At this moment, watching Morrison's defeat, Aiden Flint originally wanted to comfort him.
But now, after the dust had settled, Morrison's eyes were no longer filled with confusion.
Instead, they burned with fighting spirit and youthful passion as he looked straight at Aiden Flint.
"Aiden Flint, next time, I'll definitely defeat you!"
Hearing those words, Aiden Flint couldn't help but smile.
That wasn't bad at all.
After Aiden Flint's victory, the results of the remaining matches were announced one after another.
The final Top Eight list was officially confirmed.
If everything went smoothly, Ash and Sawyer would meet in the semifinals.
As for Aiden Flint's next opponent—
It was none other than Blue from the Kanto region.
When he saw this name, Aiden Flint felt genuinely surprised.
Because whether it was her appearance or her name, she closely resembled Blue from Pokémon Adventures—the female protagonist who stood alongside Red and Green.
The only strange part was her origin.
She came from Cerulean City in Kanto, not Pallet Town.
That made Aiden Flint slightly curious.
Meanwhile, Ye Yue also successfully advanced.
If nothing unexpected happened, he would likely become Aiden Flint's opponent in the semifinals of this year's Ever Grande Conference.
…
As the matches continued, Ash became the first to advance into the Top Four.
And this time, he only used three Pokémon—Pikachu, Swellow, and Snorlax—to defeat all six of his opponent's Pokémon.
Soon after, Sawyer refused to fall behind.
With Sceptile, Donphan, and Meowth, he also defeated all six of his opponent's Pokémon and advanced into the Top Four.
With the first day of battles over, it was finally time for the third match—
Aiden Flint versus Blue.
The next morning, Aiden Flint and Blue walked out from their respective battle tunnels.
The moment Aiden Flint appeared, the entire stadium erupted in cheers.
The deafening shouts nearly lifted the arena into the sky.
"Aiden Flint! I love you like Rattata loves rice!"
"Aiden Flint! I love you like Goldeen loves water!"
"Aiden Flint, go for it!"
Listening to these slogans, Aiden Flint's lips twitched slightly.
The most outrageous part was that, after activating his psychic perception, he saw Ash, May, and Pikachu wearing cheerleader outfits in the stands, shouting wildly.
Even though Aiden Flint's opponent was also a trainer from Ash's hometown in Kanto—
"Next, we begin the third match of the Top Eight to Top Four round. The battle will be between Blue from Cerulean City, Kanto, and Aiden Flint from Littleroot Town, Hoenn!"
"Each side may use six Pokémon. The first half will take place on the Water Battlefield. Blue will move first. The battle begins!"
As soon as the referee announced the start, Blue smiled slightly, took out a Poké Ball, and threw it forward.
"Go, my darling!"
A red flash of light burst forth.
A powerful Blastoise appeared on the battlefield.
"Blastoise!"
Hearing the deep, steady roar of Blastoise, Aiden Flint immediately understood—
This was a truly formidable opponent.
Who would have thought that such a gentle-looking girl possessed such a powerful Pokémon?
"Since this is the Water Battlefield, it's my home field, Aiden Flint. Today, I will definitely defeat you!"
Seeing Blue's confidence, Aiden Flint chuckled.
"Alright. Then let's settle it on the battlefield. I'm counting on you—Glaceon."
The Water Battlefield was undoubtedly paradise for a trainer who specialized in Water-type Pokémon.
So Blue's confidence wasn't unreasonable.
But sometimes—
Too much confidence wasn't necessarily a good thing.
As Glaceon appeared, the battle between the two sides instantly ignited.
"Glaceon, use Blizzard and completely freeze the Water Battlefield!"
After hearing Aiden Flint's command, Glaceon let out a sharp cry.
The temperature of the entire arena plummeted instantly.
Endless snow and violent winds descended.
Seeing this, Blue immediately responded.
"Blastoise, don't let it succeed! Use Rain Dance!"
As the weather clash unfolded, Blastoise and Glaceon fought for dominance.
In the end—
Glaceon prevailed.
Terrifying Ice-type energy froze the entire Water Battlefield into towering ice pillars.
In an instant, what had once been Blue's advantage became Glaceon's domain.
"Glaceon, now! Use Ice Beam!"
"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!"
After a fierce series of exchanges—
Glaceon displayed overwhelming strength.
With a one-versus-three performance, it defeated Blue's Blastoise, Starmie, and Walrein.
After Blue's three Pokémon lost the ability to battle, the match entered the halftime break.
Soon, the second half began.
The battlefield changed into the Grass Battlefield.
Blue's fourth Pokémon appeared—
A ferocious Gyarados.
"Ding! Gyarados's current data is as follows:"
Pokémon: Gyarados
Level: 57
Ability: Intimidate
Type: Water / Flying
Potential: Purple
Mega Evolution: Not unlocked
Moves: Dragon Rage, Hydro Pump, Aqua Tail, Ice Fang, Waterfall, Dragon Dance, Twister…
Blue originally thought that Aiden Flint would send out an Electric-type Pokémon.
After all, Electric-type moves dealt quadruple damage to Gyarados.
In the Pokémon world, many trainers specialized in a single type.
Gym Leaders and Elite Four members were almost all like this.
Because mastering one attribute made it easier to push Pokémon toward higher levels.
Like Blue, who specialized in Water-type Pokémon—
Her weakness was obvious.
Electric-type and Grass-type Pokémon.
Yet—
Aiden Flint sent out Gardevoir.
Yes.
This time, it was the younger sister among the Gardevoir twins.
The elder sister had already fought before.
So naturally, now it was the younger sister's stage.
"Gardevoir, Thunderbolt!"
Without wasting any words, a powerful Electric-type attack erupted.
Gyarados collapsed instantly.
Gardevoir's level also caught up with her sister, reaching Level 58.
Blue's final two Pokémon were no match for Gardevoir either.
They were defeated effortlessly.
So if one truly compared strength—
Morrison and Paul were actually stronger than most of the trainers who reached the quarterfinals.
But they stopped at the Top Sixteen.
It could only be said—
Luck also played a role.
"Since all six of Blue's Pokémon have lost the ability to battle, the winner is Aiden Flint!"
With the result decided, Aiden Flint smiled and waved to the audience before leaving the battlefield.
In the next match, Ye Yue also emerged victorious.
Thus—
The semifinal lineup was officially confirmed.
At this point, the Ever Grande Conference had reached its climax.
After the Top Four were decided, the fourth round of battles finally began.
From here on—
Whether one won or lost, they would still fight another match to determine the champion, runner-up, third place, and fourth place.
The first match:
Ash vs Sawyer.
The second match:
Aiden Flint vs Ye Yue.
…
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