Luther had too many things demanding his attention: the Hodgepodge organization, the Team Rocket trio, and the tournament itself.
After returning to his room, he tried to focus entirely on the upcoming matches. Whatever it took, he had to win the Lily of the Valley Conference championship.
That afternoon, Mai and Candice went together to watch Ash and Etorre's match, but Luther did not accompany them.
In his view, there was simply no reason for Ash and Etorre to lose that battle.
He had grown accustomed to reviewing matches afterwards in a quiet environment. Had he not been so curious about Conway's battle against Dakota earlier that day, he would have chosen to analyze it afterwards as well.
Darkrai was still tirelessly practicing Dark Void. Ever since he had seen his own improvement, he had become addicted to training.
However, Houndoom could no longer help Darkrai train because his energy was simply too overwhelming. After half a day of sparring, Houndoom ran out of stamina and had to be carried away.
Now, many Pokémon were helping Darkrai spar. Under Dusknoir's organization, Mai's Pokémon had voluntarily signed up to test the accuracy of Dark Void.
Meanwhile, Luther's Jumpluff, Chansey, and Espurr were helping Darkrai find the most suitable posture for releasing moves.
This made Luther very happy. Once the training techniques had been fully integrated and understood, Pokémon with systematic training experience could begin to help other Pokémon to improve.
At that point, all the trainer needed to do was observe carefully, record the training experience and summarize it, and refine it further.
Azumarill sat nearby, holding a huge bag of crisps and nodding repeatedly as she watched Darkrai train with fiery enthusiasm.
Luther patted Azumarill on the head and took a handful of crisps from her bag.
"Even though Chansey can't practice Ice Punch with you anymore, that doesn't mean you can slack off all day, you know."
Azumarill was already accustomed to Luther's blatant snack-stealing behavior. Fortunately, she was popular enough that if she ran out of snacks, she could simply go outside, pose for a few photos with fans, and earn more.
And if that didn't work, she could just head to the restaurant herself. The waiters and chefs there all knew her, and whenever she showed up, they treated her with meticulous care.
Unlike during the preliminary rounds, Azumarill's label was no longer just "cute."
After Luther's six-on-six battle with Misaki, she had become the subject of countless memes, turning her into a walking meme king and earning her special attention from every major media outlet.
During interviews, Luther talked about Azumarill and Kirlia when they were Azurill and Ralts, sharing some of their emotional journey together.
The interview focused on the bond between Luther and his Pokémon, and as a result, Azumarill and the others once again gained widespread attention and affection from the public.
Kirlia had a rather quiet personality and disliked being surrounded by crowds, so whenever situations like that arose, she would cling onto Luther directly.
Azumarill, however, was completely different. As long as you approached her with food, she didn't care who you were... photos, hugs, or anything was fine.
Whenever Luther's other Pokémon saw Azumarill like this, they would shake their heads, sigh, and walk away while silently thanking her for diverting attention away from them.
"You're probably the one in the team most suited to becoming a celebrity. You really get along with everyone..."
As he spoke, Luther gently hugged Azumarill and softly stroked her long ears.
Azumarill, who was munching on crisps, was taken aback by the sudden embrace and became a little dazed.
"Even though some time has passed, I still haven't properly thanked you. In that battle against Misaki, you were amazing. I said before that the choice of evolution belonged to all of you, but I never actually expected you to make that decision."
"From the start of our journey until now… thank you, truly."
Azumarill blinked slowly, her ears drooping down.
Actually, after all this time, she also wanted to thank Luther.
For example, she wanted to thank him for taking her away from the Pokémon Center all those years ago. If she had stayed with Shiran, she might never have achieved what she has today.
That was also the reason she had chosen to evolve. Aside from her, there were currently no other Pokémon on Luther's team capable of raising the team's upper limit.
She could win battles and buy the time needed for everyone to continue improving.
Even if evolving meant becoming bigger, heavier, and more difficult to carry around, it was slightly regrettable.
But compared to Luther's future, that sacrifice was insignificant.
By evening, Luther had learned the results and details of the afternoon's matches from Mai.
Ash and Etorre once again defeated their opponents with ease, winning 3–0.
To help Charizard regain its battle rhythm, Ash used it for the entire match, and it completely crushed the opponent while sustaining minimal damage.
With that, all eight quarter-finalists had been decided:
Luther, Ash, Dakota, Etorre, Paul, Barry, Kana, and Hikarius.
Luther knew five of them personally, but the most shocking thing was that Barry, the "fine-paying guy", had actually made it into the top eight. He was supposed to be steamrolled by Paul.
All eight contestants waited silently for the draw results, scheduled for six in the evening, and Luther was no exception.
He didn't even feel like eating. Along with his Pokémon, he sat quietly in the lobby of the Contestant Village, waiting for the draw that would determine the quarter-final match-ups.
Unexpectedly, Dakota, Etorre and Ash had also chosen not to receive the results on their phones or Pokédexes. Instead, they all came to watch the official draw on the large screen in the lobby.
None of the four spoke.
They stared unblinkingly at the rotating photos on the screen.
Luther's photo stopped first.
At the same time, the photo beneath it stopped on 'Barry.'
Before Luther could process this, Ash, Dakota, and Etorre all widened their eyes.
The draw was complete.
The first quarterfinal match was: Luther versus Barry.
Second match: Ash versus Paul.
Third match: Etorre versus Dakota.
Fourth match: Kana versus Hikarius.
Luther and Ash turned simultaneously to look at Etorre and Dakota.
It was as if fate itself had brought Ash and Paul together. Despite Luther's appearance having changed the course of so many events, the two of them were still standing opposite each other on the quarter-final stage.
Yet that no longer shocked Luther.
Etorre was going to clash head-on with Dakota in the quarter-finals.
Since entering the Main Tournament, Dakota had spoken to them less and less. Luther understood that Dakota had been preparing mentally for the inevitable battle that would eventually come.
And now, that moment had finally arrived.
"I'm not like Conway. I have a way to defeat you, and, unlike him, I'm capable of carrying it out."
Etorre actually smiled as he extended his hand towards Dakota.
Dakota shook his hand.
"From Conway's battle, I found some answers, but not all of them. I hope you can show me something different. I'll be waiting."
After saying this, the two men turned around and walked off in opposite directions.
Mao smiled at everyone awkwardly before quickly chasing after them.
Luther and Ash exchanged a glance and smiled helplessly.
How could everything in this world ever go perfectly?
Wanting everyone to make it onto the semifinals stage together and prove themselves there had only been wishful thinking.
Along the way, everyone else had advanced smoothly and effortlessly. Only Luther had stumbled because of Misaki's appearance.
At that moment, Ash once again experienced the same shock he had felt during his debut at the Indigo Plateau Conference when he encountered Ahon.
On the semifinals stage, either Etorre… or Dakota… would no longer be there.
---
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395