Charles Goodshow, as usual, gave a brief opening speech, signaling the official start of the Ace Tournament quarterfinals.
But before that, what everyone was most focused on… was today's draw.
Among the Top 8, there were five newly promoted Ace Trainers and three veteran. If the League really wanted to favor Sato and the others, they could have just paired the "newcomers" against each other. That way, three of them could have easily advanced.
Of course, the League wasn't that foolish. Everything had a limit; what came next would depend entirely on Sato and the others themselves.
The eight Trainers' portraits began rapidly spinning on the big screen. It looked legit… but in truth, everything had already been predetermined.
The matchups were quickly finalized: all three veteran Aces were paired with newcomers.
But what surprised everyone was that Wallace's opponent… was Flint!
"Not the best luck…" The previously fired-up Flint could only give a wry smile at this point.
Instinctively, he looked toward his opponent, Wallace… who promptly blew him a flirtatious kiss.
Flint: "…"
Naturally, this meant that Sato, Phoebe, and Ryoko were all matched against veteran Aces; undeniably fair and square.
The matches started quickly. The first to take the field was Phoebe, who, as always, wore a "radiant" smile and exuded confidence.
Her opponent was a veteran Trainer specializing in Flying-type Pokémon, undoubtedly powerful.
As the battle raged on, in the VIP suit above the audience stands, Charles Goodshow sat at the center seat, watching the others argue intensely.
"WHY DID FLINT END UP AGAINST WALLACE?
He's our last remaining representative from Sinnoh!"
The representative from the Sinnoh League slammed the table in anger, staring hostilely at the representative from Hoenn.
"Hehehe~ What's there to complain about when your strength falls short? Everyone knows that Flon…whatever his name is, already lost to Sato just a month ago."
The Hoenn representative was a middle-aged woman. Her words were slow and composed, creating a stark contrast with the Sinnoh representative's outburst.
"But Flint has made great progress recently! He could've fought for a much better placement!"
"You said it yourself, 'fought for'. Can you say with 100% certainty that Flint could defeat any of the other six besides Wallace?"
"I…"
The Sinnoh representative was momentarily speechless, face flushed red. In the end, all he could do was look toward Charles Goodshow and speak with suppressed anger and frustration, "President, this arrangement is unfair!"
Charles Goodshow kept on his professional smile and turned to look at the other regional representatives.
"What do you all think?"
They exchanged looks, all shaking their heads with the same disinterested expression of "not our problem."
Only the representative from Johto gave a slight cough before calmly adding, "Our Johto region places great importance on this tournament. Yuga Sato is the most outstanding newly promoted Ace Trainer we've had in recent years."
The implication being: we heard Sinnoh had even stronger Aces. If you didn't send them and ended up losing the tournament, who's to blame?
"I…"
The Sinnoh representative was struck down again, but deep down, he also realized who they were all referring to…
Cynthia from Celestic Town!
It was said that her Garchomp only needed one more chance to reach Elite Four level. If she managed that within the year, she'd break the record for youngest Elite Four Trainer.
But with her rare talent and powerful background, she had no interest in Gym challenges, Elite tournaments, or the Ace Tournament. Even so, she had already become a League Investigator.
Thinking of all this, the Sinnoh representative could only sit down resentfully, silently hoping that Cynthia would one day win back some "dignity" for Sinnoh.
Seeing that no one else had anything to say, Charles Goodshow finally withdrew his professional smile and put on a more serious expression.
"Hoenn has performed exceptionally well this time. Wallace, Phoebe, and Ryoko have all done great. Especially that kid Wallace… he's almost caught up to Steven and Lance.
The young man Sato sent from Johto isn't bad either. He's even younger than Phoebe and the others. As long as he stays on the right path, his future is bright.
Kanto and Unova really need to focus more on training new blood. You can't always rely on Alder to carry the 'face' of the region…
And you, Sinnoh representative, don't be too anxious. If you want better results, you should be showcasing your outstanding newcomers. Hiding them away won't help their growth, now will it?"
He praised some, encouraged others; every regional representative could only nod in agreement…
SLAM!
Suddenly, Goodshow smacked the table hard. The loud noise startled everyone in the room.
"But which one of you can explain this… who gave you the authority to interfere with the tournament's draw process?
WHO WAS IT?!"
Everyone, including the previously "graceful" Hoenn representative, silently lowered their heads, not daring to meet Goodshow's gaze.
A full minute passed, the room so silent they could hear each other breathing.
Finally, Goodshow waved at the secretary behind him and said, "Fire everyone responsible for this draw!"
"Understood, President!" the secretary replied crisply and turned to leave the room.
"Alright, that's enough. Let's get back to watching the matches, shall we~"
Goodshow tapped the table, his professional smile returning as if he had gone right back to being the friendly and easygoing president.
Just then, the referee's voice echoed throughout the arena.
[Braviary has lost the ability to battle! Chandelure wins! The victor is Trainer Phoebe from Ever Grande City!]
"Sigh, all that nonsense made us miss such a wonderful battle…"
Charles Goodshow shook his head regretfully, then waved again to another secretary in identical attire, who quickly stepped forward.
"Make several extra copies of this match's footage and distribute them to all the representatives present. And everyone, don't forget to write a review and submit it to your sub-leaders. Make sure they watch carefully."
"Y-Yes, President…" × n
The representatives' faces turned red with embarrassment, but no one dared say a word in protest.
----
Back on the field, Phoebe had already defeated her opponent and became the first to advance to the semifinals.
At the same time, she had fired the first shot in rejecting behind-the-scenes manipulation, winning fairly and squarely against a veteran Trainer.
Next up was the match between Wallace and Flint.
After all, they had known each other for years. Sato could only give Flint a firm pat on the shoulder.
"…Come back next time."
"Heh, you jerk!"
Flint bared his teeth, trying to playfully hit back, but Sato easily dodged it.
"Give it your best," Sato said seriously, offering genuine encouragement.
"Don't need you to tell me!" Flint recovered his smile and turned toward the battlefield, though his back seemed a little lonely.
"Sato-kun… you cheer him on, but can bear to watch me lose the match.
After all these years of feelings… was I wrong to give them to the wrong person~?"
"Hsss… GET LOST!!!"
"Okay~"