Pokémon: Trainers Start as Bounty Hunters.

The next moment, the ring of fire shot out.

The large, swallow-like elf opposite was covered in wounds, with one wing bearing marks of fire, electricity, and ice damage, making it extremely difficult for it to even maintain flight.

"Tear it apart!"

Following its trainer's command, it clearly made an evasive maneuver, but its body couldn't support it. After being hit by the ring of magical flames, it cried out in pain, its body spinning as it crashed to the ground, its eyes swirling in circles.

"Swellia carinana is unable to fight, Togekis wins, and the winner is Tetsuya Tamaki from Tokiwa."

The referee dutifully raised his flag and announced the result.

"Congratulations."

The trainer opposite recalled his Pokémon, exchanged a brief greeting with Tetsuya, and then left the arena.

In a formal competition like this, you can't expect the loser to be all smiles at the winner.

Anyone with a sense of shame and competitiveness will not have a good feeling about losing, especially in this kind of competitive competition.

Tetsuya, feeling completely relaxed after finishing his last qualifying match, led Togekis out of the battlefield, now immune to the intense gazes emanating from him.

Considering that Togekis needed to familiarize itself with its newly evolved body, Tetsuya sent it into battle for the last two matches, and it was always surrounded by onlookers before and after each battle.

From initial helplessness to current composure, Tetsuya and Togekis have become familiar with the process.

"Waaaaahh ...

After retrieving the Poké Ball from Nurse Joy, Tetsuya walked back to his room, once again experiencing the inconvenience that his heightened senses were causing.

He could hear the cries of eliminated trainers coming from every corner.

These are likely trainers with seven wins, meaning they are only one step away from the main event.

Among them are trainers whose strength is ranked in the top 1000 according to intelligence reports, though they are all relatively lower in the rankings.

Tetsuya could completely understand their sadness, but he also felt it was unnecessary.

It's simply a matter of being less skilled; we can always try again next year.

Perhaps some people are talking without understanding the situation, and there may be many more years to come, with the possibility of even greater losses, but this is the reality.

As long as you are strong enough, even if you encounter a strong opponent, you can still achieve a ten-game winning streak without a doubt.

That's right, Tetsuya said he was talking about himself.

Unlike the previous five matches where he faced opponents of ordinary-level Pokémon, the last five matches, which he personally drew lots against, were mostly against elite-level Pokémon.

Fortunately, he was strong enough to win every match easily, and there's not much to say about the battles.

"Dear Trainer Tetsuya Tamaki, your preliminary results show a ten-game winning streak, so you do not need to participate in the qualification competition."

Please make sure to arrive at the service center lobby before noon tomorrow to complete the draw for the first round of the sub-venue elimination competition.

At that time, your trainer information and Pokémon information will need to be registered again. Please be sure to bring your identity card or Pokédex, as well as the Pokémon you will be battling with and its associated Poké Ball...

This is a message sent from the official league website on his watch, which is quite efficient.

Inside a restaurant in the athletes' village.

"How's it going? Has your message arrived yet?"

Tetsuya looked at Yozo, who had naturally sat down opposite him, and asked him a question while stuffing a mouthful of rice into his mouth.

"Hmm, that's pretty fast. My ten-game winning streak only lasted half an hour." Ye Zang ordered his favorite food and, like Tetsuya, remarked.

"If you're matched up against me and I eliminate you early, don't come crying home to your parents," Tetsuya mumbled.

"Huh? Are you kidding me? There's no way I could lose to you."

Yozo retorted sarcastically, even though he himself wasn't very confident in defeating Tetsuya, but he couldn't afford to lose in terms of momentum.

In the past month, he has witnessed Tetsuya and his spirit's progress at an astonishing pace.

He couldn't understand where Zhe got those strange breeding formulas. They couldn't all have come from the ruins, could they? There must have been some formulas he created himself. If that was the case, then this breeder's talent was just too exaggerated.

"Oh, you two finished pretty early." Yamashiro-kun also sat down next to the two with a plate in his hand.

The topic quickly shifted from who was eliminated to whose Pokémon was stronger.

This is a topic that trainers can argue about forever.

Gradually, the eight-person table where Tetsuya was located was filled with people. What they had in common was that they all looked very young, which made them stand out from the people around them.

The trainers who were also eating looked at the group of young geniuses who were talking loudly and confidently, and their eyes were filled with a little envy.

Tiered communication is everywhere. If trainers with near-Elite Four level Pokémon are considered to be in one tier among the tournament participants, then ordinary people, led by Tetsuya and Yozo, are the most talented group in that tier.

Unlike the other trainers who were at least 28 or 29 years old, and at most 35 or 36, the oldest among them was only 22 years old.

During this month, they spent their days in groups playing around in the athletes' village, and basically everyone knew that these young geniuses had formed their own little group.

"Eight Talents" is what others call their group, meaning eight outstanding and talented trainers.

Zhe also couldn't understand where this habit of giving people strange nicknames came from. He inexplicably had many such names on his head that sounded like they were something to be ashamed of.

"I've finished eating. I'm going back to prepare for the main competition."

Tetsuya was the first to arrive and the first to leave, making no attempt to hide his slightly nervous and excited state of mind.

"Tsk, you can't hold your temper at all." Ye Cang choked, his leg shaking.

"I suggest you control your tone next time you talk about someone." Yuan Haitang Luping adjusted his glasses and said speechlessly to Ye Zang, whose voice was trembling.

