A week passed in a flash, like a white steed galloping by, and today was the official opening day of the highly anticipated Shenzhou Alliance High School League.
Jiang Mo hadn't been idle these past few days either; he trained with his Pokémon, getting them all into top condition.
On the day of the competition, the school organized a special convoy to transport all the participating contestants.
The competition venue was naturally set in the capital of the Shenzhou Alliance, and these past few days, Kyoto had gathered all the Superior from various high schools across the entire Shenzhou Alliance.
This biennial competition has extremely high visibility in the Shenzhou Alliance, truly a grand event.
Major media outlets pay close attention, and there are even dedicated television channels providing live broadcasts throughout, allowing Pokémon enthusiasts who couldn't attend in person to watch the exciting matches simultaneously.
Jiang Mo arrived successfully at the competition venue in the vehicle arranged by the school.
After getting out of the car, he followed the Kyoto University team into the largest arena in Kyoto—the Shenzhou Arena.
This arena covers a vast area with magnificent architecture, boasting hundreds of different types of battlefields, capable of accommodating hundreds of thousands of spectators.
Among them, the largest battlefield is exclusively for Elite and Champion battles, witnessing the birth of successive Four Heavenly Kings and Champions of the Shenzhou Alliance.
Jiang Mo slowly followed the team to the center of the venue, and upon entering, the first thing that caught his eye was a gigantic battlefield.
The ground of that battlefield was flat and solid, surrounded by hundreds of smaller battle stages.
At this moment, staff members were already busy around these battle stages, making final preparations; they would be used to conduct multiple matches simultaneously, ensuring the event could proceed efficiently and orderly.
Each high school had a dedicated resting area, and Kyoto University's resting area was in Zone B. Jiang Mo, Li Xiang, Wu Teng, and others sat there, waiting for the competition to begin.
"Legendary resources, they really make one's mouth water."
Li Xiang leaned back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head, looking slightly upwards, his tone carrying a hint of undisguised envy, "The rewards for previous High School League Champions were never this generous. The Alliance really went all out this time."
Wu Teng, upon hearing this, nodded in deep agreement, but his tone also carried a hint of doubt: "Indeed, legendary resources are rare treasures that are hard to come by. It's surprising that the Alliance is willing to offer them as rewards this time."
Jiang Mo just smiled and didn't respond.
He knew very well that legendary resources were undoubtedly a huge temptation for any Trainer.
The Alliance, known for its stinginess, was willing to offer such rare treasures this time, which indeed made one suspect if there was some special reason behind it.
"Maybe there's a peerless genius participating in this year's competition, and that legendary resource is specifically prepared for him. The Alliance might just be going through the motions by making it the prize for this competition," Li Xiang guessed, a slightly mysterious expression on his face.
"Thinking that way feels a bit dark, but this competition will definitely be more intense than the last one."
Wu Teng continued, his gaze sweeping across the contestants from different high schools around them, "The Superior from all high schools across the entire Shenzhou Alliance will gather here. It won't be easy to stand out; you'll really need to show your true abilities."
Jiang Mo didn't care if the Alliance had specially prepared it for someone; he would just snatch it then.
At this moment, Li Xiang patted Jiang Mo's shoulder and said with a smile, "Jiang Mo, don't underestimate me. Although I lost to you in the last 2V2 'True Man' duel, that wasn't my full strength. My main Pokémon weren't even on the field!"
Jiang Mo smiled, about to respond, when he suddenly heard a clear female voice from nearby: "Li Xiang, stop bragging. With your meager strength, you're only fit to be swept 3-0."
Jiang Mo turned his head and saw that it was Lei Xiang speaking.
She was also one of the Kyoto University team members, with considerable strength.
It was well-known that Lei Xiang of the Psychic Power Club and Li Xiang of the Fighting Club had always had a somewhat strained relationship, often bickering with each other.
Li Xiang was annoyed by Lei Xiang's retort and immediately cursed, "Lei Xiang, stop your nagging! With your small physique, I can take on ten of you. If I were to go all out, you might not be my opponent!"
Lei Xiang sneered, crossing her arms: "Is that so? How about we have a match right now? Let me see how powerful your 'all-out' is?"
"Bring it on, who's afraid of who!"
Li Xiang also had a fiery temper and immediately stood up, looking ready to start a fight at once.
"Silence! No shouting in the lounge!"
Their argument instantly caught the attention of the team leader. The teacher frowned and immediately reprimanded the two.
That serious expression made both Li Xiang and Lei Xiang sit down sheepishly, but they still glared at each other from time to time, looking quite amusing.
Jiang Mo and Wu Teng exchanged glances and couldn't help but laugh.
Just then, an announcement came over the broadcast: "Groups 145, 146, and 147 from Zone B, please proceed to your respective venues to prepare for the competition. Matches will begin in half an hour."
Upon hearing his group called, Jiang Mo immediately stood up: "I'll go prepare first. You two can chat."
Li Xiang waved his hand and said with a smile, "Good luck, Jiang Mo! Don't mess up in the preliminaries!"
Wu Teng also nodded, a hint of encouragement in his tone: "Jiang Mo, perform well and don't bring shame to our Kyoto University."
Jiang Mo smiled and turned to walk towards the competition venue.
He had just learned that Li Xiang also didn't need to participate in the preliminaries because he had successfully made it into the Top 64 in the previous competition.
According to the competition system, there are 16 people in a group, which means one needs to complete four matches within three days to win the group. The top two in each group can advance to the ranking matches.
The elimination rounds will last for three days, with a 3V3 match system. Only after entering the Top 64 in the ranking matches will the 6V6 full-team battles take place.
For typical freshmen, it might be difficult to even gather six Pokémon, let alone form a certain combat power to participate in the High School League.
This is also why freshmen generally don't participate in this competition; they still need more time to mature.
As Jiang Mo walked, he observed the surrounding competition venues.
Each battle stage was surrounded by spectators, some being family and friends of the contestants, others simply there to watch the excitement.
The atmosphere of the competition was very enthusiastic, with cheers and shouts of encouragement rising and falling.
Just as Jiang Mo passed one of the competition venues, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.
That figure made him slightly pause, and his steps involuntarily stopped.
