svetikya Chapter 232 Taunts in the War Room
Chapter 232 Taunts in the War Room
"Okay, let me confirm~ The contestants are Ash and his partner Infernape from the Kanto region, right?"
"Yes."
"Okay, here is your number. Please wait in the waiting room."
.......
After a quick registration, Ash and his friends were led to the waiting room by the staff.
As soon as I entered, there were already about a dozen contestants scattered around in the waiting room.
These contestants are different from Ash; each one looks like a fitness or fighting enthusiast, with well-developed muscles. Many of them are even exchanging punches with their Pokémon, looking quite imposing.
"They all seem so professional..."
Overwhelmed by the crowd's imposing presence, Dawn couldn't help but worry about Ash and Infernape.
The P1 tournament is essentially a fighting tournament, not a regular Pokémon battle. When learning the rules, Dawn also learned that Pokémon are prohibited from using other types of moves in fighting tournaments.
Neither skills that enhance one's own attributes nor skills that do not involve direct physical contact, such as flame jets and fire wheels, can be used.
They can't even use their claws; they're limited to fist and foot techniques.
This is indeed too disadvantageous for Infernape. If it really follows the rules, Infernape can only use one move: Mach Punch, which it just learned not long ago.
"Relax, relax~"
Ash is the one who should be participating in the competition, but now he's comforting Dawn instead.
"No problem, Mach-Monkey's Mach Punch is enough."
Ash's statement wasn't out of arrogance, but because even though the P1 tournament restricted the moves Pokémon could use, it was still ultimately just a variation of Pokémon battles.
Compared to Infernape, the other participating Pokémon in the waiting room, although they looked very professional, were actually somewhat lacking in Pokémon training skills despite their muscular physiques.
Brock also recognized the skill level of the other Pokémon present and nodded in agreement.
However, since they were on someone else's turf, Xiaozhi's statement naturally couldn't gain the approval of the others.
Soon, a middle-aged man wearing a sleeveless shirt and sporting a full beard strode over aggressively, looking down at Ash and his Infernape with a mocking expression. "Oh? I think I heard someone say there's no problem~ Where is it? I can't see it."
The person arrogantly pretended to look around, then lowered their head sheepishly at Ash and Infernape, laughing, "Ah~ so you're here! Sorry, sorry! You're both so short and skinny, I couldn't see you~ Hahaha~"
The waiting room was instantly filled with mocking laughter.
Faced with such blatant provocation, Ash simply shrugged and didn't care much. In any case, the outcome was already obvious. Once they stepped into the arena, they would understand where their confidence came from.
Seeing that Xiao Zhi and the others didn't answer, the stubble-faced uncle thought they were scared, so he spat out a mouthful of saliva in disdain.
"This is the brutal P1 tournament arena. It's too early for a kid like you to challenge us!"
After saying that, he seemed to have thought of something else and continued to mock:
"Or are you saying you're a Pokémon Trainer, thinking you can defeat us using Trainer's methods?"
After he finished speaking, the people in the war room started to sneer again.
Although I don't know why, they seemed to look down on Pokémon trainers.
"Oh, right~ You might not know this, but the winner among us will be battling a legendary figure from the P1 tournament! Countless trainers heard about his strength and then, overestimating themselves, challenged him to a duel, but in the end, all those trainers ran away with their tails between their legs! I hope you don't become the next one, kid."
.......
"These people are really annoying."
After the stubble-faced uncle's provocation ended, Xiao Guang frowned and expressed her dissatisfaction.
If Xiaogang hadn't signaled to her with his eyes to stop making noise, Xiaoguang would definitely have argued with them, given her temper.
"It's okay, they'll understand when they get on the field anyway."
Seeing that Hikari looked sullen, Ash simply comforted him like this.
"It's not hard to understand why they look down on others because of their height and physique. Even gym leaders can be like that."
At this point, Ash couldn't help but think of Lt. Surge.
"That's terrible..."
"It's terrible, but you're bound to meet a lot of people with similar personalities while traveling. In those situations, all you need to do is let your abilities speak for themselves, right?"
"Oji!"
The Infernape showed no sign of backing down, instead grinning with excitement.
Since mastering Blaze at the Wallace Cup, Infernape's personality has become increasingly aggressive, and Ash feels that it's developing a personality similar to Charizard.
I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.
.......
soon.
After the registration deadline.
All 12 contestants were divided into two groups. Ash was in the first group and also the first to participate in the first round. And, coincidentally, his opponent in the first round was—
"Haha~ I didn't expect to run into me in the first round, kid, your luck is really bad!"
It was the stubble-faced uncle who had been mocking Ash earlier. After seeing that Ash was his opponent in the first round, he couldn't help but burst into laughter, as if he were thanking the goddess of victory for bringing him good luck.
"Looks like I don't have any rivals in the first group~ Alright! I'll teach you a lesson first, you little brat, and show you that crossing over is no fun. Then, I'll use this momentum to defeat everyone in one fell swoop! Finally, I'll have a showdown with that legendary figure!"
The bearded man rubbed his hands together, eager to get started, and quickly walked towards the passageway leading to the stage.
Ash and his friends exchanged glances and followed each other outside.
Both teams were in position, and just as the emcee called out their names, a figure in a room on the second floor looked at Ash with slight surprise and muttered:
"Could it be...him?"
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