Pokémon: Master System.

To this end, Wu Qianshan spent a considerable amount of money on online advertising and created a promotional poster for distribution. Thanks to Wu Qianshan's vigorous promotion, the weekend's match activity skyrocketed.

With Xia Yu's sudden rise to fame, a wave of challenges has swept the internet, with many people posting challenge videos and tagging Xia Yu, hoping to ride on her coattails.

After all, winning or losing is not important to them. As long as they can fight Xia Yu, they can become famous, and fame can make money. It's not shameful to do something like this.

Faced with so many challengers, Wu Qianshan spent the night reviewing materials and carefully selecting two opponents for Xia Yu. The challenger in the morning was Cai Panqiu, a popular contestant online.

Cai Panqiu is a popular internet celebrity on Douyin (TikTok), whose ID is "Cai Panqiu the Insect Catcher" and nickname is "The Commoner Insect King". He has millions of followers.

Cai Panqiu came from a poor family and could be described as having humble origins. At the beginning, he could only use a Weedle as his starter Pokémon and travel around.

Despite his poor family background, Cai Panqiu is quick-witted and willing to try new things, such as shooting short videos.

While traveling around, Cai Panqiu filmed his experiences, edited and dubbed them into videos, and then shared them online.

Because his videos are very relatable to ordinary trainers, coupled with his humorous and engaging commentary style, they resonated with and were loved by many trainers at the grassroots level. The videos quickly went viral online after their release.

As his fan base grew, he successfully monetized his fan traffic and earned his first pot of gold.

After making money, Cai Panqiu never forgot his original aspiration and continued to pursue the path of a Bug-type trainer. He spent most of his earnings on training Pokémon, which greatly improved his own strength and attracted more and more fans.

With success in both arts and sports, Cai Panqiu not only has over a million fans, but he has also become a powerful Lord-level Bug-type trainer.

Among all the challengers, Cai Panqiu was the one who most wanted to fight Xia Yu. He directly posted three videos to challenge Xia Yu, one of which received hundreds of thousands to millions of likes.

"Researcher Xia Yu, first of all, I want to state that I am a fan of your research, but after watching your videos, I feel that you do not respect us ordinary civilian trainers. I am challenging you today to prove to you that there are also strong ordinary Bug-type trainers."

"Researcher Xia Yu, on behalf of millions of Bug-type Trainers, I challenge you! Do you dare to fight?"

…………

Xia Yu also watched Cai Panqiu's video carefully. He had to admit that it was very inflammatory, inciting ordinary trainers to oppose him. Just watching his video, Xia Yu felt like he had become an evil villain.

After turning off the video, Xia Yu carefully read the information sent by Wu Qianshan. Cai Panqiu had three main Pokémon: Scizor, Heracross, and Beedrill.

All of them need to be low-fire. Xia Yu checked the weather forecast for this Sunday. It's sunny and perfect. Heaven is on my side.

If Cai Panqiu's first match was meant to grab attention and attract viewers, then the second match in the afternoon was the real highlight.

"Chang'an VS the capital".

"The Battle for the Strongest Dragon-Type Secret Realm!"

(The design for this Dragon-type trainer is still undecided, you know what I mean?)

Chapter 164 Game

The weekend challenge attracted widespread attention, even Long Yanning, who rarely surfs the internet, knew about it.

Because it involved two secret realms, Long Yanning didn't say anything, but the next day she got Xia Yu a one-time Sword Dance learning machine for his Lizard King to learn.

Long Yanning did this in the hope that Xia Yu would not disgrace the Imperial Capital Dragon System Secret Realm in the battle.

Amidst this tense atmosphere of preparation, Xia Yu received two pieces of news: one good and one bad.

The good news is that after so many days, the Pokémon Association has finally officially issued a statement, gifting the Bellatrix to Xia Yu as encouragement for his bravery during the Dawn Society's attack on the Dragon-type Secret Realm, and will not cancel Xia Yu's spot in the national selection!

This good news made Xia Yu so excited that he wondered if he was dreaming, because this was the first time the Pokémon Association had been so generous. It was equivalent to directly rewarding him with a Bellatrix, which would have been absolutely impossible in the past.

What he didn't know was that at the Pokémon Association meeting, the association's higher-ups originally intended to cancel Xia Yu's national spot, but due to a series of unforeseen circumstances, Xia Yu received the Pokémon Dragon for free.

…………

"Regarding the reward for Xia Yu, we propose that the hatched baby dragon be given to Xia Yu as a reward, but it would have to offset Xia Yu's national selection quota," Jiang Heng said.

"I object!" Lin Xueyang stood up, straightened his clothes slightly, and looked at the group of Elite Four level trainers in front of him, pleading for Xia Yu: "Xia Yu successfully protected two pseudo-legendary Pokémon in this secret realm and, as a Lord-level trainer, delayed Anthony, making a great contribution. We should reward him handsomely, not deduct his already existing rewards while issuing them. I think Xia Yu's performance is enough to earn him a pseudo-legendary Pokémon."

