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After successfully passing the first round, Kalia felt relieved and decided to observe the remaining matches before the second round commenced.
The first round progressed slowly, with over fifty battles taking place. Each match lasted at least several minutes, sometimes even longer due to stalemates between Pokemon. It took almost half a day to complete the entire first round.
In total, 53 participants advanced to the second round: 23 from the Sebas region and 30 from the Ellie Region, showcasing a significant disparity.
For the second round, matchups were no longer strictly between the Ellie and Sebas regions; the battles would be randomly selected, allowing for potential encounters between trainers from the same region.
"Kalia, impressive performance," Teacher Axel praised her. Kalia's strength genuinely surprised Axel, as Murata Chihiro was indeed formidable. However, losing his strongest Scyther right off the bat weakened his main force, leading to a swift defeat.
Kalia smiled modestly, knowing that tomorrow would be crucial. Her goal was to challenge every strong participant, considering the first round merely as an appetizer.
Anticipation filled Kalia, eager to face the powerful mid-level class students the next day, brimming with determination.
***
Later that evening, Lian eagerly checked his combat rating score. Today's rewards amounted to 4,424 Combat Points, bringing his total to 4,460 points—a highly impressive haul.
He delved into the detailed battle statistics and realized the bulk of the points came from Empoleon using Rest to recover its Stamina. This single move contributed over two thousand Combat Points, along with additional rewards from defeating Scyther, Dragonair, and various miscellaneous bonuses.
Murata Chihiro's Pokemon were indeed formidable, averaging around level 39, just shy of reaching level 40.
Lian estimated that the top ten students' Pokemon should already be at or above level 40.
With over four thousand Combat Points, Lian could now further enhance his abilities. Feeling confident, he focused on increasing his Special Defense ability value.
"Did I level up?"
Lian glanced at his level, realizing only now as he looked at the Special Defense ability value that he had indeed leveled up.
This wasn't surprising; Lian had been at level 28 for some time, consistently engaging in practical training against strong opponents, so leveling up was expected.
Lian had now reached Level 29, with improvements across all his ability values, bringing him closer to evolution.
He clicked on the plus sign to enhance his Special Defense ability. With the level increase, reaching the maximum limit of +30 required boosting the Special Defense by 58 points.
Once Lian elevated his Special Defense to the limit at +30, it increased from 816 to 874 points, a significant enhancement.
This upgrade cost him 3,480 Combat Points, swiftly reducing his total from over four thousand to just 980 remaining.
Lian then spent another 250 points to raise his Normal-Type Energy Control Rating to 10%, making it visually more satisfying. Seeing only seven hundred-plus Combat Points left, he felt there wasn't much else to improve immediately.
The next task was to boost his Stamina ability value. As Solar Power would likely be frequently utilized in future battles, stamina became crucial. Without sufficient stamina, the combination of Solar Power's side effects and opponents' attack damage could easily lead to defeat.
***
The first round of matches had concluded, and the second round was for ranking purposes, taking place in the wilderness. This added an element of unpredictability, as true Trainers must learn to leverage terrain and environmental advantages.
The Pokemon Academy aimed to discourage students from solely relying on conventional battlefields. In their future endeavors, when encountering other Trainers' challenges, battles in the wild have no such restrictions. A Pokemon might be strong inherently but could still lose due to unfavorable terrain conditions.
The second round's venue was near a river close to the Pokemon Academy, surrounded by lush green grasslands. The entire area served as the Fight Zone, with the river acting as a boundary line.
Early in the morning, under the guidance of their instructors, mid-level class students ventured into the designated wilderness for the second round. Each of the three classes competed separately at different locations.
Upon arrival at the competition site, the matches promptly began. In this ranking phase, participants were randomly selected for battles. Winners earned one point, while losers accumulated defeats; accumulating two losses disqualified them from further combat. Final rankings would be determined based on points scored.
As the competition commenced, students were called by name to engage in battles. Unlike the previous round with individual matches, the vast wilderness allowed for five simultaneous fights.
One student after another was defeated, eliciting feelings of disappointment or joy. Soon enough, Kalia's name was announced.
"It's my turn." Hearing her name, Kalia stepped forward onto the flat grassy area and faced her opponent, a long-haired girl across from her.
A river separated them in the middle, with scattered protruding rocks nearby. Kalia positioned herself on one side, while her opponent stood opposite.
The fact that this long-haired girl had advanced through the first round indicated her considerable strength. Kalia, not taking it lightly, immediately sent out Ninetales.
Once the battle began, Ninetales activated its Drought Ability, causing the surroundings to rapidly heat up, transforming the weather into a scorching sunny day.
Many participants felt the sudden surge in temperature and looked up, noticing the exceptionally glaring sunlight.
"That's the Drought Ability?"
"A Ninetales with Drought? It's a rare hidden Ability!"
"Wow, Drought! Charmeleon is already powerful, but with Sunny Day amplifying its moves..."
The students were astonished, feeling as if they had discovered hidden treasure. Their gazes towards Kalia shifted with newfound admiration.
As the battle commenced, Kalia initially commanded her Ninetales to attack and then seized an opportunity to switch in Charmeleon.
With the boost from Sunny Day, Charmeleon unleashed a dominant performance, swiftly defeating three of its opponent's Pokemon, securing an easy victory and earning one point.
Luck still played a significant role in the second round, as some participants might face top-ten trainers twice, leading to merciless defeats.
However, Kalia seemed fortunate, primarily due to her strong capabilities; even encountering top-tier opponents wouldn't guarantee her defeat.
After winning the first match, today's combat rating evaluation concluded. Lian estimated it was decent, not as high as yesterday but still satisfactory.
Today's primary goal wasn't about the combat rating but rather the 'experience' gained from battles. Each student used their fully evolved Pokemon, typically around level 30-40 for each of their three Pokemon. With ten battles involving thirty such fully evolved Pokemon, and twenty battles equating to sixty Pokemon encounters,
Such a large number of battles would likely provide ample 'experience', potentially enough for Lian to level up. The second round of competitions would last a considerable time, and by maintaining an undefeated streak, he could reach level 30 within a single day.