Chapter 570: Round Two — The Final Six

"Galen has conceded! The winner of Match Three is Aaron!"

The referee watched Galen leave the battlefield with a quiet sigh before raising his flag and announcing the result.

The stands remained relatively subdued.

Only a small group of Aaron's fans erupted into cheers.

Most of the Imperial Elite students stayed silent.

After watching Greninja tear through five of Galen's Pokémon, even they could no longer dismiss Aaron as some lucky nobody.

Still, accepting that was easier said than done.

"Don't get discouraged. Aaron's strong, but don't forget who we still have."

"You mean Kellan?"

"Exactly! Kellan's still in this!"

"He's Imperial Elite's top freshman this year. A real monster."

"Aaron and Braveon are strong, but Kellan's on another level."

"As long as he's still in the tournament, we can still take first place!"

...

The Imperial Elite students suddenly remembered that their strongest representative had yet to fight.

Kellan.

Hope quickly returned to their faces as they looked toward the preparation area.

Galen might have lost.

But Kellan was still in the tournament.

As long as that remained true, Imperial Elite still had a shot at the title.

...

Back in Crown University's preparation area, Aaron returned with his hands behind his head, looking completely relaxed.

"Aaron, you're seriously amazing!"

"You took down five of his Pokémon with just one of yours!"

"If I were even half as strong as you, I'd be satisfied."

Gage immediately hurried over, barely able to contain his excitement.

"Hahahaha!"

Edmund greeted Aaron with a broad grin.

"Good job, kid! You did great!"

"You should've seen Leighton's face. He looked ready to explode!"

"That alone made the whole thing worth watching."

Aaron smiled faintly.

"I just got lucky."

He shrugged.

"Guess my opponent wasn't that strong after all."

Ivy's already sour expression immediately worsened.

Braveon noticed.

And, naturally, decided to make things worse.

"Funny."

He glanced at Ivy.

"She was just saying Galen was no pushover and that you didn't stand a chance."

Ivy's face flushed.

She whipped around to glare at him.

"Oh?"

Aaron looked over with sudden interest.

"So that happened?"

A smile crept onto his face.

"Ivy, I'm really sorry."

"Looks like I proved you wrong."

He studied her expression for a moment.

"Wow. You're turning red."

"Did watching me win really hurt that much?"

"You... you two..."

Ivy pointed at Aaron and Braveon, too angry to come up with a proper response.

Aaron merely smiled.

Then he stopped paying attention to her.

He walked over to Braveon, sat down, and started chatting with him and Gage as though nothing had happened.

Being ignored only made it worse.

...

The rest of the first-round matches came and went.

Most were hard-fought, but two Trainers stood out.

Kellan dominated his opponent and advanced with little trouble.

So did Braveon.

By the time the first round finally came to an end, only six contestants remained.

Crown University had three:

Aaron.

Braveon.

Dorian.

Gage and Ivy had both been eliminated.

Judging by the way Ivy kept glaring at Aaron and Braveon, she had apparently decided they were somehow responsible for throwing her off her game.

Imperial Elite still had two:

Kellan.

Zane.

The Defense Academy had only one.

Blaze.

Six Trainers.

The final six.

For the first time in years, Crown had more competitors remaining than either rival school.

Imperial Elite usually dominated this stage of the tournament.

This year, though, three of the final six spots belonged to Crown University.

That alone was enough to get people talking.

Could Crown actually be making a comeback this year?

Up in the VIP stands, business leaders, wealthy guests, and government officials had already begun discussing the possibility among themselves.

...

"The first round has officially concluded!"

"Everyone, turn your attention to the big screen!"

"Here are the matchups for Round Two!"

Standing on Pidgeot's back, Kenny raised his microphone toward the crowd.

The massive screen above the arena lit up.

Portraits of the six remaining contestants appeared one after another.

Then the matchups were revealed.

"Match One: Braveon versus Blaze!"

"Match Two: Aaron versus Dorian!"

"Match Three: Kellan versus Zane!"