After listening to Lin Xueyang's words, Jiang Heng also stood up and argued, "Lin Xueyang, Xia Yu only stalled Anthony, he did not capture or kill Anthony, and Anthony also took away a pseudo-legendary Pokémon. I think that giving that Bellagio to Xia Yu and canceling his national selection quota is already a very generous reward."

Jiang Heng spoke calmly, glancing at Lin Xueyang: "Comrade Lin Xueyang, you need to be mindful of your position. Although Xia Yu is your nephew, you are the vice president of the Capital Pokémon Association."

Jiang Heng's words were quite harsh, implying that Lin Xueyang was abusing his power for personal gain.

Lin Xueyang and Jiang Heng had long been at odds. Hearing his sarcastic words, Lin Xueyang sneered, "It's true that Xia Yu is my nephew, but to disregard kinship and not avoid suspicion is unacceptable. I just want to ask how many people can be as brave as Xia Yu, standing up to face Anthony with the strength of a lord? Shouldn't such behavior be highly commended?"

“Establishing a heroic image is far more important than the hero himself. Jiang Heng, do you really have to make people sweat, bleed, and shed tears, forcing everyone to turn a blind eye to this situation in the future before you're satisfied?”

Faced with the heavy accusation Lin Xueyang had leveled against him, Jiang Heng naturally refused to accept it: "I'm not saying we shouldn't give Xia Yu a reward, but is this reward too much? We must find the right balance. Lin Xueyang, you need to look at this issue from an objective and fair perspective."

"Really?" Lin Xueyang said with a smile, "I have been very objective and fair. If Vice President Jiang, your son can be as brave as Xia Yu, I will also wholeheartedly support rewarding him with a pseudo-legendary Pokémon."

"Lin Xueyang..."

"Enough! Stop arguing." A dignified voice interrupted their conversation: "Both of you sit down. Anyone else has an opinion, please speak up. Let's vote. Raise your hand if you agree to retain Xia Yu's national selection quota."

As the man finished speaking, only a handful of people in the entire hall raised their hands, and Lin Xueyang naturally cast his vote in favor without hesitation!

"Let me say a few words." Just then, Su Mu suddenly spoke up, attracting everyone's attention: "I have already written it very clearly in the report I submitted. Xia Yu is very sharp in battles and has a very high level of competence as a trainer. He can even command Pokémon he is not familiar with on the spot very well."

"At least in my opinion, if it were anyone else in that situation, there would have been absolutely no way they could have held off Anthony. As a hero, he deserves our praise, and his talent as a trainer is also worthy of our high praise, not to mention his even greater talent in scientific research. So I agree to retain Xia Yu's spot in the national selection."

After Su Mu finished speaking, he raised his hand in agreement, and several other Heavenly Kings who were on good terms with Su Mu followed suit. Now, the number of people who supported Xia Yu retaining the national selection quota reached one-third.

With one-third in favor, Lin Xueyang was already quite satisfied with the result. Although the goal of retaining Xia Yu's spot in the national selection hadn't been achieved, at least Lin Xueyang had seen from this vote who was on the side of the Lin and Long families. Everyone who raised their hand to vote was an ally or potential ally of both families.

On the surface, this matter was about deciding whether to retain Xia Yu's spot in the national selection, but the reality was far more complicated than it seemed. What they cared about was never the spot itself, but rather the stance of everyone present.

When Su Mu stood up to support Xia Yu, Lin Xueyang no longer cared about the outcome, because gaining such a powerful ally as Su Mu was far more important than a spot in the national selection.

"I agree too." Just then, a languid and charming voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. Everyone looked over and saw Xiao Wanyu, who was wearing a fur coat and a long, tight-fitting skirt. She raised her fair hand, her beautiful face possessing a captivating charm. Her red lips parted slightly: "Heroes emerge from among the young. I really like young talents like Xia Yu. Moreover, I owe him a debt of gratitude for designing the Z-move's corresponding action last time."

As Xiao Wanyu finished speaking, many of the superstars who owed Xia Yu a favor were forced to raise their hands to vote. If Xiao Wanyu hadn't mentioned it, they could have remained neutral and stayed out of it, but now that she had, they were all obligated to vote.

With nearly two-thirds of the votes already cast, a dignified voice rang out: "In that case, the meeting has decided by vote to award the precious dragon to Xia Yu as encouragement, while also reserving Xia Yu's spot in the national selection."

…………

Now that we've shared the good news, let's move on to the bad news.

The bad news is that after months of negotiations, the Chinese Pokémon Association and the European Pokémon Association finally reached an agreement, but China did not get the Duraludon it had been longing for.

