Chapter 192: Undercurrents

"That was an excellent battle."

After the match ended, Finn did not act like a sore loser. Instead, he smiled and shook hands with Ron, offering his praise.

It made sense. As a Psychic, even without an impressive track record in the Indigo League, the Pokémon League would never turn him away.

Ron had also learned that within the League, there was a specialized division composed entirely of Psychics. Every member possessed supernatural abilities.

Finn would likely join that division. Of course, the League did not prohibit Psychics from joining other departments either.

After all, those with special abilities deserved certain privileges.

"Be careful. Something is off about your preliminary matches."

Before letting go of Ron's hand, Finn's voice resonated in his mind.

Ron's opponents in the preliminary rounds were no secret, so it was not surprising that Finn knew about them.

Typically, trainers in the preliminaries faced three to four matches at most, with five being quite rare.

Most of the eliminations happened at the Low Elite and Mid Elite levels. It was almost unheard of for someone like Ron to encounter three consecutive High Elite levels opponents, each with a progressively greater type advantage over him.

It was clear that the League's behind-the-scenes machinations were so blatant that even an outsider like Finn could see through them.

This was precisely why Ron had hidden his true strength in the final match—to avoid alerting those in power and provoking even more extreme measures against him.

With a small smile at Finn, Ron nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

This was the problem that had been bothering him. Without enough strength and status, if he were to accuse the League's higher-ups of foul play, they would most likely turn the accusation against him instead.

For now, his only option was to adapt and counter each move as it came.

With his final battle won, Ron's time in the preliminaries had come to an end.

Now, all he needed to do was wait for the rest of the preliminary rounds to conclude.

Once they ended, only 256 trainers would advance. While a small number of these would be rookie trainers who had only traveled for about a year, most were experienced trainers with at least two years of traveling under their belts.

Ron's outstanding performance had not gone unnoticed. He was now considered one of the top contenders for the championship title.

In past Indigo League tournaments, champions were almost always trainers with over a year of experience. Now, with a rookie trainer who had only traveled for a year showing an ability to win the championship, he had instantly captured the public's attention.

Coupled with the reputation he had already built, Ron's fan club had already formed before the tournament's opening ceremony even began.

This led to the unique problem of experiencing the downside of fame—whenever he stepped outside and was recognized, he was quickly surrounded by a massive crowd of people clamoring for autographs.

Despite the overwhelming praise, Ron remained grounded and quickly noticed that something was amiss.

Even if his performance in the preliminaries had been exceptional, most of the people who should have known about it were fellow competitors—especially those who had watched his battles firsthand.

Tourists and casual spectators attending the tournament, however, should not have been aware of him so soon—unless someone was deliberately spreading his name behind the scenes.

These people were most likely connected to certain figures within the League. And they were not doing this out of kindness. Instead, they were hyping him up, painting him as the undisputed favorite for the championship.

The plan was simple: if Ron failed to win the championship, they would use his loss as ammunition to attack his reputation.

Perhaps Ron's performance in the preliminaries had made them believe they had found a weakness—specifically in his Machamp. They were confident that their chosen representative would be able to defeat Ron in the tournament.

Or perhaps this had been their plan from the very beginning. If Ron was eliminated in the preliminaries, that would have been ideal. But even if he made it through, the scheme could still proceed.

First, they would elevate him to unprecedented heights. Then, they would ruthlessly bring him crashing down.

Ron did not know whether to feel honored that so many powerful figures had taken such an interest in him.

Finding an opportunity, he had Gardevoir use Teleport to remove him from the crowd. He decided that, from now on, aside from official matches, he would remain either in his room or in the training area, avoiding public exposure as much as possible.

Unless someone had personally experienced it, they would not understand just how overwhelming it was. In the Pokémon world, fan adoration could reach absurd levels.

Imagine hundreds of people—both men and women—crowding together, their eyes burning with an intensity that made it feel like they wanted to devour you alive.

For a brief moment, Ron even thought he would rather deal with the scheming League officials than face his rabid fans.

Logically, given his reserved personality, it would be easy for some fans to lose interest and for others to turn against him.

However, to his surprise, the League took it upon themselves to craft an image for him as an aloof and mysterious figure, thus handling the situation for him.

It was clear that the League was going all out to build Ron's popularity—just so they could strike him down later.

To this, Ron could only laugh coldly.

"Bruno, the League has gone too far this time. Are you not going to step in?"

From the window of a hotel near Indigo Plateau, Agatha gazed outside and calmly questioned Bruno.

The Indigo League tournament had gathered a large number of exceptional trainers. This also made it a prime target for organizations like Team Rocket, who might attempt an ambush.

To ensure the tournament proceeded smoothly, multiple Elite Four-level trainers were secretly stationed around the venue. Furthermore, Elite Four members Agatha and Bruno were personally leading the security efforts.

It was important to remember that the Elite Four of the Pokémon League are not merely trainers at the "Elite" level; in truth, all of them possess Champion-level strength.

Only by having such power can they defeat countless challengers and secure their place among the Elite Four.

It is precisely because the Elite Four of the Kanto region are so formidable that a Champion has yet to emerge.

"No need. I trust that kid can see through the manipulation happening behind the scenes. Likewise, he should already have a plan to counter it—otherwise, he wouldn't have made it this far."

Dressed in a martial arts gi with his muscular arms exposed, Bruno exuded an aura of reliability at first glance.

"Oh? And you're not worried those people might take things too far? You should know—they've already overstepped in the preliminaries."

Clad in a flowing purple dress and leaning on her cane, Agatha spoke with a calm expression. Yet, despite her composed demeanor, an eerie chill seemed to linger in the air around her.

"There's a limit to how far they can go. If they cross the line… then they'll have no one to blame but themselves. In fact, I've been itching for a real fight ever since I got back."

Bruno's chiseled, battle-hardened face remained unchanged as he spoke, his tone calm yet leaving no room for doubt.

"You sure have some fire in you. Fine, then—do your best. Try to clear out those parasites while this old lady still has the strength to help. The League… has indeed grown a little too rotten."

"Don't worry. It won't be long now."

Agatha shot Bruno a sharp glance, her dissatisfaction evident.

Would it kill you to say something nice like, "You're still young at heart"? No wonder you're still single, you muscle-headed oaf!

The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. Huffing in frustration, Agatha simply turned and left, tapping her cane against the floor as she walked away, leaving Bruno standing there—slightly bewildered.

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