Haruki's performance had been impressive. After stepping down, he drew the collective gaze of the other contestants.
Scanning the crowd, Haruki instinctively locked eyes with Steven once again.
This time, Steven smiled and gave Haruki a nod, seemingly "acknowledging" his strength.
Haruki kept his own smile, but cursed inwardly.
'Still, the more you try not to pay attention to someone, the more your eyes seek them out.'
Haruki had fallen into exactly that trap…
11:00 AM.
The first round of the main event ended, with over a hundred contestants still advancing.
To ensure all matches had a pair going forward, the organizers "revived" a dozen high-performing but defeated Trainers to make up a clean 128.
The tournament format was now clear.
Every contestant would continue battling in 1v1 matchups until only the Champion remained!
No breaks.
No pauses.
As the MC's voice rang out with unrelenting enthusiasm, the second round of the main event began.
This time, Steven wasn't the first, it would've seemed too deliberate.
Still, a Swampert from the Hoenn Region easily reignited the crowd's excitement.
With its Water/Ground typing, Swampert held a massive advantage in a Sandstorm tournament.
Unfortunately, this was the Sinnoh Region.
And Sinnoh's own Grass-type starter, Torterra, had already appeared on the field more than once.
Haruki guessed it wouldn't be long before the organizers arranged for a Torterra to face off against that Swampert.
That would definitely be a match worth watching.
---
Gliscor, Donphan, Claydol […]
One powerful Pokémon after another took the stage.
Some dominating, others fighting hard. And each raised the crowd's energy another notch inside the stadium.
By noon, the audience had not diminished at all. And it was then that Haruki was called again for his next match.
He stood and stepped onto the platform.
As he re-entered the arena, Haruki could even smell the fragrant aroma of rice and vegetables wafting from the stands.
'I'll eat right after this match!'
With that thought, Marowak had already entered the sandstorm-covered battlefield.
Across from it, a pink Pokémon was bouncing cutely, warming up its body.
Corsola!
A Water/Rock-type coral Pokémon mostly seen in tropical coastal areas.
Water-types had certain advantages in the Sandstorm Showdown. However, Marowak's Ground typing countered Rock-types, so there wasn't a huge gap in type advantage.
"Battle… BEGIN!"
With the referee's shout, both sides moved simultaneously.
Marowak stood firm, gripping its club in one hand as white vapor surged around its body.
Focus Energy.
Corsola skipped forward, sparkling with a silvery glow. It had also used a boosting move.
Iron Defense, sharply raising its Defense.
Perhaps Marowak's earlier Bonemerang had been too eye-catching, and the opponent decided to play cautiously.
…But playing it safe won't win battles.
Bonemerang!
Without waiting for Haruki's command, Marowak had already flung its club catching the opponent off guard.
"Corsola, block it with Bubble Beam!"
The opposing Trainer's command came late. By then, the Thick Club was already nearly on top of Corsola.
"Cor!"
…Bang!
The Bubble Beam shot out… but the Thick Club had already arrived. It blasted through the minimal foam and struck Corsola's forehead hard.
"COOOOR!"
A shriek rang out. Corsola's head spike was shattered on impact. That Bonemerang strike had terrifying power.
At that moment, Marowak suddenly sidestepped to the right and caught the Thick Club, choosing not to take the second hit.
---
"Abandoning the second hit? Using Focus Energy to increase critical hit rate and concentrating all damage on the first swing?"
In the waiting room, Steven muttered softly, surprised by the variety and adaptability in Marowak's move usage.
And because of that, he became even more curious about Haruki, the Trainer who had raised this Marowak and also possessed a Beldum.
-----
One good move leads to another.
Both Marowak and Haruki excelled at capitalizing on victory.
Bulldoze to disrupt, followed by a club strike.
A seemingly ordinary combo, but in Marowak's hands, it had the purity of true mastery.
Like the kind of person who solves every problem with one well-placed swing.
Haruki and Marowak successfully advanced to the top 64.
After the match, the staff was already distributing boxed lunches.
After setting Marowak's lunch down, Haruki didn't stand on ceremony. He opened his box and began eating quickly.
'Hmm, surprisingly tasty…'
Just then, Metang appeared in Haruki's pov.
More precisely, Metang was staring directly at Haruki's battle belt.
Inside it was the only known Shiny Beldum in the entire Pokémon world!
Haruki looked up and saw Steven as well, holding his own boxed lunch.
'So he's being discreet.'
Haruki thought to himself and gestured subtly toward the empty seat beside him.
Sit?
Steven didn't hesitate. He sat down, casually opened his box, and began eating slowly.
That "princely" air, he couldn't hide it even while eating from a lunchbox.
The two of them ate in silence, neither one breaking the ice.
Marowak's eating pace had clearly slowed, and more than half its attention was now focused in their direction.
Metang still stared at Haruki's battle belt, its steel head completely devoid of any sense of embarrassment.
"Metang, come eat."
Steven spoke softly, rescuing Haruki from his growing discomfort.
"Meta~"
Metang obediently floated back and used Confusion to lift Pokéblocks into its mouth.
"Your Marowak is excellent!"
'Question: How do you respond when complimented out of nowhere by a future Champion?'
Haruki's answer: "Just average... cough, still needs a lot of training."
Marowak shot Haruki a glance, then sped up its chewing.
"Your Metang's the real powerhouse. I couldn't see any weaknesses in it at all."
Sincerity is always a winning move. Haruki's heartfelt compliment made Steven smile.
"He's my first partner. We've been together a long time."
'Tch. A pseudo-legendary as a starter. No wonder he's the heir to the Stone family!
Wait a minute…'
"You said Metang is your starter?"
Haruki was stunned. Judging by Steven's age… he didn't exactly look young.
"Yeah, it's been six years."
Perhaps sensing Haruki's question, Steven smiled and volunteered the answer.
Haruki had mentally prepared himself, but he was still shocked by how long that really was.
Not every pseudo-legendary can evolve like that Goodra of that fool Ash, going straight to final form in just a few months.
No, in fact only that fool Ash's Goodra defied the natural development rate of pseudo-legendaries.
Like inflating a balloon and suddenly having unstoppable power.
Thinking of his own Gible… that was the normal pace.
But recalling how Ash captured Goomy, maybe it really was a divine beast handing him a special-case individual.
Back to the topic.
Metang wasn't a Dragon-type, but even so… six years without reaching final evolution was far beyond what Haruki had expected.