The score was ultimately fixed at 6:1.
Aiden's portrait remained on the big screen, making him the first Masters Eight contestant to advance to the semifinals of this tournament.
After the match temporarily concluded, it was time for the crowd-pleasing "post-match settlement" moment.
Quite a few trainers who had a good relationship with the two had already prepared themselves to eat melons from the front row, quietly waiting to see if the two would whisper something to each other after shaking hands and making peace.
"Big Sister Cynthia doesn't look that angry. Could Teacher Azure actually escape unscathed this time?"
In the stands, Flint wore a look of disappointment.
"I thought we'd finally get to see Teacher Azure eat humble pie this time. Even if we can't beat him in battle, Big Sister Cynthia always has other ways to keep Teacher Azure in line!"
"Big Sister Cynthia isn't the type to be unreasonable—"
Volkner shrugged helplessly.
"Besides, it's not our place as outsiders to comment on their business!"
"To be honest, true."
Aaron nodded in agreement.
He had originally been fixated on Aiden, who remained in place and seemed to be preparing something. But when he turned to look at Flint, a glint of gold suddenly caught his peripheral vision, and he noticed a golden figure not far away.
Was that—Caitlin?
Noticing this young lady who seemed to have a deep relationship with Big Sister Cynthia, Aaron's gaze lingered for an extra second before quickly pulling back.
They weren't very familiar with this young lady of the Battle Castle, the newly minted Elite Four member from Unova.
However, for some reason—
After noticing her, Aaron felt that the atmosphere had subtly become even more delicate.
'Must be my imagination!'
Aaron shook his head and turned his gaze back to the field.
Amidst the cheers and raucous shouts of the audience, Aiden and Cynthia had already walked forward toward each other, finally meeting at the center of the field.
"Congratulations, Aiden."
Cynthia smiled radiantly, completely unaffected by her recent battle loss. Her gentle gaze remained fixed on Aiden.
"Next, carry my will and continue forward until you become Champion~"
"Yeah, I will."
Aiden nodded solemnly, then took the initiative to extend a hand.
The rule between trainers.
After shaking hands and reconciling, the victor and all emotions would be left on this battlefield.
The winner bore the loser's blessing, gaining an even greater reason not to lose to anyone else in the battles to come.
Of course, for the two of them, this "reconciliation" held another, even more important significance.
Cynthia seemed to sense something. Instead of rushing to shake Aiden's hand, she playfully tilted her head up to meet his gaze and said softly, "For the occasion that follows, should I touch up my makeup a little?"
After saying that, she blinked at Aiden.
Aiden smiled and nodded, tacitly agreeing with her words.
And so, under the focused gaze of a hundred thousand spectators at Wyndon Stadium—
Cynthia took out the lipstick embedded with a Key Stone from her pocket, and gently applied it to her moist lips.
Hmm?
In the stands, Caitlin, who had been applauding along with the other spectators for both sides of the match, suddenly frowned.
Applying lipstick at a time like this?
Something's not right!
Her psychic intuition told her—
That something explosive, something no one could have anticipated, was very likely about to happen next.
But why did she have a bad feeling about this?
Caitlin was somewhat confused.
'Surely I'm overthinking it—'
'This is the Masters Tournament, after all. There's no way those two would show off their romance in such a sacred and solemn setting!'
Caitlin shook her head, comforting herself inwardly while forcefully suppressing the uncomfortable feeling in her chest.
However, in the next second, her eyes immediately widened.
When Cynthia was ready and reached out to shake Aiden's hand, Aiden suddenly withdrew his "reconciliation" request.
Then, like a magic trick, he gave his cuff a gentle shake, and a small square box naturally slid into his previously empty right palm.
"That's—"
The spectators in the stands blinked.
The silence lasted for several seconds before someone finally reacted, letting out the first exclamation.
"No way!!!"
"Is Teacher Azure about to propose?"
"Ah?"
The voices quickly radiated outward.
Wave after wave of exclamations gradually replaced the cheers, and the arena, originally filled with laughter and joy, instantly devolved into a sea of jealousy.
"Getting married right after finishing a Masters Tournament match? That's way too—"
"Come to think of it, it's actually quite romantic. After all, this is the Masters Tournament Arena, watched by countless people. It's equivalent to publicly announcing their relation—their romance to the entire world!"
