The Hottest Favorite for This Year's Elite Four Preliminaries?**
The Elite Four Preliminaries were held once a year—
the opening act to the true Elite Four Challenge.
Because the Donghuang League placed extremely strict requirements on its Elite Four,
not every Five-Star Professional Trainer was qualified to challenge them.
Before facing a reigning Elite Four member,
one had to first pass through the Elite Four Preliminaries.
To outsiders, the preliminaries sounded mysterious and prestigious.
After all—
They were never broadcast publicly.
But in reality, the format was brutally simple.
Each participant was only allowed to send out one Pokémon,
and that Pokémon must not exceed King-tier.
All participating Five-Star Trainers were then thrown into a chaotic melee.
Whoever could survive to the very end—
with stamina and combat capability intact—
would earn the right to officially challenge the Elite Four.
Ethan had already made his intentions clear.
He wanted to become an Elite Four member—
And then, at the end-of-year Champion Challenge,
stand on the battlefield opposite his father, Victor Stone.
Victor remembered that very clearly.
So he had registered Ethan for this year's preliminaries long ago.
With only three days remaining before the competition began,
Victor naturally called to inform him.
Ethan wasn't surprised in the slightest.
After packing his things and calling his partners together,
he returned to Donghuang Academy's capital—Kyoto.
When Gao Bing learned that Ethan had requested leave
to participate in the Elite Four Preliminaries,
his first reaction was shock.
After all—
In the entire history of Donghuang Academy,
no student had ever entered the Elite Four Preliminaries.
But after thinking about Ethan's strength…
Gao Bing immediately felt it was only natural.
Not only did he approve the leave,
he even encouraged Ethan and wished him early success.
In his eyes, Ethan entering the preliminaries was practically a formality.
Back in Kyoto, Ethan reunited with his father.
Victor looked relaxed and energetic.
The reason was simple—
Thanks to Ethan's help, the overall strength of Victor's Pokémon team
had risen dramatically.
Recent missions had become far easier.
With less pressure, his mental state had improved as well.
Seeing his son return, Victor smiled broadly.
"So, Ethan,"
"How confident are you this time?"
Ethan laughed.
"Dad, isn't that question a little insulting?"
"Your son here has Totem-tier Pokémon, you know."
"And after all that special training, my team's strength skyrocketed."
"The preliminaries?"
"They're basically a free win."
Victor chuckled.
"Haha, confidence is good."
"But don't underestimate this year's preliminaries."
"Besides you, every other participant is someone who's been bottlenecked for years,
staking everything on this last shot at the Elite Four."
"People like Sun Lin and Zhao Yu—
they're not easy opponents."
Ethan's smile faded slightly.
Those two names were anything but ordinary.
Sun Lin,
leader of the national-level Bug Valley Gym,
was a legendary figure among Bug-type specialists.
Despite being a veteran Five-Star Trainer,
he was only in his early forties.
Bug-types were widely considered the weakest attribute in the world.
Yet Sun Lin had carved out a path entirely his own.
He was the first person in history
to discover that Beedrill could Mega Evolve.
He later confirmed Mega Evolution in Pinsir, Heracross, and Scizor as well.
Rumor had it that Sun Lin had cultivated six King-tier Bug Pokémon—
and openly aimed to become the world's first Bug-type Elite Four.
As for Zhao Yu—
She was one of Donghuang's rare natural psychics.
Among officially acknowledged psychics in the league,
there were only two.
Zhao Yu, and the former Psychic Gym Leader Wang Yuan,
who had long since retired to a reclusive life.
At only thirty-two,
Zhao Yu was the youngest national-level Gym Leader in Donghuang history.
Her goal was simple—
Break Li Yao's record
and become the youngest Elite Four member in the world.
Hearing all this, Ethan finally understood something.
The Elite Four Preliminaries might be called preliminaries—
But they were anything but easy.
Especially since the rules restricted Pokémon to King-tier and below.
The purpose was clear.
To prevent unqualified trainers from borrowing overwhelming Pokémon
to seize Elite Four positions without merit.
In the past, before these rules existed,
Donghuang had suffered from more than a few hollow Elite Four members—
Some had even sold league interests to foreign alliances.
That was unacceptable.
Only after Zuo Shenghui took office
and carried out sweeping reforms
did the league regain its vitality and rise again.
That night, as Ethan and Victor discussed potential opponents—
At the Donghuang League headquarters,
Zuo Shenghui reviewed the participant list and smiled.
"So… Ethan really did choose to enter this year."
Beside him, Li Yao nodded.
"That kid is terrifying."
"At his rate of growth, six months is more than enough time."
"Did you hear?"
"At the White Elephant Alliance exchange, his Garchomp crushed the entire field."
No one objected.
They had all witnessed Ethan's strength firsthand.
Still, one calm female voice spoke up.
"Left Elder," she said softly,
"Ethan may be strong, but isn't it too soon to let him step into the Elite Four?"
It was Situ Xianglan.
She was the same age as Victor—
and one of the league's most dedicated Elite Four members.
Her concern was simple.
The Elite Four held enormous authority.
Ethan was too young.
What if impulsiveness caused problems?
Before Zuo Shenghui could respond,
a burly man with a thick beard laughed loudly.
"What's wrong, Xianglan?"
"Worried about Victor's son already?"
It was Xie Di,
the oldest Elite Four member this year—and the one scheduled to accept challengers.
Zuo Shenghui smiled faintly.
"If Ethan truly defeats Xie Di," he said calmly,
"we'll grant him the title—but delay the transfer of authority."
"He doesn't care about administration anyway."
"And who knows…"
"Maybe this year's preliminaries are just the opening act."
"By year's end, Ethan might be standing across from his own father."
Silence fell.
The next day, the participant list went public.
The internet exploded.
Because among the ten names—
There was one absurdly young face.
Ethan.
Nineteen years old.
And somehow—
The biggest favorite to win it all.
Meanwhile, Ethan himself was completely unaware.
In his backyard, he was calmly training with Noivern.
"This time," he said with a smile,
"I'll be counting on you."
Noivern spread its wings.
A peak Overlord-tier aura surged forth.
The Elite Four Preliminaries—
Were about to begin.
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