"Changing clothes?" Yulong Du blinked at Xia Huna, who had gone to the restroom. "Isn't it just a Pokémon Contest? What's with changing clothes?"
Yuling Long looked at Yulong Du. "I suddenly feel Xia Huna is right. The fact that you obtained this Bronze Ribbon is truly because our family's breeding ability is very good."
Questioned by his own sister, Yulong Du didn't dare to retort and could only wait for Xia Huna to finish changing.
Seeing Xia Huna walk out in a light blue tuxedo, Yuling Long pointed at him and said to Adu, "See? This is the Honorary President. After putting on the tuxedo, you look like a completely different person."
Xia Huna came to Shen Yu's side. "Xiao Yu, you need to design a new outfit for me. This one is a bit small. I think I'm growing."
Zhang Hong looked at Xia Huna's drastically changed aura. "Boss, are you sure it's not because you've put on weight during the New Year?"
Xia Huna just gave him a look, and Zhang Hong obediently stopped talking. Yuling Long looked at Shen Yu. "So this outfit was designed by you. Design a set for your sister too."
Shen Yu looked at Yuling Long and refused. "Ling Long-jie, your clothes are all designed by famous designers. I wouldn't dare..."
Yuling Long clasped Shen Yu's hand. "This is different. Yours is a gift designed by a friend. The meaning is different."
Shen Yu then agreed. "Alright then, I'll try."
The group arrived at the training ground behind the Contest Hall. Many Contest Trainers were currently engaged in Pokémon Contests. Upon seeing Yuling Long approach, the trainers gathered around to chat with her.
"Chairman Yu, what brings you here? Have you discovered any promising talents?"
Yuling Long shook her head. "No, I'm here to judge a Pokémon Contest."
Everyone's interest was piqued. A Pokémon Contest judged by the Chairman of the League must be extraordinary.
Seeing everyone gather at the battlefield where the two of them were, Xia Huna asked Yulong Du, "Adu, with so many people around, you won't be nervous, will you? It would be quite troublesome if you lost to me in front of your sister."
Yulong Du pouted. "Worry about yourself. After I defeat you, I will make a grand announcement of my victory over the Honorary President!"
Hearing the words "Honorary President," the Contest Trainers finally realized that Xia Huna, dressed in the light blue tuxedo, was their Honorary President. It couldn't be helped, as Xia Huna hadn't made any major moves recently, so apart from those with ulterior motives, not many people paid attention to him. After all, he wasn't a household name.
It had to be said that the Contest Trainers were quite disciplined. Although Xia Huna's identity surprised them, they didn't cause any commotion, adhering to the principle of "aura."
Yuling Long moved to the judge's position. "Now, we will proceed with the Pokémon Contest between Yulong Du and Xia Huna. Please select your Pokémon."
Yulong Du took out a Poké Ball and threw it. "Go, Charmeleon!"
Xia Huna's movements were more stylish. He held a Poké Ball between his thumb and index finger, waved it in front of his eyes, and then quickly swung his arm, tossing the Poké Ball. "My Froakie, go!"
The Poké Ball Xia Huna threw spun rapidly, and Froakie leaped out of it. The Poké Ball returned directly to Xia Huna's hand.
Xia Huna's move attracted the attention of many girls in the crowd. "As expected of the Honorary President, even sending out his Pokémon is so cool."
Xia Huna clutched the Poké Ball and breathed a sigh of relief. To show off, he had put in considerable effort. If it were a normal Pokémon battle, he would be using something silly. But for a Pokémon Contest, it was time for his classmate Zhou Yihuo to make an appearance...
Simply by sending out his Pokémon, Yuling Long already began to favor Xia Huna. "Pokémon Contest, begin!"
Xia Huna extended his hand. "Adu, please go first."
"Then I won't be polite. Charmeleon, use Dragon Rage!"
Xia Huna frowned slightly. "Why that move again? Froakie, use Aqua Tail and retreat."
Froakie's Aqua Tail collided with Charmeleon's Dragon Rage, canceling each other out. Charmeleon was already accustomed to this and charged out of the smoke.
"It's good to understand your trainer's intentions without words, but let me show you something, Froakie. Use Bubble Beam Decoy!"
This was a new move Xia Huna had developed during the New Year. He used Froakie's bubbles to create a decoy. However, this decoy could only disrupt vision and was not controlled by Froakie, making it easy to deal with.
But Charmeleon had never seen this tactic before. Seeing a white bubble that looked very much like Froakie approach, it instinctively used Ember to attack the bubble Froakie.
The bubble Froakie was hit by Ember and exploded, scattering everywhere. It was a top-notch special effect, even romantic. However, it was different for the two battling parties. Yulong Du's vision was obscured by the floating bubbles, making it impossible to find Froakie. Xia Huna, on the other hand, intended to use this opportunity to unleash a powerful combo on Charmeleon.
"Froakie, use a surprise attack with Water Pulse!"
Hearing Xia Huna's command, Yulong Du reacted quickly. "Charmeleon, dodge quickly, and then use Dragon Rage again!"
