With the first member of the final three decided, the surrounding atmosphere clearly grew more electric.
The young trainer, Marlin, was in high spirits—he had just earned the right to challenge a member of the Elite Four or even a Champion. Such opportunities were rare, and Marlin was already fantasizing about the glory of his Pokémon toppling one of them and his name spreading across Unova.
Soon, the second match of round three began. This bout featured a beautiful young woman and a handsome youth. It was clear they knew each other well. Though they stood as opponents now, both had nothing but the desire to win and the determination to outmatch the other in their eyes.
"Sabiel, I'm going all out for this one. I hope you will too," said the girl.
"Morane, don't worry. I won't let this battle end in regret," Sabiel replied.
Almost simultaneously, they sent out their Pokémon.
Morane's choice was Gardevoir, a Psychic/Fairy-type, while Sabiel called out Metagross, a pseudo-legendary with Psychic/Steel typing.
On paper, Gardevoir was at a type disadvantage against Metagross.
But Pokémon battles are full of surprises. Until it's over, anything is possible.
And to everyone's surprise, Morane emerged victorious.
She didn't rush to deal damage at first. Instead, Gardevoir opened with Charm to lower Metagross's Attack. With its power reduced, Gardevoir endured several hits by relying on Teleport and Life Dew to sustain itself.
Then, with a single Calm Mind for setup, Gardevoir launched a decisive Mystical Fire, scoring the win.
Sabiel, for his part, directed Metagross relentlessly, trying to land a finishing blow—but Gardevoir's mastery of Teleport proved too slippery. His attacks never quite landed as needed.
Luckily for Sabiel, a loss in this round wasn't the end. The three losing quarterfinalists would still battle for fourth place, and the winner would also earn a chance to challenge the Champions and Elite Four.
"Rex, it's our turn," Sterling said with a friendly smile.
Sterling was genuinely intrigued by Machamp. It was clear that the Pokémon had reached a rare level of strength—and that curiosity had played a big part in his decision to enter the competition.
"Yes, Mr. Sterling," Rex replied politely as they walked to the battlefield.
Since Rex had used only Fighting-types up to now, many assumed he specialized in that type. He didn't bother correcting them. After all, since arriving in Unova, he had enjoyed battling with his powerhouses like Machamp.
Once the battle began, Sterling sent out Gallade, while Rex once again chose Machamp.
Gallade, a Psychic/Fighting-type, had the advantage in typing.
But Rex knew this wasn't about type matchups. Sterling had chosen Gallade because he wanted to test Machamp's strength with a fellow martial-arts Pokémon.
And indeed, the opening moments proved it—Sterling didn't use any Psychic-type moves. Gallade charged in for pure close combat.
The clash between Gallade and Machamp was even more intense than the earlier sparring match between Rex and Marshal. Their moves were so fast, most of the spectators couldn't even follow.
Rex quickly realized Gallade's Fighting-type skills were formidable. For the moment, they were evenly matched.
But as the fight wore on, Machamp began reading Gallade's movements. Bit by bit, Gallade's rhythm was exposed—and Machamp handled his strikes more and more easily.
"Gallade, looks like it's time to get serious—Psycho Cut!" Sterling called.
He had realized Gallade couldn't win this slugfest. It was time to unleash its full potential.
Gallade's arm blades glowed with a pink psychic sheen—the telltale sign of Psychic energy coating his strikes.
With the addition of Psychic-type power, Gallade's attacks became sharper and far more dangerous. Machamp now had to avoid taking direct hits, as even a glancing blow could deal serious damage.
"Machamp, Triple Strike!" Rex shouted.
Triple Strike was Rex's nickname for a barrage of Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, and Ice Punch in random sequence.
Before their battle with Mega Ampharos, Machamp hadn't been able to freely switch elemental energies between its four arms. Each arm was locked to a specific element.
But recently, something had changed. Machamp could now seamlessly channel different elemental energies mid-fight—even it didn't know which punch it would throw next.
That unpredictability made it nearly impossible to defend against.
Of course, this style burned through stamina fast. Machamp couldn't keep it up indefinitely.
As Machamp unleashed a barrage of elemental punches, Gallade's defenses quickly started to crumble. The four-armed assault came from every angle—and unless Gallade's reflexes were double that of Machamp's, there was no blocking everything.
Soon, Gallade was showing signs of all three elemental effects—singed patches, frostbite, and flickering electrical arcs.
"Gallade, use Teleport!" Sterling ordered.
With his deep battle experience, Sterling knew it was time to create distance. Gallade couldn't keep tanking these hits.
"Machamp, Dynamic Punch!" Rex barked.
Teleport took a split second to activate—just enough time for a counterattack. Rex had been waiting for that window.
Boom!
Just before Gallade could vanish, Machamp's Dynamic Punch landed squarely.
Gallade was flung across the field.
The result was obvious. Disoriented and suffering from confusion, Gallade couldn't recover before the follow-up blows rained down.
Victory: Rex.