bookmarkrole Chapter 516 The Master Tournament Begins, Xia Chi VS Gadalia!
Chapter 516 The Master Tournament Begins, Xia Chi VS Gadalia!
Chapter 516 The Ten Masters Tournament Opens, Xia Chi VS Gadria!
Time quickly moved to the next day.
On July 1, 226 of the League Calendar, the Alola region hosted a grand event for battle enthusiasts from all over the world: the Ten Masters Tournament.
Although today is just the qualifying round, it does not dampen the audience's enthusiasm at all.
In fact, saying "has no impact whatsoever" is an overly conservative description.
The pre-sale data was clearly laid out there. The moment the online ticketing system put the qualifying round tickets up for sale in the background, the server crashed. It took the technical team, consisting of multiple Rotoms and 3D dragons, a full seven minutes to get it back up.
Before the match, a ticket for a regular spectator area was already being resold for 100,000 League Coins on the Magikarp secondhand trading platform.
The premium is more than twenty times, and there is no market for it even though it is priced.
Those lucky enough to buy tickets at the original price through official channels posted screenshots of their e-tickets on social media, and the comments section was filled with "Please, please sell them? The price is negotiable."
Among those who spoke were many well-known trainers who had won awards in regional competitions.
The VIP viewing area goes without saying; it's an astronomical figure that most ordinary viewers can't even imagine.
But ultimately only tens of thousands of tickets were available for the event.
The Royal Dome Arena, including the temporary expansion of the stands, has a total seating capacity of just over 40,000.
These 40,000+ seats are but a drop in the ocean when placed in a live-streamed event broadcast worldwide.
Most people who are interested in this match can only watch it online.
At this very moment, the official live stream of the Alola League Masters Tournament has already surpassed ten million viewers.
This number doesn't seem exaggerated; a regular season game in a top league can easily reach the millions.
However, this occurred when there were multiple other streamers sharing the content.
Pokémon battle streamers from various regions, as well as some well-known retired trainers, are broadcasting commentary on their respective channels, diverting viewers from the official live stream to different corners of various platforms.
For example, the number of online viewers in the live stream of a certain former popular idol streamer from Padia, now one of the Four Heavenly Kings, is in no way inferior to that of the official live stream.
"Aloha, everyone! This is Qishu Qishu's channel! I'll be spending the next month with you all throughout the entire Masters Tournament!"
In a hotel room in Hao'ao City, Qi Shu, now dressed in a tropical outfit, waves and greets the camera.
Today she wore a light green tank top with an Alora palm tree silhouette printed on it, and a fresh frangipani flower in her hair, the pale yellow of the flower's center complementing her hair color.
The backdrop is the floor-to-ceiling window of the hotel room, which offers a perfect view of the Royal Dome Arena's dome, which undulates like silver waves, and the dense crowd below, queuing like ants to enter.
The sudden return of Qishu after several months caused a flood of comments on the screen.
The bullet comment bar on the right side of the live stream seemed to be on fast forward, with countless colorful texts scrolling upwards at a dazzling speed.
The number of comments in the upper right corner jumped from four digits to five digits within five seconds after Qishu finished greeting him, and then continued to climb.
[Shubao looks so beautiful today! I'm drooling! ~ Slurp~]
[Has Treebo suddenly appeared in Alola? Why isn't it watching the matches live? Why is it staying in the hotel?]
[Holy crap! Are those tickets even achievable? I saw yesterday that they were being resold for 20 yen a ticket on the Magikarp platform! I can't even afford a seat with a year's salary, it's outrageous!]
[20 - No 10,000?]
[What are you thinking? It's definitely 200,000! Do you think you're watching a regional league qualifier? This is the Masters 10 tournament. I checked the historical data, and the VIP area price in the main tournament last year was only about this much. Now the qualifiers have already skyrocketed to this level!]
[Just kidding, would Shubao not go because the ticket price is too expensive? He's definitely going to watch the game with us during the live stream!]
Tree Treasure is so good to us, waaaaah~
[Hey streamer, you're so good, why don't you go participate in the Top Ten Masters Tournament and make a name for yourself? Instead, you're holed up in your little streamer watching the games with us! (Magneto winks.jpg)]
The paid comment, with its bold gold border, floated across the center of the comment bar, lingering for a full three seconds longer than regular comments, making it hard to ignore.
