For Xia You, there was hardly anything worth watching in the first match, and little he could learn from it. Though both competitors gave respectable performances, that was all; there were not many particularly exciting moments.
The spectators clearly felt the same way, judging by their rather unenthusiastic cheers.
Only after the first match ended and Misty and Gaomei stepped onto the battlefield did Xia You perk up and sit straight.
The real show had finally begun!
On the screen, Misty's solemn expression was plain to see, and Gaomei looked equally serious. Clearly, both placed particular importance on this match, not merely because the winner would advance to the semifinals, but, more importantly, because both had reasons they could not afford to lose!
Once they were ready, the referee gave the signal, and both released their Pokémon at the same time.
Two flashes of blue light appeared. Misty sent out her Poliwhirl, while Gaomei sent out a Gyarados!
At the sight of the ferocious Gyarados, Misty's expression abruptly changed, and she instinctively took a step back in her panic!
Her heart pounded. Merely meeting Gyarados's eyes nearly drained all her resolve.
Seeing this, Xia You shook his head helplessly. Even after all this time, Misty still had not overcome her fear of facing Gyarados.
In fact, her fear of Gyarados ultimately stemmed from an incident when she was little. While playing outside one day, she happened upon a Gyarados that lived near the Gym, sleeping with its mouth wide open. Misty, who was so young she could not yet walk, had actually crawled straight into its mouth out of curiosity!
Sensing something unusual, Gyarados instinctively closed its mouth. At that moment, Misty thought she was going to be eaten. Fortunately, once Gyarados realized something was wrong, it immediately spat her