"I'm certainly not going to so easily concede the title of 'the strongest trainer' to Mewtwo."
Fang Yuan said with a smile on his face.
This scene was naturally also broadcasted.
It must be said that Fang Yuan, as a young man, has a way of speaking that is very different from the older generation of trainers.
His declaration directly drew surprised looks from the six top-tier trainers of the Ri Association.
It also caused the audience watching the live broadcast to be slightly taken aback.
Should this member of the Twelve Branches of Hua Nation's Dog be considered confident, or arrogant?
Or perhaps, is there something abnormal about his thought process? A human, actually wanting to compete with a legendary Pokémon for the distant and illusory title of the strongest trainer...
"By the way, does anyone know the background of this 'Chi'?"
"Never heard of it, it seems as if he suddenly popped up from the Eternal Spirit incident, but his Monferno is indeed very powerful... to be able to go toe-to-toe with Electric God Pillar."
"Must be someone who accidentally made friends with a guardian god level spirit, or a 'second-generation trainer' who inherited their elders' Pokémon – he looks even younger than me. And besides, look at what's beside him... damn, it's indeed an Eevee, I thought all the Pokémon he had outside were national guardian gods, how did an Eevee sneak in there."
"This new member of the Twelve Branches... can we really rely on him... He almost angered Mewtwo earlier, and then, before President Wen and others could even respond, he was the first to agree to Mewtwo. I feel like this guy's unreliable, definitely just some lucky fellow who inherited his elder's Pokémon. There should be many top experts within the association. Why would President Wen get someone like him to join the battle..."
As a young person, Fang Yuan's first impression was that he was unreliable, nowhere near as dependable as the older generation of trainers.
Moreover, Fang Yuan's demeanor was not calm enough, sparking a wide discussion all of a sudden.
Fang Yuan's Monferno, can't even beat that Electric God Pillar, right?
And the strength of that Electric God Pillar is another question as to whether it's as strong as the two legendary Pokémon under Mewtwo.
Therefore, for Fang Yuan to claim right from the start that he wanted the title of "the strongest trainer" was indeed likely to be controversial, appearing to many as a newbie who is full of himself despite just starting out.
Now, trainers both inside and outside of Hua Nation are pondering which top Hua Nation trainer 'Chi' could be the heir of, since no one believes that Fang Yuan himself trained a Monferno that could stand up to the Phantom Spirit Electric God Pillar.
Age was on display; for someone in their early twenties to obtain a professional trainer's license was already considered a genius, let alone the strongest trainer? The whole world was in agreement—what comes in the left ear goes out the right ear.
A ridiculous statement, but given the current situation, it was hard to laugh about, especially since the Mewtwo game was about to begin, and most likely, the name "Chi" wasn't even real, with nothing to be traced.
"Is it just based on what you call a bond?"
Fang Yuan's proclamation had caused a heated debate across the world via the live broadcast, which naturally didn't sit well with Mewtwo.
It looked at Fang Yuan and questioned him.
"Yeah. You are indeed powerful, but in my view, you're far from the strongest trainer," Fang Yuan said bluntly to Mewtwo.
"I will defeat you completely."
Click—
The moment Fang Yuan finished speaking, blue thought waves emerged around Mewtwo once again, sweeping across the field and causing stones to fly.
This scene almost scared the daylights out of the people of the Twelve Branches, the Ten Ninjas, and the viewers watching the live broadcast.
Damn, why did you have to provoke it?!
Fang Yuan dared to confront Mewtwo because he knew that Mewtwo wouldn't really go berserk over such a minor issue.
As expected, Mewtwo suppressed its anger and said, "Then please, let me see your strength."
Is it because of the Pokémon lurking in the shadows?
The little one concealed on your shoulder?
Or is it relying on that incredibly weak Monferno, or perhaps on that Eevee that hasn't even unearthed its own power yet?
Mewtwo somewhat believed Fang Yuan was different from other humans, but Fang Yuan was also the one most likely to enrage it.
[This guy, his philosophy is completely opposite to mine.]
[He thinks he can convince me with a battle?]
[How absurd, well then, let's see.]
Mewtwo understood Fang Yuan's intention and slowly descended from the air, standing on the ground.
"Look forward to it," Fang Yuan said seriously, and he held out his arm to let Eevee climb back onto his shoulder.
After finishing, he adjusted his cap and looked towards a camera of a live-streaming device.
In a certain place outside of Hualan Island, Future Sister saw Fang Yuan's gaze and felt bewildered. What was Fang Yuan up to...
In Pingcheng, Su Province, Fang Yuan's family of three also caught sight of that defiant gaze through the live broadcast and suddenly felt a stir in their souls.
This young man called "Chi," for some reason, always made them experience a special emotion.
"Why do I feel like this big brother... will actually win," Yuan's sister muttered to herself as she watched the TV.
"That's why you're not cut out to be a trainer—" Father Fang was exasperated, thinking his daughter was probably impressed by the cuteness of the Eevee on his shoulder and therefore thought he was powerful.
Such young individuals, like I've told you, daughter... they tend to be the quickest to die, just like your brother who keeps yammering about becoming a professional trainer...
No one had faith in Fang Yuan, seeing him as an oddball among the trainers involved in Mewtwo's game.
