an emergency review session. The next morning, they gathered all the players and the main analysis team for a big meeting.

They analyzed many problems, one of which was directed at Luna. They believed she still had too few Pokémon, and her tactical responses were weak.

But unexpectedly, this time, Luna unapologetically retorted to the analyst.

"I admit I still have many shortcomings, and I did play badly in this match. I'm sorry for that. But I don't see that as a reason for me to blindly capture new Pokémon! My Kadabra is about to evolve, and I've already started training my Growlithe. I believe I have enough Pokémon for now."

Last year at the Sea Carp team, Arthur had helped Luna select four Pokémon from a group of backups: Beedrill, Swellow, Kadabra, and Vulpix.

Beedrill and Swellow had already competed last season. Vulpix, now a Ninetales, could also be reliably used. Only the last one, Kadabra, had now accumulated enough experience and could soon be scheduled for evolution.

At the same time, after parting ways with Arthur, she had also started training a Growlithe, which was also showing good results.

"But you're still—"

A veteran analyst from the team wanted to offer more advice, but Luna cut him off again.

"A rookie once taught me: a person who just repeatedly captures Pokémon and then dumps them on an instructor can't be called a competent trainer! That's just devaluing yourself into a Pokémon middleman! If you're not strong enough, then train your Pokémon! If your Pokémon are progressing too slowly, then sacrifice your own rest time to supervise and push them! Truly powerful Pokémon are never raised by just delegating them to others. For this recent loss, I am willing to give up all my upcoming holidays and rest. I will voluntarily put in extra training. But if you want me to capture a new Pokémon, I refuse!"

Luna had always had this strong personality. When she raised her eyebrows, her gaze was as hard as a javelin, sharp and powerful.

Especially after being awakened and trained by Arthur for a season last year, she no longer had a single doubt about the path she was on.

If she wasn't strong enough, then she would train! Train until she dropped!

But to ask her to capture a bunch of Pokémon she couldn't possibly take care of, to betray the trust of her existing Pokémon—she couldn't do it!

The Otter Team's captain frowned, intending to discipline this "troublemaker" on his team. But just as he was about to speak, someone else immediately came to Luna's defense.

"The rookie you're talking about is Arthur, right? I admire him a lot. I agree with his ideas. A trainer isn't a middleman who just captures and delegates Pokémon. Losing a match doesn't mean the only way to improve is to capture a new Pokémon!"

The one who agreed with Luna this time was Serena.

As the current second-in-command of the team, a main singles player whose actual combat strength was likely even higher than the captain's, Serena's opinion could not be ignored.

Then, the other singles player, Melody, also stood up to support Luna.

"That's right. When I was at the Blaze Team, we followed the same philosophy. If you're not strong enough, then train! What's the point of always thinking about buying and delegating Pokémon? A trainer isn't a purchasing agent."

Now, the captain could only sit there sullenly, saying nothing.

The analyst's face turned beet-red.

To be contradicted by three starting players in a row—in the past, this would have been unimaginable for them.

But it wasn't over yet!

A moment later, Harry and Andrew also joined the fray.

"We agree with what Luna said. We knew Arthur back in the youth camp. He never listened to the club when it came to choosing and training his Pokémon. I really admired him for that back then. I completely agree with the philosophy Luna learned from him! We are also willing to give up our upcoming rest and holidays, but we will train our Pokémon ourselves!"

In the end, even Yujin, a veteran who had been with the captain for a long time, "defected."

"Arthur is a terrifying opponent. If we continue to stick to the old ways, we'll never be able to catch up to him."

Now, the Otter Team's captain was completely embarrassed.

Good grief, are you all ganging up on me to stage a rebellion?!

In the end, it was the head coach who stepped in to smooth things over.

"In that case, let's respect the players' opinions. The upcoming holidays are all canceled. The end of daily training will be extended to eight in the evening. As for the rest, let's not rush things for now."

The analyst who had spoken first clearly still wanted to say something, but he noticed that the head coach was no longer on their side, and the captain wasn't speaking. So he reluctantly swallowed his words.

After so many years in this line of work, for the first time, he clearly realized: the atmosphere in the league seemed to have changed.

When had this change begun?

He couldn't help but recall.

Was it when the exceptionally free-spirited Blaze Team had unexpectedly turned the tide in the Champions Cup two years ago?

Or was it when a certain legendary rookie had burst onto the scene last year and thrown everything into chaos!

In the past, analysts like them had a very high status in their teams! Especially in teams like the old "big three," which had always adhered to traditional concepts.

Almost all of the players' major decisions were made by them!

But now, it seemed everything had changed!

It was that rookie named Arthur who had started this terrible trend last year—

Now, in the Kubfu professional circuit, it seemed that a certain idea had quietly sprouted and was beginning to spread outward through people like Luna, who had witnessed Arthur's magic!

The true transformation and rebirth of the Otter Team perhaps had only just begun today

♧♧♧

-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE

-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER

♧♧♧

-> 35 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!

-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais

(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)

If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you