Chapter 46: The Main Tournament Begins
"Welcome, everyone, to the main tournament of the 'Seaside County High School Elite Selection Tournament.' I am your host, Hudson, and I will now explain the format for the upcoming matches."
On the main stage of the Seaside County Gymnasium, the host, dressed in a suit with a neat short haircut, held a microphone and spoke with crisp, clear enunciation.
In the venue, the thousand-seat audience section was completely full. Most of the spectators were students, but there were also many parents and family members of the contestants, here to cheer on their children. This was evident from the banners they held up.
"A total of 32 contestants have entered the main tournament. They will continue to battle one-on-one in a single-elimination format. The winner advances, the loser is out. After three rounds of competition, the top 16, top 8, and top 4 will be decided in order."
"Now, let's give our warmest round of applause and welcome the top 32 contestants to the stage!"
Host Hudson shouted, and then, accompanied by rousing music, the 32 vibrant young contestants entered in four neat columns, marching in unison.
ROAR!
The atmosphere in the venue was instantly ignited, with cheers rising one after another.
In the line of contestants, Basalt was dressed stylishly. Combined with his height and handsome features, he looked quite mature. In his trendy clothes, he looked less like a high school student and more like a university student.
How to describe Basalt's outfit today? A bit like Red, but not entirely, because he was more fashionable and avant-garde than Red. After all, Red didn't have designer brands to wear.
"Brother Basalt, you look a little different today, huh?"
"Is that J&L? Those clothes don't look cheap."
In the crowd, Frank and Leo walked alongside Basalt, their expressions strange. They felt as if Basalt had become a different person.
"Stop staring at my clothes. Pay more attention to my skills, okay?" Basalt pouted. To be honest, the clothes were nice, but he felt a little uncomfortable wearing them. But for the money, Basalt could endure it.
Frank and Leo exchanged a look and silently gave him the middle finger. So what if you're strong? So arrogant!
After all the contestants had entered, Hudson waved his hand, and the contestants' photos appeared on the big screen as the host gave a brief introduction for each one. After speaking for a long time without seeming to need a breath, like a hosting machine, Hudson continued, "Next, we will proceed with the grouping. This grouping will use a seed player system. The thirty-two contestants will be divided into 4 groups, with 1 seed player in each group."
"First, let me announce, the seed player for Group A is… Luna!"
"The seed player for Group B is… Felix!"
"The seed player for Group C is… Wade!"
"The seed player for Group D is… Luke!"
Each time the host announced a seed player, he would drag out their name, as if this would highlight their extraordinary status. But the effect was indeed good; every time a seed player's name was announced, the venue would erupt in thunderous applause and cheers.
The seed player system was very common in Pokémon competitions in this world. The purpose was to prevent stronger contestants from facing each other too early, which could lead to talented individuals being eliminated prematurely while weaker ones advanced through luck. Although a completely random grouping was fairer, the seed player system ensured a minimum standard for the contestants who advanced.
"So the seed players are all from First High," Basalt said with a small smile.
Although Luke wasn't as famous as the three main favorites, he wasn't unknown either, considered a king-tier figure in the second echelon. His participating Pokémon was a Meowth. Basalt had seen an analysis of him on the forum. This Meowth's ability was likely Technician. High attack and high agility, paired with a reasonable moveset—his strength was not to be underestimated.
"If I had let my Drilbur go all out in the preliminaries, I might have been able to get a seed spot," Basalt muttered, then shook his head. Compared to the fame, it was obviously more important to keep his strength hidden, to catch his opponents off guard at a critical moment.
BOOM!
At the host's command, the avatars of the remaining 28 contestants began to shuffle on the big screen and finally stopped.
"Number 2 in Group C?" Basalt looked at the screen, his eyebrows raised.
The seed player for the third group was Wade. For Basalt, this was good news. His Drilbur, even after learning "Dig," would still be at risk of losing against the flying Gligar or the psychic Smoochum. But against the close-combat Tyrogue or the Meowth, it wasn't a big problem.
After the grouping was completed, the contestants began to leave the stage and head to the contestant waiting room to rest. A tough battle awaited them.
