The next morning, feeling refreshed and in top condition, Natsui left the dormitory with Erika and headed towards the competitor's passage of the battlefield.
Today's final tournament matches would use a 6v6 full battle format. Each competitor could use six Pokémon, which, compared to the previous days' battles, undoubtedly increased the margin for error and better reflected a trainer's overall team strength.
Of course, for the audience, having more battles to watch was even better.
Before entering the arena, he happened to run into Casey at the entrance. Seeing Natsui, Casey had a complex expression but still hesitantly walked up to him.
"Mr... Natsui..." She wanted to call him 'Natsui-bro' like Misty did, but clearly hadn't found the right opportunity to change how she addressed him, nor was their relationship as close as his with Misty. "I never thought we'd be opponents. I... I couldn't sleep much last night. I really don't know how to face today's match. I really don't want to fight you in this kind of situation..."
"This isn't like the usual you," Natsui said, noticing her dark circles and interrupting her gently. "The Casey I know wouldn't be so sentimental. Rather than this, I'd prefer to see the energetic you."
"The energetic... me?" Casey's eyes widened. She hadn't expected Natsui to say that. A wave of emotion washed over her.
Indeed, her current state was completely different from before. Even she barely recognized herself.
"That's right," Natsui smiled. "Just like usual, don't feel any pressure. Think of it as a practice match, or just an ordinary battle. Regardless of the outcome, you need to make all your hard work worthwhile. You absolutely cannot let your current state lead to regrets in today's match!"
Even though we're opponents, Natsui is comforting me like this!
Deeply moved, Casey placed her hands on her chest and declared loudly in her thick Kansai accent, "I understand! I will face this battle in my best condition! Please... please do your best too!"
With that, she bowed deeply, gave Natsui one last look, and ran off, blushing.
Watching her leave, Erika couldn't help but chuckle.
It wasn't because she was jealous of a child, or because Natsui was encouraging a young girl right in front of her.
It was because Natsui's words had instantly restored Casey's spirit. In the upcoming battle, the simple-hearted girl would likely fight with even greater determination. Natsui's actions were undoubtedly creating unnecessary trouble for himself.
But from another perspective, it was also a sign of his absolute confidence in his own strength.
Through the competitor's passage, the two entered the dedicated waiting room.
Once Natsui went onto the field, Erika wouldn't need to go to the stands; she could watch from here.
Natsui had specifically requested this from the League. In fact, after reaching the Top 16, the treatment of each competitor improved significantly. Not only did they have dedicated waiting rooms like this for preparation, but their friends and family could also watch the match from the room and wait for their return.
Even their battlefield was upgraded from the four smaller surrounding fields to the main Silver Stadium. The facilities here were better, it could hold more spectators, and the level of attention was incomparable to before.
In the waiting room, as the time for the match drew closer, the atmosphere gradually grew tense.
During the wait, Natsui stopped joking with Erika and instead used the computer to review Casey's videos again, briefly looking over the Pokémon she had used previously.
For a rookie trainer who had only recently started her journey, Casey's growth was enormous.
In her previous matches, she had used Meganium, Pidgey, Rattata, Beedrill, and Elekid. Although she faced setbacks sometimes, it was clear her overall strength was considerable.
To reach the Top 16 as a rookie trainer showed her talent was quite good, at least comparable to Ash's performance in the Indigo Conference.
After quickly browsing through Casey's battles, Natsui lay back on the sofa and looked at the large screen in the waiting room.
On the screen, the first match of the day was underway.
One of the two competitors was Koji, who had been placed in the other half of the bracket. His opponent was a competitor from the same half named Harrison.
By now, their battle was nearing its end. As someone who had fought Koji before, Natsui knew his strength relatively well. The boy, around Ash's age, was indeed slightly stronger than the average trainer. But now, in his battle against Harrison, he was being completely overwhelmed.
This was quite unexpected and made Natsui wary of this competitor named Harrison.
Although he hadn't seen the others battle yet, he had a feeling that the final winner from the other half of the bracket might very well be this Harrison guy.
Erika clearly also noticed this person's extraordinary skill. She frowned. "This person... is definitely worth paying attention to. He seems to be a local Johto competitor, and I heard some spectators mention earlier that besides you, he's considered one of the favorites in this conference!"
Natsui nodded, committing the name 'Harrison' to memory.
On the battlefield, Koji's Pikachu was struggling against Harrison's Rapidash. Although his Pikachu was extremely agile, Harrison's Rapidash was also a Pokémon known for its speed. Furthermore, its charges carried immense power, quickly cornering Pikachu.
"He's lost..." Erika sighed softly, looking at the trend of the battle.
Just as she said, even though Pikachu fought back valiantly, it ultimately fell under the fiercely burning hooves of the Rapidash.
In this match, Koji had only managed to defeat one of Harrison's Pokémon, highlighting the clear gap between them.
On the screen, Koji could be seen picking up his Pikachu with a dejected look. For this trainer who had traveled across the sea all the way from the Orange Islands to Johto, his Silver Conference journey had come to an end here.
It was unfortunate that Koji didn't achieve the good results he had hoped for. He could only return to the Orange Islands with regret and disappointment.
There was no time to feel sorry for him. Hearing the announcement over the broadcast, Natsui stood up and headed towards the battlefield.
Next up was his match against Casey. The loser of this battle would follow in Koji's footsteps, leaving the Silver Stadium with heavy hearts.
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