"Crawdaunt is unable to battle! Victreebel wins, so the winner is Ace!"
The first match of the round of sixteen concluded. Once Ace sent out his Victreebel, the battle quickly became a one-sided affair.
As a water-type specialist, Peter was at a severe disadvantage against the grass-type. Under Victreebel's relentless assault, he could only accept his bitter defeat.
Ace recalled Victreebel and stepped outside the arena. Soon, the second match officially began.
However, the second match also ended quickly, mainly due to the significant power gap between the two sides. The winner was a pink-haired girl named Little Prayer.
Her Bisharp took down three of the opponent's Pokémon in a single sweep, showing absolutely no mercy.
Ace gave Little Prayer another look. This pink-haired girl would be his opponent in the next round, the quarterfinals.
The first two matches ended swiftly, and the subsequent ones also progressed rapidly. After all, those who had made it to the round of sixteen could usually end a battle in an instant once they found an opponent's weakness.
The tournament continued in an orderly fashion. For the last match of the morning, Cynthia finally stepped onto the battlefield.
Her opponent, Ace had a slight impression of him. He had fiery red, explosive hair and seemed to be one of the future Elite Four of the Sinnoh region, Flint.
As the referee gave the signal, both Cynthia and Flint threw their Poké Balls. A Milotic and a Rapidash landed on the field.
"Hydro Pump!"
"Agility!"
Cynthia initiated the attack first, and Milotic fired a powerful Hydro Pump. Flint's Rapidash was also well-trained, using the high mobility of Agility to dodge the attack while increasing its own speed.
"Now, Fire Spin!"
Rapidash began running circles around Milotic. Its fiery mane suddenly scattered flames, rapidly forming a vortex of fire that engulfed Milotic.
"Aqua Ring!"
A circle of water instantly enveloped Milotic. The moment the Fire Spin closed in, the Aqua Ring burst, and the strong currents of water directly suppressed the flames, extinguishing them completely.
Steam billowed, obstructing vision. Taking advantage of this, Rapidash leaped high into the air. With its head lowered, its horn aimed for a swift strike at Milotic.
"It's over! Hydro Pump!"
Flint was quick, but Cynthia's reaction was equally sharp.
The moment the Aqua Ring extinguished the Fire Spin, Cynthia had already anticipated Rapidash's attack path. Milotic had already prepared a Hydro Pump, and as Rapidash charged toward it, the Hydro Pump was fired with immense force!
The intense stream of water struck Rapidash, instantly overpowering it and sending it flying. It landed wetly in front of Flint, unable to battle.
"Rapidash is unable to battle! Milotic wins! Flint, please send out your next Pokémon."
"Tsk, this is going to be a bit troublesome."
Flint clicked his tongue, recalled his Rapidash, and then tossed out a Poké Ball. An Arcanine appeared on the field.
"Extreme Speed!"
As soon as Arcanine appeared, it used Extreme Speed. Before Milotic could react, it was already struck and sent flying.
"Flamethrower!"
Arcanine stopped, looked at the retreating Milotic, and unleashed a Flamethrower from its mouth, hitting Milotic squarely.
"Recover."
The flames died down, and a faint green glow spread over Milotic, instantly restoring its health to full!
"Extreme Speed again!"
Seeing that Milotic was virtually unharmed, Flint felt a headache coming on. His fire-type Pokémon were at a severe type disadvantage, and Milotic had a very high Special Defense. If he couldn't take it down in one hit, it could easily recover its health with Recover.
"Aqua Ring!"
Having been caught off guard the first time, Cynthia wasn't going to let the same move hit her again!
A ring of water surrounded Milotic. The moment Arcanine charged, the ring exploded, spraying a large amount of water in all directions.
Arcanine pushed through the water currents and slammed into Milotic. It then opened its mouth wide and bit down on Milotic with a powerful Thunder Fang.
The electric current hit, making Milotic shudder.
But in the next instant, Milotic's tail turned to steel and it slammed it into the ground. The electricity was instantly diverted through the Iron Tail, draining into the earth.
"Hydro Pump!"
At close range, a Hydro Pump hit Arcanine squarely. Arcanine cried out in pain and was sent flying, unable to battle.
"Arcanine is unable to battle! Milotic wins! Flint, please send out your next Pokémon."
Flint sighed and recalled Arcanine.
Standing in the crowd, Ace stroked his chin. Cynthia's combat experience was far superior to what it used to be, and she fought decisively. Her growth rate was truly astonishing.
While Ace was lost in thought, Flint sent out his last Pokémon, a Magmar.
Taking advantage of the lull, Cynthia had her Milotic use Recover, restoring its health to full once more.
"Smokescreen!"
Magmar instantly spewed out black smoke. Cynthia's vision was instantly obscured. Close behind, Flint shouted "Thunder Punch," and the Magmar in the black smoke, its right fist crackling with electricity, rapidly closed in on Milotic.
"Aqua Ring!"
With no means to clear the smoke, Cynthia didn't panic. Instead, she used the bursting Aqua Ring to spray a large amount of water in all directions.
Bang!
In the black smoke, Magmar dodged the water and landed a punch on Milotic.
Sparks flew. Milotic struck back with its Iron Tail. The metallic tail hit Magmar, and a portion of the electricity from Milotic was conducted through its Iron Tail, hitting Magmar as well!
"Over there! Hydro Pump!"
Using the brief flash of electricity, Cynthia pinpointed Magmar's location. Milotic gathered water, and a Hydro Pump was instantly fired.
"Fire Blast!"
Water and fire collided, creating a large amount of steam that dispelled the smoke, giving Cynthia a bit of her vision back.
"Keep the pressure on!"
Milotic attacked with all its might, and the Hydro Pump increased in intensity, overwhelming the Fire Blast and pushing it steadily toward Magmar!
"Dodge..."
Flint wanted Magmar to dodge, but it was too late. The Hydro Pump doused the Fire Blast and struck Magmar with full force.
Magmar was tough. It stood its ground and fell only after it was no longer able to battle.
"Magmar is unable to battle! Milotic wins! So the winner is Cynthia!"
As the referee waved the flag and announced the final winner, Cynthia had secured her victory with a clean three-to-zero sweep using just her Milotic!
With this, the eight finalists were decided.
Everyone who had made it to the top eight would receive the prize money provided by the Berries family.
However, the next steps were not for Ace and the other top eight contestants to worry about. The eight who were eliminated would battle again to determine the ninth and tenth-place winners, who would also receive their corresponding prize money and rewards.