Chapter 346: The Youngest Elite Four-Level Trainer
[Holy sh*t?!!!]
[Is this for real? Is that really Hikaru's Latias?]
[Five Master-level Pokémon, defeated with a single move? They couldn't even use their skills before getting wiped out?!]
[Wait, are you telling me this Latias is Elite Four-level now?]
[Good God, last time I saw this Latias, I just thought it was strong. I didn't know it was this strong!]
[Ugh, someone tell me where I can catch one of these... I need it!!]
[Nope, too cute and too strong. I want to cuddle it to sleep every night now...]
[I'm from Alto Mare! In our legends, Latias and Latios can even take human form! Hikaru... no way...]
The livestream chat completely derailed, the viewers chattering about everything under the sun.
It wasn't until Rotom broadcasted the Skyfall Treasure drop that the comments finally shifted back on topic.
[Here we go, first Skyfall Treasure of the day! This is always the most exciting part! Looks like Hikaru's aiming for it too!]
[Let's see who snatches it!]
[No talking, brothers — place your bets! Can Hikaru secure the treasure?]
[Betting now! Betting now!]
After a few minutes of frenzied polling,
the results froze at:
[Hikaru will get the treasure (24.8%) / Hikaru won't get the treasure (75.2%)]
——————————————
For official league-run livestreams open to the public,
viewers could actually send virtual gifts to the players they liked.
And of course,
the gifts were split 50-50 between the player and the League.
Given the enormous manpower and resources these tournaments consumed,
this system was a way for the League to recoup costs —
and for players, it meant extra incentives.
Back to the current situation:
A 25% chance was not bad at all.
Viewers had god's-eye perspective; they could estimate very accurately.
There were about twenty teams gathered around the Skyfall Treasure.
And even after seeing Latias obliterate five opponents,
people still weren't fully convinced —
because this time, it was a true free-for-all with dozens of opponents!
Meanwhile, in the Education Bureau's dedicated livestream room—
When everyone saw Latias use one wave of Psychic to instantly wipe out five Master-level Pokémon,
even the veteran officials couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
Last they remembered,
Hikaru's Latias wasn't even at Master level yet, right?
And yet now,
barely a few months later…
It looked almost... Elite Four-level.
The room fell silent for a while,
until someone finally turned toward the Youth League's chief supervisor and asked:
"Have all contestants been checked? Are you sure none of them brought hidden treasures or illegal enhancements?"
Sitting before the computer, the supervisor replied in a daze:
"Everything's been checked..."
In truth, these checks were largely symbolic.
Unless someone had a Champion-level Psychic-type Pokémon helping them,
there was no way to bypass the League's data inspections.
From Latias' current performance,
though it hadn't officially crossed into Elite Four rank yet—
it was already infinitely close.
Perhaps even stronger than some official Elite Four Pokémon.
Everyone here—
at minimum, high-level Elite Four trainers themselves—
could see the difference.
Take Gu Cheng for example:
The coach of Central Youth University sat there, mouth twitching,
staring at Latias like he had seen a ghost.
After a long moment, he finally squeezed out:
"Almost... almost Elite Four level...
This kid... might really become the youngest Elite Four trainer since the Pokémon Era began."
Since the dawn of the Pokémon Era—
the youngest recorded Elite Four trainer in Huaguo's history was Liang Yue.
Next came the current National Dragon-type Gym Leader, Ye Rong.
But even they had been over twenty years old at the time.
Hikaru, by contrast…
was only seventeen.
If he continued at this pace,
he would absolutely become Elite Four-level before turning twenty!
Compared to the High School League,
the officials cared even more about the Youth League.
Because the Youth League wasn't just kids fighting for fun—
these were the future pillars of Huaguo's Pokémon world.
To even enter the Youth League,
you had to already be a Master-level trainer under the age of twenty-four.
Meaning, every contestant here was essentially a rising star.
At this moment—
the door to the room suddenly opened.
An old man with a white long-sleeved robe and a neatly trimmed goatee walked in.
The instant he entered,
everyone stood up at once, bowing respectfully.
"Gong President..."
This was none other than Gong Hui,
the President of Huaguo's Pokémon League.
Despite his silver hair,
he still looked energetic and full of vitality at over eighty years old.
Normally, Gong Hui rarely involved himself in League affairs.
Routine matters were handled by the two Vice Presidents.
Incidentally,
one of those Vice Presidents was none other than former World Champion—
Lance.
Gong Hui quickly waved off the greetings and walked straight to the monitor showing Hikaru's livestream.
After watching for a bit, he couldn't help nodding repeatedly.
"Good, good, good!
This boy must be heavily nurtured!
Old Xie, don't let this treasure slip away.
Once the tournament ends, ask him what he wants — anything! Give it to him!"
"..."
Standing silently,
President Xie of Central Youth University finally nodded after a moment:
"Alright."
As if I had a choice...
You don't know how many Longspring Fruits this kid already took from my secret realm...
Gong Hui stared at Hikaru like he was looking at a priceless gem.
Then his eyes twinkled mischievously.
"Say... where's the Director of the Alchemy Bureau?"
Everyone looked at each other—
then shook their heads.
The Alchemy Bureau had nothing to do with today's broadcast.
"I'll head over there and check their treasure vault!"
"I'll see if there's anything good left!"
With that, Gong Hui left just as swiftly as he arrived.
The officials exchanged looks.
Clearly,
Gong Hui planned to personally gift Hikaru some rare treasures once the tournament ended.
Was he grooming Hikaru as the next heir...?!
The atmosphere became strange.
Everyone's gaze toward Hikaru, still on the monitor, subtly changed.
Just then—
they saw Hikaru command Latias to quietly glide toward the center of the islands.
"Mm, he's making his move!"
"And... wait—
it can turn invisible too?!"
Seeing Latias vanish into thin air even under dozens of eyes,
someone couldn't help exclaiming.
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