When Qi Shu saw this comment, a hint of helplessness appeared on his face.
"Please, everyone participating in this competition is one of the strongest trainers from their respective regional leagues! I'm just an ordinary Elite Four member, am I supposed to go up there and embarrass myself?"
She spoke with a slight upward inflection at the end of her sentences, carrying a signature cute tone.
The comments section immediately responded.
[What happened to the Elite Four? There's also a complete amateur trainer from the Eastern Empire who's not even a Gym Leader participating!]
[Hahaha +1, Xia Chi: Just give me my ID number!]
Strictly speaking, Xia Chi is indeed an amateur trainer. LOL, he's not even an official professional trainer of the Eastern Alliance, right? Someone checked the official website before, and couldn't find him.
[The strongest amateur in history, no arguments allowed!]
Strange Tree:
""
Strictly speaking, Xia Chi did not hold any official position in any regional alliance.
Qishu knew that the comment was a joke, so he simply ignored it and turned his attention to another comment.
[Host, host, in this match between Xia Chi and Gadalia, who do you think has the better chance?]
Kiju tilted his head, thought for less than half a second, and then said without hesitation, "Don't ask, the answer is that Mizuya-sensei will definitely win!"
Although Xia Chi almost never uses the ID "Shui Ye" for live streaming anymore, Qi Shu still calls him that.
This is also a little bit of tacit understanding between the two.
The live chat exploded with comments.
[The Ike no Kishi pairing is so sweet!]
[The strange tree drinks from the pond, and the pond absorbs the tree sap in summer~ (Growlithe head.jpg)]
[To be honest, even putting aside personal biases, Gadriya is no match for Xia Chi unless she personally intervenes, hahaha!]
[So it really is, a psychic-type humanoid mythical beast just messing with you?]
[No way! Prisoner's Aura is incredibly powerful too, you know. That day, when she and Calyrex fought their way out of the Ultra Beast horde, it was so cool!]
[Holy crap, you're really daring! Xia Chi and King Lei Guan fought their way out of the encirclement? Uncle Zilong and I fought our way in and out of the chaotic army seven times, right?]
[Hahaha, it's true!]
Amidst a cheerful atmosphere in the live chat, the screen switched back to a panoramic view of the Royal Dome Arena.
The colossal building, which lay like a silver seashell on the coastline, gleamed in the morning sun at 10 a.m.
A huge four-color circular screen hangs in the center of the dome, displaying photos of all the contestants and highlights of the day.
In a slow-motion replay of Dr. Kukui's Incineroar delivering a stunning final blow to its opponent in a match, the entire arena erupted in cheers as the flames exploded on the screen.
At the Unova Champions coronation ceremony, Gadria's misty purple eyes gleamed unrealistically under the lights.
Finally, there's Xia Chi.
The image freezes on him standing at the bow of the speedboat, with Rashiram's silhouette spread behind him. That shot was captured by the team of photographers who shot the tree owl during that epic battle.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in Rahiram's wings, gilding him with a golden edge. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, carrying a calm smile that remained even in the face of life and death.
The loudest cheers of the day erupted from the stands.
After that brief period of commotion, the main arena of the Royal Dome suddenly went dark.
The audience's voices also suddenly dropped, turning from a roar to whispers.
The air inside the stadium seemed to freeze, with only the breathing of tens of thousands of people rising and falling in the darkness.
Because everyone knows that this means the competition is about to begin.
Inside the Royal Dome Arena, the lights suddenly came on ten seconds after they had been off.
In an instant, the entire venue was bathed in the intense light of day.
At the same time, a deafening cheer erupted from the audience.
Because from the player tunnels on both sides, the two absolute protagonists of today's battle emerged.
Summer Pond.
Cattleya.
Two rotating Rotom cameras follow the two people in real time, with the focus rings rotating silently to capture every subtle expression of their faces.
Their images appeared on the large screen in the dome.
Both of them looked relaxed and not nervous at all.
Xia Chi goes without saying.
We've fought so many God Battles already, what's there to be nervous about when battling a Trainer?
Even if her opponent is Gadriya, the Unova Psychic Queen, whose strength is perhaps only below Cynthia and Leon.
While waiting to go on stage in the player tunnel, he even took the time to send a message to the Crested King, asking if its view of the live stream was clear.
