After the initial celebration, everyone returned to their seats. Tetsu spoke up, "Now that the competition is over, the score between our three grades stands at one to one."
"One win, one draw, and one loss."
"We are currently tied with Indigo Academy. I wonder if the academy will just end it here or if there will be an extra match."
As soon as Tetsu finished, everyone fell into deep thought and began sharing their opinions. Eichi didn't say anything; instead, he looked toward the rostrum.
He saw Director Yanagi, the Vice Principal, and several other leaders constantly arguing with the two representatives from Indigo Academy.
"Eichi, do you think there will be an extra match?"
Hearing Tetsu ask him, Eichi turned his head, thought for a moment, and said:
"I think there should be an extra match. Indigo Academy put so much effort into this visit and didn't achieve a victory; they likely won't be satisfied with this."
Tetsu asked, "Is that how it is?"
Sato also spoke up at this time, "I also feel there will be an extra match."
Since both Sato and Eichi thought there would be an additional round, the others began to believe the two academies would compete once more.
Even though the current matches were over, the leaders didn't say they could leave. Instead, they were told to keep waiting.
Half an hour passed like this. Finally, Director Yanagi on the rostrum turned on the microphone and said, "Hello, hello. Everyone, please be quiet."
As Director Yanagi spoke, the crowd gradually settled down.
Director Yanagi stood up, held the microphone, and said, "Hello everyone. I am Director Yanagawa of Silver Academy."
"After three rounds of exciting competition, the result between the two academies is a draw."
"Following discussions between the leaders of both academies, we have decided to add one more match."
"The specific details of the competition will be announced tomorrow."
"Everyone can go back now to eat and rest."
As soon as he finished, a flurry of discussion broke out, though no one was too surprised; most had already guessed this outcome. People began leaving the Battle Hall one after another.
After hearing this, Eichi thought to himself: As expected. He then stood up, preparing to go eat with Tetsu.
"Eichi, let's go."
Eichi nodded, "Mhm."
Walking toward the exit, they happened to run into the Indigo Academy first-years again. The Indigo students saw Eichi and his group too.
The situation was a bit awkward. Two days ago, they had walked ahead of Eichi's group and claimed they would crush them. In truth, they had said that on purpose, but now that they had all lost to Eichi and the others, the reality check had come quite fast.
Tetsu and a few others looked at them with mocking expressions.
The atmosphere was eerie, but Asen remained expressionless, as if the recent defeat was just a minor matter to him. He walked ahead alone and soon vanished from sight. Seeing this, the others also walked out, pretending as if nothing had happened.
After they left, Tetsu asked while walking, "Eichi, what do you think the content of the next match will be?"
Eichi thought for a bit and said, "It probably won't be a battle like today's."
Tetsu asked, "Why?"
"There wouldn't be much point to it," Eichi replied.
That evening, other students were either out training or staying in their rooms studying.
In the afternoon, Tetsu had suggested everyone go out for a good meal to celebrate, but Eichi hadn't agreed.
He told Tetsu that they hadn't truly won yet. Since there was one more match, they might be required to compete again. Therefore, it wouldn't be too late to celebrate after the exchange event officially ended. Tetsu and the others considered this and dropped the idea of going out.
In his bedroom, Eichi sat at his desk, holding a pen and constantly writing and drawing on a piece of paper.
Eichi was currently summarizing. Over the three days of competition, every night after watching the matches, he recorded some of the good techniques and tactics he had observed. These things were very useful and could greatly enrich his practical combat experience.
What he was doing now was self-reflection. Today's battle with Asen was truly satisfying; he hadn't had such a hearty fight in a long time. Asen's strength was quite good, feeling slightly stronger than Sato. Specifically, his mastery of moves was very high, and some of his tactics had been eye-opening.
Eichi knew that Asen hadn't used his full strength today. Especially that Gengar hidden in the shadows—its talent and level were likely no worse than Aerodactyl's. He wondered who would win if Asen had released that Gengar in today's match.
He simulated in his mind what would happen if Gengar were involved.
The final conclusion was that he still had a higher chance of winning, with about a 60% certainty of victory. The reason was that he hadn't removed the Weighted Vest from Scizor, Heracross, or Beedrill today.
It wasn't just Asen who was hiding his strength; he was too. However, to truly know who was stronger, they would have to fight another round.
On the other side, in a room on the fourth floor of the guesthouse, Asen was looking at a file. The person in the photo was none other than Eichi.
Suddenly, the light in the room dimmed. Looking at the floor, a huge shadow appeared behind him.
A purple Pokémon with a round body reached out its chubby hand and patted Asen's shoulder, speaking in an unintelligible language.
Asen spoke, "I know you wanted to go out today too, but you cannot appear in front of them."
"Your main task is to protect me; that is the most important thing."
After soothing Gengar, Asen began to think about today's battle. The Beedrill in the match had left a deep impression on him. Its speed was beyond imagination, and Aerodactyl had been defeated quite easily.
He wondered if he could have defeated that Beedrill if he had sent Gengar onto the field. His strongest Pokémon was the Gengar hiding in his shadow. He simulated in his head what his chances of winning would be if he replaced one of his team members with Gengar.
The final conclusion was fifty-fifty; a 50% chance to beat Eichi.
This was based on his previous observations. Just now when he went out, he heard a Silver Academy student mention that Eichi's three Pokémon were all wearing Weighted Vest devices.
This meant that in today's fight, Eichi hadn't turned off the weights. In that case, his chances of winning against him would decrease again.
In a small conference room in the teaching building, the layout was similar to those seen in TV dramas. There was an oversized meeting table that could seat about twenty people. The lights were bright, and over a dozen people were already seated.
Director Yanagawa, the Vice Principal, and several other directors were present. The leaders of Silver Academy sat on the right, while Director Kimura and his colleague sat on the left. The two of them sat lonely on the left side, while seven or eight people sat opposite them.
The atmosphere was quiet. Seeing everyone had arrived, the Vice Principal slowly spoke, "Cough, cough. The reason I called everyone here is to discuss the content of the next match."