The battle between Selene and Leon had come to an end, and to everyone's surprise, Selene actually defeated Leon and advanced.
Though perhaps, to Selene's fans, this outcome was only natural.
After all, Selene had already beaten Lance in the ranking rounds, and then defeated N—who wielded Zekrom—in the top-16 match.
That alone had earned her a massive wave of supporters, and many even believed Selene would be the runner-up.
Now that she had become the first person to reach the semifinals, her fans were naturally thrilled.
"I wonder who my opponent will be."
Giovanni stared at the remaining six portraits on the giant screen. One of them was his own.
8-to-4 meant only four matchups, and now that Selene had advanced, only three pairings remained.
As long as he didn't get matched with Dylan, Giovanni figured advancing to the semifinals shouldn't be a problem.
But…
Giovanni glanced sideways at Red, his deep eyes flickering.
As a fellow Elite Four member, Giovanni knew Red quite well. To be honest, Red was no less dangerous than Selene.
Quiet most of the time, but once a battle began, he was terrifying. A powerful opponent.
Half an hour later, the pairing for the second match began.
As the portraits spun rapidly across the giant screen, everyone's eyes were locked on it.
The first portrait gradually stopped—a boy in a cap appeared.
Red!
"Red, huh? That guy's a tough one," Steven muttered, expression tightening.
"Absolutely. That kid's a monster on par with Selene," Wallace agreed.
Kyogre bless them. Hopefully May wouldn't get matched with him. Otherwise… who knew what would happen.
Wallace prayed silently to the Sea King—but then froze.
Even if he didn't want May to face Red, who could she confidently beat?
Giovanni? Leaf? Serenity?
None of them were easy matchups. Dylan didn't even need to be mentioned.
At this stage—top eight—there were no weaklings left. Any opponent would be strong.
Still, Wallace sincerely hoped for an internal Kanto matchup—Dylan.
The second portrait stopped. A cute girl with a bow-shaped hairband appeared.
"It's me~!"
May blinked, then broke into a bright smile.
Steven and Wallace exchanged helpless looks. Nothing they could do—there were only so many competitors. Anyone could get matched.
"Do your best, May. You're not weaker than him," Steven encouraged.
"Mm-hmm~ Of course! Don't worry, Steven, I won't lose!"
May was fired up—she was the last hope of Hoenn!
And since she was fighting someone her age, she absolutely didn't believe she would lose. She was undefeated among Hoenn's young trainers!
"Good. That mindset is important. But don't push too hard—you've already done wonderfully," Steven said gently.
"Got it~"
Elsewhere—
"The Hoenn girl, May, really is strong."
Leaf recalled her data. A 'monster-class' trainer of Hoenn's generation—very powerful indeed.
"So, Red? You think you can win?" Leaf asked with a teasing smile.
Red's crimson eyes were blazing with fighting spirit. The match hadn't even started, but this kind of opponent set his battle-longing heart on fire.
"Hmph—how could he not be confident? That girl beat me to get here," Blue snorted before Red could answer.
"Red, if you lose to someone like that, I'm not letting you off!"
Clearly, Blue really wanted Red to win. After all, Red had climbed upward by beating him.
Red: "…"
He shot Blue a look—this childhood friend had zero self-awareness.
Another half hour passed.
"Both contestants are ready. Let's give them a warm welcome as they enter the field!"
The host's booming voice echoed through the stadium.
"Red!"
"May!"
Amid roaring cheers, the boy and girl walked out from opposite sides.
"Red will win! Champion Red for the win!"
"I just realized—Kanto's Elite Four plus the Champion actually make up four of the quarterfinalists! And the last one is…?"
"May, you got this! You're the chosen one! You're gonna win!"
"Haha! Red is Master-tier 2. And you are…?"
"I'm betting ten million—Red wins!"
The cheers continued, though Red clearly had more supporters.
This was Indigo Plateau. Compared to long-famous Red, May—who only really began making waves in the later half of the year—had far fewer fans.
Most Hoenn viewers supported her, but far fewer were physically present.
Not that it mattered.
Battles were decided by strength, not popularity.
The referee announced the rules, then left. The pointer on the big screen spun and landed on May.
She would move first.
"My turn, huh."
She didn't care much. She pulled out a Poké Ball and looked at Red.
He stood silently, the brim of his cap hiding his eyes—completely unreadable.
He didn't seem very approachable?
May tilted her head. Rumor said Red barely talked—even at gatherings.
She was lively, but not a complete social butterfly. Should she say something to her opponent?
…nah.
"Yep—trainers speak through battle!"
Her Poké Ball expanded. She raised her arm.
"Elite Red, let me see your strength!"
