Chương 159: Elimination Round 1: Quartz vs. Zhu Qing

Zhu Qing Zhu Qing As the man and the shark whispered amongst themselves, the announcer's passionate voice rose to its peak over the arena's loudspeaker: "With this, all sixty-four teams have now assembled! Over the next month, we will witness a total of 63 top-tier matches on this field!"

"The opening match of this year's World Academy Cup will kick off at 8: 00 AM tomorrow!"

"The two teams facing off are Kanto Indigo Academy, ranked first in today's test, and Sinnoh Commemorative Academy, ranked sixty-fourth!!!"

As the host made a resounding announcement, the image on the big screen abruptly changed.

One red and one blue, the school emblems of Quartz College and Zhuqing College collided fiercely, sparking dazzling flames.

The names of all the team members from both teams are listed below the school emblem in order.

Upon seeing this, the entire audience erupted in thunderous applause.

As for what the host said next, neither of the two teams in the venue could hear it anymore.

Under the varied gazes of the other 62 teams, the entire staff of Zhuqing Academy and Quartz Academy stood up almost simultaneously in perfect unison.

Separated by a wide field of dozens of meters, two groups of prodigies representing the top combat power of their respective regions coldly gazed at each other.

For a moment, even the air currents became viscous.

Various powerful and suffocating auras collided and intertwined in mid-air.

Within the Quartz Academy faction, there was the overwhelming, tangible dragon's might, the fiery, raging blood of Shiban, and the chilling, bone-piercing cold of Kona...

Three powerful auras, like three torrents bursting their banks, rushed towards the rest area of Zhuqing Academy without reservation.

On the other hand, Dorasena, the only one who could hold her own at Zhuqing Academy, showed no leadership qualities whatsoever. Instead, she smiled and took a small step to the side, choosing to slack off.

The three Heavenly King-level auras rushed towards Cattleya at the forefront.

Even though the three Kanto heroes each had their own agendas and their auras couldn't be perfectly integrated, and even though all three of them relied on the essence of their own Pokémon, they hadn't truly reached the Elite Four level.

However, the combined aura of these three kings is something that no one of their age can withstand.

However, a surprising thing happened.

The oppressive aura that could freeze a Gym Leader Pokémon instantly vanished as it approached Gadria, unable to advance even an inch further.

Cattleya, who had been resting with her eyes closed, slowly opened them, and a deep blue light suddenly bloomed in her eyes.

hum!!!

A pure and ultimate source of superpowers transformed into an invisible tsunami.

Without even lifting a finger, Gadriya single-handedly repelled the three powerful auras of the Heavenly Kings opposite her.

Superpowered individuals already possess a unique advantage in terms of their combat strength.

Moreover, with Lu Sha's assistance, the young lady's growth rate has already surpassed that of the three from Guandu.

A true Elite Four level trainer, far superior to the three Elite Four members who relied on Pokémon aura for support.

However, what Lu Sha took for granted left everyone else present dumbfounded.

The entire room fell silent.

The other top students from the academies' pupils constricted as they stared intently at the blonde girl leading the Zhuqing Academy team, their expressions filled with horror.

Even Genji and Bonnie, who were about to take the stage, stopped their opening performance and looked at Cattleya with serious expressions.

Hearing about it is one thing, seeing it with your own eyes is another.

What Cattleya did was something that no ordinary superstar could do.

Looking across the entire Hoenn region, only Genji, who was just one step away from winning the championship, could achieve this.

This is absolutely terrifying.

Keep in mind that Genji is nearly 50 years old.

In contrast, Gadriya is only 16 years old this year!

"Interesting... Is this the source of your confidence to look down on others?"

Genji exhaled a puff of murky cigar smoke and withdrew his gaze with interest.

With the host's loud call, Genji and Bonnie stepped onto the center of the battlefield, presenting a 6V6 King of Kings exhibition match to tens of thousands of spectators.

After all, the Academy Cup main tournament won't officially start until tomorrow.

Today's opening ceremony must make these audience members who have traveled from afar feel that the high ticket price is worthwhile.

The exhibition match between Genji and Bonnie was absolutely a feast for the eyes from an entertainment perspective.

But just by looking at the intensity of the fight, Lu Sha was certain that they were throwing the match.

Let alone him now, even when he was a fresh-born Gible, he could probably clearly see the moves and movement patterns of the Pokémon in the arena.

