Compared to the cheering at Silver Academy, the Indigo Academy side was relatively quiet.
Although it was only a tie, Senior Yuli's strength in the final match had left a deep impression on them. To be honest, Senior Yuli was quite similar to Akemi in some aspects. Both were beautiful and powerful, but the difference lay in their presence; Akemi was haughty and powerful, while Senior Yuli possessed a gentle strength.
Akemi had originally assumed there was no one left worth paying attention to, so she had been spacing out from the beginning until now. However, Yuli's performance now caught her eye, and she realized that this girl's strength was indeed quite impressive. Not far from her, Asen glanced at Yuli with interest, though he only took notice of her for a brief moment.
Rex felt a bit dejected, but he quickly adjusted his mindset. He smiled at Yuli and said, "I lost. I'm fully convinced; you are very powerful."
"Thank you, you are quite good as well," Yuli replied.
After speaking, the two left the stage amicably. As soon as Senior Yuli stepped down, the second-years swarmed around her, and various voices of congratulations broke out. Nearby, Eichi and the others stood up to watch them. Tetsu, standing beside them, sighed with admiration, "Senior Yuli is truly strong!"
"Those two Pokémon were way too powerful! Senior Yuli usually looks so gentle, I didn't expect her strength to be so terrifying."
"She's exactly like Teacher Joylin!" Tetsu exclaimed.
Several people around him nodded in strong agreement.
"Yeah," Kelly added. "Thanks to Senior Yuli, we managed to tie with Indigo Academy. Otherwise, there wouldn't even be a point in competing tomorrow. We would have been useless."
"That's true," they agreed.
On the rostrum, Director Yanagi nodded and showed a look of appreciation after seeing Yuli win. The other leaders also faintly revealed expressions of joy. Director Yanagi even glanced at the Director of Indigo Academy next to him, but the man remained expressionless, making it impossible to tell what he was actually thinking.
The Vice Director sitting to the Director's left was somewhat worried. He knew that when the Director looked like this, he was angry. The Vice Director looked at the second-year students with some irritation; they all had their heads bowed now, their faces practically spelling out the word 'regret.'
The fact was, they had just realized that the overall strength of Silver Academy's second-year was weaker than theirs. If they hadn't been so careless, they definitely would have won this round. There wouldn't have even been a need for a third match, but due to their negligence, they had lost the entire set. Even though it was a tie, it was possible that Silver Academy would turn the tables in the next round.
That evening, in the Director's room at the guesthouse, the place was packed with people—both students and teachers were present. The atmosphere was tense and oppressive. Seeing that it was about time, the Director spoke up:
"Did everyone see today's matches?"
Everyone nodded. The Director continued by asking, "Did you discover any problems?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a silence fell over the room. No one spoke up. Although everyone knew what the problem was, no one was willing to say it.
Finally, the Director said, "Ishigaki, you tell them."
The Vice Director had long expected the Director to make him speak, so he stepped forward and said, "The biggest problem for the second-years was being too careless. Everyone should be able to see that our overall strength is clearly superior to the opponent's, yet the result was merely a tie. I don't know how many people lost because of their own negligence."
"Last night, the Director asked me to gather the second-years for a meeting, instructing them not to be careless, absolutely not to be careless. But they treated my words like wind blowing past their ears. It's still okay for now since it's just a tie; we still have a chance. As long as we don't lose the next match, even a tie means we win. Is that understood?"
After Ishigaki finished, the Director began to speak:
"This competition is very important and concerns the honor of our academy, so I hope everyone does not take it lightly."
Seeing the Director being so uncharacteristically serious, the first-year students all nodded with solemn expressions. Then, the Director added one more thing.
"For tomorrow's matches, if everyone wins, I promise to double all rewards and add a team bonus on top of that."
"Really? Director, you said it!"
"Tomorrow I'm going to go all out. No one is going to stop me from getting those rewards."
"I have to get that reward."
The Director thought to himself: As expected, rewards are much more practical.
On the other side, in Director Yanagi's office, Eichi and the other ten students were present. In front of them were several leaders, including the Vice Principal. The atmosphere here was also somewhat oppressive and solemn. Eichi and the others could feel the tension in the air.
This time, the Vice Principal spoke up, "Tomorrow's match is a critical one. I have only one requirement: victory is mandatory, defeat is not allowed, and even a tie will not do. We currently have one loss and one tie. If we tie tomorrow, we lose the overall tournament. So, everything depends on you tomorrow. Our academy's honor also rests on your shoulders."
Eichi and the others felt the pressure rushing toward them. Even Matsumoto had a solemn look on his face. Director Yanagi, perhaps seeing that the atmosphere was a bit too heavy, said, "You shouldn't carry too much pressure; just giving your all is enough."
However, these words clearly had little effect. Everyone still wore serious expressions, which made Director Yanagi feel a bit awkward. After the meeting ended, Eichi, Sato, and Konan were asked to stay behind. Once the others had left, the leaders in the room remained.
Director Yanagi then said, "Eichi, Sato, Konan—you three must win tomorrow's matches. I am not worried about Eichi's strength. You two must also exert your full power."
Sato and Konan both understood the severity of the situation. Sato said seriously, "Director, I will win."
Konan also said earnestly, "If Eichi and Sato can do it, so can I."
The Vice Principal and the others nodded. Director Yanagi said, "It's good that you have confidence. Go back and get some good rest."
After the three of them left, Director Yanagi remarked, "Our winning probability for tomorrow's match is still quite high. I still have confidence in Eichi and the others."
Teacher Joylin also said, "After experiencing that incident, I believe their strength has improved significantly."
The Vice Principal nodded.
The third day of the exchange tournament. The atmosphere in the Battle Hall was solemn. It felt as if invisible sparks were clashing between the Indigo Academy and Silver Academy sides, and the scent of gunpowder was thick.
Sitting in his seat, Eichi was directly opposite the first-years from Indigo Academy. He felt a gaze fixed upon him. Finding the owner of the gaze, it was Asen. Eichi seemed to see a fighting spirit in his eyes.
Eichi gave a slight smile but didn't speak, simply watching him quietly.