Capítulo 236: Their Respective Lily of the Valley Conference
In the afternoon, the round of sixteen battles in the Lily of the Valley Conference officially began. Reggie's match was the second one.
Although there were four battlefields in total for this Lily of the Valley Conference, the later matches were all held in the central main arena, including the round of sixteen.
As the competition had progressed to the later stages, the remaining participants were all skilled trainers. The first match had been intense, a far cry from the small competition Yuga had once participated in at Verdanturf Town.
The round of sixteen battles still followed the three-on-three format, allowing for a relatively fast pace. The first match concluded quickly.
Reggie's opponent was a rather attractive young lady, and according to the commentator's introduction, she hailed from Twinleaf Town. Yuga recalled that Ash's travel companion, Dawn, also came from Twinleaf Town.
It had to be said that this young lady possessed genuine strength, and Reggie had a close call during the match.
The young lady's lead Pokémon was Empoleon, the final evolution of the Sinnoh region's Water starter. Reggie's chosen Pokémon to face it was Froslass, an Ice and Ghost type.
Reggie's Froslass had the Snow Cloak ability, and upon entering the battle, it summoned a hailstorm and vanished into the icy gusts.
Normally, this strategy of hiding within the snow and launching surprise attacks was well-suited for Froslass. However, the young lady's Empoleon surprisingly used the move Echoed Voice to pinpoint Froslass's location.
With Empoleon using Echoed Voice to track Froslass, it then launched Water Pulse attacks. After a few rounds, Froslass, with its relatively low defenses, was defeated, and the hailstorm faded away.
Reggie felt immense pressure from being caught off guard at the start. So, he sent out his second Pokémon, Electivire, which was strong against Empoleon due to its Electric typing.
Unfortunately, the opponent recalled Empoleon and sent out Hippowdon, a Ground type resistant to Electric moves. However, to Yuga's surprise, his Electivire had inherited the move Ice Punch, which caught Hippowdon off guard. Though Hippowdon put up a fight, it eventually left the battle, and Electivire was also heavily injured.
The young lady's final Pokémon turned out to be a Purugly. Despite its plump appearance, it exuded an intimidating presence upon entering the field. With its disdainful eyes, it seemed to look down on everything.
This Purugly was remarkably sturdy, and its first move was a powerful STAB move, Pay Day. Despite its bulky build, it had impressive speed and quickly knocked out Electivire, which was already weakened.
At this point, the situation was dire for Reggie. He had one Pokémon left, and his opponent had an undamaged Purugly and Empoleon, with Empoleon's Echoed Voice strategy still active. Even Yuga couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for him.
Reggie's final Pokémon was his starter, the formidable Staraptor.
Fortunately, Reggie's Staraptor was truly formidable. Upon entering the battle, it dived down swiftly towards Purugly. In a series of close combat maneuvers, Purugly was swiftly knocked out, leaving only Empoleon on the opponent's side.
The girl's Empoleon indeed had impressive strength, but facing the flying ability of Empoleon against Reggie's Staraptor didn't provide her with a significant advantage, especially given the incredibly fast flight speed of Staraptor.
Reggie's Staraptor possessed the hidden ability Reckless, which made its Brave Bird attack extremely powerful. Although it suffered some damage in the process, it successfully helped Reggie advance to the quarterfinals.
The following two matches were also incredibly exciting, particularly the last one featuring Cynthia, which can be described as a complete domination of her opponent.
Today, there were no more matches, so Flint, Volkner, and Reggie all came to "gather intelligence" together. However, after observing, they all felt a tremendous amount of pressure. Even though they were reluctant to admit it, deep down they knew that Cynthia was undoubtedly going to be the champion of this Lily of the Valley Conference.
In the evening, in the rooms at the contestants' village, the pure moonlight seeped through the windows, casting a soft glow, turning the dim room into something akin to a dream.
Suddenly, a sigh broke the silence.
Lying on his bed, Yuga turned to Reggie on the other bed and asked, "What's wrong? Can't sleep?"
Reggie, trying not to wake up Yuga who was peacefully asleep, replied in a hushed tone, "Yeah, a bit."
"Worried about tomorrow's match?" Yuga inquired.
Apart from the faint sound of Flint's breathing in his sleep, the room remained quiet. Reggie didn't speak, but Yuga understood that he had guessed correctly.
"Don't worry too much. Get a good night's rest. You'll perform better with a clear mind tomorrow. Regardless of tomorrow's outcome, what matters is that you've given your best," Yuga comforted him.
Yuga knew that the chances of Reggie winning this tournament were slim. Even without Cynthia, both Flint and Volkner were formidable opponents. He couldn't fully understand how Reggie felt at this moment, even though he had tried to put himself in his shoes. He couldn't utter grand words about friendship coming first and competition second. All he could do was hope that Reggie wouldn't have any regrets.
The next day arrived as scheduled. It was the final day of the Lily of the Valley Conference. The morning featured the quarter-finals, while the afternoon held the semi-finals and finals.
After the quarter-finals, all the participants were allowed to bring six Pokémon into battle, making the matches more intense and time-consuming. Consequently, there was no midday break before the semi-finals, which increased the excitement for the audience. However, no one had expected the surprise of the first match: Flint versus Volkner.
Flint and Volkner's battle could be described as the most thrilling match of the entire Lily of the Valley Conference. As childhood friends who had grown up together, they were incredibly familiar with each other's Pokémon. Instead of employing specific strategies, they chose to go head-to-head in a direct confrontation.
From Infernape against Raichu, Luxray against Houndoom, Magmortar against Electivire, Flareon against Jolteon, Rapidash against Magnezone, and Steelix against Ambipom, each of their matches was heart-pounding, eliciting continuous cheers from the audience.
Although Flint ultimately won against Volkner by a slim margin, the excitement in the arena was palpable, and the crowd couldn't help but applaud.
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