Every Step He Takes Makes History
With Raul's solitary exit, Bruce successfully passed the first round of the main match and made it into the top 16.
"Good job."
Since it was already noon, all the spectators began leaving one by one, and the contestants also left to have lunch under the unified arrangement of the Winter Committee. The match would not resume until 2 p.m.
At the dining table, Master Rodriguez smiled and gave Bruce a thumbs-up.
"I was watching the tournament officials earlier, and they were all discussing how to restrict Gardevoir's teleportation," Liam said with a slight smile.
Bruce casually replied, "Simple, just fast enough to respond, fast enough."
Although it sounded simple, everyone present knew how difficult it was to achieve these two points.
"Maxwell, Mike, good afternoon."
"We'll be waiting for you in the next round," Liam said again.
"Alright," both responded simultaneously.
After lunch, they rested for a bit, and soon the afternoon session began.
Mike took the lead. His opponent was from Kunlun University. According to Master Rodriguez, his threat level was four and a half stars, and his strength was very strong.
After a fierce battle, Mike lost to his opponent 2-3 and was eliminated.
At this point, Mike had finished all his events and bid farewell to the joint exhibition of university students.
One match after another, Maxwell soon appeared on stage.
His opponent was strong, and both sides fought fiercely until the last Pokemon, but in the end, it was Maxwell who withstood the pressure and successfully won.
Thus, of the six contestants from Metropolitan University, two were eliminated, and four advanced to the next round of competition.
In the next round, there were only sixteen contestants, and Metropolitan University represented a quarter of them, which was already quite impressive.
When night fell, the first round of the competition had ended, and half of the players were eliminated.
Tomorrow, they would compete for the crucial final spots and strive to reach the quarterfinals.
Just like yesterday, the list of the top 16 matches would be paired by the system.
The names appeared one by one on the big screen, and all the players looked up, staring at them.
Finally, at the last moment, Bruce's famous opponent appeared.
[Bruce vs Jasper Hawke]
"Jasper, a third-year student from South Fairbay University, has a threat level of four and a half stars and uses Pokemon of...". Master Rodriguez's eyes flickered slightly as he spoke slowly.
Bruce nodded thoughtfully but suddenly remembered the student from South Fairbay University who had fought against him last time.
He clearly recalled that it had been a tough fighter, and he wondered how much progress that person had made after two months.
South Fairbay University,
In the girls' dormitory.
"This isn't good, Major Hawke has to face Bruce Bayne." A roommate behind Kristin, upon seeing the latest battle list, slightly changed her expression.
Kristin's eyes were calm as she spoke in a deep voice, "Bruce is progressing too fast. I fear it will be difficult for Major Hawke to deal with him."
Her roommate nodded deeply and said with emotion, "Who would have thought that a first-year student from our class would participate in the university league and become the heavy favorite to win the championship?"
"Kristin, how did you feel when you fought against Bruce?" the roommate asked, turning her head.
Hearing this, Kristin thought silently for a moment, slightly opened her eyes, and then replied, "Suffocation and oppression."
"Whether it's the Pokemon's strength or the Trainer's command level, Bruce will make his rival feel hopeless."
"If you can't launch an effective counterattack, you'll just fall into his rhythm of attack forever until you lose the battle."
"It's very difficult to defeat him," Kristin said seriously.
After hearing what Kristin said, the roommate showed concern and said, "Major Hawke is the only one from our school."
"If he's defeated..."
"No one from our school will make it to the final."
Emma looked at the battle list shown on the big screen, shook her head, and couldn't help but laugh, "Our school really has bad luck."
Back then, Kristin met Bruce in the first-year student exchange competition, and now Jasper, the only single young man, had to face Bruce.
On the other side,
Seeing Bruce's name, the gentle Jasper squinted slightly, not knowing what he was thinking.
The face of the professor-trainer beside him gradually became more serious, furrowing his brow and speaking in a low voice, "This isn't very good luck."
Jasper glanced at the Professor Trainer, shook his head slightly, and smiled, "It's okay, it doesn't matter who we meet."
"The worst outcome is defeat," he said calmly.
Hearing this, the professor-trainer fell silent for a moment, then adjusted his glasses and said quietly, "When we return, let's discuss tomorrow's tactics."
The dense night covered the entire sky, and the cold moonlight splashed across the land.
All the spectators gradually left, one by one, and the players boarded the buses to return to the hotel.
Inside the room,
The four of them sat in front of Master Rodriguez.
"Briefly tell me about tomorrow's match," Master Rodriguez said slowly, flipping through a stack of documents in his hand.
"After returning, go to the official tournament website to study the battle video of your rival and familiarize yourself with the opponent's fighting style."
"I've had a look at your rival, they are all very strong, so don't underestimate the enemy."
"Understood," they all responded in unison.
At the end, Master Rodriguez had a slight smile on his face as he said slowly, "Do your best to make it to the finals and earn the qualification to participate in the international youth exchange competition."
"This type of international competition is much more exciting than the joint exhibition of university students."
"At that point, you'll be able to fight against talented trainers from all over the world."
"If you win the championship and bring it home with glory, everyone will envy you."
Bruce returned to his room, turned on his phone, and found that headlines about the University Students Union were flooding the entire social platform.
"The popularity of this year's university students' league is a bit high," Bruce sighed slightly.
The main influence was the international youth exchange competition, which had gained a lot of attention on the internet and sparked great interest among netizens.
Bruce was also curious about players from other countries; he had never been abroad.
"When you have enough strength to train in a gym, you'll be able to go abroad to practice," Bruce thought.
After all, foreign countries were different from domestic ones: the environment was unknown, and the situation was complicated.
To train abroad alone, the prerequisite was to have great strength.
