Director Yanagi sensed something was wrong. Looking at the matches below, it seemed as if the students from Indigo Academy knew exactly which Pokémon Silver Academy would use in every single round.
This was highly suspicious. He then recalled how Indigo Academy had been dissatisfied with the original competition rules and had proposed the current format instead.
It turned out they had designed this from the start. Curse them, Silver Academy was tricked this time.
Director Yanagi exchanged glances with several other leaders and understood immediately; it seemed everyone had realized the situation.
He took a deep breath. The tournament wasn't over yet; they still had a chance. Furthermore, he was quite confident in the remaining students. Students like Kelly came from wealthy families and possessed a large number of Pokémon with well-balanced levels, making it difficult for them to be targeted.
Now, everything rested on the remaining few.
The fifth match arrived, and Kelly's name and avatar appeared on the electronic screen.
Kelly was still somewhat nervous. Kosei, Ami, and Konan all cheered her on. Seeing everyone's encouragement, she felt moved, and her nerves slowly began to settle.
As she walked past Eichi, he also gave her a boost. "Good luck, Kelly. I'm looking forward to you taking the first victory for our academy."
Kelly nodded firmly and said, "I will."
She then headed onto the stage to prepare, while over at Indigo Academy, confidence was at an all-time high.
The participant for the fifth match was a high-spirited youth with brown hair.
"Good luck," his classmates cheered. "Take another victory, and we'll secure the team reward in no time."
The boy said confidently, "Don't worry, leave it to me."
He stepped onto the field filled with pride, immediately looking at Kelly with the gaze of a predator eyeing its prey. Kelly felt very uncomfortable under his stare and planned to give him a harsh lesson later.
At the referee's command, both sides began releasing their Pokémon.
"Go, Gardevoir!"
"Go, Kingdra!"
Two figures appeared on the field. One was a slender, beautiful Pokémon. Its opponent was a blue, seahorse-like Pokémon.
Kelly's opponent's face changed when he saw Gardevoir. Kelly hadn't used her other Pokémon; she had sent out her ace immediately.
Eichi opened his Eye of the Bug Emperor, and certain details were exposed to his sight.
Needless to say, Gardevoir was currently around the Experienced Late stage. Kingdra also had an Excellent talent grade and was at the Experienced Late rank. It was almost certain that this Kingdra was the boy's ace. However, his luck was bad this time; he hadn't guessed correctly. No one expected Kelly to play against the usual patterns and lead with her ace.
Eichi watched the match with great interest. Gardevoir was a Psychic and Fairy type. Although the Fairy type had not yet been officially discovered in this world, Eichi knew that Dragon-type moves were completely ineffective against Gardevoir.
Gardevoir could handle Kingdra with ease. Eichi had a premonition that Kelly was going to win this round.
Sure enough, after just a few moves, Kingdra was starting to buckle. Kelly found it strange; she had just wanted to test the waters with the recently learned Dazzling Gleam.
To her surprise, the power seemed immense. Kingdra let out a scream; the move was super effective.
She didn't know why this was the case, and neither did her opponent. That youth was completely dazed. What's wrong with Kingdra? Does it really hurt that much? Wasn't that just a normal attack?
Seeing Kingdra's state didn't look faked, Kelly seized the opportunity. She had Gardevoir continuously attack Kingdra using Dazzling Gleam.
In that short span of time, Kingdra was hit several times. Before long, it lost its ability to battle and collapsed on the ground.
The crowd was stunned. What just happened? A Gardevoir took down Kingdra using only the move Dazzling Gleam.
Was it because the move's power was too great, or the level was too high?
Could it be because of the move itself? Director Yanagi fell into deep thought. He decided he would have to ask Kelly about this properly after the tournament ended.
The others below the stage were also shocked. Tetsu had the biggest reaction, jumping up and saying, "Kelly is way too amazing!"
Sato was also surprised that Gardevoir was so powerful. He looked at Eichi and noticed he wasn't surprised at all, as if he had known this would happen. He felt puzzled. Does Eichi know something?
Across the way, Akemi also looked over from her daze, watching Gardevoir with interest. Not far from her, Asen also glanced at Kelly and her Gardevoir with curiosity.
The brown-haired youth recalled Kingdra with a dark expression and released his second Pokémon, Houndoom.
It was obvious this was prepared for Gardevoir. However, Eichi saw that its level was a bit low, only at the Experienced Beginner rank. Although Kelly's Gardevoir was at a type disadvantage, it didn't back down at all.
It went straight in for the fight. The two Pokémon clashed instantly. After a fierce battle, Houndoom was ultimately no match for Gardevoir.
Eichi nodded as he watched. Everyone had witnessed Kelly's progress; especially after the wilderness trial, she had made a qualitative leap. Initially, Kelly's practical combat ability wouldn't even rank in her grade, but after one semester, she had caught up.
Eichi could say for certain that Tetsu was no longer a match for Kelly.
Kelly's opponent released his third Pokémon, a Water-type Poliwrath.
Unfortunately, this Poliwrath couldn't stop Gardevoir and was directly swept aside. Gardevoir didn't have an easy time either, though.
Kelly was thrilled. When the referee announced her victory, she jumped up in excitement.
Conversely, her opponent's face turned black. He had confidently claimed he would win at the start, but he was proven wrong instantly. Getting swept three-to-zero was too humiliating.
He slunk off the field. His classmates didn't bring up what he had said earlier and could only offer him some comfort.
When Kelly came down, everyone rose to congratulate her. She had successfully defeated her opponent with a "one-versus-three" sweep, venting a great deal of frustration for Silver Academy.
The leaders on the rostrum finally showed smiles. Kelly's performance made them very eager to see the upcoming performances of Eichi and the others.
The sixth match was the final match of the morning. On Silver Academy's side, it was Ishida's turn. Representing Indigo Academy was a girl.
Ishida clenched his fists tightly. Kelly's win had stimulated him. He resolved that he must obtain victory.
At the referee's command, the match officially began. Both sides released their Pokémon. Two figures appeared on the field. At this moment, Ishida felt his blood boiling.