Chapter 101: First in the Group

Magnemite floated and moved through magnetic force. To bring her down, there was no need to strike her directly—simply disrupting the magnetic field in the vicinity would suffice.

Still paralyzed, Ralts sat on the ground. Locking onto Magnemite directly wasn't exactly easy in her condition, but releasing psychic energy toward the sky was well within her ability.

Psychic waves and magnetic fluctuations intermingled, their intensities evenly matched. In an instant, the magnetic field of that airspace was churned into utter chaos.

Severely wounded, Magnemite was ultimately half a beat too slow. By the time she tried to descend, she realized the magnetic field around her had already fallen into complete disarray.

The girl's movements grew unsteady. She struggled desperately to reclaim control of magnetism, but it was too late. All she could do was watch helplessly as her body plummeted like a kite with a severed string.

*THUD!*

The fall was brutal. Combined with her earlier injuries, Magnemite could no longer get back up.

Two minutes later, the referee finally blew the whistle.

"Magnemite is unable to battle! The victory goes to Ralts!"

The moment the whistle sounded, both sides rushed onto the field, urgently applying healing sprays to their Pokémon girls.

It wasn't until Magnemite slowly regained consciousness that Ling Wu finally let out a sigh of relief. He turned back to Tang Yi, unwilling to concede: "I lost unfairly. If we're talking about raw strength, I'm still a bit better than you. I just had bad luck, right?"

Tang Yi didn't deny it: "Fine, I'll admit that."

Ling Wu's face lit up with delight. Although any trash talk after the match was meaningless, it still offered some psychological comfort.

But Tang Yi wasn't finished. He added: "As the first-place winner of my group, I, Tang Yi, am willing to acknowledge that you are the strongest opponent I faced, second only to me!"

Ling Wu walked away expressionlessly. He had to admit—when it came to trash talk, he had truly met his match.

Leaving the arena, they headed straight for the medical room. This treatment session took longer than before. Ralts' injuries were the most severe she'd sustained so far—massive psychic exhaustion, skin badly damaged by electric-type moves, and a status condition to boot.

Half an hour later, Ralts finally emerged. Tang Yi confirmed with the doctor multiple times that there would be no lingering issues before he finally relaxed, taking Ralts by the hand and heading to the main hall.

He couldn't leave just yet. The first-place winners of all three groups had already been determined.

Next, officials from the Municipal Education Bureau presented certificates and prize money to the three qualifiers. After brief remarks from the leadership, the media took a group photo, followed by interviews.

"Don't be nervous in front of the cameras. They won't put you on the spot. Just say a few simple words—encourage your juniors to study hard and set a good example for them." The official smiled, giving them a subtle hint.

---

As always, there was an interview segment every year, since these three students were representing the entire city in the third round of the main tournament.

Following past tradition, each qualifier was asked only one or two questions—things like how they felt after advancing, what they wanted to say to the student body, or what secrets they had for raising Pokémon.

A few casual sentences were all that was needed. The reporters would do their own polishing back at the office anyway.

When it came to Tang Yi's turn, the reporter was about to ask her memorized questions when she suddenly felt the young man looked familiar. She furrowed her brow for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

"Hello, I'm a reporter from Qingjiang TV. I recall interviewing you at the very start of the second round. I asked you what your goal was for this selection tournament, and you answered that, on top of winning one match, you'd fight to become first in your group. Do you remember that?"

The reporter's voice carried the excitement of someone who'd just discovered a news scoop. A cookie-cutter story could never compete with the competition, after all. She'd start with a symbolic confirmation, at least.

Tang Yi blinked. "Did I say that? I don't recall."

The reporter's professional smile froze on her face. How could someone deny words that had already been spoken?

Having finally found material worth digging into, she wasn't about to let it slip away. This time she abandoned the questioning tone and spoke with certainty: "You said it. I interviewed quite a few people that day, but you left a deep impression on me—confident, handsome, and composed. I thought even then that you were someone special."

*If I flatter you like this, that should do it, right?*

Tang Yi smiled politely and courteously, but his tone remained firm: "I never said that."

"You did!"

"I didn't!"

"I have proof!" The reporter frantically searched her phone for the earlier interview footage. A few minutes later, she actually found it. "Look! Isn't this you? Everyone, take a look!" Triumphant, she turned the phone around so others could see it too. *Let's see how you wriggle out of this one.*

Tang Yi glanced at the video and knew it was definitely him. A headache was already forming. Fang Tianze had been right about one thing—these reporters really were insufferable.

Tang Yi coughed dryly, feigning surprise: "It does look quite a bit like me. Fine, I suppose that counts as something I said. Since the questions are done, may I take my leave now?"

"Wait! Please wait!" The reporter hastily blocked him. *Wow, trying to slip away on me? That's not even the question I wanted to ask.*

Other tournament staff members also looked impatient, finding the reporter rather annoying. Wouldn't it be nicer to wrap things up early and let everyone go home to rest?

"One last question—I just have one last question!" the reporter called out loudly.

---

"Then please make it quick." The accompanying official gave a forced smile.

The reporter looked at Tang Yi eagerly. "With the main tournament entering its final stage, what goal have you set for yourself?"

"Win my first match, then strive for the championship." Tang Yi answered without a moment's hesitation.

Having gotten the answer she wanted, the reporter was so excited she thanked him repeatedly. This was exactly what she needed. She'd already thought of a headline for her news piece—"Confidence or Arrogance?"

After the event concluded.

Tang Yi didn't linger. Knowing Ralts was thoroughly exhausted today, he planned to head straight home and rest. But Ralts grabbed his arm, her weary eyes gleaming with unconcealed brightness.

"What's wrong?"

Ralts blinked, saying nothing.

"Hungry?"

Ralts pressed her lips together, darting little glances at him, wearing an expression that said, *Guess again.*

Tang Yi was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly caught on and laughed: "Thirsty?"

Ralts grew a bit anxious, too embarrassed to speak up, and shot him another meaningful look. *Surely you get it now?*

Tang Yi continued playing dumb: "I don't understand sign language, you know."

"Th-then, that thing." Ralts finally couldn't hold it in any longer. She hooked her little finger and pointed at the large check in Tang Yi's hand.

Tang Yi found it both amusing and bewildering. Of course—this was what Ralts cared about.

He patted the girl's head. "Don't worry. The money I promised you won't be short."

After all, it was the driving motivation that had kept Ralts fighting this whole time.