The Queen of the Crowns didn't come to the event with him today; instead, she stayed at home on the sofa, saying, "I don't want to be crammed together with tens of thousands of noisy humans."
In reality, Xia Chi suspected that it simply wanted to use the 65-inch TV in the living room to watch ultra-high-definition live broadcasts.
As for Gadriya... facing an opponent like Xia Chi, it's impossible for her not to feel pressure.
However, she has always been rather aloof, and since the time of the Four Heavenly Kings, she has been known as the "Ice Beauty" in various media outlets of the United States Alliance.
The photos of Cattleya taken by reporters almost all showed her with the same expression: slightly pursed lips and lowered purple eyes, as if she were forever living in her own tranquil world built by her superpowers.
In addition, she didn't care much about winning or losing a particular match, so she wasn't nervous at all.
The referee for this match is Hara, one of the four kings of the Alola region's four islands.
The island king, who was over sixty years old, slowly walked to the center of the field.
He was quite robust for his age, and his dark brown skin was etched with the lines of the Alora sun and sea wind.
He wore the traditional battle robe passed down through generations of island kings, with the orange-red main material embroidered with the golden totem of Mela Mela Island, and the wide sleeves swayed gently in the sea breeze.
As the island king who also serves as one of the Alola League's Elite Four, Hala's weight and influence in the Alola region are self-evident.
His appointment as referee for this match demonstrates the importance the Alora League places on this highly anticipated opening game.
The playing field for this match was quite ordinary, a basic rocky surface.
Hala stood in the center of the vast rocky arena, with a unique Alola Pokémon dressed as a bear standing beside him.
The bear-clad creature stood quietly beside the island king, its fluffy pink body standing out starkly against the gray tones of the rocky arena.
But Xia Chi was deeply impressed by this elf.
It had such a strong presence in the Sun & Moon anime that fans affectionately called it "Bear God".
However, the intensity of today's matches is definitely at the championship level or higher.
Having this bear-clad figure ensure Hala's safety... that's not necessarily a guarantee.
But then Xia Chi thought about it again and realized that she was overthinking it.
Hala is a veteran top-tier trainer, one of the few at the very top of the Alola trainer pyramid. For him to worry about safety issues while acting as a referee is a bit of an overreaction.
The noise at the scene gradually subsided.
Hala stood in the center of the field, his gruff voice echoing throughout the arena: "This match will use the World Pokémon Association's six-on-six general rules, allowing one Mega Evolution and one Crystallization. In addition, each player is allowed to use one Z-Move."
The moment the rules were read out, a huge noise suddenly erupted from the audience.
Although many people guessed that the Masters Tournament would be the stage for the debut of Z-Move, the timing of yesterday's explosive news release was too subtle.
But when Hala confirmed the news himself, it still stirred people's emotions.
Since the name of the Z-Move was announced yesterday, no one knows anything about it except for those few words.
What form of attack is it?
How powerful is it?
How much of a burden does it place on Pokémon and trainers?
Can it be protected or seen through?
There is no answer to any of the questions.
Everyone is eagerly anticipating how it will perform.
"Then, let the competition begin!"
Hala's loud voice rang out from the battlefield.
He swung his right hand down suddenly, the wide sleeves of his battle robe fluttering in the wind.
Almost simultaneously, Xia Chi and Gadria threw out Poké Balls.
To be precise, Xia Chi threw the object normally. As for Gadalia, the super-powered queen didn't make any physical movements, but a burst of white light suddenly exploded in the air about a meter in front of her.
"It's you I've chosen, Zhenyifa!"
"6
""
Unlike Xia Chi, Gadriya didn't passionately shout, "I choose you!"
She merely raised her chin slightly, her misty purple eyes calmly gazing ahead, but her Poké Ball had already responded.
The moment the white light exploded in front of her, a tall and elegant black shadow emerged from it.
Miss Gothic.
Its black body, resembling a Gothic evening gown, stood out against the gray background of the rocky terrain, with four slender yet powerful limbs extending from beneath its skirt-like form.
"Wings flapping, a provocation!"
Before the light emanating from the Poké Ball had even completely faded, Xia Chi gave the first command.
Sister Fa's crimson eyes suddenly focused the moment the command arrived.
Its wings suddenly unfurled behind it, and then a dark beam of energy shot out from the direction it was gazing at!