Keep in mind that the Pokémon battling on the field are all Elite Four level Pokémon.

Even newborn cubs can understand the movements, which can only mean that both of the Heavenly Kings are going crazy with their wealth.

However, precisely because the speed was deliberately slowed down, the release of the moves and the sense of spectacle appeared even more magnificent and shocking, making the audience cheer with even more excitement.

As Lu Sha had predicted, Genji Tenno emerged victorious.

After the opening ceremony, discussions about this year's World Academy Cup were everywhere.

The unusual actions of the German Academy and the Celebration Academy were widely reported by the media, and countless people conducted tactical analyses of them.

The analysis results were largely consistent with the actual situation.

The general consensus is that Zhuqing Academy is aiming for a high level of challenge, planning to start from last place and climb all the way up in an attempt to achieve the most prestigious championship.

According to the elimination round's rule of head-to-head matches, if Zhuqing Academy defeats Quartz Academy, their next match will be against the highest-ranked academy among the first-round winners.

The current second place is Miare Academy, whose first-round opponent is the 63rd-ranked Shuizhou Martial Arts School.

Given the general lack of emphasis on academy tournaments in the Galar region, Miare Academy's advancement is almost a foregone conclusion.

However, even though Zhuqing Academy chose the most difficult path, there were still many people who ridiculed them.

After all, everyone knows that Gadria is very strong, but the competition is not a one-way tournament that relies solely on individual strength.

The tournament, including singles and doubles matches, with a best-of-three team format, is destined to be a contest of the academy's comprehensive strengths.

Even if Zhuqing Academy had one more genius, it wouldn't necessarily guarantee them the championship.

Many onlookers couldn't understand where Zhuqing College got its confidence from.

As for the German Language Institute, there wasn't much discussion.

This conservative point-control tactic, while lacking in passion, is understood by players both in Hoenn and other regions.

Hoenn has finally won the championship, so in order to maintain their ranking, letting other strong teams face off against each other is naturally the best option.

Since they didn't want to compete with Zhuqing Academy for first place, nor with Guandu for last place, they decided to let the ordinary team members take the test and get a middle ranking.

As long as Zhuqing Academy is at the bottom, even if none of the bottom 31 teams are unexpectedly eliminated, Devon Academy won't encounter the strongest team too early.

Unless the bottom 32 teams are all eliminated in the first round, the German Academy's approach is the optimal solution.

Of course, ranking around 10th is actually a better choice.

This way, they won't run into the strong teams ahead too early, nor will they run into the bottom-ranked Zhuqing Academy.

Unfortunately, with Daigo and Michael not participating, Nagi is already the strongest player from the German Academy this year.

With her abilities, she clearly shouldn't be ranked in the top 20.

The public discussion surrounding the opening ceremony, after a day of fermentation, has only made everyone more eager for the opening match on the second day.

Quartz Academy versus Zhuqing Academy: the winner advances, the loser is eliminated.

With Kanto and Sinnoh being the two powerhouses, one of them is destined to be eliminated in the round of 64, which is incredibly exciting.

The next day arrived as scheduled.

Amid cheers from the audience, the team leaders, Dorasena and Wataru, walked to the center of the field and handed their respective contestant lists and order of appearance to Genji.

To demonstrate the importance that the Hoenn organizers attach to this event, Genji will be present throughout the entire competition as the overall person in charge.

If it were a regular team battle, he wouldn't need to personally confirm it, but the two teams were too hostile, and each team leader was a King-level player, so he had to keep a close eye on things.

The situation was exactly as Genji had predicted.

As soon as the two stepped into the arena, their auras as two dragon-type kings surged toward each other, neither giving way.

Because of her age, Dorasena's aura is even slightly stronger than Du's, but the two are still on the same level.

Amidst their heated exchange, Genji calmly accepted the list.

He remained unfazed by these two powerful auras throughout.

The two youngsters, who were just beginning to become kings, were not enough to move him.

At last year's World Championships, if Lance's Dragonite hadn't acted strangely, and if the Dragon Aura hadn't amplified the Dragon type so much, he wouldn't have had much trouble fighting.

Ultimately, Lance's true strength lies in his Dragonite; his own trainer skills haven't fully caught up yet.

The current aura of a top player is largely due to his ace Pokémon, which he has artificially elevated.

