A Difficult Battle

The matches went by quickly, and Shali's battle was about to begin.

"Next match: Trainer Shimizu versus Trainer Kobayashi!" the referee announced loudly.

Shali took a deep breath. The Eevee in her arms instantly straightened up as well, its fluffy tail swaying gently to ease its nerves.

Xinhai sat in the stands, his gaze fixed firmly on Shali's figure as he silently cheered her on.

Seeing that both trainers were in position, the referee said, "Send out your Pokémon!"

"Go, Eevee!" "Come out, Treecko!"

Looking at the Treecko with a twig in its mouth, Shali let out a sigh of relief. "Treecko? Then we'll have to end this quickly. Still, that's a relief."

Once both Pokémon had been sent out, the referee decisively raised a flag and brought it down. "Battle, begin!"

"Eevee, use Tail Whip, then rush in with Quick Attack!" Shali quickly gave her command.

"Treecko, use Screech!" Kobayashi ordered at the same time.

Eevee began wagging its fluffy tail on the spot, and Treecko was briefly distracted by the adorable sight.

However, Treecko quickly recovered and let out a piercing Screech. The sound waves rattled Eevee's eardrums, making its fur stand on end as it shook its head uncomfortably.

Shali frowned slightly but did not change her command. In an instant, Eevee began to run. The white glow of Quick Attack lit up around its body, and it charged toward Treecko like a silver bolt of lightning despite the interference from Screech.

Seeing Eevee closing in, Trainer Xiao Mu quickly ordered, "Treecko, use Quick Attack too!"

Treecko began running at high speed, its body wrapped in electric light as it charged toward Eevee.

The two white figures collided like meteors, and both Eevee and Treecko staggered back several steps. Eevee steadied itself firmly, while Treecko shook its head, trying to dispel its dizziness as it clenched the twig in its mouth more tightly.

Shali quickly ordered, "Eevee, use Swift!"

Starlight flickered before Eevee, and dozens of golden stars flew from around its body, shooting toward Treecko in a fan-shaped spread.

"Treecko, Bullet Seed!" Trainer Kobayashi swiftly directed Treecko to respond.

Treecko opened its mouth, spraying a dense barrage of seeds like machine-gun fire that collided head-on with Swift.

The golden starlight burst into tiny motes under the impact of the seeds. Amid the rapid crackling of collisions, some seeds changed trajectory with the blast waves and smashed small pits into the ground.

"Eevee, now! Rush in with Quick Attack!" Shali shouted, seizing the gap created by the clash of moves.

White light flared around Eevee as it pierced through the drifting sparks and seed fragments like a silver arrow, lunging straight at Treecko.

Treecko had just finished firing Bullet Seed and had no time to adjust its stance before Eevee slammed into it, sending it flying. It rolled across the field several times before finally stopping.

After knocking Treecko away, Eevee did not pause in the slightest and launched another Quick Attack.

"Treecko, use Double Team, quickly!" Trainer Kobayashi shouted anxiously.

Treecko scrambled to its feet and instantly split into three Treecko. Eevee's Quick Attack struck the spot where the real Treecko had originally stood.

But Eevee hit nothing and passed straight through that Treecko. It immediately charged at another Treecko, only to find that one was fake as well. The real Treecko had already used the opportunity to dodge aside.

Trainer Kobayashi breathed a sigh of relief, but his commands did not stop. He immediately gave a new order. "Treecko, Bullet Seed!"

As Treecko approached Eevee, it opened its mouth and sprayed a dense barrage of seeds like machine-gun fire, sealing off every path of retreat.

Seeing that Eevee could not dodge this attack, Shali clenched her hands and shouted, "Eevee, charge through with Quick Attack!"

Eevee did not hesitate upon hearing her. White light surged around its body as it crashed straight into the curtain of seeds like a meteor.

The dense seeds struck its body with dull thuds, but it gritted its teeth and forced its way through the attack until it reached Treecko.

"Now, use Facade!" Shali shouted excitedly.

Eevee was covered in injuries, yet it erupted with astonishing strength under Shali's command.

Every strand of fur on its body stood upright. Its previously dim eyes suddenly blazed with fierce light, and with the powerful burst granted by Facade and its unyielding will, it slammed headfirst into Treecko.