"Teacher Azure has ultimately become impure. My youth is over, boohoohoo—"
"The arena is not the place for you two to show off your romance, hey!!!"
The spectators discussed animatedly, some unable to accept it, others offering sincere blessings.
The commotion outside did not interfere with Aiden's actions.
Under Cynthia's expectant gaze, Aiden straightened his custom-made suit, cleared his throat seriously, and only then did he smile, drop to one knee, and look up at her.
"As promised, I won this time, so—"
"I like you, Cynthia."
"Please go out with me, with marriage as the premise!"
Cynthia blinked, the smile on her face intoxicating.
"Is this—a proposal ring?"
"No, it should be considered an engagement."
Aiden shook his head, his smile clear and pure.
"Before we make our lifelong vows, I want to create more beautiful memories between us first."
"So, after I win the championship, let's go traveling together!"
"Paldea's Nameless Crag, Galar's Slumbering Weald, Alola's Hano Beach—"
"After leaving memories that belong exclusively to us in every region, I think the final stop should be the Burned Tower in Johto?"
"At that time, I hope to have our companions and friends watching, with several Legendary Pokémon serving as the officiants for our wedding, bringing everything to the most perfect conclusion."
Regarding this "confession," Aiden had clearly been preparing for a long time.
He had even planned out every stop they would pass through over the next half year to a year.
Since he had prepared this thoroughly—
Cynthia's beautiful eyes shimmered, her gentle gaze locked onto Aiden, reading the completely unfiltered sincerity in his eyes.
"Okay."
She responded with just a single short word, then slowly reached out her hand once more.
This time, Aiden took the initiative to respond, accompanying it with the ancient etiquette of a gentleman as he took her fair, jade-like right hand.
The box in his other hand slowly opened, revealing a ring embedded with a pink diamond, sparkling brilliantly under the sunlight.
"This is—"
Cynthia blinked, seemingly recalling something.
"The Sacred Diamond, a gift of friendship from Princess Diancie."
Aiden explained with a smile.
"Before Steven went to the Diamond Domain to seek out Princess Diancie, I had already asked him to help me."
Aiden glanced from the corner of his eye at the contestant lounge beneath the stands, vaguely seeing someone wave from Steven's room.
"Reliable for once, Steven."
"As the token to fulfill my promise with the most beautiful Champion, Miss Cynthia, naturally only a one-of-a-kind Sacred Diamond would be worthy~"
"You're flattering me so much I'm almost embarrassed."
Cynthia smiled faintly, watching as Aiden slipped the ring onto the middle finger of her right hand, gently pushing it until it fit perfectly. Her gaze then locked firmly onto that diamond ring.
"I've been looking forward to this moment for a long time—"
"It really is wonderful to have met you, Aiden."
"Same for me."
The two smiled at each other.
After completing the most important "ceremony," Aiden slowly stood up.
What responded to him was a passionate embrace.
And an inexperienced yet passionate kiss.
"???"
"I-is this something kids should be watching?"
"As expected of Champion Cynthia, to be able to tame a 'Legendary beast' like Teacher Azure—"
While the live audience applauded the new couple, dazzling and colorful fireworks simultaneously went off outside the stadium.
Amidst the crackling explosions, many spectators raised their phones, recording this unforgettable scene.
"My, this really is—"
In a corner of the stands.
Looking at such a youthful scene from the two young people, even Professor Oak's face visibly gained a hint of nostalgia.
"Thinking back, we were once as young as Aiden—"
"Youth really is wonderful!"
Professor Oak's words made Master Mustard nod along as well.
"Young people should be exactly like this!"
"Little Aiden is much better than Little Leon in this regard, oh ho!"
Master Mustard narrowed his eyes, memories exclusive to his own youth similarly flashing through his mind.
In his younger days, he was completely a battle maniac, spending the greater half of his life on the path of becoming stronger and challenging the strong.
The him of the past only had a thirst for honing his strength, so he missed many important anchors in life.
However, ever since he stepped down from his Champion duties and serendipitously met his future life partner, Honey—
His perspective had also undergone quite a few changes.
Precisely because of this, upon seeing Aiden make a completely different choice from his past self, Master Mustard was able to genuinely approve.
