From Pokémon to The International, Dota 2

Room 502, No. 23, an old residential area outside the west gate of a university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

The room wasn't large, with a bunk bed and a desk placed against the wall. The sheets were dark gray, and the blankets were folded neatly—every edge was straight and the four corners were tucked under the mattress.

The desk under the bed is 20 centimeters wider than the standard one in the school dormitory; I bought it on Xianyu (a second-hand marketplace). There's a light gray mouse pad on the desk, big enough to hold both the keyboard and mouse with room to spare.

Next to the keyboard, a neat stack of textbooks stood: *Data Structures*, *Computer Organization*, *Operating Systems*, and *Advanced Mathematics (Volume 2)*. The spines of the books faced outwards, not a single one crooked.

Several anime posters were pasted on the wall, and the room was decorated with a few anime-related items.

Jiang Xia (Shikamaru) sat in a gaming chair, the screen of his phone on the table in front of him lit up, a message had appeared on QQ:

"For the first pick, firefly is the first choice, then take position 1, then take one of the three SED Talia, then take me for the third pick, then take position 3 for the fourth round, and Zhang should be able to get it. For the last round, just pick the highest-ranked position 5."

This horse selection method is basically consistent with his own ideas. Actually, he was a little hesitant about whether to take Sora as his third choice. Now that he has been recommended, he can only take it... Hopefully, he can win a championship on the last day.

On the final day of the Pokémon tournament, the team selection phase ended, and each team entered their own in-game chat room.

"Xiao Jiang, what's going on? You didn't pick me the other day and I didn't win a single championship?"

Su Xiaoman's voice came from YY, and it sounded like the two knew each other before, as they spoke very familiarly.

"Hey, I'm counting on you to lead me to a championship today."

Jiang Xia gave a wry smile. Su Xiaoman was his junior high school classmate. Back then, they were quite close because they liked the same anime. However, after she went abroad to study, they basically lost contact.

He didn't know how Su Xiaoman got involved in this Pokémon competition. He was a little embarrassed to choose her when he was choosing a horse, afraid that it would be awkward if she didn't remember him.

"Keep it up!"

The other team members encouraged and cheered each other on.

The match began, and the first opponent I was randomly matched with was Baqi, whom I won easily. In the second match, I faced OldChicken and won with difficulty.

In the final match, their opponent was a team led by Dstones.

"The opposing mentor is a mid-laner with around 15,000 MMR, a former professional player. I'll try my best to gank him this game."

Jiang Xia reassured Gu Ran.

At the start of the game, players roll dice to choose sides. Gu Ran's team is the Dire side, so they ban and pick later. The opposing team is the Radiant side, so they ban and pick first.

The opposing team banned Kayn (the Birdman), a strong carry hero, as well as Gu Ran's two signature heroes, Storm Spirit and Puck. Our team banned Pangolier, Huskar, Clockwerk, and the currently strong carry Druid.

The opponent snatched a small one.

"This Tiny should be the carry, and I feel like we can use Windranger as the carry to counter him. In the late game, if Windranger uses her ultimate and Black King Bar to lock him down, he won't be able to play anymore. We happen to have this carry in our pool, but it might get banned later on, since our pool is relatively shallow."

After receiving approval from her teammates, Sora picked Windranger. The opposing team banned Timbersaw, a hero that counters strength cores, while our team banned Bristleback.

"I'm going to build the big tree first; it's pretty strong in this version."

Sora picked Treant Protector, and the opponent picked Lich and Longo in quick succession. Lich is a popular position 5 hero, while Longo can be played as a position 4 or 3. The opponent can be flexible with this hero.

"If you're going to build my hero, you can build Invoker first."

"If you want me to pay, I can give it to the Wine Immortal."

Both the second and third positions announced their preferred heroes. Sora looked at them and felt there was nothing wrong with them. Although it was a bit strange to pick the fourth position last, Windranger actually seemed like a flexible pick, and it wasn't a problem that our fourth position mentor picked last.

So, after picking Karl and Brewmaster, the opponent picked Mars for position 3, which meant Lango's position was now set at position 4.

In the last two picks, the opponent banned Necrophos and Lifestealer, assuming we were missing a carry, and that Windranger was a good position 4. We banned Beastmaster and Queen of Pain, two strong mid-lane champions on the opposing team. The opponent then picked Ember Spirit, a relatively strong mid-lane champion in this patch.

"I think we can take Labick."

Jiang Xia observed the entire lineup. The opponent, Langgo, Ember Spirit, Lich, and Tiny all had good skills that could be stolen. Rubick was easy to play and was also strong in this version. There was another point—he was a fan of Sen Ge. He wanted to show off his Rubick in this final game, so even if they lost, he wouldn't regret it.

YYF's live stream room:

"The last Pokémon game, I'm commentating with my brothers from Konoha. There are no foreign teams in this game, so it'll be a bit less exciting."

Feng Ge won the Pokémon championship twice this season, so he made quite a splash.

"It's a pity that my brother Yan fell on the way to the finals today. The finals without Yan just don't feel right."

Xie Bin DD started using the "yin-yang eye" technique, but no Pokémon champions were selected this time, so he had to shut up and remain silent.

The match began, and for the first three minutes, Gu Ran's team had an advantage in both the top and bottom lanes. The only real challenge was the mid lane, where they couldn't defeat the strong laner, Ember Spirit, especially since the opponent was their mentor. However, with Sora's Treant Protector's Barrier, they managed to survive and avoid being solo-killed in lane. Furthermore, Invoker had another advantage: his Skyfire could provide global support.

Invoker is the hero with the most skills in DOTA 2. He can summon three elemental orbs: ice, lightning, and fire. He can perform ten skills by combining these three orbs. Each time he switches between elemental orbs, he needs to press the corresponding key, so he requires a high level of hand speed. He is considered one of the most difficult heroes in DOTA 2.

Skyfire, also known as Sunfire Impact (EEE): Global cast. After a short delay, a beam of sunfire descends upon the target area, dealing pure damage. Damage increases with the level of the Fire Elemental.

With three minutes and ten seconds left in the game, the Windranger in the top lane had already severely suppressed the enemy Mars, freeing up Sora's Treant Protector. She quietly used the portal to reach the bottom lane.

At this moment, the minion waves converged near the Lotus Pond. While the enemy Lich was coming online and preparing to use Frostbite to harass our offlaner, Treant Protector suddenly appeared from behind, landing a basic attack that triggered Entangle (his innate skill), followed by Brewmaster's Ember Brew and Rubick's Weakening Flow. Finally, during the control time of Telekinesis, Gu Ran used Skyfire to finish off the enemy.

First Blood!

Firefly defeats the invincible destroyer, earning 308 gold coins + 96 gold coins which are split among three heroes.

Inside Brother Feng's live stream:

"Oh my, we thought Shikamaru might roam mid to help Invoker kill Ember Spirit, but he doesn't seem to be playing the same way as before. Instead, he's focusing on laning. Invoker can use Skyfire to support mid lane this game, so playing on the side lane is better."

Feng Ge gave an analysis.

"Shikamaru's two side lanes already have an advantage. They can use the teleportation portal for a 3v2 situation, and with Invoker's support, it feels like Shikamaru's two lanes are going to be destroyed. We can only wait and see how he sets the pace in the mid-game."