The next day soon arrived.
Reaching the semifinals meant that this Masters Tournament was nearing its end.
The four remaining competitors were all Elite Four members or Champions. Even Raihan, long hailed as the "strongest Gym Leader," had fallen in the quarterfinals.
The competitors' formidable strength made the audience look forward even more to the two fierce clashes ahead.
Cynthia was once again the first to take the stage today, facing Hassel, Paldea's Dragon-type Elite Four member, who had crushed Clair yesterday.
(I forgot to include a picture last time, so here's one.)
After seeing Cynthia off at the competitors' entrance, Qingyu headed to the stands, where every seat around him was already occupied.
The popularity of Pokémon battles was plain to see-they were this world's number one sport by an overwhelming margin.
He guessed a huge crowd was already waiting in his Livestream Room, too. Most of them could only watch online because they lived too far away.
With some competitors already eliminated, Qingyu could even spot Clair sitting beside Caitlin.
Perhaps because of her crushing defeat in the quarterfinals, Clair looked noticeably dispirited today.
Still, Qingyu wasn't particularly close to Clair, so he had no intention of going over to console her.
Every competitive event was like this. No matter how badly both sides wanted to win, only one could emerge victorious.
As a Trainer, she naturally couldn't go undefeated forever. Besides, there was nothing strange about Clair losing to an Elite Four member.
Perhaps a few more losses would teach her how to get her mindset back on track.
After all, even her idol, that genius from the Dragon Tamer Family, had gradually had his rough edges worn away in the fierce battles among the Elite Four...
After nodding to her and Caitlin in greeting, Qingyu quickly