The title of Champion was virtually unattainable.
If soone declared their goal was to beco a Champion, those around them might murmur "wishful thinking" at most. Without outright hostility, they might offer a few encouraging words with a polite smile.
But Roy's behavior was even more audacious. He directly claid that his Fighting-type Pokémon possessed potential rivaling Champions.
When soone posted about this on the university forum, it imdiately attracted hundreds of replies filled with ridicule, jokes, and sarcasm...
"Young trainers these days are more arrogant than ever."
"They don't know respect. It's insulting to true Champions. The school should discipline him."
"Makes
sick!"
"I heard he cos from an ordinary family?"
"I was ambitious when I first enrolled too. Thought I was no worse than those recomnded students and trainer legacies. Ha! Reality's Wakeup Slap hit
hard."
The post started at this level of discussion, but suddenly took a turn, shifting away from Roy altogether.
"No money, no resources, nothing. I regret becoming a trainer. Wouldn't it have been better to just keep a few Pokémon at ho? Now I'm stuck here, introverted and unable to quit because I've invested so much already. I'm neither advancing nor able to go back..."
"That's what they call a sunk cost fallacy, buddy."
"Co on, it's much better once you're admitted as a professional trainer with official League support."
"Like professional certification is easy to get? How many people wait years after graduation to succeed? Anyway, I'm giving up. After graduation, I'll just inherit my family's shop and live peacefully with my Pokémon..."
"The poor play with cars, the middle class play with watches, and the rich play with Pokémon."
Despite it being premature, the entire thread filled with an atmosphere of internet depression, lancholy reflections, and bitter complaints. Occasionally, a few wealthy students would erge to encourage others not to give up, to keep working hard—while simultaneously flaunting their privilege.
If allowed to develop normally, except for Roy's classmates, most students would forget about this in a few days, and discussion would cease.
However, the paid comnters entered right on schedule.
"How would you evaluate a Champion-potential Riolu?"
"One thing to say—I think there's nothing wrong with young trainers dreaming big."
"My cousin works as a breeder at the Pokémon Lab. He told
this Riolu is truly remarkable. Its father excels in all aspects, and it really might have Champion potential!"
"Just a casual observer here, but what today's young trainers lack is precisely Roy's ambitious spirit!"
"Obvious paid comnts. Can you at least wait for that Roy guy to win against the recomnded students before hyping him up?"
"Thanks for asking. I work with the Pokémon League—just got off the plane. I have insider information that student Roy is already on the League's key developnt watchlist."
A flood of posts dominated the university forum's hopage—click on any thread and you'd see the keywords "Roy" and "Riolu" everywhere.
Since Capital University's founding, no incoming class had ever attempted such a flashy publicity stunt.
—Because such operations were completely pointless!
—Popularity? Yes, but it was all infamy, all negative attention.
Yet despite the obviousness of the bait, large numbers of students were still hooked and engaged in intense fla wars.
Once the montum built, even those who recognized the orchestrated nature of the campaign couldn't stop its progress.
In just one night, the entire forum filled with related topics, with tensions escalating. Several users were banned for their aggressive language.
The recomnded students from several classes were inadvertently dragged into the fray. Everyone hoped they could teach the presumptuous Roy a lesson in the freshman tournant scheduled for the following week.
"Callan, you can't lose. Slap that arrogant kid's face hard!"
"...I'll do my best."
Callan looked at the ssage with exasperation. This was already the sixth person demanding he teach Roy a harsh lesson.
"Where did these paid comnters co from?" Callan rubbed his chin, not suspecting Roy had hired them, as it seed to offer him no advantage. "Did this kid offend soone? That's strange... I noticed Serena's attitude toward him is completely different from others..."
"A man's petty jealousy..."
Callan shook his head.
The recomnded student system had already faced criticism in recent years, with many feeling it was unfair and overly privileged.
After this incident, all recomnded students were under fire. If any of them lost to Roy, they would face rciless public ridicule.
Therefore, even though Callan had no personal grievance against Roy, he would need to battle with full strength during the freshman tournant next week—losing wasn't an option.
"This incident won't disrupt my plans. I'll continue training as normal. The real challenge isn't this Roy character, but that person..."
Callan's thinking aligned with most recomnded students. Roy was just an obstacle to be crushed. The only person they truly wanted to challenge was the top recomnded student.
—The true Elite Trainer's heir.
—
Looking at his account balance after paying 5,000 PokéDollars for the comnt service, Roy felt pained all night. This was several months' worth of his pocket money.
But when he woke the next morning and saw his popularity value had skyrocketed to '67,850' on the system panel, he instantly felt the money was well spent!
"Woohoo, we're taking off!"
Roy jumped excitedly out of bed, startling Riolu who was curled up at his feet—the fur on its body standing on end!
"Ri!??"
"Sorry, sorry."
Roy apologetically patted the Pokémon's head, imdiately receiving Riolu's understanding.
Riolu never held grudges.
After licking the back of Roy's hand a few tis, Riolu stretched and followed Roy to the bathroom.
Roy glanced around the sink area but couldn't find what he needed, so he called out instinctively: "Mom, where did you put the things I bought for Riolu yesterday?"
"They're in the closet. Are you blind?" Roy's mother replied energetically. "I'm warning you—you're confused enough yourself. Don't lead Riolu down the wrong path!"
"Got it, got it." Roy lanted his family status: minus one. He took out a package from the cabinet containing a set of toothbrush tools.
After unwrapping and rinsing everything, Roy handed Riolu its toothbrush and toothpaste.
"Co on, Riolu. Look, brush your teeth like this."
Riolu was quite intelligent. It could hold the toothpaste with its paws and brush its teeth alongside Roy.
After filling their mouths with foam, they rinsed together, tilting their heads back with a "Gululu~" sound before spitting in unison.
During the week between the entrance ceremony and the freshman tournant, the school suspended classes, giving students sufficient ti to prepare for the competition.
This system was admittedly unfair to freshn from ordinary backgrounds.
It was extrely difficult to compete against trainer legacies before learning any training knowledge from school...
But fairness was never a guarantee in the Pokémon trainer profession.
Roy grabbed the breakfast his parents had prepared, said goodbye, and headed out with Riolu.
After finishing his breakfast on the bus, Roy arrived at his destination.
—The Pokémon Center.
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