While Li Yuan enjoyed the tenderness of the wives day and night, the group stage quietly ended, and the elimination round officially began.
The 128 qualified contestants were re-seeded to avoid facing groupmates. Li Yuan was matched with an unknown boy.
Seeing it was a boy, Li Yuan lost all interest. Without a word, he sent out Eevee, who one-shotted three opponents in a row. Nothing more to say.
However, three dark horses emerged in the Round of 128. They weren't considered favorites initially but displayed amazing strength.
They were Li Yuan's three heroines.
To reach the top 128 out of over a billion people was no small feat. At this stage, every opponent was an expert. So Dawn, May, and Misty had to get serious.
In the group stage, Dawn relied on Partner Piplup. In the elimination round, she revealed her second Pokémon: Unbound Kirlia, crushing her opponent.
May felt relying on Super Blaze and Partner Moves was becoming strained. She could win, but dragging it out risked exposing her condition.
Remember, she still had a vibrating object inside her "gate," constantly thrusting. If the match dragged on and she climaxed on live broadcast, her secret owner would be exposed.
She didn't have the courage to orgasm on stream. So, for safety, she Mega Evolved Blaziken and insta-killed her opponent.
Misty did the same. She chose Mega Gyarados. Already fierce, the Mega form was terrifying. Just its aura paralyzed the opponent, and a single tail whip finished the job.
Thus, Mega Evolution was fully exposed to the public. The massive power boost amazed everyone. People wanted to rush up and kiss Li Yuan for such a treasure.
Since May and Misty used Mega Stones, people guessed an item was involved. But they covered the stones with mesh, hiding their appearance. The secret of the stones remained safe for now.
Li Yuan was still collecting Mega Stones from overseas. Although his mother had gathered over 10,000, finding more was hard.
But every stone counted. He wanted to monopolize foreign stones so that when China popularized Mega Evolution, foreign countries could only stare in envy.
Of course, "popularized" meant a small elite. Even in the anime, Mega Stones were rare. 10,000 was a huge number. This was a toy for the few.
...
Another day passed. The Round of 128 ended, leaving 64 contestants.
Li Yuan's Round of 64 opponent was finally a cute girl~. And he knew her. It was the popular anime character, Korrina.
Korrina's partner was Lucario. In the anime, she debuted while training Lucario for Mega Evolution.
But now, she clearly didn't have the Mega Stone. She was just an ordinary beauty.
Seeing her opponent was Li Yuan, Korrina's excited face wilted.
As a favorite herself, Korrina feared no one. She was confident against anyone.
But Li Yuan wasn't a favorite; he was the Default Champion!
Anyone who saw his last match felt despair.
His Eevee slapped a top-128 contestant away in three hits.
Some might think the opponent was weak and lucky.
But checking the opponent's group stage record silenced Korrina. 8 wins out of 9, advancing as group first. The only loss was due to type disadvantage.
You call that weak?
A group winner couldn't last three slaps against Li Yuan. And he hadn't even used his strongest Gardevoir or mysterious starter. He soloed with Eevee. How could Korrina stay calm?
Her minimum goal was Top 4. Why meet him so early?
Korrina walked onto the field with a bitter smile, her fighting spirit gone.
She dared to fight stronger opponents, but against Li Yuan's "Wall of Sighs," she found no breakthrough.
Even if she sacrificed everything to take down one Pokémon, it was a 3v3. What about the other two?
"Student Korrina, you look pale. Did you sleep poorly?" Seeing a girl, Li Yuan changed his silent demeanor and started flirting, ignoring the murderous glares from the audience.
"Student Li Yuan jokes. Who can sleep well facing you?" Korrina smiled bitterly. She agonized all night and found no solution.
"Why struggle? You can't win anyway. Just give up," Li Yuan said confidently.
"I don't want to! My goal is the championship!" Korrina said angrily. She was one of the few with 9 wins in group stages. Losing in the Top 64 was too humiliating.
The National Tournament was for under-21s (college students). She was 21. This was her last chance.
If she didn't win now, she never would.
With her only chance before her, even if she couldn't win, she needed Top 4 for dignity. Top 64 was too shameful to mention.
"Meh. What's so great about the National Championship? Why not win the Elite Four Challenge later?" Li Yuan shrugged.
What is the Elite Four Champion?
Cynthia is the Elite Four Champion! Only she deserves that title.
China had three major tournaments: National (students), Master (Gym Leaders/public), and Elite Four (for Elite Four seats).
The Elite Four winner could challenge a sitting Elite Four member. Defeated members became candidates, who could challenge again.
Competition was fierce. But the Champion seat was calm.
Because to become the Champion (like Cynthia), you had to defeat all four Elites in a row. Who dared try that without insane strength?
"Hehe. With you around, I'll never sit in that seat!" Korrina pouted. She felt the tragedy of geniuses born in Cynthia's era.
A genius stuck in the same era as a monster, destined to be stepped on forever, with no hope of turning the tables.
"Not necessarily. I'm not interested in that seat. Maybe I won't try?" Li Yuan shrugged.
"Then don't go. Why not retire now? We'll default you as the strongest of this generation, okay? Stop smurfing!" Korrina complained.
"I'm not that ridiculous. If you work hard, there's a sliver of hope." Li Yuan shook his head. He liked boasting, but hearing it from others was embarrassing.
"Listen to yourself. Is that human language?" Korrina's face darkened. "A sliver"? Are you mocking me?
Damn it. Can't take it anymore. Go, Lucario! Show him our strength!