Drawing Lots

"Let's thank both Trainers for that wonderful battle. Next, we'll begin the drawing of lots. The official matches will start shortly." The host's hand

As soon as the host finished speaking, the air above the arena suddenly lit up. Four massive holographic screens, each five meters in diameter, unfolded above the platforms in the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast.

"Attention, all contestants!" The host raised the microphone, his voice amplified by the stadium's sound system. "The drawing of lots begins now!"

A dense list of contestant names appeared across the four large screens. Blue streams of data surged through the air as contestants' names floated opposite one another in pairs, and the advancement brackets began to take shape.

A wave of commotion erupted through the crowd. Once the matchups had been arranged, the contestants' match information was immediately sent to their Pokédexes or navigation devices.

After checking his match information, Xinhai said to Yingnan, "I'm Match 23 on the third platform. What about you? Which platform are you on?"

Yingnan scratched his head. "Match 73 on the first platform."

Xinhai smiled. "Then yours won't start until the afternoon at the earliest!"

Yingnan nodded, looking a little dejected. "Pretty much. A match takes an average of three to five minutes to finish. Mine probably won't start until tomorrow." He sighed after saying that.

Xinhai smiled and shook his head. Just as he was about to offer a few words of comfort, he heard the host say, "Contestants in the first ten matches, please take your seats beside your respective arenas. The first match will begin in ten minutes. Contestants with later match numbers may stay and watch or explore the building first. You will receive notifications when there are twenty and ten matches remaining before your turn. Please check them carefully and do not be late. Arriving more than three minutes late will be treated as forfeiture. Thank you all for your support!"

Yingnan said, "Then let's see how strong these people are first. We can eat after your match." Xinhai nodded in agreement.

Ten minutes later, contestant information appeared on the large screens above the four platforms, and the broadcast suddenly rang out. "First match on the first platform: Contestant No. 1, Qianye Hong, versus Contestant No. 2, Ichiro Yamamoto! Please take the field! Second—"

Xinhai and Yingnan went to the third platform. On the field were a twelve-year-old boy and girl, and it was obvious that both were extremely nervous.

Looking at their expressions, Xinhai said, "This counts as practice in advance too."

Yingnan asked in confusion, "What?"

Xinhai smiled at him. "There'll definitely be more people at the Ever Grande Conference. It's good to get some practice beforehand so you won't be nervous then."

Yingnan looked at the two nervous contestants and felt that Xinhai was right. They really did need practice.

A middle-aged referee raised a red flag and a blue flag, then announced, "Each challenger may use one Pokémon. Items are prohibited. The battle will continue until one side's Pokémon loses the ability to battle or its Trainer verbally concedes."

"Both sides, release your Pokémon... Battle—begin!"

He swung both arms down, and the match officially began.

"C-come out! Mudkip!" "Go, Lotad!"

Red light flashed, and the two Pokémon appeared on the field alongside their Trainers' calls.

However, since both of them were fighting in such a large competition for the first time, they were extraordinarily nervous. Their commands came out muddled, and they even used the wrong moves. It was a complete mess.

Xinhai and Yingnan both felt embarrassed just watching them. The battle dragged on for two minutes before Mudkip lost the ability to battle under Lotad's repeated Absorb attacks.

In the end, when Mudkip's Trainer saw that he had lost, he actually stood there and burst into loud sobs, completely forgetting that his Pokémon was injured. The referee had to pull him away in the end.

Everyone present felt rather awkward watching that scene. Many people simply left, while others watched with amused expressions.

Awkward as it was, the battles continued.

Most of the next few matches were just weak opponents pecking at each other. Only one or two matches featured Pokémon with decent strength and ended in crushing victories.

It was not until the thirteenth battle that the two of them finally got serious.

"Bellsprout has lost the ability to battle. I declare Ponyta and contestant Yamada the winners."

"Next match: Trainer Yamazaki versus Trainer Ishikawa. Please take the stage."

The two contestants had completely different presences from the earlier competitors as they walked onto the platform. Trainer Yamazaki wore a silver-gray tactical uniform, and the Poké Balls at his waist gleamed coldly. Trainer Ishikawa wore a loose athletic shirt, his muscles exceptionally well-developed.

