After the day's matches ended, all four semifinalists of this year's World Pokémon Academy Tournament had been decided.
They were Red and Blue from the Kanto Region, Xia Chi from the Donghuang Region, and, taking the final spot, Iris from the Unova Region.
If the timeline were moved forward five years, people would discover that all of them were Champions of their respective regions-
Even a Champion who held the title for one minute was still a Champion.
It was practically a gathering of immortals.
The two upcoming semifinals would pit Xia Chi against Blue, and Red against Iris.
There was no denying it: the road to the finals was lined with thorns.
The further he advanced, the truer that became.
But powerful opponents also brought extraordinary rewards.
After those four grueling battles, the Fear accumulated by his [dark-type bond] had passed the 700 mark!
Gladion's Silvally had contributed the most. That Pokémon alone had coughed up nearly 50 points!
Aside from letting him open two more basic equipment pieces, the greatest benefit was naturally that every Pokémon with the dark-type bond now had a 70% damage bonus!
That was equivalent to getting more than one stage of Work Up for free at the start of battle.
Xia Chi felt increasingly certain that focusing on the [dark-type bond] at the outset had been a wise choice.
It was practically a decision that would change the course of the Pokémon world.
So who said I, Xia Chi, just got carried to victory?!
Do you even understand resource management?!
The new Fear Chest yielded a pair of [Critical Gloves]. After some thought, Xia Chi combined them with the [Bramble Vest] to make a [Steadfast Heart]-
``` [Steadfast Heart: +10% physical defense, +10% critical hit chance. Unique passive: reduces all incoming damage by