Roy returned to the competitors' room, where everyone now looked at him differently.
A muscular young man who had intentionally provoked him earlier suddenly approached with a serious expression and stood in front of Roy.
Roy tensed, thinking the other trainer was looking for a confrontation.
Unexpectedly, this robust young man scratched his head, gave him a thumbs up, and smiled sheepishly. "Awesome!"
"My name is Axel. I'm sorry for speaking ill of you before."
Axel continued sincerely, "However, I still think you're going to get into trouble by making such bold claims."
Hearing this, Roy shrugged.
He knew that his statement about "Riolu having championship potential" sounded ridiculous to people in this world.
But if he hadn't been so audacious, he wouldn't have gained so many popularity points, and he and Riolu wouldn't have grown stronger so quickly.
There was always a tradeoff.
"Axel, aren't you my next opponent?" Roy asked.
"Yeah." Axel nodded and said calmly, "My partner is Sandshrew, and I look forward to our match later."
The two chatted briefly before returning to their seats.
Roy picked up his phone, pretending to check it while actually opening his system panel.
As expected—Riolu's popularity had skyrocketed.
The popularity points he'd spent last night to acquire Agility proficiency had now risen to 200,000 in an instant, and they were still climbing at an astonishing rate.
The news was still spreading. The current popularity value was far from its peak. Roy estimated it could grow to around 500,000 to 600,000 popularity points.
Roy nearly jumped for joy!
This isn't enough—we need to push harder.
If just reaching the quarter-finals generated this much popularity, Roy couldn't help but imagine how much attention he'd receive if he won the championship.
Moreover, winning the championship wouldn't only bring popularity but also the privileges of being the top recommended student.
The primary purpose of the admissions test was to determine the ranking of recommended students.
Students who placed higher in the entrance exam would enjoy greater educational resources.
The top recommended student could receive the school's key recommendation and visit the local official breeding house to freely select Pokémon eggs.
Unlike Pokémon who were already born and chose their own trainers, Pokémon hatched from eggs typically regarded the humans they first saw as their parents.
A second Pokémon...
Thinking about this, Roy felt even more motivated to earn popularity.
That popularity value?
That was essentially securing resources for his future Pokémon!
Riolu, you need to work hard for the younger brother or sister you haven't met yet.
At that moment, commentary from the screen caught his attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the first match of the quarterfinals has begun!"
"Let's warmly welcome the most anticipated winner of this Capital Nova Cup, contestant Cade!"
Waves of applause erupted from the auditorium, and Roy could hear the cheers through the walls.
The reaction to Cade's entrance matched the applause Roy had received after his victory.
Cade himself hadn't done anything particularly extraordinary. His previous top-16 match had been a one-sided affair without much excitement.
However, Cade had written an essay titled "My Elite Father," and even if the writing was terrible, the Language teacher would have to give it a high score.
His father's prestige granted him considerable honor and generated high expectations among spectators.
Roy glanced at the two contestants on the field. Besides Cade, the other was a familiar face who had fought against him twice. Roy felt somewhat amused.
"Callan... This unlucky boy really has terrible luck."
On the field, Callan threw a Poké Ball and called out Bulbasaur.
And his opponent, Cade's Pokémon was...
"Abra."
It was a Pokémon with a yellowish body, floating in mid-air, with a fox-like head.
Abra's eyes were closed, appearing drowsy.
Facing a formidable opponent, Callan took the initiative to attack.
"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip!"
Cade gave no instructions as everyone watched Vine Whip sweeping toward Abra.
In an instant, Abra vanished without warning and reappeared tens of meters away.
"Teleport—that move is such a pain," Axel grumbled, earning unanimous agreement from everyone in the competitors' room.
Teleport, as its name suggested, allowed instantaneous movement.
Psychic-type Pokémon specialized in developing mental powers, while their physical attributes were generally weaker. Once approached, they would be at a disadvantage.
Teleport was what Psychic Pokémon relied on for survival.
Every Psychic Pokémon proficient in Teleport was as slippery as an eel. It was incredibly difficult to get close to them, leaving opponents constantly chasing. Countless Trainers despised this tactic.
Abra was a master of Teleport.
Before evolution, Abra could only use the 'Teleport' move and even sacrificed the ability to walk normally.
Whether eating, resting, or moving, Abra used Teleport for everything.
Consequently, Abra's Teleport skill far exceeded that of Pokémon at the same level—a case of "mastering one skill to perfection."
Abra can do nothing but Teleport, which means this Pokémon lacks offensive capability... at least without proper training from its Trainer, Roy thought.
In other words, how strong this Abra can be depends on how many additional moves Cade has taught it this week.
Unfortunately, no detailed information about Cade's top-16 match had been revealed.
Abra's previous opponent had been a Nidoran♀, a grounded Pokémon with no flying ability.
Abra had simply teleported its opponent high into the air, causing Nidoran to fall and reach critical condition, securing an easy victory.
Now in the quarter-finals, facing Callan, another recommended student, Teleport alone wouldn't be enough to win.
In the competitors' room, all the trainers including Roy shared the same thought:
"Come on, Callan!"
"Force him to reveal his strategy!"
"Beat him, and you'll be everyone's hero today!"
Under Bulbasaur's relentless long-range attacks, Abra kept using Teleport to evade.
This stalemate continued for a full twenty seconds before Cade issued his first command.
"—Psyshock!"
Instantly, an invisible force whipped up a gust of wind across the field.
Abra opened its eyes, and a cyan-colored light filled its pupils.
Psychic energy materialized into a substantial wave, sweeping toward Bulbasaur.
With Abra's mental energy covering the entire field, Bulbasaur had nowhere to hide.
"Sauuuur!" Captured, wrapped, and squeezed by the psychic force, Bulbasaur cried out in pain.
It felt bitter and confused.
Why had it been on the losing end recently? Before meeting that Riolu, it had always been the one defeating others at the Pokémon Center.
Why was it always the one getting hurt now?
"Bulbasaur, break free with Vine Whip!" Callan hadn't given up.
Unfortunately, as soon as Bulbasaur extended its vines, they were immediately crushed by Abra's psychic power.
Cade calmly ordered, "Finish it, Psyshock!"
The commentator shouted enthusiastically, "Bulbasaur has lost its ability to battle! The first trainer advancing to the semi-finals has been decided! The winner is Cade! Oh my goodness, isn't this Abra's mental power extraordinarily strong? Is this really a Novice-level Pokémon?"
"Abra's psychic power far exceeds what would be expected at its level," another commentator analyzed. "I suspect that during the constant teleporting earlier, Abra used the 'Calm Mind' technique several times in succession. Though Cade didn't appear to give any instructions, he likely established this strategy before the match began."
Abra knowing Calm Mind and Psyshock...
Many trainers in the room felt envious.
This Abra showed remarkable intelligence, learning two advanced Psychic moves in just one week.
But that wasn't the main point.
The important thing was that buying these two TMs on the market would cost at least 10 million Pokédollars.
"As expected of Cade," the commentator sighed, glancing at Callan's gloomy expression before adding, "It's unfortunate that Callan, whom we had high hopes for, has been eliminated in the quarterfinals..."
The commentator tried hard to sound sympathetic, but his insincerity made his words seem more sarcastic than comforting.