Chapter 94: Bro Isn't Around, But...
Subsequently, Justin also tactfully offered a suggestion.
"Bro Arthur, the training camp's ranking tournament is about to begin. I think perhaps you should focus more on training your Frogadier? It feels like Lapras will still need quite some time to develop into fighting shape."
Lapras have a longer lifespan than humans, nearly twice as long, typically living between 140 to 180 years.
Arthur's Lapras back then was already considered very long-lived among her kind.
Little Lapras was currently in her twenties. Converting that to human years, she was likely only equivalent to a little girl just over ten years old.
And most crucially, Lapras have no evolutionary chain.
Evolution represents a leap in a Pokémon's life stage, capable of significantly accelerating its growth.
Frogadier's age, compared horizontally to Little Lapras's, was actually quite similar. But because he had completed one evolution, he was suddenly much closer to adulthood.
Age and lifespan are factors that absolutely must be considered in the real world of Pokémon competition.
This is precisely why Pokémon like Raticate, Scyther, and Beedrill are extremely popular in amateur circles.
It's not necessarily because they are exceptionally powerful.
Rather, these types of Pokémon grow quickly; raising them for just one or two years can rapidly bring them to their peak period.
Conversely, Flora's Dragonair is truly an exclusive Pokémon for the wealthy.
Because raising such long-lived Pokémon absolutely requires starting from birth; otherwise, you could only consider playing professionally after the age of forty.
Looking at Arthur's current team, the evolved Frogadier clearly possessed more combat capability.
Therefore, Justin wanted to persuade him to perhaps put Little Lapras's training aside for the time being.
However, Arthur just smiled faintly, "There's no need for that. I've already requested leave. I'll be going out of town for a while, so I won't be participating in this ranking tournament."
Justin was shocked, his face losing all color.
"No way, Bro Arthur? You're even skipping the ranking tournament?"
"Anyway, it's unlikely we could directly make the top ten and graduate in the first year's ranking tournament. Missing it once isn't a big deal."
Although Frogadier had already made significant progress, Arthur had watched this era's professional league online and knew Frogadier still lacked a bit of refinement. Thus, he wasn't in a rush to compete for this ranking position.
However, Justin still felt somewhat dissatisfied.
"But, even if you can't graduate immediately, this ranking is still very important! Bro Arthur, doing this..."
Making it into the training camp's top ten merely gets you added to the list of available prospects; only being signed by a professional team counts as true graduation.
The earlier you achieve a ranking, the earlier you gain exposure. Naturally, your competitiveness will be stronger when the time comes.
When teams are actually signing new recruits, your entire past record will be reviewed. This is why trainees in every batch value the bi-annual ranking tournament so highly.
Even if one can't reach the top ten immediately, consistently achieving good results each time ultimately provides assistance for the future.
Although many people are aware they might not reach the graduation step, who doesn't harbor a dream?
Even a Magikarp using Splash can't help but fantasize about evolving into a Gyarados, commanding wind and rain, and raising monstrous waves.
Therefore, as expected, when the news spread that Arthur was taking leave again and skipping the ranking tournament, another wave of mockery swept through the training camp.
"Heh, so little ambition. Why not just quit the training camp and go out to make some easy, dirty money?"
When Justin occasionally tried to argue back, he was mocked along with Arthur.
"You're probably scared now, aren't you? Makes sense. He ran off, so wouldn't you become last place? With no one cushioning the bottom for you anymore, you must be feeling quite panicked, huh?"
In the initial assessment ranking when they first entered, Arthur had placed last, and second to last was Justin. The two were brothers in misfortune, bottom-ranked together at the time.
However, this time, Justin responded with unusual forcefulness.
"Hmph! Just you wait and see! Bro Arthur is letting you off this time. In that case, I'll be the one to teach you guys a lesson!"
...
Time flashed forward. A week later, the training camp's ranking tournament was about to begin.
