Seeing the situation unfold, Nathan couldn't help but laugh—was this basically a freebie?
"Pfft, what a lucky dog!"
A contestant from Valar spat and grumbled when he saw that Nathan really did draw Number 33.
"Right? But I guess this works out for us. We'll be facing a country with only two people left."
Another contestant snickered.
The group of contestants from Valar thought about it—it made sense.
Celestia had indeed been reduced to just two contestants thanks to their sabotage.
The Celestian audience who had been hoping to see Nathan and Evelyn crush their opponents were left both disappointed and relieved.
They were disappointed because they wouldn't get to witness Nathan's dazzling moves, but at the same time relieved, because this meant Nathan had already made it into the top ten.
However, to break out of the Pacific Regional Tournament and enter the World Tournament, he would still need to place in the top three.
With the draw completed, the matches began swiftly.
Nathan and Evelyn quietly watched the other countries' matches unfold.
One by one, nations failed. One by one, others advanced.
Eventually, the top ten were determined.
Unlike the previous one-on-one knockout format, the top ten would now compete in a round-robin points system.
In other words, to make it into the top three, each team would need to defeat at least seven other countries!
That was a tremendous challenge for any team hoping to break into the top three—including Celestia.
Now, only Nathan and Evelyn remained. The two of them would need to defeat seven entire national teams. It was a daunting task.
"Nathan, doesn't this feel like it's targeting us specifically?"
Evelyn sighed after learning the format.
Compared to the domestic tournament, the Pacific Regional Tournament were just getting more difficult by the round.
"Even so, nothing will stop me from making it to the World Tournament."
Nathan's eyes were filled with unwavering determination.
He was destined to become the strongest Pokémon Trainer. A few matches were nothing to him.
…
The next morning, the top ten round-robin matches officially began!
And the first match was Celestia Country vs Josan Country.
Josan was a nation bordering Celestia, and the two countries didn't exactly have the best relationship.
Josan had six contestants who made it through the first round.
That meant that today, Nathan and Evelyn would have to take on six opponents!
"You sit back and watch—I'll kick things off and promote our Dynamax Candy while I'm at it."
Nathan smiled and walked confidently toward the battlefield.
Josan's six players all stepped up at once.
The sight stunned the Celestian audience. Was Nathan seriously going to take on six trainers by himself?
Evelyn suddenly realized that, despite being a prodigy in her own right, she felt like nothing more than a background character standing beside Nathan.
Online, the sentiment was even harsher. Comments were popping up calling Evelyn nothing more than Nathan's decorative flower for the Pacific Tournament.
Watching from the stands and reading those comments on her phone, Evelyn couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry.
"Nathan, is your country down to just you alone?"
Hana asked in Celestian.
"No, I have a teammate. But for the upcoming match, I'll be enough."
Nathan replied calmly in fluent Valarian.
The moment he said that, the other nine countries' representatives were visibly annoyed.
Arrogant!
He was clearly underestimating them. Did he really think he could take on an entire national team by himself?
"Nathan, I've never seen anyone more arrogant than you!"
A contestant from Josan stepped forward, pointing at him.
"I'm just stating a fact. If you don't like it, come and prove me wrong."
Nathan replied in fluent Josanese.
"Fine! I'll go first today and show you the strength of Josan Country!"
The angry contestant sent out his Pokémon.
Nathan smiled wordlessly and summoned his own Pokémon to the field—none other than Mewtwo.
The appearance of the sleek, powerful Mewtwo sent waves of cheers through the Celestian crowd.
The Josan Country contestant also sent out his Pokémon: a level 58 Bellossom.
Nathan was surprised. To be honest, raising a Bellossom wasn't easy.
After all, to evolve a Gloom into Bellossom required a Sun Stone.
It was clear that anyone who made it this far had at least some real skill.
But due to Nathan's earlier provocation, the Josan Country contestant immediately ordered an aggressive opening.
"Bellossom, use Stun Spore and Toxic!"
Bellossom released a cloud of paralyzing powder, and Mewtwo was instantly inflicted with the poison condition.
Toxic was a minor move in terms of power, but it had a broken trait—100% accuracy.
But unfortunately for the opponent, he was facing Mewtwo.
And not just any Mewtwo—Nathan's Mewtwo.
While Toxic had perfect accuracy, its effectiveness still depended on the opponent's special defense.
Mewtwo already had naturally high special defense, and with the endless resources Nathan poured into him, that defense was on a whole other level.
Nathan didn't even order Mewtwo to dodge. He just stood there, letting both Toxic and Stun Spore hit.
The Josan contestant was delighted. Was this the same guy who had just been talking so big?
"Bellossom, use Magical Leaf and Razor Leaf!"
With both poison and paralysis applied, Mewtwo should be unable to move or defend—right?
The opponent had underestimated Nathan.
Nathan didn't order a defense because Mewtwo didn't need one against such minor moves.
If it had been a stronger poison-type technique, maybe Nathan would've considered it.
Magical Leaf and Razor Leaf zoomed toward Mewtwo.
"Mewtwo, dodge and use Flamethrower."
Nathan said lazily from behind him.
The Josan Country player almost laughed. Hit with both paralysis and poison? How could Mewtwo possibly dodge?
But then—to his utter shock—Mewtwo did just that.
He effortlessly evaded the attack, as if unaffected by the status conditions at all.
Then, with a single hand, he pointed at Bellossom and launched a jet of scorching flames straight at it.
Caught completely off guard, Bellossom took the Flamethrower head-on and was knocked out cold.
Bellossom simply couldn't compare in special defense. Taking a direct hit from Flamethrower left it unable to continue.
The Josan contestant stood frozen in disbelief.
His Bellossom… just got one-shotted?
He had underestimated Nathan's Mewtwo.
That was his fatal mistake.
"That's it? Come on, send out the next one. Preferably one that won't get insta-killed."
Nathan said coolly.
The Celestian audience shook off their stunned silence and erupted in cheers.
At first, they had been nervous seeing Mewtwo get hit by both poison and paralysis.
They never expected this outcome.
No matter how much the Celestian team had been targeted before, Nathan's appearances always turned the tables in shocking ways.
His first battle had made his opponent cry. His second battle ended in a single move.
Within the tournament, Nathan was the only trainer with such overwhelming victories.
"Go! Alakazam!"
After Bellossom was knocked out in one hit, the Josan contestant didn't hesitate to summon his second Pokémon—a level 58 Alakazam.
This was definitely a strong choice.
In the psychic-type category, Alakazam was already considered top-tier.
But what he didn't realize was—Nathan's Mewtwo was the absolute pinnacle of psychic types.
"Alakazam, use Psy Slash!"
The moment Alakazam appeared, the trainer gave the order.
Alakazam's spoons began glowing with electrical energy—its psychic power.
The energy flowed between the two spoons like positive and negative currents.
As the energy surged, a slicing wave of psychic power slashed toward Mewtwo.
"Mewtwo, use Aura Sphere to counter Psy Slash! Then follow up with Teleport to chase him down."
Nathan said calmly.
To be honest, Nathan felt no excitement fighting such weak opponents.
Mewtwo brought his hands together, forming a glowing Aura Sphere that launched toward the incoming psychic slash.
The two attacks collided mid-air and exploded.
A cloud of smoke filled the arena, obscuring visibility.
(End of Chapter)