The battle between Lance and Mikkel was still very spectacular.
The fact that Mikkel could later take over as Champion of the Hoenn Region after Flint stepped down, even if there were factors like the League wanting to promote the Gorgeous Competition, and the reason that Flint and Mikkel had a good relationship, in the end you still need hard strength to forge iron—Mikkel absolutely has the power foundation to back it up.
Of course.
The Mikkel now and the Mikkel back then are quite far apart.
He brought Lance a certain amount of trouble.
But it was thrilling without real danger.
Lance didn't even use a "Z Move" and still managed to take this win.
Mikkel stopped at the quarterfinals.
But in a tournament that covers seven major regions, and even has the Alola Region shamelessly sending those old Island Kings onto the stage, the gold content of the quarterfinals is absolutely not something other events can compare to.
To say it without exaggeration.
Not just the top eight—even those who made it into the top thirty-two or even top sixty-four, once they go back will definitely be cultivated and heavily used by their respective Leagues.
The exciting battle between Lance and Mikkel opened a gorgeous curtain for this quarterfinal stage.
It also ended with the two of them giving each other a hug in the center of the field.
"Let's congratulate Contestant Lance, the Dragon Master!"
Once the thunderous applause that rose and fell finally died down, the host continued, "Next, let's welcome Contestant Hilona from the Sinnoh Region, and our Island Queen Lizabeth from Akala Island in Alola——!!"
It was getting more and more exciting.
By this point in the tournament, everyone's enthusiasm had been completely hooked.
Hilona and Lizabeth, a battle between two beauties with completely different styles, was also full of highlights.
This match.
In Natsuhiko's view, Hilona had a big advantage.
Because looking at the types of Pokémon they own, Lizabeth is a Trainer specialized in Rock Type, while among Hilona's Pokémon, there are way too many that can target Rock Type.
Whether it's Water Type, Grass Type, Steel Type, Fighting Type, or Ground Type, Hilona has them all.
As long as she matches her Pokémon properly, the odds of winning are absolutely not small.
The most important thing is.
Hilona has Natsuhiko as her "dog-headed military advisor."
He had gone all out analyzing Lizabeth's strength and Pokémon for Hilona. The ones that unquestionably needed the most caution were the Alola Form Golem and Lizabeth's Lycanroc.
The rest weren't that hard to deal with.
And Natsuhiko—or rather, all of Hilona's fans—were even more eager to see something else.
Would Hilona use a "Z Move"?
Hilona already has a "Z Bracelet" and "Z Pure Crystal," and that had long since been noticed.
But up to now, Hilona is one of the very few who still haven't used a "Z Move."
Natsuhiko, with a bit of mischievous intent, really wanted to see what Hilona would look like when she used a "Z Move."
Their battle, under the gaze of tens of thousands, began very quickly.
Hilona led with Gastrodon. Very solid, and with a huge advantage.
Lizabeth, on the other hand, sent out Gigalith, which has the "Blowing Sand" trait. Gigalith immediately seized the terrain advantage.
It seems that for all Trainers specialized in Rock-type Pokémon, no matter what they do in the early game, they can't escape the "Sandstorm" tactic in the late game.
Lizabeth's use of Gigalith as a Weather Hand in a "Sandstorm" strategy showed impressive impact right from the start.
Unfortunately.
"Sandstorm" doesn't pose much of a threat to Gastrodon, which has Ground Type.
But Lizabeth's tactical outline was also very clear: send out Gigalith, scatter "Invisible Rock," establish the weather and terrain advantage, then decisively let Gigalith go down.
Natsuhiko even saw some tactical shadows on Lizabeth that he was familiar with.
So yeah.
Don't be fooled by how the Pokemon Realm is quite lacking in tactical knowledge and theory.
That's only true for most of the weaker Trainers. For those with strength on par with the Elite Four, or with extremely high talent, they definitely do a certain amount of digging and research into tactics.
But Natsuhiko still saw a bit of a flaw in Lizabeth's strategy.
For example.
If you're going to sack Gigalith anyway, why not have it use "Big Bang"?
That not only gives your later Pokémon a better chance to sweep, it also doesn't waste Gigalith's full strength.
Using "Big Bang" frequently without any adjustment or repair is a kind of overdraw on the Pokémon.
But for someone like Lizabeth, Natsuhiko simply doesn't believe she has no way to repair and adjust.
All he could say was.
Her tactical execution just wasn't thorough enough.
Lizabeth's second Pokémon on the field was Cradily.
When this Pokémon appeared, both Natsuhiko and the audience at the scene were a bit surprised.
Because in previous battles, Lizabeth had never sent out Cradily.
And a lot of people don't recognize this kind of Pokémon, Cradily, either.
Although the League has already developed fossil revival machines, they haven't been widely promoted—only a few know about them.
Moreover.
Lizabeth's Cradily has the rather rare "Water Diversion" trait.
It greatly compensates for the "Sandstorm" lineup's weaknesses against Water Type and Ground Type, making it an extremely outstanding Defensive Player.
Hilona's Gastrodon, when facing Cradily, was completely pinned down and targeted.
Not long after, it lost its ability to fight.
And the "Sandstorm" continued.
If we're talking about who got the most excited upon seeing Cradily, Natsuhiko could clearly feel Flint's burning gaze beside him.
Well then.
Flint also, in this battle, realized just how important Cradily is.