There was some tension in their eyes as they looked at each other, but both remained fairly calm. Trainer Ishikawa in particular had more fighting spirit burning in his eyes than nervousness.

"Come out, Aron!" Trainer Yamazaki was the first to throw a Poké Ball, releasing a Pokémon clad all over in steel armor.

"It's actually an Aron. Does this guy have a mine at home or something?" Yingnan stared at the Pokémon on the field in shock.

Xinhai swallowed greedily. Aron was extremely rare in the wild, while its final evolution, Aggron, was known as a "mobile fortress."

This Aron had sharp eyes, and a metallic gleam shone between the gaps in its scales. It was clearly a Pokémon that had been carefully raised.

"Go, Machop!" Trainer Ishikawa directly released his Pokémon. A gray-skinned humanoid Pokémon appeared on the field, its bright eyes locked onto Aron in a confrontational Presence.

Seeing Machop, Yingnan immediately laughed. "Look at that guy, his face has gone dark. He's way too unlucky. He has such a powerful Aron, yet he ran into a Fighting-type Machop right away. If he's not careful, he might lose this one!"

Xinhai smiled as well. "Yeah. Judging by Machop's eyes, it looks pretty strong. This battle should be exciting."

Yingnan nodded with a grin. "Finally, we don't have to watch weaklings peck at each other anymore."

Seeing that both sides had released their Pokémon, the referee swung his arms down. "Battle begin."

"Aron, use Rock Slide, then Iron Defense!" "Machop, charge in and use Brick Break!"

Machop rushed forward, red light appearing around its hands. It dodged the falling rocks while smashing apart those it could not avoid, then quickly charged toward Aron.

Aron used Iron Defense very quickly, completing its defensive boost just as Machop rushed in front of it. Clearly, this Aron had mastered Iron Defense to a high degree.

Trainer Yamazaki swiftly ordered, "Use Body Press!"

After greatly boosting its Defense, Aron immediately lunged forward. The two moves collided, and Machop was forced backward by the impact.

Trainer Ishikawa gave his command at just the right moment. "Use Low Kick!"

As the pushed-back Machop saw Aron land before it could react, it quickly stepped forward and kicked Aron in the front leg. Aron crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The power of [Low Kick] was determined by the target Pokémon's weight. Based on Aron's weight of 60 kilograms, the move's power was a full 80.

Combined with the Presence from Body Press just now, that blow had nearly taken half of Aron's life. If not for the Defense boost from Iron Defense, Aron would likely have lost the ability to battle outright.

Seeing this, Trainer Yamazaki cried out anxiously, "Aron, get up quickly! Use Mud-Slap!"

The pained Aron lay on the ground and scooped up a clump of mud with one claw, hurling it at the Machop that was trying to finish it off with Brick Break.

Since the two Pokémon were so close, the mud splattered directly across Machop's face, causing its move to miss completely.

"Fall back quickly!" Trainer Ishikawa promptly ordered.

Machop, whose attack had missed, was wiping the mud from its face with both hands. Hearing its Trainer's command, it immediately ran backward, trying to widen the distance from Aron and buy time to wipe its face clean.

"Use Body Press again!" Trainer Yamazaki shouted excitedly.

A red glow lit up around Aron's body as it charged at Machop with an unstoppable Presence.

Machop and Aron gave chase, one in front of the other, the distance between them steadily shrinking as Aron accelerated.

"It's over. Machop won!" Xinhai watched the two Pokémon draw closer and closer.

"Who won?" Yingnan asked in confusion upon hearing Xinhai's words, but as he looked at the situation on the field, he suddenly realized it too.

"Something's off about Machop's speed!"

At that moment, when Aron was only a few steps away from Machop, Trainer Yamazaki shouted excitedly, "Pounce on it, Aron!"

At the same time Trainer Yamazaki gave the order, Trainer Ishikawa clenched his fist and shouted, "Roll to the right! Machop!"

Both Pokémon lunged forward. Aron's move missed completely, while Machop rolled aside and dodged the deadly attack.

"Now, use Low Kick." Trainer Ishikawa gave the order without hesitation.