Instead, they received four opportunities to select Pokémon from the European region, along with a series of other compensations, which can be considered a major financial blow to the European Pokémon Association.

The Pokémon Association of China has four selection opportunities, including some Pokémon unique to Europe, such as Rillaboom, Samoyed, Cinderace, Inteleon, and Krookodile. The Association can directly select Pokémon from these European locations. (Here are some pictures, guys! There are too many to list.)

Xia Yu also received one of the slots and a reward of choosing from the treasure vault. However, for Xia Yu's safety, he cannot personally go abroad to choose the slot. He can only entrust someone else to choose for him. He will depart tomorrow, this Friday, and return on Sunday.

The urgency of the situation made Xia Yu a little anxious. Who should he send to Europe to help him choose a Pokémon?

Chapter 165 Selection of Participants for the European Trip

Thursday night.

Having just received a message from the association, Xia Yu sat on the training field, pondering who he should ask to help him choose a Pokémon.

Xia Yu currently has two candidates in mind: Long Yanning and Xia Luo!

Among them, Long Yanning, who possesses the power of dragon control, is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate. The power of dragon control can detect the Dragon-type energy of Pokémon, and as long as it is a Dragon-type Pokémon, Long Yanning can detect its potential. However, the drawback is also obvious, that is, it can only detect the potential of Dragon-type Pokémon.

As for his older brother, to be honest, Xia Yu definitely trusted his brother Xia Luo more, but he seriously doubted Xia Luo's ability to select Pokémon eggs. Xia Luo's method of selecting Pokémon eggs was purely based on luck, without any skill whatsoever.

Therefore, after thinking it over and over, Xia Yu finally realized that he seemed to have no choice but to ask Long Yanning for help.

"Come and eat." Just then, Long Yanning's voice rang out from inside the house.

"coming."

Xia Yu responded, recalled his Pokémon, and went inside.

Long Yanning was busy bringing out the soup she had just cooked. The two sat at the dining table, which was set with steaming hot dishes, beautifully plated, and emitting a rich aroma. The dishes were a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate, clearly the work of a master chef.

Xia Yu noticed that Long Yan Ning's cooking skills were getting better and better. Moreover, after learning to cook, Long Yan Ning had become more down-to-earth and less aloof, and had gained a more mature and charming domestic appeal.

"Teacher Long." Xia Yu looked at Long Yanning sitting opposite him, his gaze falling on Long Yanning's fair and jade-like face, but he hesitated and didn't know how to speak.

He knew that as long as he asked, Long Yanning would definitely not refuse him. But the better Long Yanning treated him, the less Xia Yu could enjoy her kindness without feeling guilty.

"Hmm?" Long Yan frowned slightly, raised her head, and looked at Xia Yu with her bright eyes. She seemed to be wondering why Xia Yu called her but she didn't speak. She quickly urged, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Looking at Long Yanning's pretty face and seeing her frowning, Xia Yu couldn't help but recall how kind Teacher Long had been to her in the past, and she felt even less willing to trouble Teacher Long.

Even though Long Yanning never said it, Xia Yu always kept it in mind.

From selflessly healing Ya Ya to proactively learning to cook, all to give Xia Yu more time to train, and even finding a one-time learning machine for sword dance for Xia Yu after hearing that Xia Yu was about to have a battle yesterday.

This selfless dedication and quiet contribution touched Xia Yu deeply.

Xia Yu swallowed the words he was about to say, his eyes carefully scrutinizing Long Yan Ning, his gaze softening.

It seems that Teacher Long has always been the one silently giving to him, never asking for anything in return, while Xia Yu has never taken the initiative to give to Long Yan Ning.

Even the Pokémon egg that Xia Yu gave Cotton Ball to was only after he discovered that Long Yan Ning had injured herself while treating Fang Fang. It seems like Teacher Long's birthday is coming up soon, right? What birthday present should I give Teacher Long?

Teacher Long has already done enough for him. This time, Xia Yu didn't want to trouble Long Yanning anymore. He shook his head and said softly, "It's nothing, Teacher Long. I just think you look really beautiful today."

Long Yanning's face flushed slightly, but she remained cold. She put down the bowl and chopsticks in her hands, crossed her arms, looked at Xia Yu, and said in a cold tone, "If you need my help, just say so. I'm not a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, and I won't fall for your sweet talk."

"I..." Xia Yu was about to interject when Long Yan Ning interrupted him.

"Do you want me to go to Europe to pick out a Pokémon egg for you?" Long Yan Ning looked at Xia Yu, crossed her arms, and smiled slightly with a hint of smugness on her face: "I guessed it a long time ago. Next time, you can just say what you want directly, don't beat around the bush."

"..."

Looking at Long Yanning's expression that seemed to say, "I've seen through everything," Xia Yu found her rather adorable. The emotions he had been building up for so long vanished instantly, and he almost burst out laughing at Long Yanning's antics.