Eichi didn't sit down to rest. Instead, he hurried to the Pokémon Center to treat Scizor's injuries.
By the time he arrived, the third match had already begun. He took a quick glance at the screen before heading to the front desk to hand over Scizor and Heracross's Poké Balls to Nurse Joy.
After Nurse Joy took the balls, she looked at Eichi and smiled. "I saw your match. Keep it up in the next round!"
"I will," Eichi replied with a smile.
During the treatment period, Eichi found a chair and sat down. He didn't recognize either of the two trainers currently battling, but they were both very strong. The intensity of their fight was no less than his own previous round. He watched with great interest, picking up several insights.
Once they finished, it was Ryuichi's turn. He was in the fourth match, facing a tall student from Indigo Academy. It was clear that Ryuichi was very nervous; he knew his opponent was formidable.
The match began. Ryuichi sent out Nosepass while his opponent sent out Nidoqueen. It was expected to be a tough battle, but to everyone's surprise, it ended very quickly.
The fight was a complete one-sided slaughter. Ryuichi's Nosepass was at the Elite rank, while Nidoqueen was at the Gym Leader rank, likely at the middle stage or higher. With a gap of more than ten levels, the difference was simply too great.
Ryuichi recalled Nosepass and released his second Pokémon, Swellow. Facing the same Nidoqueen, the battle ended in two minutes. Swellow was instantly knocked out. The onlookers felt a wave of sympathy for Ryuichi; this gap was insurmountable.
Finally, Ryuichi sent out his ace, Absol. Compared to their last meeting, this Absol had already broken through to the Gym Leader rank. The level gap was narrowed significantly, making this round exceptionally fierce. Ryuichi's Absol was truly powerful, managing to take down Nidoqueen in a double knockout despite the level disadvantage.
Although Ryuichi lost the overall match, he wasn't too dejected. The gap in total strength had been too large.
Soon, he and Eichi met at the Pokémon Center. Ryuichi handed his three injured Pokémon to Nurse Joy and saw Eichi walking over.
"Eichi, compared to you, I'm still far behind. Even using all my strength, I only managed to defeat one of his Pokémon," Ryuichi said somewhat helplessly.
Eichi patted his shoulder to comfort him. "It's fine. It's not your fault; their strength is just on another level."
Ryuichi shook his head. "Forget it, it's over. Getting to see so many powerful trainers is enough for me."
The two sat down to continue watching the matches. The next two rounds featured senior students from Silver Academy, and they won their matches with relative ease.
"It's Buliangren's turn."
Eichi nodded. On the television, Buliangren walked onto the field with his usual nonchalant attitude. His opponent was a beautiful woman with red hair named Tsukisa. She didn't belong to any academy and seemed to be traveling from another region.
Buliangren's first Pokémon was Swellow, at the late stage of the Elite rank. Its opponent was Infernape. Just from its appearance alone, one could tell it was incredibly powerful. Eichi's eyes narrowed; he hadn't seen this Infernape in the previous rounds, and it gave off an aura of extreme strength.
Sure enough, not long after the battle started, Swellow was instantly defeated by Infernape. Buliangren's attitude shifted from indifferent to solemn. He immediately released his second Pokémon, his ace—Swampert.
Buliangren's Swampert was at the peak of the Gym Leader rank, making it a match for Infernape. Relying on its type advantage, it managed to defeat Infernape with great difficulty. However, Swampert had also exhausted more than half of its stamina.
Tsukisa released her second Pokémon, Bronzong. From its aura alone, this Bronzong was not weaker than Infernape; in fact, it seemed even stronger. Swampert was no match for it and fell quickly to Bronzong.
Feeling helpless, Buliangren sent out his third Pokémon, Zangoose. Although it performed well, it still wasn't Bronzong's match and was defeated.
Eichi took a long look at Tsukisa. This person was terrifyingly strong. He had a premonition that she would definitely secure a spot in the top three.
Soon, Buliangren met Eichi and Ryuichi at the Pokémon Center. After Eichi comforted him as well, the three sat together to watch the final match.
The final match was between Eichi's senior schoolmate and Katsuyoshi. Eichi paid close attention because Katsuyoshi gave him the impression of being exceptionally powerful. In the previous four rounds, Katsuyoshi had cleared every match using only a single Pokémon, including against a player no weaker than Ryuichi or Buliangren.
The match began. The senior's three Pokémon were Meganium, Umbreon, and Piloswine. Katsuyoshi used Noctowl and Sudowoodo.
The result was unexpected; Katsuyoshi won quite easily. He first used Noctowl to defeat Meganium, then switched to Sudowoodo, who swept the remaining two Pokémon effortlessly.
After watching the match, Ryuichi and Buliangren looked at each other. After a moment of silence, they said, "This Katsuyoshi is too strong. I felt like the senior could have easily beaten us, yet she lost so easily to him."
Eichi didn't speak. He felt that this was only the tip of the iceberg for Katsuyoshi's true strength.
That evening, everyone gathered at the Pokémon Center. The round of sixteen was over. Tomorrow would be the quarter-finals, where the format would upgrade from three-on-three to a full six-on-six battle. Not a single opponent left was easy to deal with.
The television displayed the portraits of the top eight, including Eichi, two seniors from Silver Academy, three from Indigo Academy, Tsukisa, and one unknown trainer.
The screen transitioned to the draw. Eichi watched intently as the page loaded. He found his opponent: an ugly-looking man. Eichi knew of him; he was one of the three from Indigo Academy. He was very strong, having defeated his previous opponents using only two Pokémon.
When the pairings appeared, Ryuichi, Buliangren, and Mumu felt hopeless for Eichi.
"Good luck, Eichi. Though you probably can't win," Ryuichi said with a sigh.
"Do you all think I'm certain to lose?" Eichi asked curiously.
The others nodded.
"Honestly, Eichi, it's a fact. Your chances of winning are too small," Mumu said helplessly.
As they were talking, someone walked over. Eichi saw it was his opponent for tomorrow. The man walked with a hunch, a disdainful smile on his face.
"Looks like my luck is pretty good," the man sneered.