After saying that,
Miyazato Aisa immediately, without the slightest hesitation, moved Himeko's rating up by one level on her score sheet.
From B-rank to A-rank.
In her view,
this Lopunny's training had already reached a perfect standard—
her talents for speed and strength had been developed to the absolute maximum.
That proved Himeko's genius and professionalism in Pokémon raising.
Moreover,
the combat power Lopunny displayed
also left Miyazato Aisa genuinely shocked.
Relying purely on strength and speed,
she had been able to easily defeat so many opponents.
It had to be said—
Himeko's future was absolutely limitless.
A-rank!
That was merely an evaluation of the potential she had shown so far.
Maybe—
this beautiful girl,
just as President Sun had said,
really could reach S-rank.
After all, the Charmeleon in her hand—praised by everyone—still hadn't appeared yet.
The evaluators in the second row of the VIP seats looked at each other.
They hesitated for a long time,
but in the end they still kept Himeko's current rating at B-rank.
Their eye for talent was far inferior to Miyazato Aisa, an Elite Four-level Trainer,
so when making judgments,
they weren't as precise as she was,
and naturally acted more cautiously.
Besides,
there were still several rounds of matches left to fight!
If Himeko's performance really did exceed expectations,
then adjusting her rating later wouldn't be a problem.
The most crucial point was—
that most mysterious, most anticipated Charmeleon still hadn't taken the field.
Their curiosity was itching unbearably.
They all wanted to see just what kind of Pokémon that so highly praised Charmeleon really was.
An hour later, the second round of matches also came to an end.
There wasn't much difference from the first round.
Aside from Himeko performing outstandingly and receiving a good rating,
the other contestants seemed rather ordinary.
Most of them were rated E or D.
Immediately after,
the third and fourth rounds began one after another.
But in these two rounds,
there were no longer any Trainers like Joji or Himeko from before who made people's eyes light up.
The evaluators in the VIP stands looked bored and drowsy.
It wasn't until around noon
that these two rounds finally finished.
The entire Round of 32 to Round of 16 tournament segment also came to an end.
Right after that,
the massive electronic screen above the square began to scroll once again with the numbers of the sixteen advancing contestants.
Very quickly,
the matchups appeared on the big screen.
Following the usual practice from past years,
the Round of 16 to Round of 8 matches
would be held this afternoon.
Tomorrow morning would be the Round of 8 to Round of 4.
The afternoon would be the Round of 4 to Round of 2 semifinals.
And the day after tomorrow
would be the grand final to decide the champion.
Joji and Himeko didn't run into each other early in the afternoon bracket.
But the faces of their respective opponents
collapsed into something truly ugly.
Without a doubt,
these two were the biggest favorites to win this year.
Their level wasn't even in the same dimension as everyone else's.
Drawing them as an opponent
basically meant your run in this tournament was over.
The matches paused for the moment.
But the two hundred thousand passionate spectators on site didn't disperse because of it.
A large portion still stayed in their seats,
holding betting-odds slips in their hands and whispering with nearby spectators, discussing which pick to buy and how to buy it, so they could make a killing.
After watching the morning's matches,
the audience more or less had a sense of things.
There was an extremely high probability that the champion would come from either Joji or Himeko.
With both of them having only revealed a single Pokémon so far,
which one to bet on
immediately became the problem tormenting everyone.
"Listen up—my suggestion is to bet on Himeko!"
"Oh? Why do you say that?"
"Hey, you guys don't know! Two days ago during the Entry-level Trainer Exam! Himeko-san's Charmeleon—good lord—that thing was insanely strong!"
"..."
In the stands, people who were well-connected and knew some inside details
quickly began giving everyone pointers,
embellishing what had happened during the Entry-level Trainer Exam two days earlier
and telling it to the spectators.
As a result, the story spread at storm speed—
one person told ten, ten told a hundred.
Very soon,
almost everyone in the venue knew that Himeko had an extraordinarily powerful Charmeleon.
A Charmeleon even stronger than Joji's Dragonair!
With that news,
most people weighed their options
and decisively placed their bets on Himeko.
They wore smug, satisfied smiles,
just waiting to earn a big profit.
...
On the contestants' side,
the sixteen who had already advanced
were arranged to rest at the most luxurious hotel in Wintergreen City.
To ensure the afternoon matches could proceed smoothly,
the contestants' injured Pokémon were sent to the Pokémon Center for recovery, then quickly delivered back.
At 2:00 PM,
the two hundred thousand seats around the square were once again filled to the brim with dense crowds.
The spectators' enthusiasm hadn't faded in the slightest with the passage of time.
On the contrary,
as the sixteen contestants entered the venue one after another,
the crowd once again sent them roaring applause and cheers.
The four battle arenas rose up once more.
Half the contestants remained, and only two rounds of matches were left.
And the round and arena Himeko drew
happened to be Arena One, Match One!
The moment she stepped onto the stage,
the cheers and applause from the stands became even more fervent!
(End of Chapter)
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