"My first Pokémon—Breloom!"
She threw the ball hard. A Breloom landed before her—green and beige, standing like a little kangaroo with a mushroom-cap head.
Very Hoenn.
Lillie tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Breloom can be annoying. Spore is a pain," Blue commented.
"But it has a 4× weakness to Flying. Just target it and it drops fast," he added. If it were him, he'd let Pidgeot flatten it instantly.
Who brings a 4×-weak lead? Disrespectful!
"Red's Flying types are Tornadus and Charizard, right?" Lillie asked.
But both were major members of Red's roster—Charizard was his ace. No way he'd send it out so early.
And he didn't need to.
"Venusaur!"
Red sent out Venusaur.
A heavy thud shook the field.
"A favorable matchup," Diantha murmured.
Spore didn't affect Grass types, and Venusaur's Poison typing shrugged off Toxic and Poison Powder.
Even better—Poison beat Grass/Fighting.
But May immediately swapped Breloom for Aggron.
Then she Terastalized—Steel Tera Aggron!
One of the heaviest Pokémon, but held back by its two 4× weaknesses—Fighting and Ground.
With Steel Tera, those vanished.
"Return, Venusaur." Red recalled it.
Sending Venusaur against Tera-Steel Aggron was asking for death.
"Pikachu!"
Red tossed his second ball.
The little electric mouse flipped and landed lightly, cheeks sparking, staring down the brutal Aggron.
Red immediately Terastalized—Electric Tera Pikachu.
"Pikachu, huh?"
May eyed the little mouse, intrigued. Using Pikachu as a major battler was rare.
As far as she knew, only Red and Leaf did that—and Leaf's Pikachu was her ace.
"Haha—sounds fun. Let's see if your Pikachu can beat my Aggron!"
Electric was resisted by Steel.
But May trusted her Aggron.
Like heck a tiny Pikachu could beat a Tera-Steel Aggron—even Red's!
"It's Red's Pikachu," Yellow murmured, eyes wide.
"Pika~"
Her own Pikachu perked up, staring at the field.
"I really don't get why you two love Pikachu so much," Blue muttered. They had actually raised theirs to be strong.
If he remembered correctly, Red's younger brother Ash also used Pikachu as his ace—and it wasn't bad.
"Because Pikachu is cute. And strong," Yellow replied softly.
"Pii~ka~chu~"
Blue rolled his eyes. Strong? That was debatable. Pikachu wasn't rare, and people didn't use them much because they weren't exactly meta-defining.
"By the way, Yellow, your Pikachu is probably an adult now, right?" Dylan asked.
"I think so?" Yellow blinked.
"Ever thought of finding it a mate? I think Red's Pikachu is a great choice."
"Ah?"
"Pika??"
Both Yellow and her Pikachu were stunned.
"Not into that one? Then try Ash's Pikachu. Trust me—Ash's Pikachu has insanely high potential."
Dylan rubbed his chin.
"I mean it—if your Pikachu and one of theirs had a baby Pichu, it'd be a prodigy."
He was certain. With parents like that? The kid couldn't be weak.
Dylan even wanted Yellow's Pikachu to seduce both Red's and Ash's Pikachu.
Have an egg with each—then he could see whose genetics were superior.
"Umm…" Yellow was speechless. But maybe it was time to think about her partner's 'future.'
"Pikachu, what do you think?"
She lifted her Pikachu and asked.
"Pika… pikachu?"
Her Pikachu stared at the battling Pikachu on the field, deep in thought.
"No rush. After the match, I'll take you to meet Ash's Pikachu too. We'll pick a handsome one."
Dylan patted its head.
"If all else fails, I have a Pikachu too. See if you click."
"Once you pick, I'll throw you two a glorious wedding."
And then lay an egg ASAP so he could see whether the baby was a monster.
Was the Gym Leader being too enthusiastic?
Yellow tilted her head. Why was he suddenly pushing matchmaking?
On the field, Pikachu and Aggron were locked in a fierce clash.
May's Aggron was indeed strong—despite its weight and slower speed, its raw power was terrifying. It even forcibly overpowered Pikachu's Thunderbolt at times.
But Aggron was falling behind.
Because Red's Pikachu was too fast—slippery like an eel. Aggron simply couldn't catch it.
And…
"How is it this strong…?"
May's face scrunched up. Pikachu's Volt attacks were matching Aggron's Heavy Slam blow-for-blow, both being knocked back.
This made no sense!
How could a Pikachu brawl evenly with a Tera-Steel Aggron?
Even Raichu would struggle!
How much effort had Red poured into raising this Pikachu…?
P.S. - go check out my new work called Pokémon: Daily Life with Rowlet