The moment Greninja leapt into the air, Garchomp burst out of the ground from the spot where it had been standing just an instant before.
Its claw snapped shut—
grabbing Greninja by the ankle mid-air.
This is bad!
It's over!
The same thought flashed through both Greninja and Gao Zhen at the exact same time.
With terrifying strength, Garchomp swung its arm, whirling Greninja in a brutal arc through the air, before smashing it straight into the ground!
Before Greninja could even react—
A crushing Dragon Tail slammed down once more!
Greninja, a high-attack, low-defense agility-type Pokémon, simply couldn't endure two consecutive heavy blows.
Its body went limp.
Battle over.
The sheer brutality of Garchomp's performance stunned the entire stadium.
Then—
an earth-shaking roar of cheers erupted.
"An—another one-shot!"
"The match is over! Oliver's Garchomp has defeated Gao Zhen's High-Tier Greninja in a single exchange!"
"And with that—Oliver completes the legendary five-sweep! A feat never before seen in the semifinals of the Southwest Intercollegiate Tournament!"
A Record Shattered
A one-versus-five sweep.
In all the years this tournament had been held, this had never happened on a semifinal or final-stage battlefield.
In the group stages, people might attribute such results to overwhelming mismatches—but by the semifinals, every remaining team was a true powerhouse.
This wasn't luck.
This was absolute dominance.
Because the battle ended far faster than anyone expected—not even an hour had passed—the organizers were forced to move up the second semifinal.
"Congratulations to Rong City No. 1 High School for advancing to the finals!"
"After a brief intermission, we'll proceed directly to the second semifinal match!"
Watching the Other Semifinal
Instead of leaving, Oliver and his teammates stayed in the stadium with Coach Liu to observe the next battle.
After all, this match would determine their opponent in the finals.
Before long, the two teams stepped onto the field.
Without realizing it, Meng Ming found his gaze drifting toward Oliver.
His expression was complicated.
From the waiting room, he had witnessed everything—
Garchomp's ruthless efficiency,
Oliver's calm command,
that overwhelming gap in strength.
He had once believed that after his growth, Blaziken could at least fight Oliver head-on.
Now?
It was obvious he still had a long way to go.
Second Semifinal — Momentum Shifts
The match unfolded evenly at first.
Each side traded victories, win for loss, with no clear advantage.
But the moment the team captains stepped onto the field—
The balance shattered.
Meng Ming's Blaziken, burning with explosive power, overwhelmed the opposing Arcanine almost completely.
A crushing victory.
It turned out that after being defeated yet again by Garchomp in the secret realm, Meng Ming had fallen into a period of deep self-doubt.
But instead of breaking him—
That pressure forced a breakthrough.
Blaziken had advanced to High Tier – Mid Stage.
"That's… interesting," Oliver said quietly.
Even Oliver hadn't expected this.
Despite being defeated repeatedly, Meng Ming hadn't collapsed—
he'd grown stronger instead.
That kind of resilience was rare.
Final Matchup Confirmed
With the second semifinal concluded, the finalists were decided:
Rong City No. 1 High School
vs
Rong City No. 2 High School
When the result was announced, Zhang Zhixing, the Rong City League Branch President, was in such a good mood that he smiled for the rest of the day.
With both finalists coming from Rong City, next year's funding allocation was practically guaranteed to increase.
There was someone else equally thrilled—
The reporter who had interviewed Oliver outside the stadium at the very beginning.
The two students she had interviewed back then had both made it to the finals.
And one of them… was Oliver.
That report's view count exploded.
She even received a bonus.
The Calm Before the Storm
After a full day of rest, the day of the grand final finally arrived.
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