After leaving the stadium, Liu Qing first hurried to the Pokémon Center and handed his competing Pokémon over to Nurse Joy. Only then did he meet up with Mili and Liu Yuan and head to the nearby Rock Field to watch the matches. They arrived just in time to see Reggie defeat his opponent and advance.
After a night's rest, Liu Qing brought Liu Yuan to the venue early the next morning to watch the matches. They saw Xiao An, A Xuan, and Han Ye pass the qualifying round one after another. By around noon, the entire second preliminary round had ended, with sixty-four Trainers advancing to the Third Preliminary Round.
The draw took place that afternoon. This time, there were only thirty-two matches to hold, with eight at each field, so everything could be finished in a single morning the following day. Liu Qing drew the first match at the Water Field, starting at seven in the morning. His opponent was a lively-looking girl with two braids and Golden Hair.
Time flew, and soon the morning of the Third Preliminary Round arrived. Liu Qing had assumed there would not be many spectators at such an early hour, but as soon as he entered the venue, thunderous cheers erupted throughout the stadium. The stands were packed.
"Coming up now is the first match at the Water Field in the Third Preliminary Round of the Indigo League Conference! On the right is Xiao Ni from the Johto Region, and on the left is Liu Qing from Saffron City. In their previous two matches..." Before the match officially began, the Announcer launched into a detailed introduction.
"Big brother, please go easy on me." The girl standing opposite Liu Qing playfully stuck her tongue out at him.
But just because his opponent acted timid did not mean he actually believed she was afraid of him. None of the competitors who had made it this far were weak. He simply nodded without speaking, took out a Poké Ball, and signaled to the referee.
"This match is between Liu Qing and Xiao Ni. Let the battle begin!" The referee sharply brought down his flag.
"Go! Gyarados!" Liu Qing sent out his Pokémon first.
"ROAR!" As the Poké Ball flew out, part of Red Gyarados's body emerged from the water amid a scattering of golden sparkles, appearing before the spectators. His mighty roar nearly drowned out every cheer, and waves of overwhelming pressure radiated outward, making even the air seem to freeze.
"My goodness! This is the first shiny Pokémon to appear at this year's Indigo League Conference! Although Gyarados hasn't revealed his entire body, I estimate his full length to be at least ten meters—over fifty percent longer than an ordinary Gyarados... Now, what Pokémon will Xiao Ni use against him? Let's find out!" The moment the Announcer finished, excitement throughout the stadium reached its peak. The spectators were beside themselves. Shiny Pokémon were incredibly rare, with barely one appearing in every ten thousand Pokémon. How could anyone resist the chance to see one? Camera flashes filled the venue.
Good thing Gyarados hasn't shown his whole body. If you saw that mine had five fins, you'd all go completely crazy, Liu Qing thought with mischievous amusement.
"Go, Lanturn!" Feeling Gyarados's immense pressure at close range, Xiao Ni only managed to send out her first Pokémon after finally calming herself, her face still a little pale. It was an Electric- and Water-type Pokémon native to the Johto Region, the evolved form of Chinchou.
"ROAR!" The moment the opposing Pokémon appeared, Gyarados let out a mighty roar, frightening Lanturn into backing away repeatedly.
"Lanturn, Thunderbolt!" I can't let this continue, or I'll lose all my momentum! Xiao Ni launched the first attack.
On the field, Lanturn stopped retreating upon hearing Xiao Ni's command. A golden bolt of electricity shot from the yellow orb in front of its forehead toward Gyarados, quickly engulfing him.
"Great, Lanturn! Keep going! Don't stop!" Seeing Thunderbolt hit, Xiao Ni immediately grew excited. This Gyarados looks incredibly powerful, but he isn't so impressive after all. Thunderbolt hit him so easily. But upon looking closer, she realized Gyarados showed no sign of pain. Her heart jolted, and she knew something was wrong. Before she could react, however, Liu Qing denied her the chance.
"Gyarados, Giga Impact!" At Liu Qing's command, Gyarados roared, scattering all the electricity covering his body. Rapidly spinning waves of purple light enveloped him, and he leaped, revealing his entire enormous body. Bearing down with crushing force, he slammed into Lanturn and drove it straight to the bottom of the pool with a tremendous crash. Then he sprang out of the water like a rising dragon and landed lightly in front of Liu Qing, blocking the huge wave surging toward him.
"L-Lanturn is unable to battle." It took some time for the pool to settle, and the unconscious Lanturn finally floated to the surface. Suppressing his shock, the referee announced the result.
"ROOOAR!" Once the initial shock passed, enormous cheers erupted throughout the stadium as the spectators celebrated the breathtaking spectacle Gyarados had given them.
"That was incredible! Absolutely incredible! Big brother is amazing!" In the stands, Liu Yuan could barely find words to express his feelings.
"Hehe, Liu Yuan, you don't know yet, do you? The family elders said your big brother has already reached the peak of the quasi-Elite Four level. He might well advance to Silver Feather after this tournament!" Mili said with a smile, clearly delighted by her son's strength. "And your future sister-in-law is no weaker than your big brother."
"Yeah, yeah! Big brother's Gyarados is pure power, Scizor is pure speed, and Gengar is pure trickery. I wonder what his other Pokémon are like?" Liu Yuan could not help looking forward to seeing them. Then Mili's final remark sank in, and he froze. "Future sister-in-law?"
"That's right. The family has arranged a marriage for your big brother. The engagement ceremony will be held after his Pokémon League Conference ends," Mili said with a mysterious smile. "Your big brother doesn't know about any of this yet, so keep it secret!" Although curious, Liu Yuan nodded solemnly.
