The arena battles were one-on-one, so it would have been easy to complete all twenty matches if anyone had the will to fight.
The only real problem was that after witnessing Ace's strength, everyone was afraid of being eliminated from the competition. As a result, no one dared to challenge him.
Especially since those who fought Ace were typically defeated in three moves or less, and Ace's Pokémon never seemed fatigued. This was a major setback for those who thought they could get an easy win.
"Eighteen consecutive wins!"
Just as Ace was wondering how to get to twenty wins, a staff member on the side raised a small flag. "Contestant Ace has achieved eighteen consecutive wins! If there are no further challengers, Contestant Ace will advance to the group stage with eighteen wins!"
"Huh? I don't need twenty wins?"
Ace was stunned. He had been considering asking two random people to challenge him to complete the twenty wins, but now they were saying he could advance.
"I'll challenge him."
Hearing that someone was about to advance, a man with a large bag walked out from the crowd.
When Ace saw him, he was immediately reminded of his past self, who carried all his belongings in a large backpack.
The man put down his backpack, which was almost as tall as he was, and said to the staff member, "Can we start?"
The staff member nodded, indicating that they could begin at any time.
The man took a deep breath, pulled a Poké Ball from his pocket, and threw it. A Kricketune appeared.
"Larvitar, Sandstorm."
Larvitar came out and quickly raised its hand. A Sandstorm began to brew, enveloping the entire battlefield.
"X-Scissor!"
Without any unnecessary words, Kricketune charged toward Larvitar, its arms crossed like scissors, ready to strike.
"Dragon Dance."
Larvitar leaped high, dodging Kricketune's X-Scissor. It performed a Dragon Dance in mid-air, and as it descended, it launched a Rock Slide that surrounded it and rained down on Kricketune.
"Fury Cutter!"
Kricketune's arms became like sharp blades. As energy gathered, it slashed with lightning speed, shattering the rocks. It twisted its body, dodging the fragments, and landed a blow on Larvitar's stomach.
"Thud!"
Larvitar was sent flying by the X-Scissor. A clear slash mark appeared on its thick shell, and it fell heavily to the ground.
"Not bad."
Ace's eyes lit up. The opponent's Kricketune was very strong. This was the first time Ace's Pokémon had been injured after eighteen battles.
Kricketune was about to follow up, but the Sandstorm intensified. The sand hit Kricketune's body and eyes, forcing it to stop.
"Dig."
Larvitar instantly burrowed underground. Seeing this, Kricketune immediately spread its wings and flapped them, trying to fly away from the ground.
But it was too late. Larvitar dug with extreme speed. Just as Kricketune took off, Larvitar burst out from underground, slamming into Kricketune's body.
"Rock Slide!"
Suddenly, rocks appeared. Larvitar completely disregarded its own safety as the Rock Slide debris instantly engulfed both it and Kricketune.
"You crazy fool."
Seeing Larvitar's reckless fighting style, the opponent was stunned and couldn't help but curse.
A huge rock ball crashed down, and as the rocks scattered, a panting Kricketune and Larvitar separated.
"X-Scissor!"
"Rock Slide!"
Both Pokémon were at their limit. This one move would decide the winner!
In the blink of an eye, a massive amount of energy gathered on Kricketune's arms, attaching to its blade-like forearms and sharpening them.
Larvitar, meanwhile, was surrounded by a multitude of rocks that were merging to form massive boulders.
In the next second, Kricketune charged toward Larvitar, while Larvitar's Rock Slide boulders hurtled toward Kricketune.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
One after another, the rocks were sliced in half by Kricketune, and its forward momentum gradually slowed.
By the time it shattered the last boulder, Kricketune realized that Larvitar was no longer in its original spot.
"Watch out, Kricketune!"
Its trainer immediately yelled, but it was too late.
Crack!
The ground shattered. Larvitar shot up like a cannonball, its horn-like spike on its head piercing into Kricketune's abdomen!
In the next moment, Kricketune and Larvitar fell to the ground. Kricketune was unable to battle. The injury on its abdomen wasn't severe; after all, if Ace had fought to seriously injure it, he would be disqualified.
"Come back, Kricketune."
Seeing his main Pokémon defeated, the man with the backpack threw his number card to Ace, put his backpack on, and left the battle arena.
"Nineteen consecutive wins! Does anyone else want to challenge him?"
The staff member raised the flag and called out. The spectators all shook their heads, and no one was willing to come forward to be defeated.
"Contestant Ace, please follow me. You have successfully advanced to the group stage with nineteen consecutive wins."
The staff member lowered the flag and walked up to Ace. Ace recalled his Pokémon, then handed over the nineteen number cards to the staff member.
The staff member took them, then led Ace away from the battlefield. Soon, another staff member took his place, and the arena battles continued.
The staff member led Ace away from the competition grounds, walking all the way to Sandgem Town.
"Where are you taking me?"
Ace asked the staff member. They were already very far from the arena. If Ace hadn't felt that the other person had no ill intentions, he would have made his move.
"We're here."
The staff member stopped in front of a building, turned around, and gestured for Ace to enter.
Ace's mouth twitched as he looked at the building.
The reason was that this building was Professor Rowan's lab!
"I almost forgot, one of Professor Rowan's assistants is from the Berlitz family," Ace sighed to himself and then walked toward the lab.
The door was not closed, so Ace simply pushed it open and entered the lab.
In the lab's main hall, Professor Rowan and his assistant were sitting on a sofa, chatting. A young girl, only three or four years old, sat quietly to the side, reading books about Pokémon.
"Oh, has someone won already?"
Professor Rowan looked at Ace, then stood up and said, "Welcome, winner. I'm Professor Rowan, one of the organizers of this competition."
Another man with a kind smile and glasses also stood up and said to Ace, "You must be Ace. I've heard about you. Hello, I'm Sir Berlitz. This is my daughter, Platinum Berlitz."