Advancing to the top 32 meant Haruki had basically achieved his goal.
From here on, the battles would only get harder, and there was no need to obsess over winning or losing.
When Haruki and Marowak returned to the waiting area, the remaining 40 or 50 contestants erupted in applause even louder than when there had been a hundred.
Their strength had earned recognition from the other Trainers.
After nodding to the crowd, Haruki brought Marowak in for treatment.
The sustained damage from Sand Tomb wasn't minor, though fortunately it was all superficial.
Bzz bzz~
Just then, Haruki's communicator started to vibrate.
'Harumi? Why would she be calling me?'
Haruki looked at the caller ID and, after a moment's thought, picked up.
"…Hello? Harumi?"
"AAAAAAHHH! Haruki, you were amazing! You actually beat a Hippowdon… and your Marowak too! It's gotten so strong!"
Haruki blinked and glanced toward the stadium.
"You guys… are in Oreburgh City?"
After all, the Sandstorm Showdown wasn't broadcast, it could only be watched live.
"Yep yep, some stuff happened recently, and anyway, we ended up on a little trip. I'll explain everything after the tournament. Let me treat you to a meal?"
Haruki instinctively looked in Steven's direction, then said, "Sure. Let's meet at Exit 3 when the tournament's over."
After hanging up, Haruki couldn't help thinking… He was just here for a tournament, so why did it feel like everything in the world was trying to find him?
Getting through a competition quietly was starting to feel impossible.
Still, judging from Harumi's tone, it didn't sound like bad news.
---
The Sandstorm Showdown continued, and soon it was Steven's turn again.
This time, his opponent was none other than the already popular Flygon.
Flygon, a rare Ground/Dragon-type Pokémon.
With high Elite strength, it was a threat most contestants wouldn't dare face.
Plus, Flygon's Levitate Ability gave it excellent mobility, and it could use the Fire-type move Flamethrower, a clear threat to Metang.
…But Metang still won.
One Ice Punch -a quadruple weakness for Flygon- and the match was over in an instant.
Haruki could only sigh. This was the power of pay-to-win.
Not every Trainer could just decide to teach their Pokémon any move they wanted, and actually do it.
Even Skiploom had required tons of points to learn that Substitute + Protect strategy from the Rocket platform.
And Steven? The one thing he had in abundance was the resources others lacked… and yet he just loved digging up rocks!
'Wait… digging rocks?'
Haruki's eyes lit up, and he suddenly had a new thought about Steven approaching him.
At 2:00 PM., the third round of the main event ended. The top 32 were finalized.
At this point, Haruki's Marowak was officially the lowest-level Pokémon remaining.
But that also said a lot about Marowak's current power.
At the same time, the organizers finally released a bracket chart, clearly showing all upcoming matchups.
On screen, Steven sat at the top left; Haruki was placed at the top right.
This meant that unless Haruki somehow made it to the finals, he and Steven would never meet.
When Haruki saw his next opponent, a faint sense of helplessness crept in.
…Mid Elite Torterra.
"Just do your best. We've got a long road ahead of us."
"Maro~"
Marowak nodded, though its grip on the bone club tightened, unable to hide its frustration.
The fourth round of the main event was about to begin.
This time, Steven went up first, facing off against the Water/Ground-type Gastrodon.
Under heavy Psychic control and a relentless assault of Bullet Punches, Gastrodon didn't last long and eventually fell in battle.
At the same time, the organizers began to formally introduce the Trainers who had made it into the top 32.
That's when the audience learned that the contestant with the Metang -Steven- was already the reigning Champion of last year's Hoenn League.
No wonder he was so strong!
Instantly, the cheers for Steven grew even louder.
After all, even the Champion of the Hoenn League came to compete in our Sandstorm Showdown; it showed just how high the caliber of this tournament was.
Especially for the people of Oreburgh City, it was a point of great pride.
An hour later, the final match of the fourth round began.
Marowak vs. Torterra.
Ten minutes later, Marowak was hit head-on by Frenzy Plant and lost the ability to battle.
Even with such a difference in power, Haruki and Marowak gave it everything they had.
By the end of the match, the Torterra across the field was panting, and the big lumps on its head showed that the fight hadn't been easy for it either.
clang
Applause erupted as Haruki helped Marowak to its feet, and they accepted one last round of cheers from the crowd.
"Let's keep working hard, Marowak!"
"Maro!"
---
At 6:00 p.m., the final round of the Sandstorm Showdown began.
As expected, Steven had made it to the finals.
Across from him stood another Torterra.
The battle between them was intense, both sides displaying overwhelming strength.
But in the end, it was Steven's Metang who clinched victory with a perfectly executed Ice Punch, overwhelming Torterra with pure type advantage.
With that, the Sandstorm Showdown officially came to a close. Steven and Metang were crowned the champions, earning the applause of the entire stadium.
The tournament had ended, but the Oreburgh Festival celebrations were still in full swing.
As the lanterns lit up, the bustling night scene began.
At the stadium's Exit 3, Haruki met up with Harumi and her husband Azuma. Both of them were dressed like tourists, faces beaming with happiness.
"Harumi."
"Over here!"
The three of them joined up and began strolling through the night market together.
As they walked, Haruki gradually learned what had happened to them recently, and honestly, it made his teeth ache with envy.
It turned out that after Haruki had helped them solve the Probopass colony problem, the whole colony was sold to the famous Professor Rowan's research lab.
After Haruki left, the lab returned and made an offer to buy out the entire mine.
At first, Azuma was hesitant. He had always been an honest miner and wasn't keen on abandoning his trade.
But in the end, Professor Rowan's offer was just too good to turn down.
With a massive payout and no more financial worries, the couple set off on a world tour. And their first stop just happened to be the annual Oreburgh Festival.
Hearing all this, Haruki could only click his tongue silently.
Different people, different fates. All he could do was admire from a distance.
"By the way, did they say why they wanted to buy the mine?"
Haruki asked offhandedly.
"They said it's for researching Probopass evolution methods. They even hired a bunch of old miners to help them dig," Harumi replied casually, her attention drifting to a nearby squid skewer stand.
"Help them dig?"
Haruki's expression shifted thoughtfully… he suddenly had a new theory.
Professor Rowan's research might be going in the wrong direction…
'Did they think the special element was the ore in the mine? Were they trying to study the mineral composition?'