"Megumi's Ursaring is down! It's incredible! Competitor Natsui's Tyranitar displayed its top-tier strength, easily defeating its opponent in this contest of power!"
The announcer's resonant voice echoed through the Stadium A arena, yet even it couldn't drown out the deafening roar of the crowd.
Seeing the referee raise the flag, the announcer remarked, "Another clean 3-0 victory! Competitor Natsui has shown incredibly impressive strength, defeating his opponent with absolute dominance to successfully advance to the Top 16!"
On the field, Natsui expressionlessly recalled his Tyranitar. He glanced at the disappointed female competitor opposite him, waved to the surrounding audience, and then turned and left.
In the battle just now, he had used a powerful lineup of Blastoise, Dragonite, and Tyranitar to easily defeat Megumi, giving her no room to breathe.
Megumi's skill level was comparable to Kimura's, and she similarly hadn't caused him much trouble.
After leaving the stadium, Natsui and Erika returned to the lobby on the first floor of the Athlete's Village. Not long after they sat down, their friends began to return one by one, and the results of today's preliminary rounds unfolded before them.
First were Kenta and Marina. The childhood friends from Greenleaf Town had both defeated their opponents in their respective matches, advancing to the next round together with two consecutive wins each.
Next to return was Gary. He was as cool as ever, with a faint, enigmatic smile on his face. It seemed he had also won his match easily.
After him came Koji and Casey. Both had also defeated their opponents today. Although their battles had some twists and turns, the results were positive.
The last to return was Ash. He had put on a remarkable performance in his battle today against Junichi. After losing the first two rounds, he ultimately used Bulbasaur to sweep Junichi's remaining two Pokémon, resulting in a draw.
However, because Ash had higher points overall, even with a draw, he successfully advanced to the Top 16.
Junichi thus became the only one of the Kenta-Marina trio to be eliminated in the first round.
This was undoubtedly a huge blow to Junichi's confidence. After saying goodbye to Marina, feeling too ashamed to stay, he hastily left Silver Town.
As they say, life is full of disappointments. For those who were eliminated, all they could do was try again next year.
With so many people gone, the lobby suddenly felt empty. But the remaining competitors had no time for sentiment. The screen flickered, displaying the match schedule for the next stage.
After entering the Top 16, the competition would switch to a final tournament format. This was a special bracket divided into upper and lower halves. Competitors from different halves would not meet until the grand finals. They would battle within their respective halves until only one remained to face the winner from the other half.
This format had its pros and cons, making it difficult to evaluate.
However, as everyone gathered closer to check the list, the tournament groupings surprised many.
The first matchup they saw was the destined battle between the good buddies, Ash and Gary. The rivals and friends, who had started their adventures together from Pallet Town, would finally face each other in this setting.
But for both of them, this matchup came far too early, leaving them completely unprepared psychologically.
As if sensing it, they both looked at each other at that moment, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
And that wasn't all. Perhaps the Pokémon League had intentionally stirred things up during the grouping, because Kenta and Marina, the childhood friends from Greenleaf Town, were also paired against each other!
The expressions on Kenta's and Marina's faces were far more dramatic than Ash's and Gary's.
After all, these two liked each other, yet they had to fight fiercely on the battlefield for the single spot to advance.
Shifting his gaze from these two pairs, Natsui searched for his own name.
But when he saw his grouping, he could only sigh helplessly, feeling the full malice of the league's arrangement.
His opponent was none other than Casey, who was good friends with both him and Ash.
He had just been feeling smug about Ash's and Kenta's misfortune, and now it was his turn.
And the most frustrating part was that he was placed in the same half of the bracket as Ash, Gary, Kenta, and Marina. This meant that whoever won between Ash and Gary, or between Kenta and Marina, would eventually have to face him.
Shaking his head with a wry smile, Natsui looked for the names of the others.
The only one who had escaped this strange entanglement was Koji, whom they had just met.
He was placed in the other half of the bracket, escaping this round of awkward matchups for now. But for him, it probably didn't matter much. Although he knew Natsui and the others, their relationship was still at the 'acquaintance' level, far from true friendship.
Seeing these groupings, everyone had different expressions. For most, this was the situation they least wanted to face.
Since the matches were tomorrow, and given these pairings, nobody was in the mood for small talk. After brief greetings, they returned to their respective rooms.
"Let's go too."
Seeing people gradually leave, Natsui called to Erika, and they returned to their own room as well.
Once inside, seeing Natsui walk straight to the sofa and sit there silently, Erika came up behind him and gently placed her soft hands on his shoulders.
"What's wrong? Something on your mind?"
Natsui nodded and sighed deeply. "Did you see their faces just now? Everyone was happy about reaching the Top 16, but after seeing the pairings, they were all speechless. This grouping clearly took everyone by surprise."
"It can't be helped," Erika said, sitting down beside Natsui and leaning into his embrace. "After all, out of the 16 competitors, your group makes up 7 people. It was inevitable that some of you would be paired together."
Natsui knew this all too well. And regardless of the opponent, he would face them with his full strength. His current melancholy was simply disappointment felt on behalf of his friends.
"Forget it, let's not think about it. Let's watch the recordings and check out Casey's recent strength."
The two stood up and went to the computer. But walking behind her, seeing Erika's graceful figure, Natsui was overcome with desire and hugged her from behind.
"What are you doing?" Erika's face instantly turned red. Although they had been intimate many times and lived together for days, she still felt shy every time. "It's still daytime!"
"What's wrong with daytime?" Natsui slipped his hands under her clothes, kneading energetically, and his mouth covered hers. "Hehe, it feels even better during the day!"
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