But there were countless secret and dangerous places abroad, like the Bermuda Triangle in the Pacific Ocean and the Amazon jungle in Ateran, where powerful Pokemon lived.
However, this time, the international youth exchange competition between multiple countries would be held in Elgathar, a Western Eldorim island country.
That's why it had another name: Bretonia Island.
Yes, Bruce's Ponyta is from this place.
"If you can go to Bretonian Island, you can also let Ponyta return to its hometown," Bruce murmured softly.
Due to the special situation, Bruce hadn't changed his focus to training Ponyta, and its progress had been slower.
In this case, Ponyta was still very competitive, and its level had reached 32 without him noticing, which was already close to the level of evolution.
Bruce had long been wanting to ride Ponyta, and when the competition was over, he decided to focus on it.
With all sorts of thoughts in his mind, Bruce gradually fell asleep.
On December 24th, the weather was good.
The second day of the competition.
The Metropolitan City Competition Center, with a capacity of 100,000 people, was filled with seats and people. Pidgeys spread their wings and soared high in the sky, and beautiful fireworks bloomed.
Although it was morning, the place was already lively.
"Today is the most important day," Bin whispered as he looked around.
"At first, everyone's determination to win wasn't so strong. But as soon as the news about the international youth exchange competition came out, it was over. Everyone wants to compete for a spot in the final," Oliver said, spreading his hands.
There was no doubt that the sixteen players today would fight for a spot in the final, and the intensity was even greater than yesterday's.
This was the last step, and also the most critical one that couldn't be overlooked.
Even if you have to use all your hidden cards, try to warm up as much as possible.
Neron nodded slightly and sighed aloud, "If Bruce makes it to the final and participates in the international youth exchange competition, he will really make history."
Azalea's eyes flickered slightly, and she said coldly, "From the moment he entered the university students' league, every step he has taken has been creating history."
"If he makes it to the final, that history will be harder to replicate."
Bin repeated, "Yes, he has surpassed his peers so much that no one of his age can catch up with him."
"Before, it was unimaginable for first and third-year students to compete on the same stage," he said emotionally.
In the end, his eyes flickered, and he said in a deep voice, "I have a feeling that, within two years at most, we'll see him achieve good results in the Eastern Coal Conference."
The three people next to him fell silent for a moment.
In the players' room,
Master Rodriguez placed his hands behind his back, looked at the four people in front of him, and said slowly, "Today there are four matches."
"The match between Maxwell and Eliza will take place in the morning, and the match between Liam and Bruce will take place in the afternoon."
"Among them, Bruce's match will be the last one of the day."
When his match was over, it would be the moment when all the spots for the finals would be decided.
"It's still the same phrase: don't get nervous, relax your mind, and treat it like a normal small match."
"Mindset is the most important thing," Master Rodriguez emphasized this point firmly.
"Understood!" they all responded in unison.
Soon, amid the enthusiastic voice of the host, the second round of the main stage competition of the university students' league officially began.
Everyone sat in the players' room and watched the match.
After the first match ended, Maxwell appeared on stage. His opponent was a third-year student from Leicester University, who had once been among the top eight in the first-year student exchange competition.
According to Master Rodriguez, this person's threat level was five stars.
Maxwell's hard power matched his opponent's, and if he wanted to win, his reaction in the moment was crucial.
The two sides fought fiercely until the last Pokemon.
On the big screen, accompanied by the passionate roar of the narrator, both competitors' foreheads were drenched in sweat as they panted slightly, staring at each other.
The entire battlefield was unprecedentedly silent, all the audience's eyes were firmly fixed on them, and several cameras were aimed at them.
This was the most important step. Whoever managed to pass it would gain the qualification to participate in the international youth exchange competition.
Finally, when both Pokemon were exhausted, Maxwell made a spiritual move that allowed him to win the final match.
"Ah!"
Under the huge spotlights, Maxwell's face was filled with excitement, and he vigorously waved his right fist, shouting loudly.
Maxwell's match ended, and Eliza's match followed.
Her opponent's complexion was very serious; her face was tense the whole time, and she was extremely cautious against Eliza.
Indeed, Eliza had once been a semifinalist in the first-year student exchange competition, and her reputation was still intact, along with her powerful abilities.
After a fierce battle, Eliza remained calm and eliminated her opponent.
Since then, both Maxwell and Eliza had advanced to the final!
"Alright!" Master Rodriguez, who had always been calm, couldn't help but shout, raising his fists, looking excited.
Maxwell's and Eliza's victories marked the advancement to the final.
Among the two remaining, with Liam's hard power, advancing to the final was a certainty, and there was no suspense.
Judging by Bruce's current performance, his chances of advancing were also very high.
From this perspective, it was very likely that all three would advance to the final... In this way, half of the eight finalists would be from Metropolitan University!
Every time Master Rodriguez thought about this, he felt a surge of excitement, wishing the evening would come quickly.
He had been in charge of two coaching events for many years, and this was the best year.
The first-year student exchange competition had created the best results for Metropolitan University over the years, and the university students' league was also following closely, about to set a new record.
Master Rodriguez had a strong premonition that his position would rise next year.
This kind of performance, this kind of achievement, should allow him to shed the title of Professor Trainer.
Master Rodriguez was full of expectations.
In the afternoon,
Liam was the first to appear on the stage. He was smiling and relaxed, but his opponent was more nervous than ever.
More than ten minutes later, Liam defeated his opponent 3-1 and successfully advanced to the final.
From then on, the three, except for Bruce, had successfully advanced to the final!
Time passed slowly, and the next two matches ended quickly.
Because some halftime performances were mixed in during the match, it wasn't until after 5 p.m. that Veilstone slowly opened for the last match.
Bruce Bayne vs. Jasper Hawke, a fierce battle was about to begin.