Scyther charged directly toward Bellsprout.
Alan, seeing Scyther rushing rapidly toward it, immediately grew flustered and lost his composure.
He hastily ordered Bellsprout, "Bellsprout, use Vine Whip! Don't let Scyther get close!"
Hearing the command, Bellsprout used Vine Whip again, lashing out. However, Scyther evaded the continuous attacks easily, dodging them with fluid motion.
Scyther instantly appeared right in front of Bellsprout. As its wings emitted a bright white glow, it struck Bellsprout with a heavy swing of its body, knocking it back. Bellsprout then fell to the ground, unable to battle.
The referee announced, "Bellsprout is unable to battle. Scyther is the winner. The victor is Class 1's Eichi."
"The next group, please prepare."
Alan cried out, "Ah! My Bellsprout! Are you okay?" He quickly scooped up Bellsprout and left the arena to seek treatment.
Eichi, having won, recalled Scyther.
Alan was simply too weak; the vast level difference between his Bellsprout and Scyther, as well as the type disadvantage resulted in an effortless victory.
Director Yanagi and Teacher Takemoto watched Eichi's match from the stands. After the match concluded, Teacher Takemoto commented, "His opponent's strength was too low; it's impossible to gauge Eichi's true ability with this battle. Nonetheless, purely from observation, this Scyther has been trained very well."
On his way back to the stands, Eichi passed Arena 2 and looked up. He saw Sato battling a classmate. Sato's Electabuzz used a devastating Thunder Punch, instantly knocking out the opponent's Doduo.
The referee's voice echoed across the field, "Electabuzz wins. Class 2's Sato is the victor."
Eichi activated the Eye of the Bug Emperor. Just as he suspected, this Electabuzz had an Outstanding Talent Grade and was at the Experienced rank. That's very impressive! He truly is my rival. In addition to this Electabuzz, Sato also possessed a similarly powerful Charizard.
Meanwhile, on Arena 8, not far from Eichi, a Combusken used Ember to defeat its opponent. The referee immediately declared, "Chikorita is unable to battle. Combusken wins. Therefore, Konan is the victor."
Eichi returned to his class's seating area. Two people had already returned, one of whom was Tetsu. Seeing Eichi return, Tetsu asked, "How did it go?"
Eichi sat down next to Tetsu. "The opponent was a bit weak."
Tetsu said, "I figured. I heard that the opponent selection process is not completely random. The school intentionally avoids matching the stronger students in the early rounds."
"I see," Eichi replied.
He sat in his seat, watching the ongoing battles and taking the opportunity to study the competitors. Today was the round of 130 contestants down to 65. Since there were ten battle arenas, each arena had to host 13 matches. If the pace was quick, the round would be finished today.
Over the next period, more contestants from Eichi's class returned, including Kelly and Hirota. Both of them had won.
Suddenly, Hirota's gaze turned toward Arena 7, his expression somewhat complex. Tetsu noticed this and pointed at a boy on the field, asking Hirota, "That must be Shinta, right?"
Hirota nodded and confirmed, "That's him."
Tetsu nudged Eichi's shoulder. "Hey, Eichi, look at Arena 7. That little fatty is Shinta."
Eichi turned his head and looked at the short, stout boy on Arena 7. Shinta was using a Houndoom.
Houndoom, the Dark Pokémon.
Types: Dark / FireAbilities: Flash Fire (Standard), Early Bird (Standard), Unnerve (Hidden)Talent Grade: ExcellentTrainer Rank: ExperiencedDescription: Houndoom is a dark, canine Pokémon. It has a bone-like collar and cuffs on its ankles. Its howls are said to bring forth images of the Grim Reaper.
Shinta's opponent was a Pineco. The difference in level between Pineco and Houndoom was too great. Just like Eichi, Shinta won easily.
After the match, Tetsu's expression grew serious. "He's very strong. He's a formidable rival."
Eichi nodded in agreement. Continuing to watch the matches revealed that many students had quite good skills. However, Eichi observed a significant polarization in ability. The strong were truly exceptional, like Eichi and Sato. Conversely, the weak were like the Bellsprout Eichi had just battled. If this huge gap existed among the strongest 130 students, the disparity among the remaining 500-plus students must be even larger.
Before they knew it, it was noon. The matches paused, allowing everyone a three-hour break before the competition resumed in the afternoon.
***
The competition continued in the afternoon. A few more members of Eichi's class were scheduled to compete. By the end of the day, four students from Class 1 were eliminated, and six had advanced.
After the afternoon matches ended, Miss Joylin came over and encouraged the class. "Congratulations to those who advanced today; keep up the hard work tomorrow! For those who didn't advance, don't be discouraged. Just keep working hard from now on."
***
Over the next two days, Eichi had two more matches, moving from the round of 65 to 33, and then from 33 to 17. He won both matches very easily.
Only three students from Eichi's class remained: Eichi, Tetsu, and Kelly. This was considered a strong result for their class, as most other classes only had one person remaining.
Hirota had bad luck and ran into Shinta. Eichi and the others came to watch Hirota's match. However, Hirota's Sneasel had a noticeable level gap compared to Shinta's Houndoom, and Sneasel was also disadvantaged by the type matchup.
Sneasel was defeated quickly. After the loss, Shinta taunted Hirota. "Hirota, you're as weak as ever. I really don't know why your family bothered sending you to Silver Academy. You're just trash."
Seeing Shinta's arrogant, chubby face, Eichi felt an urge to pin him down and beat him up. He was incredibly obnoxious. Hirota's mood was clearly devastated, but he managed not to cry this time, which was an improvement from their last encounter.
Hirota quietly picked up Sneasel and walked off the arena, handing it to the medical personnel. A nearby Chansey immediately began treatment.
Eichi and the others accompanied Hirota back to the stands. Hirota sat in his seat without saying a word.
Seeing Hirota's distress and Shinta's swagger, Eichi spoke up. "Hirota, if I run into him in the next matches, I will teach him a good lesson and settle the score for you."
Hirota hadn't expected Eichi to comfort him and was touched. "Thank you, Class Representative."
Eichi smiled. "No problem. I'm your Class Representative. If someone bullies you, I certainly won't stand by and watch."
Tetsu and the others quickly chimed in, "That's right! With the Class Representative stepping in, he'll definitely take care of it for you."
Hirota smiled, breaking his silence. "Thank you, everyone."
***
The tournament rules changed for the next stage, adopting the 2v2 Pokémon battle format. This time, Eichi still did not draw a bye. That's fine. It's more interesting to fight all the way through.
Soon, the large screen displayed the bracket for the round of 16 into 4. The matches for this round would not be held on the auxiliary fields, but on the main center battle arena. Eichi's opponent for tomorrow was a student from Class 12. With only strong contestants remaining, Eichi knew he needed to focus entirely.