Enemies were bound to meet

Wu Yueyue felt rather down after losing the match. Being eliminated in the First Round would have dampened anyone's spirits.

Seeing how dejected she was, Ye Tian offered a few words of encouragement to comfort her.

His encouragement lifted Wu Yueyue's spirits considerably. The two left the battlefield, and the matches continued.

Next up was Hao Chenggong from Class Two against Wang Kai from Class One. Wang Kai's Pokémon was an Elekid, one of the stronger Pokémon in Class One.

Unfortunately, he had drawn one of Class Two's strongest competitors. After a few exchanges, Elekid fell behind and was soon defeated by Tepig.

Eight matches had now been played. Apart from Zhang Cheng, only one competitor from Class One had advanced, while six from Class Two had made it through.

The final two matches soon began, and the Trainers from Class One had a slight advantage in both.

Class Two's last two Trainers were among its weaker competitors. After battling for a while, both Trainers from Class One defeated their opponents, salvaging some pride for their class.

If they had lost those two matches as well, it really would have been a miserable showing.

Of the ten Trainers who advanced to the Second Round, four were from Class One and six were from Class Two.

The draw and battles for the Second Round would take place that afternoon. The five victorious Trainers would advance to the next day's finals.

Once the matches were over, the instructors of both classes dismissed their students, telling them to return to the Training Ground after lunch.

Ye Tian went over to his friend's class rest area to invite Zhang Cheng to lunch.

The other students in Class One had not known much about Ye Tian before. Only now did they realize that the guy who hung out with their class monitor was actually this strong.

Seeing Ye Tian approach, Zhang Cheng understood what he wanted and headed straight for the Cafeteria.

"Your class was pretty unlucky. Wu Yueyue, one of your strongest competitors, drew me as her opponent. Otherwise, she might have had a shot at competing for one of those three spots," Ye Tian said, thinking back over the morning's matches.

"There's nothing we can do about a draw like that. Luck is part of strength, too," Zhang Cheng said calmly.

"That's true." Ye Tian continued, "We might end up facing people from our own classes this afternoon. The numbers from each class aren't even anymore."

"If the draw goes badly this round, everyone in our class except me might get knocked out," Zhang Cheng said, assessing the current situation.

"We'll know once the draw is out. There's no point guessing now. As long as we don't get matched against each other, we can both try to secure a spot," Ye Tian said, patting Zhang Cheng on the shoulder.

Zhang Cheng nodded in response. The two then focused on their meal, returning to the Training Ground afterward.

After a short wait, the Referee and instructors arrived at the Training Ground. Once they had conferred and confirmed everything was in order, the Second Round began, and the ten remaining competitors stepped forward to draw lots.

During the draw, Zhang Cheng spotted Ye Lang from Class Two. He had not expected the guy to have enough ability to advance to the Second Round.

Zhang Cheng hoped he would draw the same number as Ye Lang this round so he could thoroughly crush that sense of superiority.

With that thought in mind, Zhang Cheng reached into the box and pulled out a lot at random.

His luck was still ridiculously good: he drew number one. Once the draw was complete, all the competing Trainers returned to the rest area to await the announcement of the results.

The final results did not disappoint Zhang Cheng. His opponent was none other than Ye Lang from Class Two.

Enemies really were bound to meet. He had actually landed this matchup despite the tiny odds.

When Ye Lang saw that his opponent was Zhang Cheng, he was delighted as well. He was already thinking about how he would avenge his humiliation and defeat Zhang Cheng. He had even prepared the taunts he would deliver after winning.

Ye Tian and Hao Chenggong, meanwhile, drew numbers two and four respectively.

Based on the matchups, Ye Tian and Hao Chenggong were both very likely to advance to the next day's finals.

The first match soon began. Zhang Cheng and Ye Lang took their places on opposite sides of the battlefield, awaiting the Referee's command.

In the Second Round, matches would be held one at a time, unlike the first round, when two matches had taken place simultaneously.

"Each side may use only one Pokémon. The battle ends when either Pokémon is unable to continue," the head Referee announced.

After both Trainers nodded to confirm they understood, the head Referee declared the start of the match. "Now, both sides, please send out your Pokémon. The match officially begins."

"I told you we'd meet again. You won't be as lucky as last time. I'm going to show you the gap between you and a Trainer with a starter Pokémon," Ye Lang said, brimming with superiority.

"No way. Surely nobody still thinks a starter Pokémon raised by a moron would be all that strong," Zhang Cheng said, looking astonished.

"Cut the sarcasm. You'll make a fool of yourself when you lose," Ye Lang snapped.

"You'd better think about what you'll do when you lose. Want to be my defeated opponent all over again?" Zhang Cheng shot back mercilessly.

Zhang Cheng's mockery left Ye Lang fuming. "Enough talk. I'll make you admit I'm better soon enough."

"Trainers, this is a match. If you do not send out your Pokémon to battle, you will be considered to have forfeited."

The Referee standing nearby reminded them, privately thinking that young Trainers these days were truly hotheaded and desperate to outdo each other.

Hearing the Referee's reminder, the two stopped trading barbs and sent out their Pokémon to prepare for battle.

"Oshawott, give me a good performance."

"Poliwag, get ready to battle."

Zhang Cheng opened the system to check Oshawott's current stats:

Name: Oshawott (level 10)

Gender: male

Potential: C

Type: water

Held item: Leftovers

Basic moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Water Sport

Learned moves: Hidden Power

Egg moves: Brine

Ability: Shell Armor (prevents critical hits, even from moves guaranteed to land a critical hit.)

Notes: Oshawott, the Sea Otter Pokémon. The shell-shaped Shellder on his stomach can be removed and used for both offense and defense.

He had to admit that this guy's family really was wealthy. First, they had secured a starter Pokémon, then bought a held item and a Technical Machine.

Trainers from ordinary families could not afford that. Most of Ye Lang's current strength had essentially been bought with Pokémon Coins.