Himeko thought it over carefully.
To win the championship, she would inevitably have to face Shuzo in one of the upcoming matches.
Against that Articuno, relying on Lopunny and Gardevoir alone would likely be rather difficult.
Not to mention, Shuzo still had two Pokémon that had not appeared onstage yet.
She did not know how strong they were.
However, she imagined they definitely would not be weak.
From the look of things, it would not be long before she had no choice but to let Shiko and Mew enter the field and battle.
The first four rounds of matches soon ended, and it was immediately Himeko's turn.
Against this opponent, whose strength was far below her own, Himeko claimed victory without any suspense.
Relying solely on her Elite Four-level Gardevoir's outstanding performance, she swept through all three of the opponent's Pokémon in a row.
Her excellent showing also drew the attention of the spectators at the scene.
Many people raised their evaluation of Himeko's strength even higher.
All five rounds of matches came to an end.
The fifty contestants had been cut in half, leaving only twenty-five.
As usual, once today's matches ended, the organizers would begin drawing lots for tomorrow's matchups.
After Himeko returned to her residence, she received the match information sent over by the organizers.
"Hmm...?"
Looking at her opponent for tomorrow's match, Himeko's brow furrowed slightly.
This time, her luck did not seem to be very good.
The contestant assigned to her was no longer someone she could handle as easily as before.
Her opponent in tomorrow's match was a genuine Elite Four-level contestant.
In the current rankings issued by the organizers, he was also placed higher than her, ranked fifteenth.
It seemed tomorrow's battle would not be so easy.
She also paid attention to Ukyo and Aisa's situations.
Just like today, both of their opponents were still Elite Four-level.
However, judging by the strength they had shown, defeating their opponents and advancing to the next round should not be a problem.
Finally, Shuzo, the person Himeko cared about most, did not have a match tomorrow.
Instead, he received a bye and advanced directly into the next round.
The organizers had given the only bye slot to him.
This made Himeko rather disappointed.
She had still been curious about what Shuzo's other two Pokémon were.
It seemed she would have to wait.
The next morning.
Himeko got up early.
After washing up, she set off for the competition venue.
For the matches over the past two days, because her opponents had been relatively weak, the only Pokémon she had carried with her were Gardevoir and Lopunny.
However, today was different.
Because her opponent was a top Elite Four-level Trainer, to be safe, she asked for Shiko's agreement and added him to her battle lineup as well.
There were a total of twenty-four contestants participating today.
The twelve matches were divided into three rounds.
The order Himeko drew was still in the final round.
Aisa and Ukyo would appear in the first and second rounds respectively.
Himeko watched both of their matches from the backstage area.
She had to admit it.
The veteran Elite Four members from the Military were indeed extremely powerful.
Although their opponents were also Elite Four-level, they could not gain even the slightest upper hand on the field.
No wonder the two of them occupied second and third place in the organizers' rankings.
After they defeated their opponents effortlessly, it was Himeko's turn to appear in the third round.
No. 1 battle arena.
The opponent standing across from her was a local Trainer from the Lighthouse Alliance. His name was Kurose Terumitsu, and he was a sickly-looking, thin middle-aged man.
After the two of them gave each other a friendly nod, the referee's whistle sounded, and the match officially began.
"Go! Sandslash! Tear her apart with your claws!"
"Lopunny! Let's finish this with one decisive push!"
At their commands, an earthy-yellow figure and a brown figure appeared.
The air began to fill with thick tension.
(End of Chapter)
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