"You're strong! I'm no match for you!"
"But unfortunately, you won't be winning the championship this time!"
On the battle arena, Ukyo looked at Shuzo's masked face and spoke coldly.
"Is that so?"
The corner of Shuzo's mouth curved upward.
His eyes carried a thick trace of contempt and disdain.
"Then watch closely as I take down the person you believe still has a chance of winning."
"That would be Contestant Himeko, right?"
Shuzo smiled faintly.
He raised his head and looked toward the cameras set up around the venue.
His gaze seemed to pass through the lens and meet Himeko's eyes as she watched from inside the room.
At that instant, Himeko sensed that intense, familiar feeling again.
Before she could recall even the slightest clue about it, Shuzo left the battle arena amid cheers and screams, sweeping away like a storm.
Very soon, the first bout ended.
Himeko, who was fighting in the second bout, also stepped onto the stage.
The moment she appeared, a huge wave of cheers and applause erupted from the stands.
The atmosphere was so passionate that even someone as calm as Himeko felt a little lightheaded for an instant.
It seemed that her outstanding performance yesterday had earned her quite a bit of popularity and quite a few fans.
That was why so many spectators were supporting her today.
On the battle arena, Himeko and her opponent stood facing each other.
The two of them nodded to each other in a friendly greeting.
The next second, the referee swung down the command flag, and the whistle sounded.
Both of them sent out their participating Pokémon at the same time.
Boom!
Twenty minutes later, as her opponent's final Pokémon, Rhyperior, collapsed with its massive body, Himeko took the victory rather easily.
This time, Gardevoir did not even need to appear.
Mega Lopunny achieved the feat of sweeping three opponents in a row.
With powerful attack power and agile speed, she displayed the ultimate art of offense.
Moreover, after this battle, Lopunny also completed a breakthrough.
With her accumulated experience, she broke through the bottleneck of the Quasi-Elite Four level and successfully stepped into the Elite Four level!
Aside from Gardevoir, Himeko now had another Elite Four-level Pokémon in her hands!
Himeko calmly walked down from the battle arena.
"The draw results are out again!?"
Inside the room.
Himeko opened the notice and saw that it was indeed the case.
Today's twelve matches had decided the six contestants for the next round.
Adding Aisa, who had received a bye, there would be seven contestants in the next round.
In other words, there would still be three matches tomorrow, with one contestant receiving a bye.
Himeko's luck in the draw was still excellent this time.
She drew the bye slot and could advance directly to the semifinals the day after tomorrow.
Then she looked at tomorrow's three matchups.
Himeko's heart immediately sank.
The two people she cared about the most, Aisa and Shuzo, had been placed in the same group.
Tomorrow's first match would be a titan-level clash between the two of them.
"Hard to win."
Shiko leaned over, glanced at the grouping list, and shook his head.
"That Articuno is very strange."
"The first time I saw him, his aura was very weak, and his strength also felt off."
"But today, the feeling he gave me was completely different from before."
"His combat strength has jumped by a large margin, and his aura has also become much stronger."
"However, he still hasn't reached the level a Third-tier Legendary should have."
"And in his aura, there's a violent, unstable, and fractured feeling."
Shiko recalled today's battle and murmured to himself.
That feeling was as if this Articuno were rapidly leveling up.
The battle power he displayed changed drastically from one day to the next.
Even the aura that Shiko had previously considered weak had become different.
But even so, his strength was still a level weaker than what Articuno, as a Third-tier Legendary, should possess.
Moreover, the oppressive aura that belonged to a Legendary Pokémon should originally be solemn and majestic, enough to inspire awe in people.
But Articuno's feeling was like countless different auras had been mixed together into chaos—violent, boundless, and filled with a strong sense of tearing and dissonance.
The more Shiko sensed it, the stranger it felt.
"Then can Elite Four Aisa win tomorrow?"
"No, can she force that Shuzo to send out his second Pokémon tomorrow?"
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]