The World Championships knockout-stage matchups had been announced.
This meant that the World Championships had officially entered their most intense phase: the knockout stage.
But honestly.
Even someone eliminated in the very first round of the knockout stage would still undoubtedly be one of the Pokémon World's strongest Trainers.
Anyone who had made it into the knockout stage was an extremely important talent—or "resource"—to their respective regions.
Therefore.
Just by looking at the names among the top thirty-two in the knockout stage, one could get a sense of how spectacular this year's World Championships would be.
As a result, the eyes of the entire world were now focused here.
At the same time.
The rules for the World Championships knockout stage had also officially been released.
They were actually not all that different from the points stage.
The only change was that the limit of three Pokémon in the points stage had become a six-select-four Rotation Battle format.
Put simply.
Before the match, contestants had to tell the organizers which six Pokémon they intended to prepare.
Then, before the battle began, those six Pokémon would be displayed on the big screen for both sides to see.
During the battle.
Contestants could freely choose any four Pokémon from those six to fight.
Finally.
Both sides could choose one among Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, and Dynamax as their ultimate trump card for this tournament.
It might have only increased from three Pokémon to four.
But the tactical difficulty involved had skyrocketed by more than just one level.
Being able to see the opponent's Pokémon further increased the need to consider tactics, strategy, planning, and on-the-spot performance.
The difficulty might even have surpassed a full six-on-six Rotation Battle where neither side knew the other's Pokémon.
And any opponent encountered during this final knockout stage