"I'm dead. Not only am I up first, but my opponent is the seed player, Luna. My luck is just too terrible, isn't it?"
The moment she returned to the waiting room, Leo completely deflated, looking as if she had lost all hope. Although there were three favorites to win according to the forum, among those three, Luna had the highest buzz. It couldn't be helped; Smoochum's Psychic type was an incredibly broken existence in the early stages. What's more, its Ice-type development was also terrifying; so far, it had one-shotted every opponent.
For Leo to run into Luna in the first match, her luck was truly unparalleled. It was the perfect setup for a one-and-done tournament run.
Basalt walked over and patted the class president's shoulder but was at a loss for encouraging words. Can I still be saved? No. You can't be saved. Go in peace.
…
On the battlefield.
With the referee's command, the first match of the main tournament's Group A officially began.
Luna VS Leo.
In the waiting room, the other contestants could watch the live situation on the TVs mounted on the walls. Basalt and Frank stood side-by-side, silently cheering for the class president in their hearts.
The moment the match began, Pidgey started flapping its wings to gain altitude, trying to create distance from its opponent. But unfortunately, as Smoochum's large eyes glowed red, a strange light also enveloped Pidgey's body, as if it were imprisoned by some force, unable to move an inch.
"There it is, Smoochum's move, Confusion!"
In the waiting room, many recognized the move Smoochum had used.
Confusion, a Psychic-type move, attacks the opponent with a weak telekinetic force and sometimes leaves the opponent confused.
Now in the main tournament, Smoochum had finally revealed its second move.
"Smoochum, finish it with Icy Wind!"
With a wave of Luna's hand, Smoochum controlled the psychic force and slammed Pidgey to the ground. Just as Pidgey was dizzy and disoriented, a bone-chillingly cold wind enveloped it, freezing it into a block of ice.
Five seconds later, the ice shattered, and the Pidgey inside also had swirling eyes. It collapsed to the ground, motionless.
"Pidgey is unable to battle. The winner is… Luna!"
ROAR!
With the referee's ruling, the stadium instantly erupted in a deafening roar of cheers. The cute-looking Luna had proven herself with her strength.
This lady… no, this young maiden, is not to be trifled with!
On the host's stage, in the guest seats, the three guest commentators also began to offer their analysis after the match ended.
"From this match, we can see that contestant Luna's Smoochum is very well-raised. Its Confusion can not only deal damage but also restrain the opponent. If an opponent cannot break free from the psychic hold, I'm afraid it will be very difficult to defeat her."
The speaker was a middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache. He was the head coach of the Vigor Club—Victor Wei. The Vigor Club was a club on par with the Meteor Club, and Victor Wei was a Professional-level trainer on par with Coach Miles, specializing in raising Fighting-type Pokémon.
"What a pity. That Smoochum is too strong. The Pidgey had almost no chance to fight back, no opportunity to even show what it could do."
This time, the speaker was a man in a police uniform. He was the chief of the Seaside County Police Department, Officer Tanaka, also a Professional-level trainer.
"Indeed. I feel that the Pidgey wasn't weak, but the gap between the two was just too large. They aren't on the same level. This was a complete, overwhelming beatdown." The sunny and handsome Coach Miles nodded in agreement. As the head coach of the Meteor Club, he naturally had a spot here.
The overwhelming advantage in this match was too obvious. Besides offering some generic praise, the guest commentators didn't have much else to say.
The first match ended, and the second match immediately followed, with two new contestants taking the stage. Basalt saw that the skill level of this pair of contestants was more evenly matched, probably somewhere between the class president and Frank. In a word, so-so. If it were him, he could definitely decide the winner within three moves. Nothing to pay too much attention to.
The competition was intense, with one match after another, averaging about five minutes per match. Before long, it was Frank's turn. With his Rollout + Harden combo, his Munchlax eventually won.
…
"Next, let's welcome the contestants for Group C, contestant number 1, Lance, and contestant number 2, Basalt!"
As the competition continued, it was finally Basalt's turn.
"Finally my turn."
Basalt stretched his neck and stood up.