President Sun and Moo Inoshishe answered in unison.
This time, it wasn't making Miyazato Aisa and the row of evaluators behind her feel anticipation and curiosity anymore—
It made them fall into a deep shock that left their scalps tingling.
Seriously?
No way.
That Kirlia was already absurdly strong.
That pink, restraining energy sphere she used to bind someone—
It was obviously a brand-new move that hadn't been recorded yet, a newly developed technique!
A Pokémon capable of reaching that level—
Its talent and potential went without saying.
Its affinity with its own type's energy had reached an extremely exaggerated level.
It was absolutely nature's chosen darling!
To put it bluntly—
The S-rank evaluation that Miyazato Aisa and the evaluators in the back row had given was aimed at that Kirlia.
So, in their expectations—
No matter how strong that Charmeleon was,
It should still be not far off from that ridiculously strong Kirlia at most.
At the absolute limit, it would only be a bit stronger than her.
But—
The answer they got from President Sun and Moo Inoshishe-sensei
Was the complete opposite of what they had expected.
Yes, it was stronger than Kirlia.
But it wasn't just a little stronger!
It was stronger by a lot?!
Stronger by a lot?
What kind of concept was that?
Everyone started imagining and sketching it out in their minds—
Yet no one could force themselves to picture what such a powerful Charmeleon was supposed to look like.
They didn't know.
They couldn't imagine it.
Not just the evaluators—
Even Miyazato Aisa herself had never seen such a powerful Charmeleon before.
She raised her head,
Looking at President Sun with a mix of suspicion and excitement.
Could it really be like the old man said—
That just by relying on that Charmeleon,
Himeko's evaluation could reach above S-rank?!
...…
Half an hour later,
All four arena matches of the first round of the "Sixteen to Eight" stage had ended.
These contestants' evaluations—
Had already been completed earlier, back when it was "Thirty-two to Sixteen," by all the evaluators present.
Now they lowered their heads and looked over them again,
And found there was no need to change anything.
The freshmen's displayed strength
Matched their evaluations quite well.
Only Himeko—
Could refresh everyone's understanding and appraisal of her again and again.
However,
Aside from Himeko,
There was another contestant everyone cared about in the next round.
The first-round contestants left the stage.
After the arenas were cleaned up again,
The second-round contestants began to appear one after another.
On Arena Two,
Nearly ninety percent of the audience's gaze and attention gathered there.
Because this was Joji's arena.
Given the unbelievably dazzling performance Himeko had just shown everyone,
Countless audience members now also looked forward to whether Joji could produce a performance worthy of matching it.
What made the audience even more curious
Was what Pokémon were inside his other two Poké Balls.
However,
What disappointed everyone was—
In this round,
He still sent out Dragonair as his lead.
Under level suppression,
Dragonair once again easily completed the feat of sweeping three opponents in a row.
Only,
The audience in the stands
Didn't react as strongly as they had in the morning when his Dragonair swept three in a row.
Probably because Himeko's display had set the bar too high—she had directly forced the opponent to concede and surrender.
Or perhaps the same script playing out again made everyone feel aesthetic fatigue.
In any case, that noticeably different atmosphere
Made Joji feel extremely uncomfortable.
With a dark expression, he left the stage.
Without even turning his head back, he walked straight out of the venue.
In his heart, the determination to win the championship no matter what became even firmer.
At four in the afternoon,
Both rounds of the "Sixteen to Eight" stage were fully finished.
The eight winning contestants
Would compete tomorrow in the "Eight to Four" and "Four to Two" matches.
Then the day after tomorrow, the grand finals would decide the champion.
As soon as the matches ended here,
The evaluators from the various Pokémon universities hurriedly left the venue and immediately called their academy leadership.
"What? An S-rank evaluation? Are you messing with me?"
"Absolutely true! Even Elite Four Miyazato Aisa gave the same evaluation and praised that student highly!"
"Understood, understood. Keep a close watch. Remember—under no circumstances can you let that student fall into the hands of other schools or the Military!"
"I'll set off personally and rush over in the next couple of days!"
Similar conversations
Sounded out through the evaluators' communicators.
Hearing that the university president would personally come over,
These evaluators unconsciously revealed surprised expressions.
The president is coming in person?
Wasn't that a bit too much pomp?
But on second thought—
A genius newcomer who was virtually guaranteed to grow into an Elite Four-level figure in the future
Really was worth a high-status president making a personal trip to extend an invitation.
...…
Inside the Amano family's large villa.
Joji and Akio sat face-to-face.
"You're not confident you can beat her?"
Akio looked at Joji and asked.
Joji's neck stiffened slightly.
Though unwilling,
He still nodded hard in the end.
"Useless trash!"
Akio flung his arm in anger, stood up from his chair, and turned his back, unwilling to look at his son again.
That little bastard—
He'd already spent several hundred million on him.
The goal was to take the championship in this year's Pokémon Conference.
And the result?
He was actually telling him he wasn't confident he could win!
A surge of fire rose in Akio's chest.
He almost couldn't resist turning back and beating Joji on the spot.
After calming himself down a little,
He let out a long sigh,
Turned back around, and looked at his son.
"You should know how important this championship is to us."
"Whatever method you have, whatever you need to do—just say it."
Akio spoke with a gloomy face.
Joji stood up,
Leaned close to Akio's ear,
And shared his plan and ideas with him in full.
Akio's expression
Went from gloomy,
To puzzled,
To shocked,
And finally mixed together into an indescribably complicated look.
He stared at Joji,
Silent for a long time,
Before slowly saying a single sentence.
"If you do this, you're pushing your own father into a fire pit."
"I don't have a choice. Only by doing this can I guarantee victory!"
Joji spread his hands and gave a bitter laugh.
"Forget it! I'm all in!"
"I'll find a way to persuade those old geezers. So you must bring the championship back to me!"
Akio extended his broad palm
And patted Joji on the shoulder.
"Rest assured."
Joji nodded.
A crafty glint flashed through his eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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