Pokémon: Start with an Admiral Crab!

"The sandstorm has finally disappeared. What's the situation on the field?!"

The sandstorm not only obscured the players’ vision, but also deprived the commentators and spectators of the viewing experience.

As the sandstorm dissipated.

The Windspeed Dog who was blocking the entrance of the cave and burning fire finally fell down.

"Wind Speed ​​Dog!"

Before the referee made his decision, Sosuke had already rushed off the field.

"Windspeed...are you okay?"

Sosuke dug out the wind speed dog buried under the sand with his bare hands.

"Woah..."

The wind speed dog, who fell down due to exhaustion, rested his head on Sosuke's arms and slowly opened his eyes.

Sosuke half-knelt on the ground, forcing a smile.

"That's enough... you should rest first!"

Reaching out and brushing off the sand on the dog's head, Sosuke put it back into the Poké Ball.

"Oh? Sosuke ran onto the field, which also means..."

The situation on the field is already very clear, the commentator is just waiting for the referee's final confirmation.

Beep——!

The last light on the screen behind Sosuke went out.

"Arcane is down - the winner of the Fire Field is player Yao from the red team!"

The commentator's high-pitched voice echoed throughout the venue.

"Cough cough..."

Wang Yao brushed the sand off his head, shook his shirt, and walked off the stage.

"come back!"

The Poké Ball aimed at Steelix's head poking out from the ground and shot a red beam of light to take it back.

Rumble——!

Without the support of the Steelix, a large pit collapsed in the middle of the venue.

Only the hole entrance, which was sintered into pottery by the wind speed dog's fire, was still hanging above the pit.

"It's really amazing... Wind Speed's flame."

Wang Yao raised his foot and stepped on the clay ground.

"You are the strongest opponents I have ever met in the knockout rounds."

Pulling Cang Jie up from the ground, Wang Yao spoke frankly.

"...Now I just hope that I lost to the champion."

Sosuke brushed the sand off his knees, looked at the deep hole in the ground and sighed.

"Wow~ Don't put too much pressure on me~"

Wang Yao spread his hands with an exaggerated expression.

"Ah……"

The two smiled at each other and stretched out their right hands.

Witnessed by the audience, the two players shook hands in a friendly manner.

"I want to ask you a favor..."

Sosuke finally opened his mouth and asked.

"and many more--!"

Wang Yao raised his left wrist and checked the time on the communicator on his wristwatch.

"Will tea time be enough for you to finish the cutscene?"

In fact, Wang Yao didn't need Cangjie to say anything, he knew at a glance - this guy in front of him, from his name to his personality... is definitely an NPC with a story.

"Let's go, eat and talk - it's my treat!"

Wang Yao put his hand on Cang Jie's shoulder and pulled him off the field.

"Eh?"

Cangjie was a little uncomfortable with Wang Yao's familiarity.

The knockout rounds are over, and the round of 16 will have to wait until a week later.

He has plenty of time.

……

"Hello, I want a coconut milk pudding and mango smoothie!"

After finding an empty seat in the venue's restaurant and sitting down, Wang Yao raised his hand and called out to the waitress at the front desk.

The match in the Fire Arena was really too taxing on the trainer... He needed to replenish the icy energy in his body.

"What are you having—ice cream or juice?"

Taking a tissue and wiping the dishes on the table, Wang Yao looked up and asked Cangjie.

"Um...I can do anything."

Sosuke shrank into his seat and scratched his head, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"—Another serving of sea salt ice cream and fruit soda, please!"

Wang Yao ordered a thirst-quenching ice-cold meal for Cangjie.

……

"So... you are participating in the competition to protect the environment of Black Cloud City?"

Wang Yao scooped a spoonful of pudding and piled it on top of the mango smoothie.

An ordinary ranger can make it to the fifth knockout round...

This guy doesn't seem to be simple either.

"That's right. The industrial area in Heiyun City is polluting the environment too seriously..."

Sosuke put down the juice soda in his hand and said worriedly.

"Not only are people in the city slowly moving away, but even the Pokémon have been fleeing the polluted forests around them."

"I had planned to go on the national stage and appeal to the public for the alliance to pay attention to the situation in Black Cloud City..."

What Sosuke carries is not the commitment and emotions of his family or friends, but the concern for the natural environment of his hometown.

Although the knockout rounds will be broadcast live, it will only be for those players who have particularly outstanding performances.

If other people want to show their faces, they can basically only appear in the edited and exciting game footage...

Only after entering the top 16 can you get live broadcast nationwide.

“Environmental protection—leave it to me!”

The aura of political correctness around Cang Jie was so dazzling that Wang Yao could hardly open his eyes.

Wang Yao had already been on the cover of a trainer magazine for his crackdown on the Hunter Organization, and now he had given himself an environmentalist buff...

——Isn’t it invincible? !

"really?"

Wang Yao is recognized as the favorite to win the championship, and Cangjie was very excited to get his promise.

"Aww——!"

On Wang Yao's spoon was a layer of smoothie, a layer of mango, a layer of pudding, and a layer of coconut milk...

The complex dessert building was stacked together tremblingly, and then was eaten by Wang Yao like a monster!

"……Cool!"

The taste of smoothie and pudding goes very well together...

The sweet taste of coconut milk and mango quickly spreads in your mouth.

"Ayao—you actually sneaked in to eat dessert!"

Wang Yao's Shizuka radar was suddenly awakened...

He felt the resentment coming from the nurse who had been busy all morning.

"Ahem—!"

Wang Yao immediately sat up straight.

"You damned—uh, who is this?"

Just as Shizuka was about to lose her temper, she saw Sosuke sitting on the sofa opposite Wang Yao with his back to her.

"Let me introduce you. This is Sosuke, the forest ranger from Kurokumo City - my opponent in the last match."

Wang Yao pulled Shizuka to sit next to him and introduced her seriously.

"Forest ranger? It would be hard to participate in the competition part-time, right?"

Shizuka's tone was as gentle as a nurse working at a Pokémon Center.

“It’s…it’s okay!”

Sosuke nervously picked up the juice soda and took a sip.

……

"Black Cloud City...I seem to have heard of it?"

Shizuka took half of Wang Yao's pudding for herself and recalled while holding the spoon in her mouth.

"Besides some processing plants - there are also tidal power plants built on the seashore there, right?"

The Joeys are very well-informed, Shizuka recalled what she had seen and heard at previous family gatherings.

"Yes, the tidal power plant in Kurokumo City is the largest power plant in the entire Kanto region!"

Sosuke perked up. He didn't expect that Joey from Vermilion City knew the situation in his hometown.

“I didn’t expect the pollution to be so serious…Ayao, can you really help?”

Shizuka looked at some photos of the environmental damage to her hometown that Sosuke had prepared in advance, and asked Wang Yao with some concern.

“——Who do you think I am?!”

Wang Yao crossed his arms and said confidently.

"I am Professor Oak's special envoy. With the influence of the professor, it is not a problem to raze Black Cloud City and rebuild it!"

A Yao has no other special abilities except that he has a wide network of contacts!

As for the reconstruction project... Wang Yao just happened to know some friends who were good at building overseas bases.