"That brings our exciting first round of judging to a close! Please wait a little while for the results!" Bai An said after Dawn finished her performance. After a short wait, the announcement continued. "Sorry for the wait, everyone! We will now announce the long-awaited results. After rigorous judging, the contestants advancing to tomorrow's second round of Contest Battles are... these sixteen!" Sixteen contestant entries spun rapidly across the large screen before stopping to reveal the photographs of those who had advanced.
"Great, everyone made it through to the second round!" Brock exclaimed. In the waiting room, Liu Qing, Ash, and the others stood together, watching the live broadcast on the large screen.
"Now the real battle for victory begins!" Liu Yuan said. He saw fierce determination in the eyes of May, Zoey, Dawn, and Ash. Ash even clenched his fist and declared with fighting spirit, "I'm definitely not going to lose!"
"Today, the Wallace Cup Pokémon Contest will hold its second round of judging: the Contest Battles. Wallace, would you please say a few words to our Coordinators?" A day passed in the blink of an eye. Early the next morning, the Contest venue was already packed with guests, and Bai An turned to Wallace after delivering the opening remarks.
"All you beautiful Coordinators, let your tremendous excitement and moving performances take flight across the world!" Wallace said, rallying their spirits.
"Contest Battles have a five-minute time limit. Each contestant must showcase the beauty of their moves to reduce their opponent's score... Now, the system will randomly draw the matchups for the second round." Bai An gestured toward the large screen overhead. The sixteen contestants' names immediately shuffled into place, and the tournament bracket soon appeared. The winners of the first and second matches would face one another in