Trainers returning from the Kingdom of Roc

Chapter 68: The Beginner League Opens

(Attention all participants! One minute countdown to the opening ceremony! Please check your appearance one last time and prepare to enter in order!)

(Repeated—Attention all participants!....)

The director's voice came through the loudspeaker in the waiting area, immediately attracting the attention of all the contestants.

The indicator light at the entrance turned from red to green, and the heavy doors slowly slid open to both sides, letting in a deafening roar and dazzling lights from outside.

The prelude to the league's theme song began with a powerful and resounding melody.

Luo Yan suddenly felt a series of gazes fall on him. He turned around and saw that the contestants behind him were all looking at him without making a move.

Just then, Luo Yan's arm was suddenly touched; Shen Yanqiu had come to his side. "Let's go, together."

"Hmm." Luo Yan's lips curled up. "Ladies first."

Shen Yanqiu rolled her eyes at him, grabbed his hand, and strode into the blinding light.

As her gaze shifted from the slightly dim waiting area to the incredibly bright and spacious large playground, Luo Yan simply frowned slightly before getting used to it.

"Enjoy this stage, you'll get used to it."

Shen Yanqiu's voice came, and Luo Yan looked up to see that the other party had already raised her hand and was elegantly gesturing to the audience.

This simple gesture instantly ignited the entire audience!

A wave of cheers swept over Luo Yan like a tidal wave, making her ears ring. The cheers even drowned out the music.

It was only at this moment that Luo Yan belatedly began to feel a sense of tension.

He had never seen such a scene back in the Kingdom of Locke. The cheers and roars of tens of thousands of people were probably the only thing that could be seen if all the Locke people in the royal city were brought over.

But Luo Yan didn't stop. Instead, she quickly caught up with Shen Yanqiu and walked alongside her, waving to the audience.

Seeing this, the audience cheered even louder.

Some bloggers have even come up with video titles. What could generate more buzz than creating a romantic pairing, especially when the two already have a large following?

One is the granddaughter of the Dragon-type Elite Four member, and the other is a Shiny Pokémon trainer; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them walking traffic magnets.

Behind the two, more and more contestants came out, following closely in Luo Yan and Shen Yanqiu's footsteps, some nervous, some excited, but all enjoying the moment.

This wasn't the first time Shen Yanqiu had faced such a scene. Born into a special family, she had been in the spotlight since childhood, so she felt perfectly at home here.

She turned to look at Luo Yan and asked softly, "How was your first time?"

"Not bad," Luo Yan replied after thinking for a moment. "I think I quite like this feeling of being the center of attention."

"That just means you're born for this stage," Shen Yanqiu said with a slight smile. "Let's go, we won't steal the spotlight here. Anyway, it's not our turn these next few days. I'll treat you to ice cream."

"OK."

...

The matches in the past few days were mostly between the second and third place winners from each qualifying round.

Sixteen of them will be selected, and together with the winner of the preliminary round, they will form the top thirty-two. They will then be divided into groups to continue their battles, and in the quarterfinals, Shen Yanqiu and others will compete in a challenge match.

Apart from the opening ceremony on the first day, Luo Yan has not appeared in public since. He has not accepted any interview requests from the media, nor has he lingered in the athletes' public rest area.

His photo was scrolling across the big screen, but he himself seemed to have disappeared from the field.

In fact, Luo Yan has been living a very fulfilling life these past few days, keeping a low profile.

Although he didn't go to the scene, he watched the replay of each match on the screen in the players' rest area and recorded the tactics and advantages shown by each trainer.

Unlike the 1v1 matches in the qualifiers, the 3v3 format used in the main tournament raises the complexity and strategy of the competition to a new level.

Luo Yan currently only has three Pokémon, one of which is borrowed, so he needs to improve his weaknesses and specifically learn... uh, summon some move stones.

Besides the preparations for the battle, Luo Yan had an unexpected relaxing activity these past few days: sneaking out shopping with Shen Yanqiu.

This woman, who always appears in public with the aura of being the "granddaughter of a dragon-type king" and is always poised and elegant, reveals a completely different side of herself in private.

She would change into the most ordinary casual clothes, put on a baseball cap and a mask, and enthusiastically pull Luo Yan along like two students skipping class, avoiding all possible crowds, and wander through the streets and alleys of Hongcheng.

She would drag Luo Yan to queue up for the supposedly super delicious internet-famous ice cream, and she would also squat in front of the roadside stalls, picking and choosing among the Pokémon dolls that were crudely made but had unique shapes, and she never tired of it.

"Hehe, didn't expect me to be like this in private, did you?"

On one occasion, after successfully evading a group of tourists who seemed to recognize them, Shen Yanqiu leaned against the wall at the alley entrance, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons with laughter.

"From childhood to adulthood, I've been watched by everyone wherever I go. They either call me 'the granddaughter of King Shen' or 'the dragon-type genius girl.' It's so annoying."

"I find it particularly interesting to disguise myself like this and wander around freely. It's like... how should I put it, um, the thrill of adventure."

When she said this, her face showed a childlike smugness, completely unlike her usual mature and composed demeanor.

Luo Yan was initially a little surprised, but quickly got used to Shen Yanqiu's unreliable yet remarkably genuine side.

After all, he was the same when he first arrived in the Kingdom of Locke. On the surface, he maintained a haughty demeanor when interacting with everyone, but in private, he was having a blast taking pictures with his camera.

It wasn't until after entering the academy that Luo Yan truly revealed her true self.

After several "secret shopping trips," Luo Yan and Shen Yanqiu became much more familiar with each other, and their initial formalities lessened, naturally leading to a wider range of topics.

They talked about their respective Pokémon, the fun and troubles in their lives, and their plans for the future.

When Luo Yan mentioned that he planned to study abroad after the league, Shen Yanqiu's eyes lit up instantly.

"Study abroad...that's wonderful."

Her tone was filled with undisguised envy.

"You can go anywhere you want freely, see different scenery and trainers, without being bound by fixed courses and schedules."

"This is exactly the trainer life of my dreams."

She sighed helplessly. "It's a pity. I'm already a freshman at Longchuan University. Although the college management is relatively relaxed, there are still student status and course requirements, so it's impossible for me to travel around for extended periods like you."

She paused, looked at Luo Yan, and continued, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"If we were the same age, or if I had started school a year later, I might have really asked Grandpa to let me travel with you. It would have been so much fun..."

In this atmosphere of half-relaxation and half-tension, the day of Luo Yan's match finally arrived.

...