The half mil had barely warmed his pocket before 320,000 had already been spent, which was enough to show just how costly it was to raise Pokémon. Combined with the more than 20,000 Pokédollars Tetsuya still had on him and the more than 20k Catherine had left, the two of them divided the remaining money. Keeping it all on one person was not safe.
As a result, Tetsuya and Catherine split the cash evenly, each receiving a little over 110,000 Pokédollars.
In truth, when two people traveled together, regardless of whose contribution was greater or smaller, as long as they were a team, any money-related matters had to be divided equally. Only then could a team last. Otherwise, breaking apart would be inevitable.
Tetsuya also took this opportunity to divide the money because he had a feeling that Catherine was now focused entirely on the revenge involving her family in Sinnoh. If he waited until the day she decided to leave before giving her money, then given her personality, she would definitely refuse to accept it.
It was better to use this opportunity to divide their money now. If it was only used for food and daily living expenses, 110,000 Pokédollars could still last for quite some time. Besides, with Catherine's capacities, earning money was not difficult at all.
---◓---
They finally arrived at Rikishii Town, an old-looking town filled with traditional charm. It was already packed with people, which clearly demonstrated just how valuable King's Rock was.
Tetsuya immediately went to the registration office and signed up. After undergoing a series of inspections, Golurk's weight and body size were both found to meet the requirements, and the registration process went smoothly.
There was still one week before the official start of the competition. The next step was adapting to this special style of battle.
Although Golurk was a Ghost-type Pokémon, making Normal- and Fighting-type moves ineffective against it, the competition was designed to be fair. Therefore, Golurk was required to compete under the effects of Foresight.
Because the Pokémon Sumo Conference did not allow special attacks or long-range moves, offensive moves were heavily restricted. Furthermore, the battlefield was very small, rendering speed-oriented Pokémon virtually useless.
The competition tested pure strength and the techniques that could be displayed within such a confined space. Naturally, the most commonly used method was borrowing an opponent's force and turning it against them.
This style of competition meant that most participating Pokémon were power-oriented Pokémon, with Fighting-types making up the majority. If Golurk were not competing under the effects of Foresight, the competition itself would lose its meaning.
Even so, Tetsuya had great confidence in winning the championship. Golurk possessed an imposing physique, and it was difficult for ordinary Pokémon to push it even slightly, let alone force it out of bounds.
Moreover, Golurk had already unlocked six layers of energy and possessed astonishing strength. Combined with its Iron Fist Ability, it feared no power-oriented Pokémon.
At present, it was impossible to rent a place to stay in Rikishii Town, and every inn was already fully occupied. Tetsuya had no choice but to follow the crowds and set up a tent on the outskirts of town.
After setting up a tent on the grassland outside the town, Tetsuya drew a circle according to the dimensions of the Sumo Conference dohyō. The first step was helping Golurk adapt to the ring. It could only use moves within such a limited space, and naturally, only close-range physical moves were allowed.
The key was also controlling its footwork. For a Pokémon like Golurk, which normally exhibited an overwhelmingly dominant battle style, this restriction was incredibly frustrating. If it was not careful, one foot would step outside the ring.
After two consecutive days of training, Golurk still could not guarantee that both of its feet would remain inside the ring during every practice session. This made all of its companions training nearby anxious on its behalf.
Left with no other choice, Tetsuya decided to simplify things. Golurk would stand in the center of the ring, and its feet were not allowed to move at all. Only its arms could move. With Golurk's strength, there was nothing that could not be solved with one punch. If there was, then two punches would do it…
From then on, Golurk's training consisted of standing in place and practicing various punching techniques.
Starting from the third day, Golurk's training finally got on the right track. Like all the other Pokémon, it drank a cup of Miltank's milk in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. Then, under the effects of Miltank's Helping Hand, it carried out physical training.
Slowbro naturally continued its daily duties as the supervisor…
The ones suffering the most were Mamoswine and Golurk.
With the Macho Brace equipped, Mamoswine felt as though a thousand-pound burden was weighing down its body. Training was already difficult enough, but with Miltank's Helping Hand keeping its training intensity at a high level, it ended every session collapsed on the ground. However, the training results were unquestionably the most obvious.
As for Golurk, it stood in place without moving its feet, continuously throwing long punches. Sometimes it simply could not resist moving its feet slightly to follow its rhythm. Fortunately, this was not a major issue, since the movement only occurred near its original position and followed the rhythm of its arms.
---◓---
After a full week of training, Golurk had basically adapted to this style of battlefield.
The competition officially began. There were a total of three hundred competitors participating. The preliminary round was divided into groups, with five competitors per group. In other words, every participant had to fight four battles.
Only one person from each group could qualify, meaning that after the first round of group matches, only sixty competitors would remain out of the original three hundred.
The group stage was held over two days.
On the first day of the group stage, Golurk's opponent was a Machoke.
Machoke charged toward Golurk and used Karate Chop. Under normal circumstances, Golurk would not have paid any attention to such a move. However, because it was competing under the effects of Foresight today, it had no choice but to take it seriously.
Before Tetsuya even had a chance to speak, Golurk threw a Fire Punch with one fist and a Thunder Punch with the other. As both fists struck out, Machoke was sent flying out of the ring.
"…"
Machoke's Trainer looked completely bewildered. The match had already ended before it had truly begun. The referee merely waved his flag. He did not even have time to announce the result. It had ended far too quickly.
The second opponent was an Ursaring. Golurk used Dynamic Punch, immediately leaving Ursaring confused. Staggering back and forth, it wandered out of the dohyō and was eliminated.
The two opponents on the second day were merely appetizers for Golurk. It directly transformed into a One-P*nch M*n. In both matches, a single punch sent the opponent flying out of the ring. Simple and brutal, it left even the referee dumbfounded.
The third day's competition was the round of sixty to thirty.
By now, Golurk had completely adapted to this type of battlefield. Standing firmly in the ring without moving, it already placed enormous pressure on its opponents.
This time, its opponent was a Golem that weighed three hundred kilograms!
The Golem's Trainer smiled slightly. During the group stage, Tetsuya had attracted far too much attention, so it was inevitable that people had begun studying and targeting him. This Golem's Trainer was one of them.
Wasn't Golurk supposed to be incredibly strong? Wasn't it a On*-Punch M*n that sent every opponent flying with a single blow? Then let's see what kind of strength it had when facing a Golem with such tremendous weight, and whether it could still send an opponent like that flying!