The battle ended even faster than most spectators had expected.
Walter's Aerodactyl managed to put up a decent fight thanks to its impressive speed but the difference in levels—and the gap between the two trainers themselves—was simply too great.
When the referee declared Alex the winner, the audience erupted into applause.
Alex recalled his Pokémon and made his way toward the exit tunnel.
Walter was already waiting there. The older trainer looked at him for a few seconds before letting out a short laugh. "Well, that went about as well as I expected."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "You expected to lose?"
Walter shrugged. "With a level difference that large, losing wasn't exactly a shocking outcome. I was just hoping I might get lucky."
Alex nodded slightly.
Walter then smiled and said, "Though I was hoping you'd at least use Ditto."
Alex replied jokingly, "I'm starting to think you're more interested in Ditto than in me."
Walter laughed. "Can you blame me? A Ditto that strong is a rare sight."
Alex couldn't really argue with that. Even though he knew that Walter didn't want to fight Ditto for that reason.
Walter then extended his hand. "Good luck in the rest of the tournament."
Alex shook it and replied automatically, "You too."
Walter chuckled. "My tournament is over."
Alex paused for a moment before saying, "...Right."
Walter laughed again before walking away.
Alex watched him leave and felt that, despite being a somewhat strange person, Walter wasn't a bad guy.
Still, he didn't completely trust that feeling.
Even with his heightened psychic awareness, it wasn't as though he could truly determine whether someone was dangerous or not. His instincts could be useful, but they were far from infallible.
As such, he didn't put too much faith in them.
A few minutes later, Alex returned to the waiting room. To his surprise, only Flannery was there.
He looked around and asked, "Where's Steven?"
Flannery didn't answer verbally. Instead, she pointed toward one of the large televisions mounted on the wall.
Alex followed her finger and immediately saw Steven standing in the arena opposite his opponent.
"Oh."
Alex sat down and turned his attention to the screen.
Steven's opponent was a reasonably strong trainer by tournament standards, but the battle itself was completely one-sided.
Only seconds after the match began, Metagross unleashed a devastating attack and knocked out its opponent in a single hit.
The entire battle lasted only a few moments.
Alex couldn't help but think that Steven had won even more easily than he had.
A short while later, Steven returned to the waiting room.
The moment he sat down beside Alex, he asked, "So, did you enjoy watching a real professional at work?"
Alex immediately replied, "I did. It reminded me that some people are only ranked Number 2 because the organizers felt sorry for them."
Flannery looked at Alex and, for a brief moment, genuinely couldn't tell whether he was joking.
She asked cautiously, "Are you serious?"
Alex smiled slightly as he replied, "A little."
The moment Flannery saw his expression, she burst out laughing.
Steven, meanwhile, looked mildly offended. "Alex, come on. You can't keep saying I only got Number 2 because I'm rich."
Alex felt that he might have pushed the joke a little too far. "Sorry, I just don't understand why you got second place when our average levels are exactly the same."
Steven's expression relaxed. "I have no idea either, But if I had to guess, it's because my highest-level Pokémon is stronger than your highest-level Pokémon."
Alex considered that for a moment. The theory actually made sense.
If two participants had identical average levels, using the strength of their strongest Pokémon as a tiebreaker would be a perfectly reasonable criterion.
Before Alex could respond, Flannery suddenly said, "Or maybe the organizers simply liked Steven more."
Steven immediately nodded. "That's obviously the correct answer."
Alex looked at him and replied, "Impossible. Nobody likes Steven that much."
Flannery laughed again.
the three joke a bit, before Flannery's match was about to begin.
Her opponent attempted to pressure her Torkoal from the very start of the battle, but the difference in strength (levels) quickly became apparent.
Flannery remained calm throughout the entire match and steadily securing victory. Although her battle was noticeably more competitive than Steven's, she still won with relative ease.
When she returned to the waiting room afterward, Alex immediately nodded in approval. "Not bad."
Flannery crossed her arms and smiled proudly. "That's only natural. I want to finish in the top 8 at the very least. Maybe even make the top 4."
Alex wore a serious expression as he said, "To finish in the top four, you have to defeat one of the top four competitors."
He didn't say it outright, but he didn't believe Flannery was strong enough to beat any of the top four participants.
Each of the top four possessed strength comparable to Alex's.
Flannery looked straight at Alex and said, "You don't think I have a chance of beating Participant 4 (Amber)?"
Alex answered honestly, "No, and to be honest, Amber is maybe the strongest of all the top four participants in a 3-on-3 format."
Steven smiled as he added, "Not only that, but in a 3-on-3 format you the weakest top-four participant, right?"
Alex nodded without hesitation. "You're not entirely wrong. I'd even say, theoretically: Amber or Winona first, you (Steven) third, and me last. On paper, I'm a bit weaker than you in a 3-on-3."
Flannery looked at Alex and said, "Honestly, I'd rather battle Steven than a freak like you."
Alex smiled as if he had just received a compliment.
The three of them chatted for a little while longer before saying goodbye to the others after a few minutes.
All three had finished their matches for the day, and the next round wouldn't begin until tomorrow.
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