This is the first time everyone has attended this conference, so why pretend to be an expert?

Inside room B34.

"Tomorrow, or maybe in a few days, we'll be fighting in a stadium with tens of thousands of people. How about it, are you excited?"

Tetsuya seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps to the six miniature luxury spheres placed on the table.

The six luxury balls were shaking at different frequencies and amplitudes.

"Well then, have a good rest today, everyone. Goodnight." After chatting with his friends for a while, Tetsuya turned off the light and went to bed.

In the darkness, his gleaming eyes were so clearly visible.

"Forget it, Pang Yan is weirdo. Come out and give me a yawn. I can't sleep."

After tossing and turning for nearly an hour, Zhe helplessly realized that he was experiencing insomnia for the first time in his life.

A flash of red light, "Dangoro!"

The next moment, Tetsuya's steady breathing sounded, and the room immediately went dark, with only the moonlight shining on Pang Yanguai's body, occasionally reflecting a sliver of light.

Seriously, how come he's still acting like an elementary school student before a field trip? Just before falling asleep, Tetsuya was doing his best to criticize himself in his mind.

......

"Ding~~~"

The alarm rang, and Tetsuya jumped out of bed, still half asleep.

I checked the time; it was 6:30 in the morning.

The service center lobby opens at 7:00 AM.

After spending ten minutes washing up, he roused himself and went out with six luxury balls containing his companions.

The real Quartz Conference is only just beginning.

So, are you ready, my opponents?

As the first rays of morning sunlight greeted him, the boy's face was full of anticipation.

Chapter 254 The knockout stage begins, the first match (12.95/22)

"Okay, your identity registration and Pokémon information entry are complete. Next, please select the battleground."

Miss Joey in the service hall skillfully pulled a roulette wheel from under the counter.

"A rather primitive method of selection," Tetsuya thought, unconsciously licking his somewhat dry lips.

The roulette wheel was divided into four equal parts, each labeled with one of the four elements: water, grass, ice, and rock, corresponding to the four sub-venues.

To enter the main venue, you must win all four battles.

As the roulette wheel spins, the area where the pointer stops changes continuously.

Ultimately, it led to the ice field.

"So, your first battleground is the Ice Arena. The match time and opponent information will be sent to your watch at 1 p.m. Please be sure to receive it and don't miss the match time."

Miss Joy entered the result into the computer and gave instructions to Tetsuya.

The allocation of opponents will not take place until the morning's main competition qualification matches conclude, so the notification will only be given in the afternoon.

Tetsuya thanked Miss Joey and turned to leave.

Ye Zang, who had finished registering a little earlier, came over and said, "My first court is the rock court, so it seems we won't be able to meet at this stage."

The knockout stage format is closer to a group elimination format.

Simply put, the 1024 trainers who entered the main competition were divided into four groups of 256 people each, and the first battle venue indicated which group you were in.

The subsequent battles were all within the group. After four rounds of elimination battles, only sixteen trainers remained in each group. Together, they formed the top 64 who could enter the main arena of the tournament.

The advantage of trainers like Tetsuya and Yozo who have achieved ten consecutive wins registering early is that there are never enough spots in any group.

Unlike the trainers who registered later, they wouldn't be told by Nurse Joy that the available spots were full and they would be forced into a certain group.

"I wonder if there will be a 'group of death' this year." Yozo and Tetsuya walked towards the restaurant together.

The "group of death" mentioned by Yozo is easy to understand. This relatively primitive selection method will definitely have a certain probability of putting many powerful trainers in the same group.

It's not uncommon in previous tournaments for teams to be grouped together with twenty or thirty players whose predicted strength ranks in the top fifty.

Although the league will certainly intervene somewhat in the pairing process to prevent the championship seeds from meeting at this stage.

However, for players whose skill level is just above the qualifying line, advancing in this group will undoubtedly be more difficult, and they will have to pray for a bit more luck.

When a "group of death" appears, it's a time of celebration for the audience.

Because this represents a lot of uncertainty, you don't know if any lucky guys will make it into the top 64.

"It doesn't matter whether I win or not, as long as I keep winning," Tetsuya replied.

Ye Zang shook his head. "It's easy to say. If you encounter those guys in the top ten, the chances of winning are too slim."

Even the top-ranked trainers dare not relax at all in this single-elimination tournament format, otherwise they would have no one to blame but themselves if they lost.

The two chatted as they ate breakfast.

"Good luck, you've advanced!"

Before parting, they encouraged each other.

Back in his room, Tetsuya sat quietly on the sofa, trying to calm himself down.

The room, without the lights on, was dim and quiet.

After a long while, the watch's notification sounded.

"Tetsuya Tamaki VS Noriyoshi Sugiyama (3v3)"

Time: 3 PM, March 12 (today).

Location: Ice Arena, Sub-venue No. 3.

rule:.......

(Please arrive before 2:30 PM to cooperate with the referees and staff in completing the pre-match preparations.)

Looking at the message, Tetsuya felt a little irritated; he still had to wait another hour or two.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again, and quickly suppressed the feeling.

Noriyoshi Sugiyama is predicted to be ranked 689th in terms of strength. Her main Pokémon are Vileplume, Nidoqueen, Slowbro, Ariados, Beautifly, and Toxad...

Information about the enemy swirled and echoed in Tetsuya's mind.

They are a relatively easy opponent to deal with.

He thought that for the first match on the ice field, the Pokémon to be sent out would be those three little guys.

"Then, let's set off."