At the Wutong Arena, a dashing man in a suit and tie stood atop an Aegislash, microphone in hand.

  "To all the spectators here and those watching from home, welcome to the first-ever Baby Cup in Wutong City! This event is proudly co-sponsored by Woofmart Supermarket," the man announced with enthusiasm.

  "I’m your commentator for today’s matches, Ice Li."

  "For all the rookie Trainers preparing to embark on their journeys, battles between Pokémon will be an inevitable part of the experience…"

  The rest of his speech was filled with unnecessary fluff.

  Ethan tuned it out entirely.

  The rules of the Baby Cup were simple: elimination rounds leading to progression.

  The massive circular grass field, large enough to host Gym-level Pokémon battles, had been divided into a nine-square grid.

  Each square was marked with white lime and labeled from 1 to 9.

  Since the participants were all rookie Trainers, the battlefield didn’t need to be overly polished or complex.

  For the first few rounds, battles would take place simultaneously across multiple zones.

  The first round consisted of 124 participants, with a total of 62 matches.

  Divided across nine battlefields, it would only take four waves of matches to determine the winners of the first round. This phase was aptly named the Group Stage.

  “Ninth Group, Fourth Wave?” Ethan muttered to himself as he looked at his 9(4) tag.

  All participants were assigned seating near their designated battlefields.

  Ethan was in the ninth group, while Emma had been assigned to the eighth. Luckily, the two fields were adjacent, and from his spot, Ethan could easily see what was happening on her side through the railing.

  What caught his attention, though, was the sight of Blondie James.

  He had also been placed in the eighth group and was, unsurprisingly, hovering near Emma, clearly attempting to bother her again.

  This time, however, Emma seemed to have learned her lesson. She marched straight over to the nearest enforcement officer and filed a complaint.

  One warning from the officer was enough to send Blondie scurrying back to his spot, too intimidated to linger near her.

  Ethan nodded in approval, feeling a small sense of pride.

  "All right! The matches are starting! First-round participants, please enter the battlefields!”

  At last, the commentator on the flying Aegislash wrapped up his long-winded speech, signaling the official start of the tournament.

  Ethan’s expression grew more serious.

  While this was technically the Baby Cup, it was more like the "Baby Cup of the Baby Cup."

  The timing of the tournament was crucial—just over a month after the high school graduation season. Traditionally, most of Wutong City’s senior high school graduates would embark on their first significant journey: a walking trip to their university, challenging the city-level Gyms along the way.

  If this tournament had been held earlier, the competition would have been much fiercer. Many of the graduating students from Wutong City Pokémon High School owned second-stage starter Pokémon that had reached the peak of the normal stage.

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  Fortunately, this timing worked in his favor.

  Still, since Ethan had set his sights on first place, he was determined to take the competition seriously.

  "Hmm… let’s check out the first-round matches in the ninth group and gather some information. That’s essential!"

  Scanning the matchups, Ethan couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

  Caterpie vs. Weedle.

  On the surface, it seemed straightforward enough, but this was one of those matchups that had all the potential to surprise.

  Ethan chuckled to himself.

  What if this Caterpie has an Everstone and its Trainer is trying to mimic the legendary tale of a Level 100 Caterpie evolving into a Rayquaza? Better to play it safe.

  With that thought, he activated Insight Eye to take a closer look.

  [Pokémon: Caterpie]

  [Gender: Male]

  [Ability: Shield Dust]

  [Aptitude: White]

  [Strength: Level 7]

  [Moves: String Shot, Tackle]

  "Hmm?"

  It turned out to be… just an ordinary Caterpie.

  Ethan couldn’t help but rub Snivy’s head affectionately, amused by the anticlimax.

  Let’s check out that Weedle next, he thought, turning his attention to the other competitor.

  Hmm… Level 6, Ethan noted, looking at the Weedle.

  "Snivy?"

  Snivy, meanwhile, looked visibly annoyed.

