Third POV
In the VIP room, the champions were busy discussing the matches they had seen for today's top 32 round, and a lot of the battles had actually been quite good for trainers with only three badges.
Lance commented, "I have to say, today's matches were far better compared to the embarrassment that was yesterday."
Steven immediately replied, "You should stop calling yesterday an embarrassment. These kids have barely begun their trainer journeys. It hasn't even been a year for most of them. We are used to a much higher level of combat, but we can't expect them to showcase that already."
Lance crossed his arms and said, "I was much better around the time I had three badges than a lot of these kids, and I had the handicap of being a Dragon-type trainer, so most of my Pokémon evolved at much later stages because of that. The exceptions, of course, being Gyarados and Charizard."
Alder laughed lightly before replying, "That is why you became a regional champion, young Lance. But just because you were exceptional from the start does not mean everyone has to be the same. A trainer's journey is filled with adventures and mistakes, but only by falling does someone learn the courage to get back up again. I understand where you are coming from, but you also have to realise that most trainers here barely know much about Pokémon. A lot of them haven't learned from clans or had access to resources from the start like you did, so naturally they would pale in comparison to the skill you had."
Lance sighed before nodding slightly. "Yes, I understand that. Still, I expected more from the young trainers of Kanto and Johto. That said, a few trainers have genuinely impressed me today, to the point where I think they might have even beaten me when I was their age."
Steven nodded at that. "You are right about that. Red and Blue, as usual, are quite talented trainers. Red's Ivysaur has been trained very well, and Blue's Kadabra is extremely gifted. Its teleporting actually reminds me of my Claydol back when it was still a Baltoy."
Diantha added, "Yes, Aria and your cousin Ryu are also quite gifted and have clearly been raised well by their clans and noble houses. Their Pokémon seem very well maintained and are in excellent condition."
Alder leaned back slightly before saying, "They are strong, yes, but the two trainers that really interested me, the ones I feel can go very far ahead, are that Ash kid and Grey."
Steven smirked a bit. "Weren't you criticising Grey yesterday?"
Alder shook his head. "I wasn't criticising him exactly. I'm simply not the biggest fan of prolonged fights. That said, he has raised his Persian to a very impressive degree. I almost thought it was his starter, but Lance told me it was actually an Axew, which he hasn't even used yet."
Lance gave a small smile. "Yes. I am now quite eager to see how Grey has raised the dragon I gave him. He has a unique way of training Pokémon despite his humble origins. I realised that every one of his Pokémon fights in a completely different manner, especially that Persian. Its agility and quick footwork were used extremely well to launch consecutive attacks. Personally, I think that was the best battle of the top 32 round."
Steven nodded in agreement. "I agree with that. Though, Ash's match was also pure dominance."
Alder grinned. "Yes, I like that kid quite a lot. He is very straightforward, and he used his Butterfree extremely well. First putting his opponent to sleep and then stacking Quiver Dances before finishing the match in one move. I was honestly surprised he managed to teach Butterfree that move. Even Volcarona initially struggled to learn it."
Lance nodded thoughtfully. "That surprised me as well. What's even more surprising is that despite how simple Ash's matches look, he actually has the fastest knockouts out of anyone in the tournament."
Steven then said, "That is true. Let's hope the top 16 round also finishes quickly so we can get even better matches tomorrow with the top 8 and finally see who our semifinalists will be."
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Grey's POV
I watched a few matches and then left, as there wasn't much else to see. Later, I did find out that Ash had used Butterfree, who somehow could use Quiver Dance. I couldn't watch his match since his round was probably scheduled around the same time as mine, but after hearing about it, I immediately started thinking of countermeasures.
The first thing that came to mind was Shellder or Persian. Shellder's Counter Shield could probably neutralise the Sleep Powder and then bombard Butterfree before it could stack boosts. If I didn't give it enough time to use Quiver Dance, I could beat it. The same applied to Persian. An agile Thunderbolt before the Sleep Powder landed should work.
I then went to the buffet to eat something for lunch. I kept it light and ate some vegetarian food with salads since I didn't want to overeat and upset my stomach before a battle. Quite a few people were eating there. The ones who weren't were probably trainers who had already been eliminated yesterday and had no reason to stick around.