In terms of individual qualities alone, apart from Cattleya, all the young people present, including Dorasena, are only at the near-elite level.

"Alright, I've received the roster. We'll start with the doubles matches, followed by the singles matches, and finally the ring matches. Is that alright?"

Genji's words sounded like a confirmation, but they were more like a notification.

"No problem." Du nodded coldly.

"We have no problem on our end either," Dorasena replied with a smile.

The two turned around at the same time, and the aura of the Heavenly King in mid-air instantly dissipated.

What happened next was no longer their concern.

In fact, they didn't even decide the order of appearance.

On the Zhuqing Academy side, Lu Sha handled all the troop deployment.

Quartz Academy, on the other hand, made the optimal allocation based on the contestants' abilities.

Kona and Aju fought in a doubles match, Shiba stayed in the ring match, and Aso and Matsuba went to fight in singles matches.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby declare the World Academy Cup officially open! The first match is between Kanto Indigo Academy and Sinnoh Commemorative Academy!"

Genji stood in mid-air atop a Flying Dragon, his loud voice echoing throughout the arena.

Because the students competing today are too strong, he will personally act as the referee to prevent the two sides from accidentally injuring the audience in the heat of the moment.

Meanwhile, in the German-language box on the top floor of the battle arena.

"Daigo, who do you think will win?"

Michael stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking somewhat uneasy.

"Celebrating the Academy" Daigo sank into the sofa and whispered an answer.

"So sure? Why?"

Michael turned around in surprise, his face full of confusion.

In his assessment of strength, Quartz Academy was clearly stronger, even having an overwhelming advantage.

On Quartz's side, there are a group of skilled players including Kona, Shiba, Aju, Asu, Matsuha, and Ami.

As for Zhuqing Academy, apart from Gadria, Cynthia, Wusong, and Aliu, the others are not worth mentioning at all.

While Cattleya is undoubtedly the strongest individual, the team as a whole is completely outmatched.

"Cynthia is only a first-year student, and I heard she only has one Gym Leader-level Lucario. Her Gible isn't raised with resources like Lance did from a young age. This lineup is ranked second in the celebration, can they really pull it off?" Wallace asked again.

"The Academy Cup is not just about raw strength. If they hadn't suddenly started with a last-place finish in the opening ceremony, we wouldn't even have thought of trying to control the score."

Daigo smiled, glancing down at the arena below, and said, "Look, Indigo Academy has already lost."

"what?"

Mikoli quickly looked towards the field.

The doubles competition has begun. Indigo Academy has sent Kona and Aju, while Celebration Academy has sent two players whose names he has never even heard of.

"Those two seem to be called something like Ka... something like Wu?" Mikoli thought for a long time but couldn't come up with an answer.

"Kaman, Water-type specialist, ace is Gym Leader Emirates, ranked sixth in the rankings at Celebration Academy."

"Wutong is a Grass-type specialist, and his ace is the Gym Leader Torterra, which ranks fifth," Steven explained calmly.

"Fifth and sixth? How can they possibly win!"

Mikuri was greatly puzzled, and at the same time, he was secretly shocked by Daigo's level of knowledge about the Celebration Academy.

He had seen the same information before, but he only remembered the first four.

"Winning isn't what they want," Daigo smiled.

The result was not what Dawu expected.

The duo of Kaman and Wulin didn't even last two minutes before being swept aside by Kona and Aju.

Seeing that the match ended so quickly, the audience responded with a mix of applause and boos.

Zhuqing Academy is really disappointing. They were clearly a favorite to win the championship, so why have they been performing so poorly since yesterday?

However, many insiders have also figured out the trick.

Kona and Aju, who had just won the game, didn't look too good when they left the court.

The problems facing Quartz College now are very real.

Kona and Aja, even if they aren't the strongest in Indigo Academy, are definitely among the top three core members.

Now, in this doubles match, these two main players have been worn down by the opposing team's cannon fodder.

Even though they won the doubles match, they took the lead and secured a victory.

But how will Quartz Academy win the upcoming individual and arena matches?

Because they had considered this, everyone in Quartz Academy, except for Shiba who remained expressionless, wore worried expressions.

A harsh reality is now before them.

If Quartz Academy wants to win, it will ultimately have to face Cattleya head-on.

Whoever wins advances.

Whoever loses is eliminated.

enjoy