On this day, inside the Sea Carp club's professional team base, pro player Bella repeatedly urged, "Hurry up, sis! It's a rare day with no matches or training scheduled. Let's quickly head over to the training camp and see how the rookies in this batch are doing in the ranking tournament."
A short while later, the door directly opposite her opened. Her roommate, Luna, stared with eyes wide like copper bells, glaring at her angrily with a severe case of 'just woke up' temper.
"I never see you this enthusiastic about regular training. Just look how anxious you are to go see a little handsome boy!"
Bella turned her face away, explaining guiltily.
"What do you mean 'seeing a handsome boy'? I'm... I'm concerned about the state of our club's youth talent reserves."
Luna strongly resisted the urge to throw a pillow at her.
"Hehe, before that harpoon-wielding little shota arrived, how come I never once saw you show this much concern for the youth talent reserve situation?"
Meanwhile, Arthur, sitting on a high-speed train heading out of the city, sneezed inexplicably.
He wondered if someone was mentioning some strange nickname of his again...
Bella evasively changed the subject.
"Aiya, stop wasting time talking! Hurry, hurry!"
Over an hour later, the two of them arrived at the club's youth training camp base, located in the same city.
However, upon arrival, they were dumbfounded.
"That Arthur... he took leave precisely at this time? He's not even participating in the ranking tournament?"
Bella was momentarily preoccupied with her disappointment, while Luna thought a layer deeper, developing some unfavorable ideas.
"This kid... could his mentality have become arrogant after getting famous? I heard some rumors about him; apparently, he came from the mountains originally? Let's hope he hasn't been dazzled by the flashy world after achieving fame."
Bella rolled her eyes at her exasperatedly, "What are you talking about?"
Then she thought, "Well, let's just find someone and ask."
They subsequently found a young trainee who looked like a newcomer.
The moment the young man saw Bella, his cheeks flushed red with excitement.
"I recognize you! You're the main player of the Sea Carp team, Bella! Beautiful big sis, I've liked you for a long time! Please give me a chance!"
Bella was momentarily stunned by this burst of enthusiasm, awkwardly flustered. Fortunately, Luna, standing beside her, was much more experienced in handling such situations.
She released her Kabutops, over two meters tall. Its scythe-like arms, glinting with cold light, were raised. Eyes overflowing with killing intent glared over. The young fan immediately changed his tune.
"Ahem, I mean, maybe give me a chance to get an autograph?"
"Ah, oh... that's fine."
After signing her name on a corner of his shirt, Bella finally found the opportunity to ask, "Do you know a trainee in this batch named Arthur? Do you happen to know why he took leave?"
"Oh, you mean that Arthur! Of course, I know him! He's a celebrity! But as for specifically why he took leave, I'm not too clear."
Luna added another question, "Then do you know how his strength usually ranks within the training camp?"
"Uh, about that..."
Hearing this question, for some reason, the fan before them suddenly became hesitant, stammering, seeming to want to say something but holding back.
Luna was puzzled.
Could her guess have been correct?
Just then, another person standing beside the autograph-seeking fan spoke up, pointing towards a battle arena in the distance.
"You two... why don't you go take a look over there, then you'll know."
Bella and Luna had just lifted their heads to look in that direction...
When they saw a Pidgeotto with an agile figure fold its wings and dive down. Its speed was as swift as lightning, yet it moved with extraordinary flexibility, easily dodging a barrage of "Icicle Spear" attacks.
Then, upon reaching ground level, it abruptly spread its wings wide. Like a swordsman drawing their blade high, it used its wings as blades to instantly slash out a stunning arc of light, overcoming the type disadvantage to forcefully knock an Ice/Steel type Sandslash from a cold region down onto the ground!
The offensive maneuver, lasting only a brief instant, was a perfect combination of speed, technique, and power!
After winning this match, a young man standing beside the arena let out a challenging shout that seemed to have been suppressed for a long time.
"Heh! People like you are even worthy of looking down on Bro Arthur?"
(End of Chapter)
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