  It had been expecting at least one satisfying battle today, but the two Bug-types on the field…

  Well, Snivy was genuinely worried that its attacks might accidentally overpower them and, well… take them out for good.

  "Don’t worry," Ethan reassured it, patting Snivy’s head. "With this many participants, there’s bound to be someone strong eventually. Be patient."

  He shifted his gaze to the other battlefields, trying to gauge the competition.

  A mix of emotions welled up—part amusement, part exasperation.

  If he were to divide the arena into three tiers of skill levels based on the matches, the ninth group was undeniably in the lowest tier.

  One step above them were matches involving Pokémon like Level 11-12 Nidoran and Bulbasaur. While more impressive, they still didn’t feel particularly threatening to Ethan or Snivy.

  At the top of the skill tiers was Kun Xu, battling on Field 3.

  Admittedly, as a recent high school graduate, Kun was cutting through his competition like a hot knife through butter.

  His Torchic had just taken down a Level 12 Pidgey with sheer force, using Ember to overpower its opponent.

  Matches of this caliber, however, were few and far between across the arena.

  Statistically speaking, out of all the participants, only four or five Pokémon were likely to have reached Level 16 or higher. It could be slightly more, or slightly less, but the numbers remained small.

  This left the commentators grasping for material.

  During the match between Torchic and Pidgey, there had at least been a flicker of excitement.

  "Alright, let’s turn our attention to Field 1, where we have a Flying-type Pidgey against a Fire-type Torchic!" the commentator exclaimed.

  "Wow! Look at Torchic’s Ember—it’s absolutely relentless! Even Pidgey can’t avoid all of those flames!"

  "The Pidgey’s Trainer is going for broke! He’s commanding Pidgey to use Quick Attack as a final attempt!"

  "Oh no, so close! But it wasn’t enough. Pidgey has fallen, defeated by Torchic’s Ember!"

  The match concluded as quickly as it started, leaving the commentator scrambling to fill the silence.

  "Let’s take a look at the ninth group! Oh my goodness, Caterpie and Weedle have tangled each other up with String Shot! Let’s see how their Trainers plan to break this stalemate!"

  "Come on, Caterpie! You can do it!"

  "Don’t give up, Weedle! Stand your ground!"

  The commentator: …

  After a full minute of stalemate, Weedle’s Trainer finally came up with a strategy—using Poison Sting to pierce through the sticky webbing. Slowly but surely, Weedle chewed its way out of the mess and finished the match with a decisive Poison Sting, taking Caterpie out of the running.

  The free spectators in the stands? Speechless.

  Second Round

  Ninth Group: (Level 9) Spearow vs. (Level 10) Rattata.

  Spearow wins.

  Third Round

  Ninth Group: (Level 13) Pichu vs. (Level 11) Grimer.

  In this match, something unexpected happened. Midway through the battle, when Pichu was struggling to keep up, it suddenly evolved into a Pikachu and turned the tide, claiming victory.

  Why call it Pikachu? Because by the end, that’s exactly what it had become.

  Third Round

  Just as Ethan and Snivy were about to be completely bored out of their minds, they finally spotted the Lapras.

  It appeared on Field 7, its Trainer being a short, chubby boy with a lazy demeanor. He casually held a bag of chips in one hand, looking more like a spectator than a competitor.

  His opponent was a girl commanding a Level 15 Onix.

  The moment both Pokémon were summoned, the commentator, perched atop Aegislash, zipped over to Field 7, diving into an overly enthusiastic commentary.

  "Oh my goodness! Onix—what a massive frame and a gleaming, polished surface! This Onix has clearly been raised exceptionally well!

  In the Baby Cup, a Pokémon like this is absolutely imposing—truly a force to be reckoned with!

  Now let’s see… what kind of Pokémon will its opponent summon?"

  "Lapras! It’s Lapras! I can’t believe it—it’s actually a Lapras!"