Moving on to the next day, the quarterfinals were taking place. Davin, Maura, Haro, and Edric all made it through the previous round and were currently in the top 8. That is until...
Davin: Halo, use Bug Buzz!
*Opponent is knocked out*
Judge: Davin advances!
Maura: Mightyena, Shadow Ball!
*Opponent falls*
Judge: Maura advances!
Haro: Raichu, use Thunderbolt!
*Another knockout*
Judge: Haro advances!
Edric: Persian, use Slash!
*Yet another opponent falls*
Judge: Edric advances!
"Ladies and gentleman, our top 4 trainers have been revealed!" The announcer stated. On the screen, Davin's, Haro's, Maura's, and Edric's pictures appeared.
"All right! I can't believe we all made it!" Maura cheered. She and the other 3 were in the lobby watching the screen.
"I'm not too surprised." Davin said. "We all worked hard to get here and we weren't going to let anyone take us down no matter what."
"Yeah." Edric agreed. "No way I was going to be defeated after all the training I went through."
"Well, let's not get too happy." Haro added. "In the next round, we're going to have to battle each other to see who becomes champion, and I don't plan on losing to either one of you."
"That goes double for me!" Davin said. "Even though we're friends, let's give our all!"
Back in the arena, the announcer spoke, "And now that the top 4 has been decided, we have a special treat for all of you!" On the screen, the top 4's pictures moved to the side and were stacked on top of each other. "After many discussions from the Pokemon League officials, 4 special people will be making a very special appearance!"
"What?" Davin asked.
"What could this be about?" Maura added.
The announcer stated, "Ladies and gentleman, I give you..."
A picture of a guy who was bald, except for a bit of red hair sticking out from his head that was in a strange shape, appeared on the screen. "Sidney!"
A picture of a tan-skinned girl with two flowers on the sides of her hair appeared on the screen. "Phoebe!"
A picture of a woman with blonde hair that had three ends sticking out from behind appeared on the screen. "Glacia!"
Lastly, a picture of a man with a white moustache and wearing a sailor's hat with a yellow Poke ball imprinted in the center of it appeared on the screen. "And Drake!"
The pictures gathered together, one beside the other. "THE HOENN... ELITE... FOUR!" The crowd went crazy when the announcer spoke those words.
"WOW! The Elite Four are coming!" Maura squealed with excitement. "This is gonna be great!"
"Out of all the times they could've come, I never expected it to be this time." Edric added.
Back in the arena, the announcer added, "And for an even more special treat, the Elite Four will be battling the Top 4 in the next round!"
"WHAT?/NO WAY!/SERIOUSLY?/COOL!" Haro, Maura, Edric, and Davin shouted in that order at the same time.
"Now, let's see who will face who tomorrow!" The eight pictures came together and started to shuffle themselves by spinning in a circle. Eventually, they separated by twos and the pairings were revealed.
"Ok! For the first match, it will be Sidney vs. Maura! Afterwards, it will be Phoebe vs. Davin! Next will be Glacia vs. Haro and lastly, Drake vs. Edric! If the top 4 contestants can defeat the member they're up against in a 5-on-5 battle, they will move on to the semifinals! If not, they will automatically lose the tournament. An exciting battle is sure to ensue between these great trainers!"
"THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE! HOW DARE THEY DO THIS TO US?!" Haro shouted when he stood up.
"What's your problem? We've been given the chance to battle Hoenn's best trainers." Davin said.
The blonde turned his head towards them. "How can you all be so calm about this?! Aren't you mad?!"
"What's there to be mad about?" Maura asked.
Haro sneered. "What do you mean? They just went ahead and put them all against us with no absolute warning! It's like they planned to let our hard work in this tournament go to waste!"
"Dude, don't you see how great of an opportunity this is?" Edric said when he stood up. "By going up against the Elite Four, our skills as trainers will be tested. If we lose, that just means we need more training, but if we win, that proves that we have the potential to become the best trainers ever. Don't you see that?"
Haro calmed down and averted his gaze with Edric. "I... guess you have point." He looked at him again. "It just makes me mad that they would do this without telling us. We, as the contestants, have the right to know any changes that go on in this tournament since we're the ones that are in it."
Davin said, "Well, it's nothing to get too upset about. They just wanted to surprise us like they wanted to surprise the visitors. It's not like they did it for us to just lose the tournament; that would be cruel and unforgivable, which is not the Pokemon League way."
Haro thought about it and said, "You're right. I guess the sudden shock just got to me. Sorry I overreacted."
Edric went over and patted Haro on the back. "Don't worry about it. It happens to all of us at least once."
Davin stood up. "Well, with that taken care, what are we doing just sitting here? We all gotta train hard if we want to face each other in the semifinals!"
Maura stood up. "Davin's right. We need to be at the top of our game tomorrow, especially me since I'm up first."
Edric nodded. "Right. Hey, here's an idea: Why don't we all train together? That way, we can help each other with whatever we need help with."
"Good idea. Let's go!" Davin ran out of the automatic doors, Maura and the other two boys right behind him.
