When Ash and his friends returned to the lobby, everyone was smiling. But to Natsui's surprise, the competitor named Macey was also with them.
Huh? What's going on?
Natsui quickly pulled Misty aside and quietly asked for an explanation. He then learned that after they separated in the morning, Ash had already met his opponent, Macey, before entering the venue.
At that time, Macey had approached him provocatively, wanting to see if Ash was worthy of being her opponent before the match.
Coincidentally, the Team Rocket trio attacked right then. Ash's Pikachu and Macey's Vulpix were captured by them. Fortunately, Ash used his other Pokémon to defeat Team Rocket and rescued both Pikachu and Vulpix.
This act undoubtedly captured Macey's heart.
Even after Ash defeated her in the match, she held no resentment towards him. Instead, her admiration grew, which is why she was now sticking close to him.
"I see," Hearing this, Natsui couldn't help but chuckle. "So Ash is finally having some luck with the ladies!"
When he and Misty rejoined the group, Natsui politely greeted Macey. It was only then that Macey realized Ash was friends with Natsui.
However, with her right there, Natsui couldn't exactly congratulate Ash, so they just made some small talk.
Finally, getting desperate, Misty used the excuse of going to the restroom to lead Macey away, giving Natsui and Ash some breathing room.
"That's really..." Natsui shook his head with a wry smile, not finishing the sentence. He looked at Ash teasingly. "As expected of you, attracting girls wherever you go."
Ash rubbed his hair sheepishly, his face slightly red.
He really wanted to retort, 'Isn't Misty like that with you?', but fearing the combined wrath of Natsui and Misty, and with Erika right there, he only thought it and didn't dare say it out loud.
Seeing his expression, Natsui eggged him on. "Why don't you just go for it and make her your girlfriend?"
"What are you talking about..." Ash's face turned even redder as he stammered, "I... I haven't thought about that kind of thing..."
Shaking his head helplessly, Natsui sighed. "Such a kid."
"Alright," Erika said, noticing Ash's embarrassment and gently stopping Natsui. "Don't tease him anymore. He's still just a child."
Stopped by Erika, Natsui dropped the subject and started talking with Ash about the day's schedule.
Their matches for the day were over. Both had won their first battle, which was cause for celebration. But where there were winners, there were also losers. Compared to them, the competitors who had lost returned to the lobby looking heavy-hearted.
They were already on the brink of elimination. One more loss, and their journey in this Silver Conference would be over.
"But your match just now was really close," Natsui remarked. "You almost lost to Macey. Luckily, Squirtle withstood the pressure and defeated Electabuzz despite the type disadvantage."
"It was certainly nerve-wracking," Brock agreed with a nod. "Watching from the stands, I was sweating bullets for Ash."
Just then, some of the other competitors Natsui knew started returning.
You could tell the results just by looking at their expressions. For example, Gary walked in first, looking completely unfazed, just like before, carrying his small backpack. He didn't even glance at anyone else, walked straight into the lobby with his chest puffed out, and headed for the elevator.
Seeing his calm demeanor, it was obvious he had won, and likely an easy battle at that.
After Gary, Kenta and Marina entered the lobby, talking and laughing. Clearly, their battles had gone smoothly too.
As for Casey and Koji, their matches were scheduled for tomorrow. They hadn't competed today and would have to wait until the next day for their results.
For them, watching their group opponents battle today allowed them to prepare more thoroughly and strategically target their Pokémon.
Although it might seem unfair to the other competitors, that's just how the conference schedule worked.
The exciting battles of the day quickly spread online, and some media outlets even created a "Top 5 Highlights" list.
Surprisingly, none of Natsui's battles made the list, likely because they were mostly one-sided and lacked dramatic tension.
The buzz around the preliminary rounds remained high. Some people felt watching once wasn't enough and repeatedly watched the replays.
Of course, for the moment, none of this concerned Natsui and the other competitors.
After resting for the night, on the second day of the preliminary rounds, Natsui still had no matches scheduled.
From the stands, he watched the battle between Kimura and the other member of his group, a female competitor named Megumi. The two fought fiercely, but at the critical moment, Kimura's Magmar lost to Megumi's Feraligatr. This meant Kimura, with two losses, was officially eliminated from the Silver Conference, losing his chance for revenge against Natsui and making a regrettable exit.
This showed that Megumi, having observed the first day's matches, knew Kimura's strongest Pokémon was Magmar and had planned accordingly to win the crucial battle.
After defeating Kimura, Megumi's score also reached three points, tying her with Natsui.
The two would face off in tomorrow's match for the final spot in the Top 16. The winner would advance directly, while the loser would be eliminated.
Leaving the venue, Natsui went to meet up with his friends again. After pooling their information, he learned about some of the day's results.
For instance, Junichi, who was in the same group as Ash, had made a failed attempt at a stylish entrance, tripped spectacularly, and then unexpectedly lost his match against Macey.
This meant both Ash and Macey now had three points. As long as Ash defeated Junichi in tomorrow's match, he would advance directly.
But if he lost, he would have to face Macey again in a bittersweet battle.
Besides him, Koji had also lost his match today. However, he still had one more chance tomorrow and wasn't entirely out of the running.
Casey, on the other hand, was quite lucky. Her opponent today wasn't very strong, allowing her to secure a relatively easy victory.
With that, the second day of the preliminary rounds concluded. Everyone awaited the final battles tomorrow.
-----------------------------
Access more than 400 chapters across more than 7 different novels on Patreon!
For this novel, there are already over 100 chapters available, and we're only 3 subscribers away from unlocking up to chapter 150!
And many more projects are in progress!
If you find any mistakes or inconsistencies, don't hesitate to leave a comment — your feedback helps me improve and fix them!