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The stands were packed to capacity, and the thunderous cheers of the audience echoed throughout the Bug-type Gym arena. The energy was electric, with thousands of voices creating a symphony of excitement that seemed to shake the very foundations of the building.
The High School Cup, held annually across the region, enjoys extremely high popularity nationwide. From eighty-year-old grandparents to four or five-year-old children clutching their favorite Pokémon plushies, almost everyone watches the annual High School Cup tournament. The competition's viewership ratings consistently rank first every year, surpassing even the most popular entertainment shows.
In addition to the incredibly high television viewership, residents from all corners of the region had bought tickets, brought various cheering props and colorful banners, and filled the audience seats. They waved flags enthusiastically and shouted for their favorite players, hoping that their supported Trainers could represent Starlight City with pride and achieve outstanding results in the competition.
Although Starlight City's performance in recent years had been rather disappointing, with no contestants reaching the National Finals for many consecutive years, it was precisely because of this drought that the citizens of Starlight City had been holding their breath. They desperately hoped for a powerful Trainer to emerge from their ranks, sweep away the accumulated gloom of past defeats, and bring long-awaited glory back to Starlight City.
Jacob's remarkable appearance in this year's tournament undoubtedly injected a strong shot of hope into the hearts of Starlight City's citizens. Since the very start of the competition, Jacob's magnificent Charizard had not lost a single battle in any of the preliminary matches. Such overwhelming strength and dominance quickly gained him a massive following throughout the city, and many citizens of Starlight City eagerly bought Jacob's promotional posters and official merchandise.
Local media outlets in Starlight City had even reserved their coveted front-page headlines specifically for Jacob, praising him in their articles without any reservation whatsoever. They hailed him as a once-in-a-century prodigious talent and proclaimed him to be the shining hope of Starlight City's future. The articles concluded with confident reports stating that Jacob was very likely to break Starlight City's best tournament record since the city's establishment many years ago.
It was precisely because of this widespread media attention and growing reputation that more than half of the audience filling the stands today were Jacob's devoted fans. They held up bright cheering light boards that spelled out his name and even displayed giant promotional posters of Jacob, cheering for him with all their might and unwavering enthusiasm.
In stark and somewhat painful contrast to Jacob's overwhelming support was Max, whose cheering section consisted of only a small group of his family members and closest friends scattered throughout the audience. As he listened to the deafening cheers for Jacob coming from all directions around the arena, Max's face flushed red with a mixture of embarrassment and determination. He silently reached for his belt and pulled out a Poké Ball with steady hands.
"Go, Blastoise!" Max called out, his voice carrying across the battlefield.
"Go, Charizard!" Jacob responded confidently, releasing his signature Pokémon.
Jacob started with his usual powerhouse Charizard, while Max sent out his trusted ace partner, Blastoise. The first round would feature Charizard versus Blastoise—a classic battle between two of the original Kanto starter Pokémon's final evolutionary forms.
"Jacob, go! Beat the hell out of him!" someone shouted from the crowd.
"Take down that Blastoise!" another voice rang out.
"First use Sunny Day, then Solar Beam! Remember to make it use Protect first!" came tactical advice from the stands.
As Jacob listened to the enthusiastic voices from the stands, he felt a slight wave of embarrassment wash over him. The reason for his discomfort was that his planned battle strategy was exactly what the crowd was suggesting. In fact, since the very start of the competition, his Charizard's tactical approach had been refreshingly simple yet brutally effective.
First, he would change the weather conditions to favor his Fire-type Pokémon, then based on the opponent's Pokémon type and weaknesses, he would choose one of four devastating moves: Heat Wave, Solar Beam, Dragon Pulse, or Flamethrower to achieve an instant victory.
"Charizard, use Sunny Day!" Jacob commanded with authority.
"Blastoise, counter with Rain Dance!" Max shouted in response.
This particular battle was proving to be somewhat different from Jacob's previous encounters. Max's Blastoise was actually attempting to use the Rain Dance technique to control the weather, something that hadn't happened in any of Jacob's earlier matches.
This marked the first time Jacob had encountered a serious weather-based contest during the tournament. In video games, the later attacker typically has the advantage in weather battles, and whoever attacks last can usually seize control of the weather conditions.
However, in real-world Pokémon battles, weather contests are significantly different and much more complex than their video game counterparts. The mechanics involve several important factors that Trainers must understand.
First, just like in the games, a weather-changing move or ability used later can indeed override a weather-changing move or ability that was used earlier in the battle sequence.
Second, the original weather conditions present on the battlefield also significantly affect the outcome of weather contests. For example, during heavy rainfall, if two opposing Pokémon are of similar strength levels, using the Sunny Day technique—whether executed first or second—will absolutely not be able to successfully contend with the Rain Dance technique's power.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, weather contests are also directly related to the overall strength and energy control abilities of both battling Pokémon. Whichever Pokémon possesses stronger control over elemental energy will ultimately be able to seize and maintain control of the weather conditions.
Just like the current situation unfolding before the packed audience, when Charizard and Blastoise simultaneously released their respective weather-controlling techniques to compete for dominance, and with the sky naturally overcast above the arena, the competition truly became about precise control over elemental energy. Whichever Pokémon demonstrated stronger mastery over energy manipulation would successfully seize control of the weather.
