He sailed through the first round and picked up three points!
The battles had been tense but ultimately uneventful, and Yong secured his victories, advancing straight into the top 32 and the finals.
Back in the lounge, Kong looked at him with a complicated expression, then smiled and said,
"Congratulations, Yong!"
"You too! We should be congratulating both of us!"
Yong smiled as he sat down beside him, answering in high spirits.
Kong shook his head.
"I was hovering on the brink of elimination. Those wins weren't easy. But you've only used one Pokémon since the preliminaries began! With Tyrantrum being this strong, I imagine that Mudkip you had before must have evolved into Swampert by now, right? It probably isn't much weaker, either?"
For a moment, Yong had no idea how to answer, so he laughed and brushed the question aside.
"Not bad, not bad. Swampert... uh, it's pretty strong! Hahaha!"
Kong wore an expression that said he had expected as much. After a moment's thought, he smiled again.
"I won't give up easily! Even if you have a trump card like Swampert and a Pokémon as powerful as Tyrantrum!"
Yong paused briefly, then nodded.
"I understand! Let's both give it our best!"
The Preliminary Tournament progressed a little more slowly than the earlier preliminaries. After so many competitors had been eliminated, none of those who remained were pushovers.
Thus, by the end of the first round, only five competitors had advanced to the finals with a perfect record!
They included Yong, A Kun, and Kong!
The remaining competitors had to fight in the second round and continue battling for a place in the finals. Of course, after just one round, over a hundred more competitors had been eliminated.
Even powerful Trainers could lose a match for any number