At that moment, everyone in the venue had already realized what had happened.
Glalie had clearly possessed a considerable advantage in the battle, and the opening exchange had developed almost exactly as they had expected.
Just when they thought Shiko—the competitor who had swept aside every opponent on his way to this point—was finally about to suffer a defeat, the situation underwent another enormous reversal.
In the space of a single breath, Glalie had been defeated.
Even while facing such an unfavorable type matchup, Garchomp had remained calm, seized the smallest opening, and relied on its speed, power, and exceptional battle instincts to instantly turn the battle around.
Glalie had been knocked down after only two attacks.
The difference in their strength was simply too great.
"ROAR!"
Garchomp suddenly released a thunderous roar.
Terrifying Dragon Pressure spread across the shattered battle arena.
The imposing aura belonging to a true dragon overlord instantly caused everyone in the venue to freeze.
For a moment, it felt as though the blood in their bodies had turned cold.
They instinctively felt a trace of fear toward that violent and oppressive presence.
The spectators were not the only ones affected.
The Pokémon fighting in the surrounding arenas also felt Garchomp's tremendous pressure.
Those that had nearly reached the Quasi-Elite Four level, along with the Elite Four-level Pokémon, were able to withstand it somewhat better.
However, even they were briefly distracted.
Some of the weaker Pokémon had their attacks interrupted.
A few were even forced backward or knocked off balance.
The sudden disturbance caused the situations in several nearby matches to undergo unexpected reversals.
Whitney stood opposite Shiko.
Her slender body trembled involuntarily.
She raised her head and once again looked at the grayish-blue Garchomp.
The confidence she had possessed at the beginning of the match had already been thoroughly crushed by the collision of absolute strength.
The power Garchomp had displayed seemed capable of breaking through any strategy through sheer force alone.
Although Whitney still had one Pokémon that had yet to enter the arena, she knew the outcome of the match had effectively already been decided.
Another defeat awaited her.
Moreover, she was about to suffer a complete three-Pokémon sweep.
At first, she felt somewhat ashamed.
However, after thinking about how Shiko's previous opponents had suffered similarly overwhelming defeats, Whitney quickly came to terms with it.
She immediately felt much better, and her tense body gradually relaxed.
Since the outcome had already been decided, she would stop worrying about victory and give everything she had during the final battle.
"I'm counting on you!"
After recalling Glalie, Whitney took a deep breath.
She then took out her final Poké Ball.
"Go, Beartic!"
A flash of light appeared, and a large white Ice-type Pokémon entered the arena.
This Beartic's strength was approximately comparable to Glalie's.
According to Whitney's original plan, Glalie was supposed to defeat—or at least severely weaken—one of Shiko's Dragon-type Pokémon.
Even if Glalie failed to win, Beartic would then be able to enter the arena and finish off the weakened opponent.
That would have allowed Beartic to perform at its best during the remaining battles.
Unfortunately, the match had developed in a completely different direction from what Whitney had expected.
Glalie, in which she had placed so much hope, had been unable to inflict any serious damage on Garchomp.
Beartic was now forced to face an opponent that still retained most of its strength.
After witnessing what had happened to Glalie, no one believed this final battle would be easy.
As expected, Beartic was quickly suppressed.
Perhaps because Shiko wanted to finish the match and secure his advancement as soon as possible, Garchomp abandoned its previous cautious approach.
It took an Aurora Beam head-on, charged directly toward Beartic, and unleashed a simple but violent three-hit combination.
Beartic was swiftly defeated.
However, its attack had not been completely ineffective.
Under the immense disadvantage created by Garchomp's quadruple weakness to Ice-type moves, combined with Beartic's considerable offensive strength, the Aurora Beam caused substantial damage.
Frost spread across Garchomp's body, and its stamina fell considerably.
Upon seeing this, Whitney secretly cried out in regret.
Judging from Garchomp's current condition, it might not have been able to continue fighting comfortably if she had possessed one more Pokémon.
What a pity.
Had Glalie endured for a little longer and inflicted more damage before Beartic entered the arena, she might genuinely have had a chance to defeat Garchomp.
However, Whitney quickly reconsidered.
If Glalie had truly managed to seriously injure Garchomp, Shiko probably would not have allowed it to fight Beartic in such a reckless manner.
No matter how she considered it, the final victory would most likely still have belonged to Garchomp.
Whitney released a long sigh and shook her head.
She then raised her head, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
The referee announced Shiko's victory.
Amid the spectators' cheers, Shiko calmly walked off the stage as though the battle had never placed him under any pressure.
Whitney watched his figure disappear beneath the black robe.
Only now did she truly understand just how far apart they were.
After this tournament ended, she would have to train much harder.
Whitney returned to the competitors' rest area and sat down.
She carefully recalled every moment of the match, repeatedly reviewing what had happened.
She searched for her shortcomings and considered how she could correct each of them.
Meanwhile, the senior Alliance officials inside the venue finally released long sighs of relief after seeing the result.
Nothing could have pleased them more than watching Shiko win easily without encountering any troublesome accidents.
However, several rounds still remained in the tournament.
Their brows soon tightened again as new concerns arose.
There were some matters they simply did not possess the ability to control.
Shiko was the true authority here.
Whatever he wanted to do, they could only respect his wishes and carefully carry out any instructions he gave them.
After the completion of this round, only one hundred and twenty-five competitors remained.
The tournament was now moving beyond the preliminary knockout stage and entering a more important phase.
Because the number of competitors was odd, one person would have to receive a bye during the next round.
There was no need to consider who that place would be given to.
The officials immediately began making the necessary arrangements.
Another day passed.
All the remaining matches in the current round finally concluded, and the one hundred and twenty-five competitors advancing to the final stage were officially announced.
The drawing ceremony for the next stage began on the enormous screen inside the tournament venue.
During the earlier rounds, the organizers had simply announced each competitor's assigned opponent.
However, the tournament had now entered its final stage.
To attract even more attention, the organizers decided to conduct this drawing ceremony publicly.
One pairing after another appeared on the screen.
Several of them involved powerful, high-ranking competitors.
Whenever an exciting matchup was revealed, the audience erupted into enthusiastic cheers.
For the spectators, nothing was more thrilling than the prospect of witnessing a spectacular battle.
However, as they continued watching, they gradually noticed something strange.
Shiko—the most popular and widely discussed competitor in the entire tournament—had still not appeared in any of the pairings.
"Hmm?"
The spectators became increasingly restless.
The commotion throughout the venue continued to grow.
Even after the drawing ceremony ended, Shiko's number had not appeared.
That could only mean one thing.
Shiko had received the only bye and would not participate in this round.
The result immediately provoked intense dissatisfaction among the audience.
Deafening protests erupted from the stands.
They had come specifically to watch Shiko's matches.
His overwhelming victories had perfectly demonstrated the power of his Pokémon, and his popularity was completely deserved.
Now, after they had purchased expensive tickets and eagerly waited to see him battle, the organizers were telling them that he would not appear during this round.
Some spectators immediately began demanding refunds.
(End of Chapter)
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