Chapter 57: Brains over Brawn is Not Always the Way
Until the moment of his final defeat, the senior trainee from the youth training camp still felt a surge of disbelief.
He couldn't accept it!
He couldn't accept that his so-called powerful Grovyle hadn't really dealt much damage to the opponent until he fell.
His Grovyle was undoubtedly strong.
He had mastered many powerful moves such as "Leaf Blade," "Fury Cutter," "X-Scissor," and "Giga Drain," and he had rich combat experience, even his unarmed fighting skills were comparable to some Fighting-type Pokémon.
However, unfortunately, Pokémon duels were never a simple comparison of stats on paper.
He was too careless. His careless commanding at the beginning of the battle was a complete mess, and Arthur calmly seized on these mistakes, never giving him any chance to recover from the initial disadvantage.
In the end, Froakie used the Dark-type move "Night Slash" to critically hit Grovyle's right kidney for the nth time, finally causing the opponent to collapse, unable to continue.
After this match, the representative from the opposing agency remained silent for a long time.
The organizers on the side took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire.
"This Froakie knows quite a few moves."
Even though the other side knew the organizers had ulterior motives, they had to admit that Arthur's Froakie's move pool was indeed unlike that of an ordinary basic form Pokémon.
"How many courses did he actually buy in the youth training camp? Is he a tycoon or something? And why hasn't he evolved yet with such training?"
It should be said that Arthur's Pokémon training philosophy was different from that of most quick-succession-oriented trainees.
He wasn't in a hurry to use evolution to prematurely unlock the Pokémon's potential.
Perhaps this was the difference between long-term investment and short-term profit.
After one match, the other side became much more subdued.
Then, as Eleanor Vance had anticipated, even though he lost the duel, the opposing agency had no intention of withdrawing from the competition.
This was essentially a bidding process, and the organizers wouldn't allow only one candidate to remain. Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to set a good price.
However, this didn't mean the match was meaningless. At least during the subsequent negotiations, the losing side's tone involuntarily softened.
And even with the same bid from both agencies, Arthur's victory gave Eleanor Vance's side more confidence.
After some commercial maneuvering, Articuno Media successfully secured the program, while their competitors exchanged for other live stream projects.
With the project settled, Eleanor Vance was noticeably in a good mood.
This outcome was unexpectedly smooth.
She had originally thought that today's negotiations would be a fierce battle, but she never expected that Arthur would completely shatter the other side's morale right from the start.
After it was all over, she generously took the initiative to treat everyone to a big meal, taking Arthur and Justin with her.
On the way, she asked Arthur with considerable curiosity: "Your Froakie has improved so quickly. By the way, how did you manage to get the lowest ranking in the youth training camp?"
Arthur was momentarily at a loss for an answer.
"Well... there are some complex reasons."
Eleanor Vance glanced at him and said softly, "If it's because of financial difficulties, you can tell me beforehand."
As his manager, she wasn't obligated to do this, but just like when she lent Arthur money to buy Froakie, she had never been stingy with this kind of help.
Arthur was somewhat touched by this kindness, but he still declined.
"It's alright. Expenses were a bit high at first, but things will get better slowly."
Eleanor Vance looked at him in surprise.
This was quite different from what she knew.
Although she didn't know much about professional trainers, she had heard from many people that once you enter the youth training camp, it's like falling into a bottomless pit, and your savings are gone forever.
Shouldn't expenses only increase after entering the youth training camp? Because you need to buy new Pokémon, more and more courses, and increasingly expensive nutritional meals, and so on.
What did this kid mean by "things will get better slowly"?
Coincidentally, Eleanor Vance happened to see the teenager who had come with Arthur roll his eyes, but he remained silent and didn't argue.
Could it be that my common sense is outdated? For a moment, Eleanor Vance could only suspect herself.
After dinner, Arthur and Justin went back.
This live stream didn't require much preparation from them. The camera crew and support staff were all provided by the organizers and the media company. All they had to do was show up.
The next day, the two completed the leave procedures at the youth training camp and met Eleanor Vance at the high-speed rail station.
Next, they would take the high-speed rail to the coast and then take a ferry to the protected area.
On the way, Eleanor Vance also introduced them to some background information about this trip.
"This time we're going to the Crescent Bay Protected Area. The main Pokémon in charge there are Dragonite, Kingdra, and Milotic. Other common intelligent Pokémon include Golduck, Politoad, and Swampert. Remember, once you're in the protected area, never attack the young Pokémon of these intelligent species."
Pokémon all have a certain level of intelligence, but there's a significant difference in intelligence levels between different species.
Generally speaking, Dragon-type, Psychic-type, Fairy-type, and Ghost-type Pokémon have higher intelligence.
These Pokémon commonly act as leaders and diplomats in various nature reserves. They are responsible for communication, trade, and exchange with humans.
It could be said that with the help of humans, these highly intelligent Pokémon successfully escaped their original food chain and gained a higher status.
Pokémon like Golduck and Politoad aren't particularly strong. In the sea, they were originally no match for top predators like Gyarados and Sharpedo.
But unfortunately, the ferocious predators aren't necessarily smart.
This has led to a situation in the new era where Gyarados, Sharpedo, and other former apex predators have become the "vulnerable groups" in the protected areas, easily bullied.
"After entering the protected area, if you encounter attacks from ferocious Pokémon like Gyarados and Tentacruel, you are allowed to fight back freely, even killing them is fine. This is something humans and Pokémon agreed on when the protected area was opened, and they won't blame you for it, so you don't have to worry about that. But remember, never do anything dangerous to intelligent Pokémon."
In simple terms, it's okay to kill mindless Pokémon like Gyarados, as long as you don't actively hunt them in large numbers. Other Pokémon will turn a blind eye. But you absolutely cannot harm any Pokémon with high intelligence.
This undoubtedly proved the importance of brains once again.
So sometimes, trading intelligence for strength might not be the best choice.
Arthur recalled that in his time, when fighting near the sea, Gyarados were always used as expendable soldiers by the mythical beasts. Despite their considerable combat power, these ferocious predators were never qualified to be close attendants of the mythical beasts.
He never imagined that after two hundred years, the war had ended, the world had reconciled, but Gyarados still couldn't climb the social ladder...
Sigh.
Arthur silently mourned for these unintelligent, ferocious creatures for a second.
He also reminisced about the taste of grilled Gyarados meat.
As he remembered, the taste was quite good. Maybe he'd get lucky and have another chance to enjoy it on this trip.
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