Chapter 117: Round Robin Tournament
"Forty-eight trainers have qualified. The preliminaries are a three-person round robin system: three points for the winner, zero for the loser, and one point for a draw. Just two wins will advance to the round of 16," Rosa said, looking at the guidebook.
"I know that, but the match schedule won't be out until tomorrow," Ryan said, checking his computer. "Anyway, let's take a look at the other trainers' profiles first to get a rough idea."
"There shouldn't be any serious opponents," Ruby said. "Well, there's only Ash. The level of this Silver Conference is vastly different from the Indigo League in Kanto."
"No, I might have to take this more seriously," Ryan said, looking at the computer. He then stepped aside to let Rosa and Ruby look at the screen.
The computer displayed Ash's profile, showing the Pokémon he had registered. They were: Pikachu, Charizard, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Meganium, Noctowl, Snorlax, Heracross, Bayleef, Totodile, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.
Rosa and Ruby gasped. Rosa exclaimed in shock, "What's going on? Last time I saw Ash, didn't he only have Articuno? How come he has both Zapdos and Moltres this time?!"
Ryan shook his head and said, "I don't know, maybe it's just luck."
While saying this, he secretly suspected that it was Ho-Oh's doing. Ash had begun to grow rapidly, and Ho-Oh had begun to deliberately favor him.
"But this is what makes it interesting," Ryan said with a smile. "No matter how many legendary Pokémon there are, bring them on."
Ryan looked forward to the day when Ho-Oh would become Ash's Pokémon. Then he would have the means to surpass it! Although he was no match for Ho-Oh now, with the system, he knew he would definitely achieve this goal one day!
"Ding. Side quest begins—Challenge Ho-Oh! Use your own legendary Pokémon to defeat Ho-Oh in battle, pinning it down for one minute. Reward: One portion of Rebirth Flame Power. This can be given to a Fire-type Pokémon to help it comprehend Origin Power, or it can be used to unlock a second Origin Power for a Fire-type Pokémon that has already mastered one, granting 100% comprehension, though it cannot advance further."
"System, how thoughtful," Ryan said with a smile.
"Ding. Providing the host with opportunities for advancement is the system's responsibility."
Ryan wouldn't refuse this quest; after all, he was also fired up. Furthermore, Ryan would definitely give the second Origin Power to Charizard, eager to see how powerful Charizard would become after mastering dual Origins.
Ryan found himself in Group A, facing two other trainers. The first, Aron from New Bark Town, favored Rock-types and excelled at defensive battles. The second, Miyuki from Goldenrod City, favored Grass-types and excelled at endurance battles.
Neither was a formidable opponent, and if Ryan went all out, he'd probably defeat them in three moves. However, Ryan still hoped to build upon his accumulated experience, comprehensively enhancing his knowledge, skill, and battle sense. After the Silver Conference, he wanted to ask Lorelei for a favor.
He wanted Lorelei to challenge him to an Elite Four-level match, a serious competition that would elevate him to Elite Four level!
After a while, the venue assignments were posted. Eight arenas, divided into morning and afternoon sessions, would host the first round robin matches. One trainer would receive a bye and face the day's loser tomorrow. Then, on the third day, the second-day bye would face the third-placed trainer, with the highest scorer advancing.
Ryan was assigned to the morning session of Arena D, and the matches were about to begin. Ryan randomly selected three Pokémon: Dragonite, Wobbuffet, and Beedrill. Giving each Pokémon a chance to battle was good practice.
With the rosters submitted, the match quickly began.
Ryan stood in the arena, looking at his opponent, Aron, and said with a smile, "I'll do my best."
"You cocky guy, let me show you how powerful we are," Aron said indignantly.
As the randomizer on the big screen spun, the pointer landed on the red side, and Ryan would send out his Pokémon first. Ryan smiled and said, "Dragonite, as promised, you'll battle in the first match!"
Dragonite appeared, glaring at Aron with an intimidating look. Aron swallowed and said, "Electrode, I'm counting on you!"
An Electrode appeared in the arena, its spherical body glaring intensely at Dragonite.
The scene shifted to the Kanto region, at Caesar's home in the Safari Zone. Caesar sipped his wine and said with a smile, "He's a good kid who keeps his word. Back then, it was just a tiny Dratini, and now it's grown into Dragonite. Dragonite, how do you think your son is doing?"
Dragonite nodded with satisfaction, watching Dragonite on the TV with pride in its eyes.
The scene shifted back to the arena. Ryan looked at Aron and Electrode and said, "You attack first."
"Electrode, Light Screen!" Aron shouted.
Electrode immediately created a barrier of light, which shimmered around its body. Ryan shook his head, expecting something more impressive. It was just a basic defensive strategy.
"Dragonite, Flamethrower," Ryan said.
Dragonite nodded, opened its mouth, and launched a jet of fire, hitting Electrode despite the Light Screen, instantly knocking it out.
Suddenly, there were exclamations from the audience. After all, the audience had not expected Ryan's Dragonite to be so powerful. Only a few knowledgeable people whispered, "Isn't that the champion of the Indigo League?"
"Yes. It's him, Ryan from Pallet Town."
Aron recalled Electrode and said seriously, "Ryan, your Dragonite is very strong. Then my second one is Azumarill."
Ryan recalled Dragonite and listened to Aron's voice. He said puzzledly, "What did you say?"
Aron was bewildered. Where's the Dragonite? Why did you recall it? I still want my Azumarill to be a dragon slayer!
Ryan released Wobbuffet and said, "I'm sorry, I want my Pokémon to experience more battles, so I will switch Pokémon for each round."
Aron turned his frustration into motivation and shouted, "Azumarill, Hydro Pump!"
"Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat," Ryan said calmly.
Azumarill's Hydro Pump hit Wobbuffet's body, or rather, the psychic barrier that surrounded it, and rebounded directly to Azumarill, knocking it out with a single blow.
Wobbuffet's zero-damage reflection was Ryan's innovation. After all, Wobbuffet was a Psychic-type, and it would be too limiting if it couldn't extend the barrier from its body. With gradual practice, Wobbuffet successfully achieved barrier separation. Although it could only extend it slightly, if development continued, there was definitely hope. After all, if it could achieve damage-free reflection, and unless the barrier was shattered, Wobbuffet could not be harmed at all.
Aron was mentally devastated. Finally, he recalled Azumarill and released his last Pokémon, Donphan, but it was no match for Beedrill.
Seeing that Donphan had no impressive techniques, Ryan simply let Beedrill finish it with Poison Jab, winning the first match of the preliminaries.
(End of Chapter)
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