The shocking surprise and emergence of a dark horse most likely to take a qualification spot from the recommended students completely exploded across the entire forum.
Countless posts appeared with various titles, but the content followed almost the same template:
"Did Roy win or lose?"
"He won."
"What? How did he win?"
"Three moves in seconds."
"????"
There were different variations of reactions, but they all conveyed the same sentiment.
Even so, countless people were discussing it frantically.
The dark horse had won!
And he'd won with such ease!
Everyone at Capital University, including some teachers concerned about the situation's development, couldn't help but join in the excitement and participate in a forum poll.
[Three moves in seconds against Callan: How would you evaluate Roy's true skill level?]
[①: One thing's for sure, he definitely has the look of a champion.]
[②: His strength is approaching Cade's level, making him the favorite for the entrance tournament!]
[③: He'll steadily reach the top eight, and making the top four would be considered a success!]
[④: Cade was right. Callan is the biggest fraud, a disgrace to the recommendation system! Roy beating him doesn't prove anything!]
[⑤: The match was rigged! Investigate this fake contest!]
Only a handful of people chose the first and fifth options as jokes.
The championship seemed too far-fetched—even if Roy became the top Trainer at Capital University, he wouldn't be recognized by the public. Even Elite Trainers wouldn't dare make such claims.
As for the fifth option, anyone with common sense knew it was impossible for Callan to risk his reputation and recommendation qualifications for underhanded activities...
Second-generation Trainers weren't short on money.
Moreover, Roy's family background couldn't offer any enticing benefits.
The real debate centered around options 2, 3, and 4.
Many of Roy's female admirers received the news with soaring morale. Good looks plus strength—what's not to like?
These young women immediately transformed into die-hard fans, their voices extremely enthusiastic. Most were optimistic about Roy steadily reaching the quarterfinals, while the more fanatical supporters even predicted he'd win the championship!
Cade's supporters and those who envied Roy naturally refused to acknowledge his strength, mostly backing option 4, continuing to belittle Roy while even criticizing Callan.
Regardless of where the controversy led, the two nicknames—"biggest fraud" and "disgrace to the recommendation system"—were now firmly attached to Callan.
When Callan finally picked up his phone and discovered this, he was absolutely livid.
"What the—?!"
He nearly lost his breath, almost passing out from the shock.
He sat blankly in front of his phone, staring at all kinds of ridicule, insults, and mockery directed at him on the forum.
After a while, Callan suddenly noticed a post titled 'My match is against that nobody, watch me destroy him!' and immediately clicked on it.
The poster was one of the recommended students with an arrogant personality who had previously spouted nonsense on the forum. His username was 'ComeAtMeBro'.
He had posted the match-ups for the main tournament, and his opponent was clearly Roy.
His tone remained defiant, but everyone's reaction now was completely different from when he had insulted others before. Now they were all rallying behind Roy.
The poster, clearly thrilled by the attention—probably having never encountered someone more annoying than himself and rarely experiencing such popularity—immediately started making outlandish claims:
"I'll prove it—this Roy is nothing but a paper tiger!"
"I'm different from Callan, I assure you!"
"What if I lose? Just kidding, me, lose? ...Alright, if I lose, I'm the biggest fraud. You can insult me whenever you see me online or in person, and I'll never fight back! Deal?"
"..."
Callan blankly scanned through the comments, seeing how everyone hoped someone would be able to defeat Roy. He suddenly let out a strange laugh, then shouted with an almost maniacal expression:
"Crush him!"
"They all need to lose!"
"Roy, destroy them all!"
In an instant, Callan had become the person who most desperately wanted Roy to win.
"No, put them back on."
Roy handed the weighted bracelets back to Riolu.
True to their name as miracle items, Roy couldn't feel any weight when holding these bracelets—they felt just like ordinary leather accessories.
"Rio!"
Riolu responded excitedly, putting on the weighted bracelets with enthusiasm.
Obviously, Riolu understood perfectly well that his ability to become stronger so quickly and efficiently was inseparable from these special items.
And these items had all been given by Roy, which deepened Riolu's admiration for his Trainer.
Roy smiled and patted Riolu's head, lost in thought.
After giving Riolu the weighted bracelets a week ago, he had insisted that the Pokémon wear them at all times, even outside of training.
No exceptions while eating, resting, or playing.
Anyone who had watched certain anime training montages would understand how efficient weight training could be...
During the first battle with Callan at the Pokémon Center, Riolu had been in a weight-restricted condition.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Riolu's physical capabilities had been pushed down by two levels at that time.
Fighting while keeping weights on would have a tremendous training effect.
Additionally, it could make opponents misjudge Riolu's various physical qualities.
If Callan hadn't misjudged Riolu's capabilities, even if he would have still lost, at least he wouldn't have been defeated so thoroughly.
A hidden advantage played the role of surprise.
This was Roy's trump card.
This time, the most important reason for allowing Riolu to remove the bracelets, besides not wanting to risk losing, was—
"Riolu needs actual battle experience at full capacity."
If a Pokémon doesn't know how strong it is when fighting at full strength, it might feel uncomfortable when truly using its full power.
The line between victory and defeat is thin.
Those small points of discomfort could potentially determine the outcome of a battle.
This match against Callan was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity.
There were no spectators at the qualifying matches, and the information others received wasn't firsthand, but rather text reports from others in the group...
In other words, people now knew Riolu was strong, but they didn't know exactly how strong, which meant Roy's trump card would still be effective next time.
"Riolu under weighted conditions, overall evaluation: D+."
"After removing the weights, overall evaluation: C-." Roy was a bit puzzled. "I've tested according to some standards online. Under full-strength conditions, Riolu's physical fitness has reached the C level standard..."
"It seems the reason lies in the moves."
Roy speculated.
"Since it's a comprehensive evaluation, naturally all aspects must meet the standards. Pure physical fitness is just one factor."
"Riolu has learned too few moves, which affects the overall evaluation."
Seeing that his popularity had risen to more than 140,000 in one day, Roy decided to make a purchase from the system mall, converting all his points at once to prepare for strengthening his Pokémon.
"TMs, to teach moves instantly... Arceus, they're so expensive!"
Seeing the prices, Roy winced.
The price of Technical Machines was even higher than miracle items.
However, it was understandable. TMs took effect instantly, could be acquired immediately, and after being redeemed, could be used repeatedly for multiple Pokémon.
Miracle items, meanwhile, were slower to take effect and required more persistence.
But Roy hadn't expected them to be quite so expensive.
Pokémon moves, like Trainer skills, were divided into Proficient level, Master level, and Transcendent level.
A basic move like Quick Attack at Proficient level actually cost 50,000 points.
Roy boldly checked the price of an ultimate move and instantly regretted it.
[Draco Meteor (Proficient level), a Dragon-type destructive move, price: 5,000,000. Master class and Transcendent class increase by ten times.]
Roy gestured helplessly toward the void.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Roy closed the column of ultimate moves and concentrated on finding techniques that would improve Riolu the most.
After a while, his eyes lit up as he found an extremely suitable move.