Are the Three of Them from the Same School?

Bu Xiang's victory could be considered a moderately unexpected upset.

Even he himself was dazed when he heard the referee announce the result, unable to believe that he had truly defeated the seeded contestant from Excellence Training School No. 3.

After standing there blankly for several seconds, he was jolted awake by the belated applause and cheers erupting from the stands.

"I won... I really won?" he muttered to himself, then quickly shook his head. "He must have let his guard down, or... maybe he went easy on me?" This almost instinctive lack of confidence made him immediately attribute his victory to external factors.

But then a practical problem presented itself: having gone all out in the first battle, Lucario had collapsed from exhaustion, while Garbodor had also suffered massive depletion and was covered in wounds.

The next round would begin soon. How was he supposed to handle it?

Bu Xiang did not dare waste any time and immediately took his two partners to the Pokémon Center beside the arena, where Miss Joy No. 2 and the Blissey provided temporary treatment services.

While waiting in line for treatment, he could only silently pray that his next opponent would not be as strong as Lang Sha, giving Lucario and Garbodor a little more time to recover and readjust.

Fortunately, Lucario had followed him around doing odd jobs and was used to hardship. Her adaptability and recovery ability were a cut above ordinary Pokémon, which reassured Bu Xiang somewhat.

The first round of doubles matches had all ended. The good news was that Yan Yang, Ruan Zhu, and Bu Xiang—the three from their school—had all advanced!

"If the three of us could all become the final winners of our respective groups, that would be great." Someone posted that in the group chat,