After seven days of fierce competition, the thirty-two Trainers advancing from the opening round were finally decided.
From the Kanto League, the qualifiers were—
Champion Lance.
Vice Champion Lorelei.
Vice Champion Brandon.
Ice-type Elite Four member Pryce.
Poison-type Elite Four member Agatha.
Fighting-type Elite Four member Bruno.
Orange League Champion-level Trainer Drake.
Rising star Ash.
And promising young researcher Gary.
Nine Trainers in total.
There were only thirty-two places altogether, yet the Kanto League had claimed more than a quarter of them.
That alone proved that Kanto truly was the strongest League, far surpassing the others.
Of course, that was hardly surprising.
After all, the Kanto League's influence covered the Kanto region, the Orange Archipelago, Johto, and even Hoenn's Battle Frontier.
If everyone were divided according to their actual affiliations, Brandon should technically belong to the Hoenn League.
Ash, Gary, and Agatha represented Kanto.
Lorelei and Drake belonged to the Orange Archipelago.
Lance, Pryce, and Bruno came from Johto.
With the strength of four different Leagues gathered beneath a single banner, it was only natural that Kanto would emerge as the strongest.
Although Noland possessed an Articuno, he had still been eliminated.
That was because his opponent had been Unova's dark horse—
N.
Against someone capable of overwhelming Champion Alder, even a Trainer with a Legendary Pokémon like Noland had little hope of victory.
Still, despite nine Kanto Trainers advancing, only Lance and Lorelei had a genuine chance of entering the Masters Eight.
Brandon remained slightly below that level.
The Hoenn League had only five Trainers advance—
Aiden, Steven, Wallace, Drake, and Glacia.
That made Hoenn the second-strongest League.
Moreover, at least three of those five possessed the strength to contend for a place in the Masters Eight.
Looking at it that way, Hoenn actually held the advantage when it came to the final eight positions.
The Sinnoh League also had five qualifiers—
Champion Cynthia.
Psychic-type Elite Four member Lucian.
Electric-type Elite Four-level Trainer Volkner.
Fire-type Elite Four member Flint.
And dark horse Trainer Tobias.
However, only Cynthia and Tobias truly had the strength to reach the Masters Eight.
The Unova League had four qualifiers—
Champion Alder.
Fighting-type Elite Four member Marshal.
Psychic-type Elite Four member Caitlin.
And dark horse Trainer N.
Among them, only two had any real chance of entering the Masters Eight.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say only one—
N.
Alder's strength had declined severely, and he was already far from his peak.
The Kalos League also had four qualifiers—
Champion Diantha.
Dragon-type Elite Four member Drasna.
Steel-type Elite Four member Wikstrom.
And dark horse Trainer Alain.
Among them, only Diantha truly possessed Masters Eight-level strength.
The Alola League had been rather unlucky.
Only two Trainers advanced—
Acerola and Kahili.
It was a miserable result.
It seemed Alola would still need Ash to become Champion in the future and restore its reputation.
The Galar League still had only two representatives—
Champion Leon and Hammerlocke Gym Leader Raihan.
However, both had once ranked among the Masters Eight.
Their strength was unquestionable, and either of them had a chance of reclaiming such a position.
As for the Paldea League, only one Trainer remained—
Top Champion Geeta.
Unfortunately, Geeta might have been even weaker than the current Alder.
Her chances of entering the Masters Eight were practically nonexistent.
...
Aiden's opponent in the second round was—
Drake, Champion of the Orange League.
This would be the tournament's first battle between two Trainers who both held Champion titles.
Although the Orange League was not particularly famous compared to the major regional Leagues, Drake was still a Champion.
Because of that, his match against Aiden attracted considerable attention.
The battle to advance from the Top Thirty-Two into the Top Sixteen would remain a three-on-three match.
However, the matches determining the final Masters Eight would become full six-on-six battles.
The eight Trainers who emerged victorious would become the strongest eight competitors in the inaugural World Coronation Tournament—
The Masters Eight.
At this stage, aside from the overwhelmingly powerful regional Champions and several mysterious dark horses, almost any battle could go either way.
Even Aiden could not predict every result with certainty.
Who would enter the Top Sixteen and earn the right to challenge for a place in the Masters Eight would depend on both strength and luck.
However, since Drake had drawn Aiden...
His tournament journey was destined to end here.
One match after another began.
Lorelei, Cynthia, Lance, Steven, and Wallace all defeated their respective opponents.
Ash was matched against Alain.
Unfortunately, Ash ultimately lost and was eliminated in the Top Thirty-Two.
On the third day, it was finally time for Aiden and Drake to battle.
As the two Trainers entered the arena, countless cameras immediately turned toward them.
Sixteen Rotom Drones hovered around the battlefield, capturing the match from every possible angle for the worldwide broadcast.
"Our next match is part of the World Coronation Tournament's Top Thirty-Two!"
"Representing the Hoenn League—Champion Aiden Flint!"
"Representing the Kanto League and the Orange Cup—Champion Drake!"
"This will be a three-on-three battle!"
"Both Trainers, please send out your first Pokémon!"
The moment the referee finished speaking, Drake immediately reached for the Poké Ball containing his ace.
A flash of light burst across the arena.
A powerful and imposing Dragonite appeared.
Drake's Dragonite had reached Level 79—
The absolute peak of Champion tier.
It seemed that after his defeat at Ash's hands years ago, Drake had continued improving at a remarkable pace.
"In that case..."
"Garchomp, I'm counting on you!"
White light flashed.
Aiden's Garchomp appeared on the battlefield.
This was the pseudo-Legendary Cynthia had given him.
Come to think of it, nearly all of Aiden's pseudo-Legendary Pokémon had been gifts from regional Champions.
Aside from the black Tyranitar—the Desert Tyrant he had captured himself—
Steven had given him Metagross.
Drake had given him Salamence.
Lance had given him Dragonite.
And Cynthia had given him Garchomp.
Aiden clicked his tongue in amusement.
"The battle begins!"
The instant the referee gave the signal, Aiden issued his command.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Rush!"
Garchomp roared.
A massive draconic phantom emerged around its body, then surged forward as it charged straight toward Drake's Dragonite.
Facing the combined pressure of Aiden and Garchomp, Drake immediately swept his hand forward and shouted,
"Dragonite, our opponent is strong!"
"But we're not surrendering without a fight!"
"Use Dragon Rush too!"
Blue draconic energy erupted around Dragonite.
The two pseudo-Legendary Pokémon charged directly at one another.
A violent collision shook the entire battlefield.
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