A look of realization appeared on Anna's face.
If that was the case, things would be a bit difficult!
If that Lucario truly possessed such an ability, then the illusion powers she and Zoroark took the most pride in would become useless.
Undoubtedly, the Trainer named Derick would be a formidable opponent for her.
Anna couldn't help but fall into deep thought, privately pondering a counter-strategy.
Draconis smiled and continued to look down at the Grand Arena.
The qualifiers were still ongoing; after the first match ended, the second round followed immediately.
Since the qualifier rules were 2v2 and each person was limited to using only two Pokémon, each match didn't take very long.
By the end of the morning, including the halftime break, the qualifiers were barely halfway through.
The final match of the morning was Anna versus Alex.
Draconis was very familiar with both of these Trainers.
One was his eldest disciple whom he had personally taught, and the other was a youth from the first batch to receive a starter Pokémon and become a Trainer.
The result of the match was no surprise; Anna ultimately secured the victory.
Alex's Emboar was toyed with by Anna's Zoroark using illusions.
Alex thus lost his eligibility for the competition, and in his sadness, he almost shed tears on the field.
Fortunately, after some consolation from Anna, Alex barely managed to accept it and decided to train hard and fight again next year.
In the afternoon, the second half of the qualifiers took place.
After Draconis finished his official duties, he hurried to the Grand Arena to watch with everyone.
Perhaps because their training time was too short, the overall strength of this batch of Trainers was not particularly powerful.
However, in this round, Draconis discovered an interesting young girl.
The girl's name was Koharu, and she came from Accumula Town.
Her opponent was Warren, a gentlemanly man from a prestigious noble family.
At the start of the match, Koharu sent out a Watchog, while Warren sent out a Delcatty.
The two sides engaged in a fierce cat-and-mouse battle, and ultimately, because they were evenly matched, both Pokémon lost their ability to battle simultaneously.
In the second round, Koharu sent out a Heracross.
Warren, on the other hand, sent out a Zebstrika that was flickering with lightning all over its body.
Just like the first match, the two sides engaged in an intense battle as soon as they took the field.
Amidst the collision of moves, the stamina of both Pokémon drained rapidly.
Eventually, Warren's Zebstrika seized an opportunity and sent Heracross flying with a lightning-fast attack.
Heracross fell to the ground, seemingly having lost its ability to battle; even the referee thought so.
Even Draconis initially thought the match was over.
Just as the referee was about to announce the result, the girl named Koharu suddenly shouted out:
"Heracross, if you win this battle, I'll use the rest of my pocket money to buy you ten jars of sweet honey when we get back!"
As her voice fell, the Heracross that had been lying on the ground unable to rise suddenly snapped its eyes open and looked at its Trainer inquiringly.
That look was as if it were asking, "Are you telling the truth?"
Koharu nodded vigorously: "That's right, as long as you win!"
Heracross was instantly revitalized as if it had been injected with adrenaline; it was filled with fighting spirit. Despite being covered in wounds, it endured Zebstrika's Thunder Shock and forced a come-from-behind victory using Horn Attack.
To the stunned expressions of Warren, the referee, and the audience, Zebstrika let out a cry of pain and then collapsed, losing its ability to battle.
Heracross turned back and called out to Koharu.
"Herac!"
Koharu looked helpless: "I know, I know, don't you worry!"
Having received a satisfactory answer, Heracross collapsed contentedly, closing its eyes with a peaceful expression.
The entire arena fell silent!
After a long while, the referee blankly raised the flag in his hand and announced the result of the match.
"Zebstrika is unable to battle. The winner of this qualifier is Koharu from Accumula Town!"
Draconis: "..."
This should also count as a kind of bond between humans and Pokémon, right?
Probably?
*
At five o'clock in the afternoon, the qualifiers for the first Pokémon League of the Unova Kingdom concluded perfectly.
The thirty-nine advancing contestants would begin a new round of competition at the Grand Arena the day after tomorrow.
Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, Draconis quietly returned to the castle.
Not long after, Alfred also walked in with a joyful face.
"Prince Draconis, this competition is extremely popular among the citizens! Every match in the Grand Arena was packed to capacity. When I was out traveling today, I could hear people by the roadside discussing the competition and the contestants!"
Since the founding of the Eindoak Kingdom, there had never been such a grand occasion.
This caused the Old Butler to feel incredibly astonished in his heart.
Hearing this, Draconis smiled: "This is only the beginning. Once this tournament ends, even more people will choose to become Trainers. By this time next year, Nimbasa City will be even more lively."
"It's truly incredible!" Alfred couldn't help but murmur.
Draconis glanced at his Lord's Panel.
The cultural aspect of the Unova Kingdom was flourishing. This highly anticipated Pokémon competition provided his subjects with spiritual satisfaction.
This wave alone brought him nearly five hundred thousand satisfaction points.
"Tsk, it seems that for some people, the fulfillment of spiritual needs is far more important than material ones!" Draconis sighed softly.
He opened the Tech Tree.
With the unification of the country and the increase in the number of subjects, almost every day brought him a large amount of satisfaction points.
During this period, he had unlocked almost all the technologies of the Industrial Age.
And the next technologies were...
Draconis turned his gaze toward the technologies waiting to be unlocked.
[Generator: A Generator manufactured based on the power generation principles of Electric-type Pokémon. Cost: 300,000 satisfaction points.]
[Electric Light: A tool used for lighting that requires electricity as an energy source. Cost: 50,000 satisfaction points.]
Gazing at these technologies, Draconis narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
He discovered that the electrical technology of the Pokémon world was very different from the electrical technology of his previous life.
Electricity had already existed since the dawn of this world, and almost every Electric-type Pokémon stored a large amount of electricity within its body.
It was just that the humans of this era had not yet thought of ways to utilize them.
This meant that in terms of researching electrical technology, they could skip many steps, jumping directly from the Steam Age to the Electrical Age, achieving cross-era development.
"A container for electricity..."
In Draconis's mind, an image surfaced from the anime of the Pikachu wheel Generator Ash encountered at a Pokémon Center.
It was somewhat similar to a hamster wheel Generator, generating electricity through the collective discharge of Pikachus.
In fact, even in modern times, many power plants would use the power of Electric-type Pokémon to generate electricity.
For a Pokémon like Electivire, just one could provide all the electricity needed for a large city's buildings for an entire year.
"Creatures like Pokémon are truly incredible!"
....
Power Stones PlZZZZ
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