Meanwhile, in the competitors' waiting room, Reggie, Xiao An, and Han Ye exchanged glances. Each saw the same burning fighting spirit in the others' eyes—the desire to challenge Liu Qing.
"And here it is! Xiao Ni's second Pokémon is Lapras! Can Lapras defeat Gyarados? ..."
At last, Xiao Ni sent out her second Pokémon, an Ice- and Water-type.
"Lapras, Ice Beam!" Xiao Ni attacked first.
"Gyarados, Ice Fang!"
On the field, several snow-white beams radiating bitter cold shot from Lapras toward Gyarados. He simply opened his enormous jaws, releasing a burst of icy air that drew the Ice Beam onto his Ice Fang. Then he bit down on Lapras, making it cry out in agony.
"Thunderbolt!"
At Liu Qing's command, golden electricity surged over Gyarados's entire body and traveled through his teeth into Lapras. Moments later, Lapras was unable to battle.
"Lapras!" Xiao Ni cried out desperately, tears filling her eyes as she recalled it into its Poké Ball.
"So far, Liu Qing has secured three consecutive victories with his powerful offensive! Xiao Ni has only one Pokémon left. Can this Pokémon bring her victory? Let's wait and see!" Even the Announcer felt he was wasting his breath. The situation was obvious: Xiao Ni and Liu Qing were simply not battling on the same level.
"Go, Meganium!" After the referee prompted her, Xiao Ni finally gritted her teeth and sent out her last Pokémon. It stood on a platform floating on the water.
"Meganium, Petal Dance!" Xiao Ni shouted.
At the command, the ring of flowers around Meganium's neck stirred, sending countless pink petals drifting toward Gyarados.
"Dive underwater! Ice Fang!" Liu Qing called out.
"ROAR!" Gyarados roared and submerged before Petal Dance reached him.
"Oh no! Meganium, Protect!" Seeing Gyarados dive underwater, Xiao Ni shouted anxiously.
Boom! Although Meganium reacted quickly and used Protect, Gyarados's tremendous strength still launched it into the air.
"Meganium, stay calm! Use Hyper Beam!" Seeing Meganium panic in midair, Xiao Ni immediately called out.
"Gyarados, Giga Impact!" Liu Qing issued his command as well.
In midair, Meganium quickly steadied itself and fired an orange-yellow beam from its mouth straight at Gyarados. Purple light enveloped Gyarados's entire body, but instead of meeting Hyper Beam head-on, he snaked upward along the beam and slammed into Meganium. Pain flashed across its face as Gyarados carried it down into the water. A little later, Gyarados swam back to Liu Qing's side and let out an earth-shaking roar, proclaiming his victory.
"Meganium is unable to battle. Since all three of Xiao Ni's Pokémon are unable to battle, the winner is Liu Qing," the referee announced.
The commentator's voice followed immediately, and thunderous applause and countless cheers erupted throughout the venue.
"Come back, Gyarados. Well done." After praising Gyarados and recalling him, Liu Qing went to the VIP seats to watch the remaining matches with Mili and Liu Yuan.
"Hey, Liu Qing!" His overwhelming victory had brought the tournament's excitement to a peak. The next seven matches were just as spectacular, keeping the spectators enthralled. Once all the matches had ended, Liu Qing was on his way to the draw area when a voice suddenly called out to him.
"Oh, Reggie, Xiao An, A Xuan, and Han Ye. It's you." Liu Qing turned and saw several familiar faces.
"Are you heading over to draw your field?" Han Ye asked.
"That's right. Though there's really no need to draw anymore. The Ice Field is the only one I haven't competed on, so I just need to find out who my opponent is," Liu Qing said.
"Right. There are only thirty-two of us left now. Just sixteen matches will decide the top sixteen who'll enter the Main Stadium, which means four matches at each venue," Xiao An said. "I only have the Rock Field left. I wonder who my opponent will be?"
"I'm the same as Liu Qing. The Ice Field is the only one I haven't been to," A Xuan said.
"I haven't competed on the Water Field," Reggie said.
"And I haven't competed on the Grass-type Field," Han Ye said, then laughed. "Maybe A Xuan and Liu Qing will face each other next."
"A twenty-five percent chance. That's pretty likely," Xiao An said.
"There's no point guessing here. We'll know once we go draw," Liu Qing said.
"Exactly! Come on, let's go see if I guessed right!" Han Ye called out, and they all headed toward the field draw area together.
With only thirty-two competitors remaining, the draw area was not busy at all. Each of them chose a service desk and began drawing their field.
A moment later, a photograph of Liu Qing's opponent appeared on the screen. Han Ye really had guessed correctly: it was A Xuan. Their match would be the third battle at the Ice Field the next morning.
"Haha, I really did get it right! A Xuan, your opponent is Liu Qing!" Han Ye burst out laughing.
"Reggie, Liu Qing, Han Ye, Xiao An, I'm heading back." Learning that his opponent was Liu Qing left A Xuan looking somewhat grave. Rather than linger, A Xuan said goodbye to everyone and hurried away.
"Definitely off to look through your information and work out a strategy." Han Ye looked at Liu Qing and asked, "Are you going to check A Xuan's information too?"
"Hehe, I've only used three Pokémon so far. No amount of research will reveal much," Liu Qing said with a smile. "As for studying A Xuan's information, there's no need. I'm pretty lazy!"
"Suit yourself. I'm going back to look up my opponent." Han Ye said goodbye and left. Xiao An and Reggie departed shortly afterward. Seeing this, Liu Qing headed outside as well, where he happened to run straight into Ash and his companions.
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