The Path of a Genius to Becoming a Pokémon Champion

Chapter 194: The Perfected Lord of Small Talk

The Mowang Team's defeat on the first day completely shattered the optimistic predictions of the Kubfu audience, like an unexpected slap landing coldly on the faces of all the fans.

The high enthusiasm from before the tournament was instantly dampened quite a bit.

The fans became much more rational, and at the same time, more spectators began to conduct online debriefs, searching for the Mowang Team's various existing problems, attempting to provide opinions and suggestions.

At this time, they all felt that the loss in the first match was perhaps just due to poor form or a bad adjustment.

If they fixed a few small problems, there would surely still be hope in the later matches.

It wasn't until six days later, when the group stage was halfway through, that the situation became clear.

The Mowang Team, with a record of 1 win and 5 losses, was ranked seventh in their group, with not even a theoretical possibility of advancing.

Only then did people realize that the loss in the first match was no accident; it was just the beginning.

Adjustments?

What the hell was there to adjust!

They might as well become the first team to start preparing for the Champions Cup two years from now…

The Mowang Team, on which the people of Kubfu had placed such high hopes, thus fell in the group stage, setting a new record low for the team's history and instantly becoming the most hotly debated news topic in the Alliance.

At the same time, while the Champions Cup was in full swing, Arthur, who had been staying at the club watching the matches with two active professional players, finally received his first professional circle invitation.

When this invitation email arrived, it was actually Bella who discovered it even before he did.

These past few days, he had been spending more time in Bella and Luna's dormitory than in his own, to the point that Justin had started giving him funny looks. Justin even once tactfully advised him to exercise some self-control and not to indulge himself just because he was young.

The result, naturally, was an unceremonious rap on the head from Arthur.

It was also because he was often over at the two girls' dorm to watch matches that Arthur had simply moved his personal laptop over, which led to Bella happening to see the email in his inbox first.

That day, Bella excitedly ran over to tell him, "Wow! Great news!! Arthur, the Otter Team sent you an invitation! They want you to add them on WeChill to talk. They're probably interested in signing you."

As expected of a long-standing "money-powered" team, the Otter Club had come to the graduation tournament交流 (jiāoliú - exchange/interact) with a clear purpose. Now, not long after the tournament ended, the invitation had arrived.

There was still a long time until the transfer window opened in October; these teams were always as early as possible when it came to poaching promising talents from other teams.

However, unlike Bella's excitement, Arthur appeared very calm in the face of this news.

"The Otter Team…"

Just thinking about their recent Champions Cup matches made it difficult for his heart to get excited.

Because the Otter Team's recent results were on par with the Mowang Team's. The two teams were like brothers in misfortune, both looking like they were scrambling to buy plane tickets to go home.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Otter Team would most likely be eliminated along with the Mowang Team in the group stage, also setting a new record low for their team's history this year.

This really made it difficult for Arthur to have a good impression of them.

Because of this, Bella even tried to persuade him: "You're a rookie, don't always judge a team based on their Champions Cup impression. No matter what, they are still a top-four team in this year's Kubfu league, much better than a mid-tier team like ours. If you can really go there in your first year, your future professional prospects will be much better than ours."

"Emmm…"

Arthur pondered for a moment, not wanting to dampen Bella's enthusiasm.

This "big sister fan," apart from always liking to sneak photos of him and touch his abs when he wasn't looking, was actually very good to him in other aspects. She was genuinely thinking for his sake, and Arthur didn't want to refuse this kindness.

"Then I'll add them and have a chat first."

The Otter Club was not local, so the initial communication between the two parties would definitely be through WeChill, and they would only sign a contract offline after mutual interest was established.

After adding them on WeChill that evening, the opposing team's coach, as was customary, first showered Arthur with praise.

"Hello, Trainee Arthur. We are the Otter Team. We have watched all your match recordings during your time at the youth training camp and are very satisfied with the level of command and training you have displayed."

Arthur remained unruffled, simply replying with an "Oh."

This made Bella, at his side, anxiously slap his arm.

"Do you even know how to chat?"

Arthur also scratched his head innocently. "Is that important?"

"You…"

Bella was shocked by his "straight man" thinking.

Fortunately, the other party indeed did not mind such a small matter and immediately continued.

"However, before we formally discuss the contract, we also have a few requirements for you: Firstly, we hope that before the October transfer window arrives, you can ensure that your Frogadier evolves into Greninja to meet the demands of the professional scene.

Secondly, we hope you will appropriately expand your Pokémon reserve. Your current team is too specialized; the proportion of Water and Ghost types is too high. We believe this is not conducive to your future career planning and hope you can make adjustments as soon as possible.

If you have any difficulties in the process of selecting Pokémon, you can contact us at any time. We can recommend some professional Pokémon breeding centers to you."

Seeing the other party's two requirements, Arthur frowned imperceptibly.

At this moment, Bella, behind him, was already urging him impatiently.

"Quick! Reply! Say yes! Since they've already stated their requirements, it means they are really interested in signing you. This is one of the most popular teams in the country right now, you've hit the jackpot!"

However, Arthur, contrary to Bella's expectations, suddenly fell into deep thought.

He did not agree rashly.

Placing his hands slowly on the laptop keyboard, Arthur then replied, one point at a time, with a slightly clumsy typing style.

"Firstly, regarding the Pokémon's evolution, I have some of my own considerations. I believe Frogadier's current foundation is still slightly insufficient. I will continue to train it and keep an eye on it in the coming months to choose a suitable time for evolution.

Secondly, regarding acquiring new Pokémon, I have no plans at the moment. I personally believe that the number of Pokémon I currently have is already sufficient to handle the upcoming professional matches."

While he was typing this, Bella was anxiously slapping his shoulder.

"Hey, retract! Retract it now! Are you stupid? Why are you being so difficult at a time like this? Just agree first and get the contract in hand, then we can talk!"

However, after sending the entire message, Arthur turned his head gravely and explained to her.

"This isn't about being difficult; it's a bottom line. I believe that for my Pokémon, I myself should have absolute authority."

All along, Arthur had believed that he should be the one to call the shots for his own Pokémon.

That is what it means to be a trainer!

As for the club? That was merely a suggestion at most.

However, upon hearing this, Bella just stared at him blankly.

"You're... serious?"

At the same time, on WeChill, the other party expressed a view similar to Bella's—

"Trainee Arthur, we hope you can understand that after signing the contract, you will become an official professional player. We hope you can adopt a corresponding professional attitude and not be too willful and reckless."

One only needed to translate this sentence slightly to understand: in their way of thinking, it seemed that a professional player's Pokémon should naturally be under the club's primary authority.

This also seemed to be the common understanding among professional players like Bella.

However, Arthur had no intention of agreeing to this.

Especially after watching the Champions Cup league these past few days, he was even less inclined to compromise.

(End of Chapter)

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