It quickly became clear that Jacob's Charizard possessed far superior control over elemental energy compared to Max's Blastoise. The difference in their mastery was readily apparent to experienced Trainers watching from the stands.
As a brilliant Fire-type energy orb flew high into the sky above the arena, the powerful Fire-type energy instantly began dispersing the dark storm clouds that had been gathering overhead. The technique successfully changed the weather conditions and tore a significant hole through the cloud cover. A single, brilliant ray of golden sunlight broke through the dispersed clouds and shone down directly onto the battlefield below.
"Charizard, Solar Beam!" Jacob called out, seizing the tactical advantage.
"Blastoise, use Protect!" Max reacted with impressive speed.
Max had reacted quickly to the changing situation. The moment he heard Jacob instruct Charizard to use Solar Beam, he immediately commanded his Blastoise to use the defensive Protect technique, successfully blocking the incoming Solar Beam attack with a shimmering barrier of energy.
"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!" Max shouted, immediately going on the offensive.
Max understood the tactical situation perfectly. He knew that after using Protect, his Blastoise would absolutely not be able to withstand even a single Solar Beam from Jacob's powered-up Charizard, so he immediately ordered his Blastoise to use its most powerful technique, Hydro Pump, hoping to deal significant damage.
Even if he couldn't achieve victory against Charizard, he was determined to inflict some meaningful damage on Jacob's seemingly invincible Pokémon.
"Charizard, Solar Beam!" Jacob commanded again.
Intense light began gathering around Charizard's body, and powerful Grass-type energy formed into a concentrated beam of pure light. The beam blasted fiercely toward Blastoise, ultimately colliding head-on with the rushing Hydro Pump attack in a spectacular display of opposing forces.
"Boom!"
The overwhelming power of Solar Beam completely overwhelmed Blastoise's Hydro Pump technique, directly penetrating through the water attack and striking Blastoise with devastating force, instantly knocking the Water-type Pokémon unconscious.
"Blastoise is unable to battle. First round goes to Jacob!" the referee announced officially.
Upon hearing the referee's decisive announcement, thunderous cheers erupted from the packed stands like a massive tsunami crashing down upon the arena. The sound was absolutely deafening.
From the very start of the High School Cup tournament until this moment, in all of Jacob's matches throughout the competition, except for a few opposing Pokémon that had managed to stall for one turn by using the defensive Protect technique, all other Pokémon had been instantly defeated by Jacob's incredibly powerful Charizard.
A Lord-level peak strength Charizard, combined with the beneficial effects of Sunny Day weather and the Solar Power ability, meant that almost no Pokémon of the same competitive level could possibly withstand Charizard's full-power attacks.
As Jacob listened to the enthusiastic shouts and cheers from the crowd surrounding him, he waved back graciously, genuinely enjoying performing on such a grand stage. Meanwhile, Max, who had essentially become a background character in this lopsided battle, looked visibly dejected as he recalled his fainted Blastoise and sent out his second Pokémon, Raichu.
"Raichu, Thunderbolt!" Max called out desperately.
"Charizard, Heat Wave!" Jacob responded calmly.
Charizard's mouth became completely enveloped in surging flames that billowed outward, spewing scorching heat that covered the entire battlefield. Compared to Jacob's previous battle with Nathaniel, Charizard's raw strength had noticeably increased by several points.
Facing the overwhelming Heat Wave attack, Raichu only managed to see a fiery red blur before its eyes. The Electric-type Pokémon's body was immediately scorched by the invading Heat Wave, and it had absolutely no time to react before being completely engulfed by the devastating fire attack.
"Raichu!" Max looked at his Pokémon, completely enveloped in the Heat Wave, and shouted loudly in concern, but his cries were ultimately useless.
When the Heat Wave finally receded and cleared, Raichu's motionless figure was revealed, lying completely still on the battlefield floor.
"Raichu is unable to battle. Jacob wins this match. Congratulations to player Jacob for advancing to the top 32!" the referee announced with finality.
"Jacob! Jacob! Jacob!" the crowd chanted in unison.
Thunderous cheers erupted throughout the arena once again, and Jacob basked in the crowd's overwhelming adulation. As he listened to the hoarse shouts of his supporters and felt the incredible atmosphere surrounding him, he could feel his own blood beginning to boil with excitement.
Several hours later, Jacob's top 32 to top 16 match took place in the afternoon session. With Jacob's completely dominant performance continuing, he naturally won that match with ease as well, advancing further in the tournament.
At this point, all sixteen competitors comprising the top 16 of Starlight City had been officially decided. Tomorrow would usher in the two most important and anticipated matches of the entire tournament: the top 16 to top 8 elimination round and the top 8 to top 4 semifinal round.
While other remaining competitors were feeling more or less nervous about the upcoming high-stakes matches, Jacob remained remarkably relaxed and confident. In the face of such absolute strength and overwhelming power, he had never once worried about the possibility of defeat.
For him, the Starlight City tournament matches were merely serving as a warm-up for bigger challenges ahead. His true opponents would emerge from the main regional competition—the top four players from other cities throughout the Province, whose collective strength was significantly greater than that of any players from Starlight City.