Even President Wen and members of the Twelve Branches, who knew about Fang Yuan's background and that he was the strongest trainer from another timeline, were also feeling uneasy at this moment.
Because judging from Fang Yuan's previously demonstrated strength, he was indeed powerful enough to defeat them with ease, but right now, things had changed drastically.
Simply being able to win Mewtwo's game would be a cause for gratitude — surely Fang Yuan was no longer thinking of how to perfectly resolve the Mewtwo incident?
...
The associations of both China and Japan agreed to the rules, which meant that in 7 minutes at 9 a.m. sharp, the Mewtwo game would officially begin.
In those last few minutes, the atmosphere inside the arena was exceptionally quiet, Pokemon like Mewtwo and other Psychic System Elves began to meditate with their eyes closed, whereas the Trainers were not in such a relaxed state of mind.
"There are 13 of us in total, let's arrange the order of appearance first." After a moment of silence, President Fujiwara from the Ri Association said.
Now, their tactical arrangements, and how to reasonably expend Mewtwo's energy, were extremely important for the outcome of the battle.
"Then, I'll leave the rest to you." Suddenly, among the 13 trainers participating in the Mewtwo game, Fang Yuan glanced at the time, turned his head, and said to the astonished President Wen, President Fujiwara, and the others.
"Huh?" Fang Yuan's words not only made the top trainers from the Ri Association freeze in shock, but President Wen and the other trainers from Hua Nation were equally stunned. What was Fang Yuan trying to do?
"I will appear later in the battle; I need to step away for a while now. I will try to come back as quickly as possible. Once the game starts, everyone, please give it your all," Fang Yuan said seriously, not joking at all.
But in the ears of the Japanese players, it sounded just like a joke.
At such a critical moment, even if you're not the first to compete, shouldn't you at least stay to watch Mewtwo's battle style and the direction of the fight?
What does he mean by stepping away for a while and trying to come back as quickly as possible?
Could it be that there's a chance he won't make it back in time?
Is he planning to go AWOL??
Even though President Wen had handed over the entire command of the Mewtwo game to Fang Yuan, they still felt bewildered upon hearing Fang Yuan's inexplicable arrangement.
Without further explanation, Fang Yuan only transmitted a Mind Induction to President Wen and then headed towards the outside of the arena.
And President Wen, having heard Fang Yuan's Mind Induction, had an extremely complex expression.
"Let him go."
"We'll... just participate in the battle as usual."
[Mewtwo is harder to communicate with than I had anticipated. Relying on conversation is definitely difficult to make it understand. Well, President Wen, you guys go keep Mewtwo company for a while. Sorry to say this, I need to go for some special training; otherwise, I feel the upcoming battle will be tough.]
Recalling what Fang Yuan had just said to him, President Wen looked at Fang Yuan's retreating figure.
"Indeed, he was never truly concerned about the Mewtwo game; from the beginning, his goal has always been Mewtwo."
"It is not the status of Mewtwo's trainer that you find daunting about the Mewtwo game, but Mewtwo itself, the Pokemon with whom you can't communicate, that you find tricky?"
"Special training? What on earth are you planning to do... Could it be that you intend to fight Mewtwo?"
"You have only a few hours at most..."
President Wen frowned deeply and then shook his head.
Fang Yuan's departure turned all eyes toward him, including Mewtwo's. It was strange indeed for an about-to-compete participant to leave the arena at this point, but Mewtwo did not say anything. It believed that Fang Yuan would definitely return before the end of the Mewtwo game.
"No way, that 'Chi' seems to have left the stage?"
"What is he going to do…"
"I can't figure it out..."
The audience watching the Mewtwo game was also confused by Fang Yuan's actions but soon they forgot about it. Well, it might be some tactical arrangement; the battle on the stage, 6 vs 78, was bound to last for quite a while, anyway.
...
Meanwhile.
"Bwoo!"
After leaving the arena, Fang Yuan mounted Dragonite again, intending to go to the adjacent Dragon Island for some emergency special training.
"Bwoo Bwoo!"
Eevee on Fang Yuan's shoulder kept asking what kind of special training it was, something Fang Yuan had never mentioned before.
"It's something I thought of just now," Fang Yuan said, somewhat embarrassed.
"In any case, we need everyone's strength for this special training."
Just as President Wen had thought, Fang Yuan had already lost interest in the Mewtwo game after failing to communicate with Mewtwo.
Unless Mewtwo itself came down to fight, Fang Yuan felt that even with Latios and Latias in the Mewtwo game, he could still win.
Now, Fang Yuan's only desire was to find a way to demonstrate his bond with his Pokemon and, with that bond, to defeat Mewtwo.
He wasn't trying to influence it in the way Xiaozhi did, but rather, like 'Chi', to overcome it through battle, and show Mewtwo that the power of the bond between humans and Pokemon could transcend everything.
Mega Evolution wasn't enough.
The Power of the Heart wasn't enough either.
He needed a stronger ability.
This was also why he had hurried here for some emergency special training, having just had a sudden epiphany.
"Rotom, keep an eye on the live broadcast of the Mewtwo game. Time is of the essence; we must make every second count," Fang Yuan said.
"Roger that, Rotom~!" Rotom in Fang Yuan's pocket responded.
With 72 vs 6, and calculating an average of 3 minutes per battle, the time left for him was just a few hours.