In the Top 16 match for a place in the quarterfinals, Magic City Academy faced Carey Academy.
Carey Academy was Western Europe's premier academy, second only to the Noble Academy!
Carey Academy was, without question, the toughest opponent Cynthia had faced since entering the tournament.
Xu Mu gave their opponents the respect and attention they deserved.
He obtained their information in advance for Cynthia to review.
"Carey Academy is different from the others. Every one of their students uses Crobat—one hundred of them in all!"
"On a battlefield, that lineup would be doomed. But in an arena, where Trainers don't have to worry about their own safety, it's every opponent's nightmare."
"So we need to take them seriously."
After reviewing Carey Academy's information, Cynthia immediately gathered her teammates to explain a new strategy.
"So Carey Academy is our next opponent? This won't be easy," Liu Shuo said with a worried nod.
Little Baldy rubbed his bald head, looking just as troubled.
A hundred Crobat. It was absurd!
He had watched Carey Academy's previous matches. They ignored the Trainers and used no real tactics—just a hundred Pokémon attacking in unison.
They were difficult enough to deal with, but that lineup seemed designed to counter traditional teams like theirs!
Put plainly, those bastards were playing dirty.
"Let them try taking that lineup onto a real battlefield! Let's see how many survive!" Little Baldy snapped, unable to think of a solution.
Liu Shuo nodded along.
A lineup tailored entirely for tournament play did feel like an exploitation of the rules. It went against the spirit of team battles.
"It doesn't matter. We've drawn them, so we'll beat them."
Cynthia had her principles. Their opponents could play however they liked, but her team would focus on doing their best.
No complaining!
It was like