Bonus for 1500 PS, next at 2000 PS xD
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Break the birdcage, and be free.
~Yi Sang
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In this way, the extrely rough first Pokémon League steadily took shape under the active preparations of the Navigator Guild.
The participating Pokémon were limited to the native Pokémon created by Carl. As for the players busy capturing Pokémon in Oath's main ga, they were too focused on grinding their Trial of Glory rankings to pay attention to this "minor competition."
Each player was limited to two participating Pokémon. This rule was ant to prevent type advantages from turning a match into sothing completely unwinnable.
Finally, after several days of preparation, the mbers of the Navigator Guild set up a massive projection screen at the gates of the City of Glory.
At the sa ti, they used Netherworld Village's construction system to clear out an entire forest near the city gates, transforming it into a battle plaza capable of holding thousands of people.
At that mont, by the gates of the City of Glory inside Crimson Night's open-world instance, the Empire's Hunter Knights had concealed their true identities and taken up guard duty.
Their goal was to prevent a large number of Netherworld Village residents from entering the City of Glory.
Oath's official team could tolerate a few Netherworld players causing trouble in the Trial of Glory.
But if those players flooded into the City of Glory in the main world, then Oath's current largest main city would be no different from a conquered zone.
"Marked ones! Stay away from the Holy City!"
The Empire's Hunter Knights showed no rcy. The mont the residents of Netherworld Village approached, the entire unit stood at the city gates with heavy shields and spears raised.
And this was only the first step. Anything connected to Netherworld Village would be treated as hostile the mont it entered the City of Glory.
If caught, they would be killed without exception.
But while these anonymous soldiers could openly act against the villagers of Netherworld Village, would they dare to act against Oath's Saviors?
Carl's promotion for this Pokémon League was simple. He had two influential strears, Crimson Night and Macchiato, stream their participation directly.
Advancing through one round of the qualifiers earned 160 Contract Stones. Carl was handing out premium Contract Stones, and since his resources were limited, this was the only thod he could use for now.
Most players might not even dream of becoming the Trial of Glory champion.
But advancing one round in such an obscure little competition? How was that any different from a free reward?
Thus, the equivalent of a free gacha pull was enough to attract a large number of bored Oath main-ga players into Crimson Night's open-world instance to see what was going on.
"Everyone! The qualifiers have begun! You can rent Pokémon here for free battles! This qualifier uses a dynamic point system, so there's no need to worry about missing the registration window."
The rental Pokémon Carl had been busy constructing, played by the split consciousnesses of the Abyssal Knights, finally ca in handy.
However, the Combat Rating of every rental Pokémon in the first Pokémon League was locked at around five hundred.
As for trainers who had trained their own Pokémon by hand, their Pokémon's Combat Ratings would not be adjusted. This was one of Carl's balancing asures.
Furthermore, Carl would do his best to separate official participants from players who were rely trying the mode for fun within the matchmaking system.
However, the Pokémon's skills were fully unlocked. This was ant to give Oath's main-ga players, as well as village players who had never tried Pokémon battles before, a more complete taste of the fun of battling.
Or perhaps the fun of being carried to victory.
"Is this so kind of new event? Virtual pet battles?"
"Did Oath release a new pet system? There are over a hundred types. This is way too hard to choose. Does anyone know which Pokémon are top-tier?"
"Just pick the coolest one! I think this Charizard looks pretty good."
Carl's strategy of handing out Contract Stones seed to make Oath's main-ga players mistake this for a new official Oath event.
Moreover, they had not publicly joined Netherworld Village. They had only entered Crimson Night's open-world instance to pick up temporary Pokémon Poké Cards.
And so, the first Pokémon League, crude and sowhat playful as it was, officially began.
As for the overall atmosphere, Carl felt that rather than a serious tournant, it was more like a fan gathering.
At first, Oath players treated Pokémon battles like most of Oath's mini-ga events.
They assud there would not be much gaplay. They would play casually, grab a wave of Contract Stones, then never touch this trashy mini-ga again for the rest of their lives.
But soon, the Oath players realized that sothing was not quite right.
