Not long after, Tim returned, though this time the broadcast director didn't switch to Jace's battlefield. Instead, the cameras focused on a different match: Staravia versus Pachirisu. Both Pokémon were incredibly fast, but in the end, Pachirisu seized its chance—a well-timed [Nuzzle] slowed Staravia down with paralysis, and a follow-up [Spark] finished it.
Since time was tight, as soon as one field opened up, the next group would go on. By the time Auron left his match, Jace was already on the battlefield. Despite the sheer number of competitors, things were moving along at a good pace.
After Pachirisu's win, the broadcast switched to the next set of Trainers. On one side was a Diggersby with the Huge Power ability—one of Auron's previous opponents from the elimination round. The other was a Lilligant, the same Pokémon Serena had mentioned earlier.
The moment both Pokémon appeared, Auron had a good guess about how this match would play out. Sure enough, Lilligant started off with [Sunny Day], its Chlorophyll ability sending its speed soaring. It danced circles around Diggersby, firing off [Solar Beam] after [Solar Beam] until Diggersby went down. Victory to Lilligant.
Lena and Jace soon came back together, Jace chatting and joking the whole way, while Simon nodded quietly. It was kind of amazing how well they got along—Jace's outgoing nature and Simon's introverted one meshed without awkwardness at all.
Neither had faced a particularly tough opponent, but Jace brought back an important tidbit: fewer than twenty Trainers had made it to the main tournament with ten straight wins; Auron's group alone had six. The rest all got in through points.
Before long, Serena and Lena wrapped up their own matches. And with that, the sixty-to-thirty round was over. Next up—the thirty-to-fifteen.
Once again, ten matches at a time. The lounge was only half full now, scattered groups here and there. Still, as soon as the numbers appeared on their devices, everyone glanced down, eager to see their match-ups.
Auron caught someone glaring at him. He turned, meeting the eyes of the "Princess Dress Girl"—the one who'd cried after losing to Jace in an earlier round.
What's her problem? Auron wondered. Jace made her cry, not me. Why's she staring at me like that?
The numbers on the devices were up:
Jace: No. 1
Tim: No. 5
Serena: No. 18
Auron: No. 30
Simon: No. 9
Lena: No. 12
With only thirty left, the odds of running into a teammate were pretty high—but luck was on their side.
This round would see a lot more people eliminated. With everyone else off battling, Auron was left alone in the lounge, eyes on the big screen. The first match the broadcast director picked was Jace's field.
Auron couldn't help but grin when he saw the pairing: Jace versus the Princess Dress Girl again—the same two, once more.
The commentator's voice was on fire:
"Both Trainers are sending out their Pokémon now—Growlithe and Sobble! In terms of type, things look rough for Growlithe. Its Fire-type moves are only half as effective against Sobble, while Water-type moves will do double damage in return. That's a huge gap!"
"And the match begins! Sobble opens with [Aqua Jet]—but Growlithe dodges, using [Agility] and leaving a blur in its wake. What speed!"
"It's [Crunch]! Growlithe closes in and bites down. Sobble recovers quickly, launching another [Aqua Jet] to blast Growlithe away. What's next for Sobble?"
"She's charging in for [Sucker Punch]—going for a head-on attack instead of [Water Pulse]? That's odd. [Water Pulse] would be double effective and matches Sobble's strong Special Attack stats."
The commentator sounded puzzled. He'd seen Sobble use [Water Pulse] in earlier matches, but this time the Trainer wasn't calling for it, choosing [Sucker Punch] instead—even though it wasn't the optimal move.
Auron listened with a knowing smile. Of course she isn't using [Water Pulse]—she got burned by that in the last round. When Fire and Water collide, the steam barely affects Growlithe, but it's a real problem for Sobble. During the time the steam hangs in the air, Growlithe can totally turn the match around.
The Princess Dress Girl picked [Sucker Punch] instead, probably hoping to close the distance, then use [Water Pulse] with a better chance of landing it—and avoiding the steam that could hurt her own Pokémon.
"Sobble goes for [Sucker Punch]—wait, Growlithe counters with [Flamethrower] right up close, blasting Sobble away!"
On the field, Jace showed his smarts. He didn't go for a trade with [Crunch]—instead, as Sobble got close, he hit it point-blank with [Flamethrower].
Since these two had fought in the eliminations, the Princess Dress Girl fell into a mental trap—she assumed that not using [Water Pulse] would mean Growlithe wouldn't use [Flamethrower]. Instead, her Sobble took the full force of the move.
The commentator's excited voice rang out:
"Sobble struggles to its feet—that point-blank [Flamethrower] did massive damage. Does Sobble have any hope of turning things around?"
"Nope, that's it! Sobble's down—Growlithe wins and advances!"
Jace recalled Growlithe and ignored the dazed Princess Dress Girl, heading for the neighboring field to wait for Tim.
Tim's opponent was a Hippopotas—not one with the Sand Stream ability. Because Hippopotas was so slow, it couldn't land a single hit on Dragonair. Dragonair soared through the air, firing off [Water Pulse] after [Water Pulse] until it won the match handily.
Tim finished up quickly, and the two of them made their way back to the lounge. On the way, they checked out Simon and Lena's match—the two were still locked in a back-and-forth, so Tim and Jace decided not to wait and returned on their own.
Auron's turn came next. The three met in the corridor, and as Auron walked between them, they all high-fived.
"Let's go!" x2
Auron stepped onto the battlefield. His opponent arrived soon after—and at first glance, a line from a song popped into Auron's mind:
"Comb your hair like a grown-up, put on a dapper suit—"
His opponent looked like he'd used a whole bottle of hair gel, each strand slicked back. He was wearing a suit that was a size too big, making him look like a kid playing dress-up in his dad's clothes.
"Trainers ready! Send out your Pokémon!"
Auron sent out Munchlax, while his opponent called out Pawniard—the same Pokémon Tim had mentioned yesterday.
(To be continued…)