The freshly revealed Masters Eight quickly became the hottest topic around the world.
And when people saw that five of the eight were trainers from Kanto, the entire world collectively fell silent.
Well… what could anyone even say?They got in with sheer strength.Nothing to complain about.
All anyone could hope now was:Please don't let the Top Four also be all Kanto.
Aside from Kanto's monstrous lineup, the most popular region at the moment was undoubtedly Galar.
Chairman Rose's smile was about to twist off his face.Because aside from Kanto, only Galar and Hoenn had made it into the Masters Eight.
And Galar even had two trainers in it!
Of course, everyone knew that the World Championships title was guaranteed to go to Dylan.That much was obvious.
But getting second place would practically be a championship of its own, right?
Beating Dylan was impossible, but beating the other contestants?That was still doable!
Rose felt very confident. After all, both Gloria and Leon were extremely strong!
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
More and more people gathered at the Indigo Plateau.Even though most regional Champions had already been eliminated, it didn't dampen the enthusiasm for the World Championships.
A competition showcasing the strongest of the strongest—Of course people loved watching it!
The Indigo Arena was once again packed to the brim.Today, the Masters Eight Tournament would finally begin.
The sacred flame burned brightly.The livestream opened, and bullet comments flooded the screen instantly.
"Front row! Damn it—I failed to grab tickets again!""Hurry up and start! I want battles! BATTLES!""Waited seven days for this! Time to watch Champion Dylan destroy people!""'Fighting for the championship,' more like 'fighting desperately for second place.' I wonder who'll get it.""That second place is obviously going to be Leon!""As if! With Leon's luck? I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up meeting Dylan again today."
The livestream was exploding with chatter.
The arena atmosphere was just as heated, because atop the stage stood the slick-backed host.
"Hellooooo everyone! Welcome to Indigo Arena!"
After a week of rest, his voice sounded even clearer and more energetic.
"Today we begin an even fiercer stage—the Masters Eight Tournament! Out of these eight trainers, only four will advance to the semifinals!"
"Who will break through? Let's find out together!"
He smiled broadly.
"Now then, let us begin the random matchup draw! The system will handle everything to ensure fairness."
…No.The only fair thing would be to ban Dylan and just place him directly into the finals.Let the rest of us fight for that one open slot.
Leon's face remained expressionless.This mighty Leon had nearly failed to enter the Top Eight earlier—if not for the resurrection round!
Of course, he was only venting.
He looked up as the giant screen began to spin through contestant portraits.
"Arceus, please! Don't let big bro and Gloria fight each other!"
Hop prayed desperately.Galar only had two candidates—an internal fight right away would be tragic.
Let the Kanto folks fight each other instead.They had five people!
"I wonder who the first group will be."
Wallace watched with anticipation.The Masters Eight had only eight trainers, meaning only four battles total.
Winners would enter the semifinals immediately.
"No idea, but a Kanto-versus-Kanto matchup is very likely," Steven said thoughtfully.
With five Kanto trainers, the probability was simply too high.
And even with absurdly good luck, at least one Kanto internal fight was guaranteed.
Finally, the first portrait stopped—a handsome, confident smile.
Leon!
"Me? Again?"
Leon blinked.His face had been appearing far too often lately—fight Dylan, fight the resurrection match, and now first up in the Masters Eight.
But that was fine.As long as the opponent wasn't Dylan, everyone else was about the same to him.
Under countless tense, excited, and curious stares, the second portrait began to slow—
A young girl in a flower straw hat, pure and beautiful, appeared.
One of Kanto's Elite Four—Selene!
"Woooh!!"
The arena exploded with cheers.
This match would definitely be amazing!
"Leon, huh? He's a tough opponent."
Selene gazed at Leon's portrait thoughtfully.
Although Leon always suffered miserably when fighting her gym big brother, even she had to admit that Leon was incredibly strong.
A true powerhouse!
"What's wrong? No confidence?"Dylan teased.
"Hehe~ I'll make him understand that not only can he not beat my teacher—he can't even beat me!"
Selene puffed out her impressive chest proudly.
A strong opponent, yes—but she had absolute confidence.Outside of her gym big brother, she was the strongest in Kanto.
Rumor said that after the World Championships, her gym big brother would "retire" from the Champion position.Which meant…
The Kanto Champion's seat… could be hers.
If she wanted that title, she had to shine here.
This Leon came at just the right time.
On the battlefield.
"The two contestants are ready! Let's welcome the competitors!"
"Leon!"
"Selene!"
The host's voice boomed across the entire arena.
From both contestant tunnels, two figures emerged—and the crowd erupted.
"Selene冲鸭!!""If you can't beat your teacher, you can at least beat him! Champion Leon, show that girl what cruelty means!""This first match alone is worth the ticket price!""Champion vs. Elite Four—easy win!""I'm betting on Selene. No reason, I'm just a degenerate."
Both had gained a huge following by now.No surprise—these were the strongest eight trainers in the world.
Selene and Leon stepped into their trainer platforms.
"The battle will now begin! The competitors are Selene from Kanto, and Leon from Galar!"
The referee entered to announce the rules.
"The rules are: a full 6-on-6 battle. Three power-ups are permitted. When all six Pokémon on one side can no longer battle, the other side wins."
"The winner advances. Loser is eliminated."
He looked left and right, then dropped his arm.
"Battle—start!"
The rules were identical to earlier rounds, except for one big difference—
All three power-ups were now allowed.
Mega Evolution.Dynamax.Terastallization.
As for Z-Moves…
Well, Z-Moves were hard to evaluate.They were strictly inferior to Dynamax in real battles.
And unlike in the games, Z-Moves weren't guaranteed to hit in this world.Hard to dodge, yes—but not unavoidable.
And worst of all—
Z-Moves had that embarrassing pre-move dance.
By the time you finished posing, your opponent had already prepared three countermeasures.Who would stupidly wait for you to fire it?
Mega Evolution = huge power boost.Dynamax = triple giant attacks + boosted durability.Terastallization = type advantage flexibility.
These three were simply too perfect.Z-Moves stood no chance.
The referee withdrew.
The big screen pointer spun—and landed on Selene.
"Ooh~ I'm going first? Not bad."
She tilted her head, then smiled brightly and held up a Poké Ball.
"Leon, sen— Leon, please go easy on me."
Her voice was sweet, her smile even sweeter—a perfect sweet little idol.
"Haha! Don't worry about that—give it your all, Selene! Whether you or I advance, it's impossible to say right now!"
Leon laughed boldly, battle spirit blazing.Selene was someone he took more seriously than Dawn.
Her strength had been demonstrated many times—as Dylan's top disciple.
During the ranking tournament, Selene had gone on a rampage, even defeating Dragon Master Lance to take his rank.
Leon viewed her as a true equal.
"Well then, I'm very sorry, Leon… because I intend to send you out of the tournament. This victory will be mine."
Selene's smile grew even sweeter—but her words didn't match the tone at all.
"Oh?"Leon raised a brow and grinned wider.
"Such confidence? Then prove it. If you can defeat me, advancing will be rightfully yours. But…"
He lifted his right hand toward her, an overwhelming aura surging from him.His cape billowed behind him.
"I am Leon! The Champion of Galar!"
New blood pushing out the old, huh?Too bad—
I, Leon, don't get pushed so easily.
I will win!!
(End of Chapter)