The second round of the Ace Tournament finals began, and this time it wasn't Wallace who took the stage first, but rather Flint and Caitlin.
The rules remained unchanged, still following the "2+1+1" format. As soon as Flint and Caitlin entered the field, they immediately launched into an intense offensive mode.
Confident in her own strength, Caitlin didn't even use a single Psychic enhancement power during the initial Double Battle.
After all, the greatest strength of Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokémon lies in their mystique, with strange and unpredictable moves that leave opponents completely confused.
Even so, Caitlin still ended up with a mutual knockout in the Double Battle with Flint.
Four Pokémon all eliminated!
Sato saw everything clearly. Caitlin's talent was extremely high. If it weren't for the fact that Dark-types counter Psychic-types so heavily, she definitely wouldn't have only advanced as the second-place Trainer in her group.
Then came the Single Battles. Caitlin completely changed her earlier aggressive strategy, and opened with Sigilyph using Trick Room to suppress Rapidash, taking the first win.
But Flint wasn't about to back down. He immediately sent out Steelix and used the Trick Room against her, landing a one-hit KO on Sigilyph.
In the final round, Caitlin also brought out her ace, Gothitelle, and didn't hesitate to enhance it with Psychic power.
At the same time, Steelix Mega Evolved, their strength soaring as well.
…And this was only the first match of the second round of the finals, yet both sides clashed so fiercely that the atmosphere on-site was electric.
No one expected Caitlin's eruption to be so terrifying, nor that Flint's Mega Evolution would draw such attention.
In the end, it was Steelix that leveraged its type advantage and seized a single mistake from Gothitelle to claim final victory.
With that, Flint became the first Trainer to advance to Top 8 in this year's Ace Tournament.
What surprised Sato most was that this time, Caitlin actually managed to stay in control. Though she did enhance Gothitelle, it was obvious that she kept her composure until the end.
"Well, who says I'm the only one who gets to grow…?" Sato murmured to himself, watching Caitlin leave the field with her head held high and lips slightly pursed.
After the first match ended, a rare fifteen-minute break was added; naturally, this was because there were fewer matches now and the pace no longer needed to be as tight as before.
Fifteen minutes later, the second match of the second round began. Two veteran Trainers took the stage, one of whom had previously defeated Norman: Mr. Alder.
This time, Alder secured victory with a 2:0 score, using Pokémon that had never appeared in previous battles.
Perhaps due to the way the brackets were set up, powerful veteran Ace Trainers like Alder were finally done holding back, and their outburst was nothing short of shocking.
It also proved that Norman's earlier defeat was absolutely not unjustified!
"Yuga Sato and Volkner please prepare to take the stage! The third match of the second round of the Ace Tournament finals will begin in fifteen minutes!"
"It's our turn!"
Volkner, who had been waiting a long time, suddenly stood up. Normally cold and aloof, he now brimmed with fighting spirit, and one could practically see flames burning in his eyes…
Fifteen minutes flew by in an instant. Without any unnecessary words, Sato and Volkner stepped onto the battlefield the moment time was up.
----
In the waiting room, the victorious Flint watched the two walk away and muttered under his breath.
"Sato… don't underestimate him. Even I can hardly believe how much Volkner has grown lately."
----
On the battlefield, Sato and Volkner stood facing each other, silently listening to the referee recite the rules as usual. Both couldn't help but recall their last battle.
Back then, Sato had just arrived in the Sinnoh region and was immediately set up by Elite Four Bertha, forced into a 3v3 match against Volkner.
Sato had won that time… but what about now?
"Both sides, send out your first Pokémon!"
"Krookodile, Tyranitar."
"Octillery, Magnezone!"
Four flashes of red light later, the Pokémon from both sides appeared. At the same time, a Sandstorm began to spread across the field; it was clearly the effect of Tyranitar's Sand Stream Ability.
What surprised Sato was that Volkner had deliberately sent out a Water-type Octillery to counter him. Its strength wasn't bad either, it had already reached Mid Ace level.
But what Sato didn't know was that, despite his surprise, Volkner was equally shocked. Of course, he knew that Sato had a Tyranitar, but he hadn't expected it to be sent out so early.
…Was it out of respect for him, or simply a desire to end things quickly?
"Battle begin!" The referee didn't care what the two were thinking. The moment the Pokémon appeared, he gave the signal without hesitation.
"Magnezone, Magnet Rise! Octillery, Hydro Pump!"
"Tyranitar, Krookodile, Dragon Dance."
Visibility in the sandstorm was low, which was exactly what Tyranitar had intended, but the spectators could still vaguely make out Magnezone rising quickly into the air, carrying Octillery with it.
Then, a powerful Hydro Pump burst through the sandstorm, aimed directly at Tyranitar, it was clearly the bigger threat.
On the other side, Tyranitar and Krookodile swung their bodies in perfect sync, dodging the Hydro Pump while boosting their Attack and Speed.
"Magnezone, Iron Head!"
The attack missed, and Volkner immediately issued his next command. But this time, only for Magnezone.
Seeing this, Sato instantly realized Volkner had a follow-up plan.
"Krookodile, Tyranitar, double Rock Slide."
"Octillery, Water Gun, clear the obstacles!"
Magnezone turned into a silver streak, charging toward Tyranitar with Octillery still attached, completely ignoring the raining rocks.
But just then, Octillery retaliated: using only two of its tentacles to stabilize itself, the remaining six stretched out and fired off powerful Water Guns in every direction, perfectly shielding itself and Magnezone.
"Krookodile, Brick Break to intercept."
Octillery's move sent chills down Sato's spine. Seeing that Magnezone was already close, he quickly had Krookodile rush in while discreetly signaling Tyranitar.
"Kroooko!"
Krookodile lunged forward, its glowing white claws crossed in front of its chest as it directly intercepted Magnezone's Iron Head.
In the next instant, Tyranitar and Octillery moved at the same time!
Tyranitar charged ahead, its massive legs glowing brown as it stomped toward both Magnezone and Octillery.
The move: Bulldoze!
But at that same moment, Octillery suddenly sprayed out a burst of water, instantly drenching Krookodile and the nearby Tyranitar.
The move: Soak!
"Magnezone, full-power Discharge!"