The reason was simple. The rental Pokémon Carl provided were far too powerful.
"Do I need to give orders to these Pokémon? Uh, how do I do that? Like, Charizard! Attack!"
A player who only played Oath had chosen Charizard as his temporary tournant Pokémon.
Unsurprisingly, he fell into confusion during his first match. As a result, he simply gave Charizard the vague command to "attack."
Then it happened.
Charizard seized the opening and struck the enemy Pokémon with a sharp tail attack. After staggering the opponent, Charizard let out a roar, then raised both hands toward the sky.
It was as if it were telling its temporary trainer exactly how much health the opponent was about to lose.
The next second, Charizard grabbed the opponent. The wings on its back beat violently as it soared high into the sky, then dove down at extre speed, slamming the opponent heavily into the ground and sending massive cracks across the earth.
"Was, was that really a move it used because of my command?"
That Oath player was stunned by the sheer beauty of violence displayed by Charizard under his command.
And this was only the beginning.
In Carl's eyes, although this Pokémon League was supposed to be a beginner-friendly competition for novice Pokémon Trainers, the situation was completely different for the Pokémon themselves.
After all, the core consciousnesses inside the rental Pokémon were battle-hardened Abyssal Knights.
To put it bluntly, this was an internal training session for one of Elysium's strongest factions.
They showed no rcy to their colleagues, and the resulting spectacle was enough to thrill both Oath players and village players alike.
Super combos and ultimate moves appeared one after another.
For example, a Ceruledge pulled its opponent into a dark domain, summoned countless clones, and under its trainer's wide-eyed gaze, cut the enemy down with a storm of instant slashes.
Incineroar unleashed heavy punches wrapped in flas at such terrifying speed that even its own trainer could not clearly see them.
All kinds of exaggerated moves were used by these rental Pokémon.
And all of them were triggered by the short, clumsy commands of novice trainers, such as "Attack it!", "Dodge!", and "Uh, use that move!"
The brilliant performances of these rental Pokémon caused the confidence of the Oath main-ga players, who had originally only co to grab 160 Contract Stones and leave, to swell uncontrollably.
In the hearts of every player participating in the qualifiers, thoughts like "Am I actually this strong?", "Could I be a genius?", and "This year's Pokémon Trainer championship is definitely mine!" began surfacing one after another, making them impossibly excited.
But the Abyssal Knights also respected participants who had personally trained their own Pokémon.
Whenever they encountered an opponent who was not another Abyssal Knight, they would always switch to normal AI mode.
In other words, they would fight according to their temporary trainer's actual skill level, without letting the trainer notice anything.
However, the Oath main-ga players who had co to compete had already been completely dazzled by the magnificent performances of the rental Pokémon.
Although they later lost one after another to genuinely skilled trainers, they still chose to stay and watch the remaining matches of the Pokémon League.
After all, they wanted to experience that thrilling feeling again, the feeling of commanding their own Pokémon to unleash a flashy, ridiculous move like a storm of instant slashes.
In this way, two days later, the final battle of the first Pokémon League finally began under the watchful eyes of countless players, with the Pokémon the blaring in the background.
Unsurprisingly, the Saintess and her Lucario had fought their way to the very end.
Her final opponent was Crimson Night, the leader of the Navigator Guild, along with Crimson Night's Pokémon, Gardevoir.
Fighting versus Psychic. It was an unfavorable matchup.
Fortunately, Lucario's Steel-type skills could also counter Gardevoir's Fairy typing.
And after fighting all the way to this point, trust mattered far more than type advantage.
"I thought this was just a small player-run event. I didn't expect so many people to show up for the finals."
The Saintess stepped onto the stage for the final showdown.
By now, the surrounding players had packed the entire stage area shoulder to shoulder.
And when the Saintess appeared, the cheers were so loud they could be heard even from the upper district of the City of Glory.
"Guess how many spectators will rush into the City of Glory to capture these Pokémon after the finals end?" Crimson Night could feel that the atmosphere had already reached its peak.
All they needed now was one brilliant duel.
One brilliant duel, and the City of Glory inside her open-world instance would be breached.
(To be continued.)
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