Charmeleon narrowly dodged the Water Pulse from the edge and retaliated with a Dragon Rage. Xia Huna watched the Dragon Rage approach Froakie. "Froakie, use Water Shield to block it!"
Froakie extended its hands and conjured two water balls, using Water Pulse in front of it. The vertically placed Water Pulse directly blocked the charging Dragon Rage. Under the tearing force of the rotating ripples, the Dragon-type energy of Dragon Rage scattered everywhere. Xia Huna looked at Froakie's remaining HP provided by the system and roughly understood the effect of the modified Water Shield he had developed on impulse.
"This damage reduction effect is quite good. It probably reduced it by sixty percent."
Xia Huna roughly estimated the effect of the Water Shield and felt that sacrificing a little PP for a sixty percent damage reduction was not a bad trade.
"Froakie, dodge past it, and end this battle."
Yulong Du watched Froakie charge forward. "It's not over yet! Charmeleon, use Scary Face!"
Scary Face, like Leer, was useless if one simply closed their eyes. However, Xia Huna never resorted to such passive defenses that could backfire.
"Froakie, block its face!"
Froakie again flung bubbles onto Charmeleon's face. While Charmeleon was wiping the bubbles from its face, Xia Huna had Froakie use Water Pulse again, successfully hitting Charmeleon.
"Battle concluded! The winner is Xia Huna!"
Yuling Long announced the result, which made Yulong Du blink. "What? Charmeleon hasn't lost the ability to battle yet!"
"Come back, Froakie."
After recalling Froakie, Xia Huna looked at Yulong Du. "Adu, you overlooked one thing. We are having a Pokémon Contest."
Xia Huna bowed to the surrounding Contest Trainers, who erupted in enthusiastic applause.
"As expected of the Honorary President. The Bubble Beam Decoy and Water Shield were both impressive."
"Yes, to think of such ways to use them! A trainer who could come up with the Pokémon Contest is truly extraordinary."
...
Along with Yuling Long, Xia Huna and his companions chatted with the trainers present for a while before leaving the training ground.
Walking through the headquarters building, Xia Huna looked at Yulong Du. "Adu, I estimate that you obtained this Bronze Ribbon by quickly defeating your opponent's Pokémon through sheer strength. However, Pokémon Contests and battles are different concepts. In a battle, you only need to defeat the opponent's Pokémon. But in a Pokémon Contest, it also involves on-the-spot reaction, adapting to moves, and even the coordination between moves. This is also a discipline that is no less complex than battling."
Yulong Du nodded. "I see. As expected of the founder of the Pokémon Contest. I am truly convinced."
Yuling Long led Xia Huna to the first-floor competition area. "Are you hungry? Let's eat."
Xia Huna nodded. "Okay, what are we eating?"
Yuling Long led the way, and the group arrived at the food court on the first floor, not far from the shops belonging to the Pokémon League and Rainbow Star Group.
"You wouldn't have expected it, would you? There's such a setup on the first floor."
Xia Huna nodded. "Yes, who would have thought there would be a food court like this in the Contest Hall headquarters? But I can see the environment is very nice."
"Of course. This is the main venue for the Pokémon Contest. Contest Trainers from all over will come here. To cater to the tastes of trainers from different regions, this food court was specially set up."
Xia Huna asked a vendor and learned that to operate in the food court subordinate to the Contest Hall headquarters, a very strict qualification assessment was required. Taste was a given, but the dining environment and hygiene were scrutinized even more rigorously. Many shops were disqualified from opening here due to environmental and hygiene issues.
As for profitability? It was incredibly profitable. Countless trainers visited the Contest Hall headquarters every day, as there were numerous professional staff. Therefore, these owners were not losing money at all. If there were parties, these owners made even more, especially after they creatively developed specialty snacks that were worthy of formal occasions...
Xia Huna and his group began to search for what they wanted to eat in the food court. Xia Huna's steps paused slightly as he passed a shop.
The sign hanging at the entrance of this shop read: Lao Yang Guan Tang.
Honestly, with a name like that, anyone would think it was a mutton restaurant. But in reality, it was a soup dumpling shop opened by a boss surnamed Yang...
Xia Huna wasn't looking to eat soup dumplings. His first thought upon seeing this shop was: "Isn't this a branch of Xiao Yang Sheng Jian on Spirit Demon Star? I really hope I don't encounter such a situation in any future competitions."
Shen Yu, who had been standing beside Xia Huna, asked, "What branch?"
Xia Huna looked at Zhang Hong. "I was just thinking about whether to open a branch of the Awakener team here. But that depends on how many new devices he can create."
Zhang Hong shook his head. Developing enough products to support a specialty store all at once was still too difficult.
Xia Huna looked at Zhang Hong's troubled expression and leaned closer. "Zhang Hong, think about how much money we could earn in a year if we had our own specialty store."
Zhang Hong roughly calculated, and then his eyes lit up. "Let's eat quickly. After eating, we're going to the League. I need to work, I need to make money!"
Xia Huna smiled at the remaining three. "See? This kid now only remembers two things: girls and money."