Treecko was knocked to the ground by the brutal attack, and the twig clenched in its mouth snapped with a crack.

Knowing that strike alone would not be enough to defeat its opponent, Shali gave another command. "Eevee, finish it with Swift!"

Eevee forced its swaying body to remain upright as starlight erupted around it like a sudden downpour. Dozens of golden meteors trailed fiery tails as they crashed toward Treecko.

"Treecko, counter with Bullet Seed, quickly!" Kobayashi cried, sweat beading on his forehead.

Treecko's head was spinning, but it still gritted its teeth and got back up, using Bullet Seed.

Raindrop-like seeds sprayed forth and collided with Swift in midair. Golden starlight and brown seed fragments intertwined as they scattered in every direction.

The blast waves from the explosion sent both Pokémon flying. Eevee and Treecko were both blown into rolls across the ground before coming to a stop.

Both trainers stared intently at their Pokémon, calling out to them.

"Eevee!"

Hearing her trainer's call, Eevee slowly raised its head and finally stood up stubbornly as the referee counted down.

"Tree... cko!"

Treecko, sprawled on the ground, slowly came to upon hearing its trainer's call. It tried to stand, but fell again and lost consciousness.

A silver whistle cut through the cheers from the audience. The referee raised his flag and announced, "Treecko is unable to battle! The winner of this match is Trainer Shali!"

Shali's eyes burned as she rushed onto the field and hugged the injured Eevee tightly. Its fluffy head rubbed against her cheek, its tail weakly brushing the back of her hand.

"Eevee, you did amazingly!" Shali looked at Eevee with heartache, and its weak cry seemed to answer her.

In the distance, Trainer Kobayashi silently recalled his unconscious Treecko. Before leaving, he nodded to her, and Shali hurriedly bowed in thanks.

After the match, Shali recalled Eevee into its Poké Ball and came down to Xinhai. "Xinhai, I'm taking Eevee to the Pokémon Center for treatment. You don't need to come—your match is coming up soon too."

Seeing Shali's anxious expression, Xinhai comforted her. "Go quickly! Don't worry about me."

Shali nodded and hurried toward the exit, her figure quickly disappearing from sight.

Xinhai watched Shali's retreating back, then turned his attention back to the arena and carefully recorded information on the victorious Pokémon.

None of the contestants in the third round were weak. Most of them had trained actively during the month after receiving their Pokémon.

Most of those eliminated in this round were commoner trainers who had trained hard but lacked resources. They did not have enough training resources, so their strength improved slowly. Some even had to earn resources for themselves while others were training, causing their progress to fall far behind everyone else's.

As Xinhai recorded the details of the twenty-fourth battle, someone suddenly slapped his left shoulder heavily. Without turning around, Xinhai knew who it was. "Yingnan, can you stop being so childish?"

Yingnan said dejectedly, "No fun. Xinhai, can't you show a little youthful energy? You make me look really childish."

Xinhai rolled his eyes and ignored him.

Yingnan plopped down beside Xinhai, pulled out a bag of snacks from his backpack, opened it, and stuffed several pieces into his mouth. "Forget it. I won't hold it against you."

As Xinhai recorded the battle in the arena, he asked, "Did you see Shali?"

Yingnan paused while eating, then continued, "I did. Eevee was badly hurt too. She probably won't be able to meet up with us for a while."

Xinhai stopped writing and said to Yingnan, "From this round onward, none of the contestants will be weak. You need to prepare before your battles and think through how to deal with several different situations in advance. Otherwise, the coming battles won't be as easy as the earlier ones."

Yingnan handed the snacks to Xinhai and sighed. "You're right. The battles ahead will only get harder and harder, so we really need to prepare properly. I never thought it would already be this difficult before the main tournament even started. Honestly, I'm not completely confident I can make it into the main tournament."

Xinhai took the snacks and ate a bite, then comforted him. "Don't be so discouraged. This is normal. The people attending Rustboro Trainer School aren't ordinary. They have the training resources we have, and they also have the ones we don't. It's normal that we can't compare to them right now. All we need to do is work twice as hard in the future. As long as we keep at it, there will always be opportunities ahead."