Second day of the Sun and Moon New Challengers Tournament of the Autumn Festival
From early in the morning, all the participants who had advanced to the next round gathered once again in the school field, right in front of the main platform.
On the stage, the organizing staff operated a giant screen, carrying out a new round of matchups for the upcoming battles.
"Whhaaat?! I was sure we'd be facing those two weird brothers!" shouted Alex Baxter upon hearing that the groups were being reshuffled. "So all the strategies we discussed last night were for nothing?!"
And it wasn't just Alex Baxter who was upset. Many other competitors also had frustrated looks on their faces for the same reason.
As for Ethan Black, he simply shrugged indifferently. They had come with the goal of winning the entire tournament, so sooner or later they would face all the strong ones, no matter the order.
Shortly after, the spinning screen on the stage began to display the participants' data one by one. The pairs were formed until 27 matchups were completed.
But there were 5 numbers that didn't get matched with anyone. Only their number appeared, with no rival assigned.
"Huh? Why don't we have an opponent?" asked Alex Baxter, confused.
"Dummy, that means we got a free pass," replied Ethan Black, rolling his eyes. "Looks like the committee wants to decide the Top 32 first before continuing with the rest of the tournament."
And indeed, just as Ethan Black had deduced, they advanced automatically to the Top 32 without fighting that round.
Alex Baxter: ≧ω≦
...
After an intense morning of battles, the 32 qualifiers of the tournament were finally decided.
Just as Alex Baxter had predicted, the two teams he suspected of being "fake novices" advanced with ease, sweeping through their opponents.
Precisely because of that, both teams gained a huge number of admirers, and many were already saying that would be the final.
"Unbelievable! The final?" exploded Alex Baxter upon hearing it. "So what are we then? Chopped liver?"
"I see it as something good," replied Ethan Black calmly. "If you're popular, people study you more. Better to stay under the radar and make a big move in silence."
"Bah! Just you wait! When the time comes, I'll show them the terror of the Great Demon King!"
Alex Baxter clenched his fist, full of determination.
Alright... looks like now he's calling himself Demon King without hesitation.
...
In the afternoon, all the trainers gathered once again in front of the stage, since they still didn't know who they would fight against.
The screen displayed 16 groups, and as the names flickered, they were being assigned to each one.
Very soon, Ethan Black and Alex Baxter's opponent appeared: number 88.
What a strong number: 77 versus 88. Without a doubt, the power of numbers was at play again...
They went to their now familiar Battlefield Number 7, where their opponents were already waiting: once again two girls, and what's more, quite pretty.
"Alex, how are we going to play this round?"
"Show compassion for beauty... or go for violent crushing?"
Ethan Black smiled, joking as he looked at his partner.
"We're both going in and we're going to crush them! It's time to show the rest what we're capable of!"
Alex Baxter still seemed to have some pent-up anger ever since the talk about the "favorites for the final." Clearly, he hadn't gotten over it.
"Then let's go! Sandshrew, use Rollout!"
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!"
(End of chapter)