As usual, I didn't want to talk to anyone and accidentally create some unnecessary drama, so I quietly left after eating.
Soon, I got an announcement telling all remaining trainers to come to the battle arena. We had to pick lots for the top 16, and depending on the number we got, our bracket placements would be decided.
I went to the arena and found around ten other candidates already there, while a few were still finishing their food since their battles had happened later than ours. One of the missing trainers was Blue himself, as his match had been among the final ones.
Eventually, after around ten to fifteen minutes, the remaining trainers arrived while the admin staff waited for all of us.
One of the admins stepped forward and explained the rules. The trainers' names would be called out one by one, and we had to reach into a black box and pull out a numbered ball. Based on those numbers, the order for the top 16 bracket would be decided.
My name was called first randomly, and I reached into the box before pulling out a ball.
Number 2.
Eventually, everyone's numbers were called out and written down. Then, a large screen appeared in front of us displaying the pairings.
Number 1 would face 16, 2 would face 15, and so on for the remaining matches.
The winner of 1 versus 16 would later face the winner of 2 versus 15, and the same structure would continue until only four trainers remained. After that, based on the order of victories, the semifinal matches would be decided.
I was placed in Block A.
I realised that Red, Blue, and Ash were all in different brackets.
Red was in Block D, Blue was in Block C, while Ash was in Block B.
Surprisingly, Ryu had gotten number 1, meaning he was also in Block A. That meant if both of us kept winning, we would face each other in the top 8. Or, if he lost somehow, I would face whoever beat him.
We were given thirty minutes before the matches began, and unlike the earlier rounds, these battles would not happen simultaneously. They would occur one by one.
I waited near the stands area and ended up meeting Ash and his group there. They wished me luck since my match was going to be the second battle of the top 16 round.
The stands were still filled with plenty of trainers, including many who had already been knocked out but stayed behind to watch the fights for entertainment.
Soon, I realised it was time for the first match, so I headed toward the arena entrance. I had a feeling this one would end quickly and my match would start soon after.
I watched the first battle through the hallway screens. It was a match between Ryu Blackthorn and Jason Todd.
Both trainers released their first Pokémon.
Ryu confidently sent out Shelgon, already looking assured of victory, while Jason released a Cubone.
The battle itself was very quick. Shelgon blocked many attacks using Protect and damaged Cubone repeatedly with Flamethrower and Dragon Claw. Most of Cubone's attacks didn't seem to do much damage to the shell dragon, eventually leading to Cubone's defeat.
Jason then released Sandslash as his second Pokémon, making me realise he was probably a Ground-type specialist. Honestly, a Ground-type trainer battling on a ship where he couldn't properly use Ground-type attacks was a bit unfortunate. If this tournament had been on open land, Jason probably could have abused Dig to win matches, but here I doubted he could even use it unless he wanted to start damaging the ship floor.
A lot of moves simply couldn't be used properly on the ship, and the admins never bothered explaining that because they assumed it was common sense. Which, to be fair, it was. Still, I felt a bit bad for Jason.
Even then, he put up a decent fight with Sandslash and was probably the first trainer in the tournament to injure Ryu's Shelgon quite a bit. He used Rollout, Slash, and a few other moves in combination to deal damage.
Ultimately though, Ryu still won the battle. Unlike his earlier matches, this one wasn't complete domination. He won mainly because his Shelgon was extremely bulky.
After the match ended, Ryu came out into the hallway where I was watching the screens and noticed me standing there.
He immediately walked over and said, "It's you. Well, I hope you win your fight. It should at least be possible if you use that starter of yours. After you win and we get to face each other, I'll be putting you in your place."
I genuinely had no idea what this guy's problem with me was.
Normally, I wouldn't tolerate this kind of nonsense from someone, but my own match was about to begin, so I simply replied, "I'm not interested in listening to a second-rate knockoff of Lance. We'll settle whatever imaginary beef you have during the match."
Then I walked away while, behind me, Ryu clenched his fist tightly.
Author's Note : No battle this chap but will be there in next one and each other matches would be covered in brief.