"So, which Elite Four member do you think is coming this afternoon?"
At lunch, Jace asked the group excitedly.
Peter took a leisurely bite of his chicken leg. "Any of them would be fine, I guess. Though it probably won't be Elite Four Yuxiuzhu."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Because Yuxiuzhu is my brother." Peter shot Jace a smug look.
Jace: ...
"It'll probably be Elite Four Dax Jonas."
Everyone turned to look at Auron. "How do you know?"
Auron calmly pulled out his phone. Everyone's eyes focused on the screen.
Uncle Dax: Hey Auron, I'm heading to Skyspire this afternoon. Excited?
Auron: I guess.
Uncle Dax: Not cute at all. Fine, I'll see you this afternoon then.
Auron: Mm, see you then [thumbs up]
"So you guys don't need to get too hyped." Auron pocketed his phone.
Jace nodded with visible disappointment. "Yeah... definitely not hyped anymore."
They'd all met Dax before, and Jace in particular had witnessed his fiercer side (slapping a Great Steel Serpent on the head with his bare hands). So knowing it was Dax coming as the Elite Four representative, their excitement had definitely cooled.
"Let's just eat for now. He's not watching matches today anyway—he'll only be present tomorrow when the main tournament starts."
"True."
Everyone nodded in agreement. There were still matches this afternoon. Today's battles would continue until only about seventy people remained—only then would there be commentary. That was when the real main tournament began.
"Ding-ling~"
"What round are you?"
"Big bro, what kind of dumb question is that? There are only 153 people left now. Just three rounds total. As long as we don't run into each other, we're fine."
Tim rolled his eyes at Jace helplessly.
"We're only six people. There's no way we'd run into each other this early... right?"
"Let's hope."
"At least I didn't draw one of our own." Watching Jace and Tim bicker, Auron smiled and showed everyone his match assignment.
Jace and Tim said in perfect unison: "I didn't draw one of our own either."
Then they both turned to look at each other simultaneously: "Stop copying me."
"Damn it."
Ignoring the two clowns, Auron turned to Serena and Simon. "What about you guys?"
"I didn't draw one of us either!" Serena excitedly held up her phone to show Auron.
"Simon and I... got matched against each other." Lena looked at both their phones with a mix of amusement and resignation.
"Uh..."
Everyone fell silent. Even Jace and Tim, who had been bickering just moments ago, looked over.
Seeing everyone's expressions, Lena immediately burst out laughing. "Oh come on—I didn't say anything. Why are you all looking at us like that? Him advancing or me advancing is basically the same thing."
The words of comfort Auron had been about to offer caught in his throat. He looked helplessly at the two of them embracing. "Alright, fine. You two figure it out yourselves. You're practically one person anyway."
Jace and the others, caught off-guard by the sudden display of affection, nodded in agreement. "True—you two are like the same person. Doesn't matter who goes through. But could you please stop showing off? I'm suffering here."
"Hahahaha!"
Everyone burst out laughing. After the laughter died down, they prepared to head to their matches.
This time, Auron, Tim, and the internally-matched Simon and Lena were all in round 1, so they headed to the field quickly.
"Both contestants, release your Pokémon."
"Go, Clawitzer!"
"Go, Hatterene!"
Pokémon: Hatterene
Gender: Female
Type: Psychic / Fairy
Ability: Magic Bounce (When this Pokémon is on the field, it remains in a magic reflection state, nullifying certain status moves targeting it and reflecting them back at the user.)
Aptitude: Red
Basic Moves: Psycho Cut, Confusion, Play Nice, Life Dew, Disarming Voice, Brutal Swing, Aromatic Mist, Healing Pulse, Dazzling Gleam, Calm Mind, Psyshock, Imprison, Mystical Fire
Inherited Moves: Nuzzle, Aromatic Mist, After You, Quash
Seeing Hatterene's information, Auron's brow furrowed. This was not going to be an easy opponent.
"Swish!"
The flag dropped. The battle began.
Before the referee's flag fell, Auron glanced at the girl across from him. Though he didn't understand why Hatterene hadn't learned Trick Room—
"Clawitzer, Water Jet!"
"Hatterene, Calm Mind!"
Even though the opponent's Hatterene hadn't learned Trick Room, Auron still decided to go with a Physical Attack approach.
After all, with Hatterene's Aromatic Mist combined with Calm Mind, Clawitzer's Special Attack build wouldn't be very effective.
"BANG!"
Clawitzer rushed forward at high speed. In the process, he naturally transitioned into Shell Blade, landing a claw strike that sent the Calm Mind-ing Hatterene flying.
"Hatterene, Dazzling Gleam!"
"BANG!"
Another impact. Clawitzer once again used Shell Blade to knock the just-landing Hatterene to the ground.
"Nuzzle!"
The girl on the other side panicked. Compared to Hatterene, Clawitzer's speed was simply too fast. She had to slow him down first.
But Clawitzer—having watched plenty of movies alongside Dratini—had become an absolute natural when it came to follow-up attacks.
Seeing the pink Pokémon in front of him still moving, he delivered another claw strike directly to Hatterene without the slightest hint of mercy.
"Hatterene!"
"Hatterene has lost the ability to battle. Contestant, please send out your next Pokémon. Failure to do so within the time limit results in a forfeit."
The girl across from him shot Auron a fierce glare before recalling the now swirly-eyed Hatterene.
"Go, Exeggutor!"
Pokémon: Exeggutor
Gender: Female
Type: Grass / Psychic
Ability: Chlorophyll (In Blazing Sun or intense sunlight weather, Speed is doubled.)
Aptitude: Purple
Basic Moves: Stomp, Seed Bomb, Psyshock, Wood Hammer, Leaf Storm, Mega Drain, Confusion, Synthesis, Bullet Seed, Giga Drain, Psychic, Uproar, Worry Seed, Solar Beam, Absorb, Hypnosis, Reflect, Leech Seed
Inherited Moves: Ingrain, Moonlight, Sleep Powder
Seeing the information for the newly sent-out Exeggutor, Auron was even more confused. Hatterene relying on Trick Room not learning Trick Room was one thing—but a Chlorophyll Exeggutor not learning Blazing Sun? That was pushing it. He'd been hoping to mooch off Blazing Sun weather. Now there was nothing to mooch.
"Return, Clawitzer."
"Go, Charizard!"
"Exeggutor, Leaf Storm!"
The girl had originally been furious and wanted Exeggutor to instantly take down that criminal's Clawitzer—but Auron's decisive switch left her stunned.
Watching her Leaf Storm—which she'd been willing to drop two stages of Special Attack to guarantee a knockout on Clawitzer—hit Charizard with barely any effect, the girl slumped to the ground.
Suddenly, seeing Charizard's movements, her eyes lit up with hope. Before she'd even gotten back on her feet, she shouted to Exeggutor:
"Great opportunity—Exeggutor, use Solar Beam!"