During this time, not only had Wen Qi's Pokémon grown stronger, but the Pidgeot family in the Tree Fruit Orchard had also made significant progress. With the food Wen Qi provided and the safe, worry-free environment, the Pidgeot family was thriving. Not only had many new Pidgey been born, but some Pidgey had successfully evolved into Pidgeotto. Even two Pidgeotto, who were already quite strong, had evolved into Pidgeot, instantly becoming the leaders of the group. Fortunately, most of the Pidgey and Pidgeotto in the group were descendants of the Pidgeot couple—either their children or relatives. So the two newly evolved Pidgeot had no intention of usurping the leadership, and the entire family got along harmoniously.
The ten Scyther had also improved their strength. The Elite-level Scyther had each risen by one level, while the Advanced-level Scyther had mostly gone up by two levels. This rate of improvement was much faster than in the forest! In the wild, boosting strength required constant training and battles, plus time for rest, healing, and finding food—wasting a lot of time. But on the farm, it was completely different. With a safe environment, ample food, and good medical conditions, they could devote all their time to training, so their strength naturally grew quickly. However, what delighted the five Elite-level Scyther the most wasn't their own progress, but the fact that the Scizor hadn't improved. They thought the Scizor had hit a bottleneck and was advancing slowly, giving them a chance to catch up. So lately, these Elite-level Scyther had been overjoyed.
It was worth mentioning that ever since the Torterra returned, Wen Qi had been dragging it to the Tree Fruit Orchard every day to replenish the fruit trees with life energy. The Torterra's Grassy Terrain skill contained life energy, and using it on the fruit trees might even improve the quality of the fruit. Besides, the Torterra had grown much stronger recently—it was no longer the little Turtwig it once was. Now, using Grassy Terrain, it could cover the entire orchard with just a few moves, finishing the task quickly without delaying its training. Plus, using the skill more often helped hone its power—it was a win-win situation.
Lately, Wen Qi had been quite idle. As the saying goes, "full and bored," he was feeling restless. He wanted to find some fun but didn't feel like going into the city, so he decided to host a battle tournament among his Pokémon. But then he thought, having only his own Pokémon compete seemed a bit dull. Why not bring in the Pidgeot family working on the farm, the Poliwrath family, and the Scyther squad to join in? With more participants, the battles would be much more interesting.
Wen Qi first told the Pokémon in the mini-world about this plan. Except for the Noibat and the Scizor, who couldn't participate, everyone else found it exciting and was eager to battle it out in the tournament. The Noibat was too small and weak to join, while the Scizor was too strong—among Wen Qi's other Pokémon, only the Gogoat might withstand a few hits. The rest couldn't even take one attack, not even the talented Torterra or Dragonair, because the level gap was just too huge.
After informing the mini-world Pokémon, Wen Qi went to see the Pidgeot to discuss the tournament. At first, when the Pidgeot heard about the plan, its sharp eyes immediately showed obvious disdain. It lightly flapped its broad wings, as if expressing displeasure. "Battles? Hmph, what's the point? Wild Pokémon don't waste time on such boring stuff." The Pidgeot's voice was full of indifference. It turned its head away, as if to say the matter was non-negotiable. But when Wen Qi casually added, "This tournament has some generous rewards," the Pidgeot's cold attitude did a complete 180. It whipped its head back, eyes sparkling with excitement, and asked eagerly, "What rewards? Tell me!" Wen Qi smiled slightly, deliberately keeping him in suspense. Seeing this, the Pidgeot flapped its wings anxiously. Wen Qi, noticing how impatient the Pidgeot was, had planned to tease it a bit longer, but one look at its murderous glare made him think better of it. Smiling, he said to the Pidgeot, "I've really gone all out on the rewards for this tournament. There are four groups: the Beginner Group for levels 11-20, the Intermediate Group for levels 21-30, the Advanced Group for levels 31-40, and the Elite Group for levels 41-50. Each group has prizes for the top three. For the 11-20 group, the top three get 300, 200, and 100 Perfect Energy Cubes respectively, which they can choose to use for energy or to enhance flavor. Plus, the first-place winner gets an extra Attribute Essence Fragment. The rewards for the other three groups are the same, except the Energy Cubes go from Beginner to Intermediate to Advanced. Again, each group's first-place winner gets an Attribute Essence Fragment. So, tempting enough, right? Fight hard, and you'll have a chance at these precious rewards to boost your strength!"
As the Pidgeot listened, its eyes grew wider and wider. Though it was a bit of a country bumpkin and didn't know what an Attribute Essence was, the fact that only the first-place winner got one made it clear how valuable it was. At that moment, the Pidgeot could already picture itself standing proudly on the award podium. "With such great rewards, I have to join! Not just me—I'll make every Pidgey and Pidgeotto participate!" Its previously haughty demeanor vanished, replaced by full-blown enthusiasm and anticipation. The Pidgeot started pacing back and forth, as if already planning how to shine in the battles and claim the prizes. Its eyes burned with fighting spirit; the earlier disdain for battles was long gone, replaced by a thirst for victory and rewards. Wen Qi watched the Pidgeot's excitement and smiled helplessly, saying, "Don't get too excited yet. Each group can only have three Pokémon participating." Hearing this, the Pidgeot's hopeful eyes dimmed a bit, and it muttered disappointedly, "Why only three?" Wen Qi continued, "And, due to your strength limitations, the Pidgeot family can't compete in the 41-50 group." The Pidgeot's face fell even more. It spread its wings and said somewhat agitatedly, "That's such a shame. We've been working so hard to get stronger." But soon, it perked up again. "No matter, we'll give it our all in the other groups and aim for the best rankings!" Though a bit down, the Pidgeot's unyielding spirit still blazed fiercely in its eyes.