Life really is about more than just getting stronger~
In the stands, only Caitlin fell into silence, staring at Aiden and Cynthia with a somewhat complicated expression.
Even though she knew this day would come sooner or later—
'Why are you two so experienced!'
'How did you just go straight to the finish line, even putting the ring on already!'
Her gaze firmly locked onto the two who were kissing obliviously, Caitlin's expression quickly went through multiple changes—from bewilderment to shock, to confusion, and finally to acceptance.
Ultimately, a myriad of thoughts dissolved into a single sigh.
'Forget it, I'll just eat this PDA honestly this time.'
'Even if Cynthia and Aiden get married in the future, the fact that I'm her best friend won't change.'
A trace of relief flashed through Caitlin's eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
You two better be happy!
Come to think of it—
Should I start preparing early and buy a house in Celestic Town closer to them?
---
After Aiden and Cynthia's duel and their "public display of affection," the second group to take the stage was Wallace and Leon.
Because the shock from the earlier engagement hadn't yet dissipated, the audience initially wasn't in the right state of mind, and didn't hold much expectation for this match.
After all—
In terms of shock value, nothing could be more outrageous than Aiden's "on-the-spot proposal" as a Masters Tournament unexpected event!
However, the battle between Wallace and Leon was actually quite intense.
"The second advancee from the upper bracket has emerged!"
"Leon's Gigantamax Charizard withstood the pressure, and consecutive Max Overgrowth moves left Wallace's Milotic unable to cope!"
"Total score 6:4, the winner is Leon!!!"
Just looking at the score, one could tell that both sides had pushed their opponent to the absolute limit.
Unfortunately, Wallace was ultimately one move short, and could only smile bitterly as he acknowledged his defeat.
---
The two matches in the lower bracket were similarly full of highlights.
Red and Blue, the twin stars of Pallet Town, were absolutely the two dark horses of this Masters Tournament, directly whipping up a storm of youth on the battlefield.
If Red, the Kanto Champion, defeating Kanto Elite Four member Lance was somewhat understandable—
Then the result of Blue's match against Steven was clearly beyond many people's expectations.
No matter how you looked at it, Blue was just a fledgling rookie.
As a dark horse Champion who had fought his way out of the Kanto region, being able to beat Raihan might have already been his limit.
Kanto natives were inherently more skilled at no-rules battles, and how much of their strength they could exert under the Master Rules was still unknown.
Especially since the opponent he was about to face was the equally young but long-established Champion Steven. In terms of both experience and strength, there would likely be a precipitous gap.
No matter how dark a dark horse was, breaking through that limit would be very difficult~
Therefore, the vast majority of people did not favor Blue to defeat Steven.
However, the fierce clash between the two soon lit up the audience's eyes, and for the first time, they began to take this sharp and dazzling young man seriously.
"So strong!"
"This time, Blue didn't stick with the Sunny Day team lineup from the group stage. Instead, he unexpectedly chose a more targeted Rain Dance team!"
"Under the assault of Blastoise and Gyarados, it was actually Steven who fell behind by three points first!"
"Score 3:2, Blue temporarily holds the advantage!"
The commentator's voice was filled with shock.
Blue, in the field, was quite pleased by this, nodding in satisfaction.
During his one-year journey through Kanto, although he had taken quite a few beatings and stepped into every big and small pitfall along the way—
It was precisely this hellish path that gave him an advantage that other Champions would find difficult to replicate.
With the entire Oak Research Institute serving as his logistical support, he had purposefully raised many Pokémon along the way. He could now completely configure radically different tactical setups against opponents of different styles.
Even Steven, when faced with the sudden formation change to a Rain Dance team, failed to adjust in time.
However, the score between the two sides had always been tightly contested.
It wasn't until both sides had exhausted their resources that Steven's Metagross finally took the stage.
And then—
"Charizard, Mega Evolve!!!"
That's right.
Against Steven's Metagross, Blue also had a killer move in reserve.
Outside the main axis of the Rain Dance team, this suddenly emerging Mega Charizard Y completely killed the match.
When both sides were roughly equal in strength, type advantage was the final weight that completely tipped the scales.
In the end—
"Total score 6:5, an incredibly grueling victory!"
"Congratulations to Blue, who as a dark horse successfully meets his fellow Kanto native, Red, in the semifinals!"
------------------------------------------------------
30+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)