“System Bro is so stingy…
Fine, long live System Bro.” Xia Chi grumbled inwardly, but he didn’t feel much of a psychological drop.
Thinking about it, it made sense.
For a common regional tournament, expecting a Prismatic Orb as a reward would be absurd.
But even the smallest scrap of meat was still food.
Anything produced by the system was extremely difficult to obtain in the real world, if it existed at all.
Therefore, he had to make the most of every round!
With this in mind, Xia Chi pulled out his phone to search for information about the Hushi Cup.
As the name suggested, the Hushi Cup was an annual rookie trainer Pokémon tournament held in Hushi City in mid-December.
Any trainer under the age of eighteen could participate.
Though it was billed as a rookie tournament, eighteen was an age where many participants already had one, two, or even two and a half years of training experience.
Add to that the unique nature of Hushi as a gathering place for hidden talents.
“This Hushi Cup is really not going to be easy…” Xia Chi muttered softly, resting his chin on his hand.
“Are you serious, Brother Chi?
You want to enter the Hushi Cup too?” Chen Zhenze, having caught the keyword, immediately leaned over with a gossipy look on his face.
Xia Chi was startled.
“What are you, a dog?
Your ears are too sharp.” Chen Zhenze chuckled.
“Never mind that.
Brother Chi, are you really planning to compete in the Hushi Cup?” Xia Chi nodded solemnly.
“Yeah.
I saw that the champion gets ten comprehensive evaluation points.
Good for some academic credits.” Chen Zhenze was momentarily speechless.
Entering the Hushi Cup not for the prizes worth hundreds of thousands, but for academic credits—only Xia Chi could come up with such a reason.
Chen Zhenze said in disbelief, “Brother Chi, do you even know how rich the rewards for the Hushi Cup are?
Advanced training machines, cultivation items…
The top three can even go to the Hushi Cultivation Base and choose a Pokémon with an excellent pedigree!” Xia Chi’s spirits lifted.
“Even a Dragonair?” “No way!” Chen Zhenze corrected him.
“Pseudo-legendaries are always priceless and never publicly sold.
How could a small rookie cup offer something that good?” Xia Chi’s interest evaporated instantly.
Honestly, those rewards were plenty generous for rookie trainers.
However, with System Bro’s Prismatic Orb setting the bar so high, the Hushi Cup’s rewards seemed lackluster by comparison.
Chen Zhenze looked at Xia Chi’s indifferent expression and complained, “Brother Chi, why are you acting like the championship is already in your pocket?
I admit you’re great at games, but this is a real Pokémon battle, not a video game, okay?” Xia Chi smiled and said nothing.
*Who are you to doubt the power of my System Bro?* Seeing Xia Chi remain unmoved, Chen Zhenze grew anxious.
“Brother Chi, don’t write this off.
Take Lin Lange, the original trainer of your Sprigatito.
Her primary Pokémon is already a Servine.
You can’t possibly be ignorant of the massive gap between a first-stage and second-stage starter, right?” Xia Chi thought to himself: *That might not be true.* Ash’s Litten had gone completely against the natural order to defeat its muscular final evolution, Incineroar.
Granted, the writers also realized how absurd that was, so they had Litten evolve into Torracat during the battle to pull off such a feat.
“And those guys from the Combat Department train every single day.
The Pokémon they raise are ferocious.
Honestly, how are they any different from wild beasts…” *Riiing!* The class bell rang, forcing Chen Zhenze to shut his babbling mouth.
Xia Chi was also able to take a moment to plot his path to victory in the Hushi Cup.
Although he now possessed a system—the standard kit for a transmigrator—he was still in the early stages.
The first step was always the hardest.
Setting aside whether the middle and final steps would be difficult, relying solely on System Bro’s novice gift pack to sweep the Hushi Cup was still a pipe dream.
So, what resources did he currently have at his disposal?
Not many, but not none either.
He had the system’s trait synergy mechanic, as well as the [Artifact Anvil] and two [Component Anvils] obtained from the Prismatic Orb.
Currently, he had barely managed to patch together a tier-2 Dark trait synergy using the Chosen Crest.
However, there was still about a month left before the Hushi Cup, which was plenty of time to catch a new Pokémon.
By then, getting a 2-Grass or 2-Swift synergy would provide a significant boost to Sprigatito’s strength.
As for the Artifact Anvil and Component Anvils…
Xia Chi called out to the system in his mind, *Use the Artifact Anvil.* [Upon use, the host will choose one of three Artifacts.
Confirm use?] “Confirm.” [Anvil opened successfully.
Please make your choice!] [Talisman of Ascension: +10% HP, +33% Physical and Special Attack.
200 seconds after the battle starts, gain 100% maximum HP and a 100% damage increase!] [Trinity Force: +33% Physical Attack, Special Attack, Physical Defense, Special Defense, Speed, HP, and Skill Execution Speed!] [Deathfire Grasp: +30% Special Attack.
After a special move hits, burns the opponent, dealing true damage equal to 30% of their maximum HP over 5 seconds!] Xia Chi stared at the three blue screens of light before him, feeling incredibly conflicted.
He wanted them all…
Although the activation time for the Talisman of Ascension was somewhat demanding, its effectiveness once activated was unquestionable.
There wasn’t much to say about Trinity Force—it was simple, pure stat-based beauty.
Numbers never lied!
While Deathfire Grasp didn’t synergize well with Sprigatito, it would be the ultimate artifact for any special-attack-oriented Pokémon.
“Can I just be quick-handed and take them all?” The answer was obvious.
[No.] Xia Chi pursed his lips.
“Fine, then I’ll choose Trinity Force.” It wasn’t that Trinity Force was strictly better than the other two artifacts, but it was definitely the most suitable for the current Xia Chi and Sprigatito.
Deathfire Grasp was out because of its obvious poor compatibility with Sprigatito.
As for the Talisman of Ascension—come on, a rookie-level battle lasting over three minutes?
By then, the match would have been decided long ago, and the food would have gone cold.
[Artifact: Trinity Force forged successfully!] Xia Chi continued, “Equip Trinity Force to Sprigatito.” With a flash of light, Trinity Force vanished from the [Equipment Inventory] on his blue holographic screen.
[Equipped successfully!] Now that the Artifact was sorted, he might as well open the remaining two [Component Anvils] while he was at it.
Xia Chi thought, *Open a Component Anvil.* [Opened successfully.
Please select the first component!] [B.F.
Sword: +10% Physical Attack] [Recurve Bow: +10% Attack Speed] [Giant’s Belt: +10% HP] Looking at the three equipment icons on the screen, Xia Chi fell into thought.
First, he could definitely rule out the health-boosting Giant’s Belt.
The effects of both the Recurve Bow and the B.F.
Sword were useful to Sprigatito.
However, the B.F.
Sword had a better recipe path.
After all, physical cores required items like Infinity Edge or Deathblade, both of which needed a B.F.
Sword to craft.
Having analyzed the pros and cons, Xia Chi said, “Select B.F.
Sword.” The icon for the B.F.
Sword lit up, and the system’s voice rang out once more.
[B.F.
Sword forged successfully.
Please select the second component!] [Sparring Gloves: +10% Critical Hit Chance] [Recurve Bow: +10% Attack Speed] [Negatron Cloak: +10% Special Defense]