After a day's rest, the quarterfinals of the "Young Masters Exhibition Tournament" officially began!
Johan and his group arrived at the stadium.
Before they could even sit down, tournament staff approached Johan.
"Professor Johan, you don't have a match today—would you be willing to serve as a commentator?"
"Commentator?"
Johan blinked in surprise.
Yesterday's commentary had been handled by Unova's Elite Four member Grimsley. It was time for him to take a break.
As for asking Champion Alder... the organizers were afraid that by the time the match was over, he might still be asleep.
Other contestants who'd already lost could be considered, but... Johan was extremely popular right now, and known as the "Master of Strategy." Surely, he'd bring professional insight to the table.
"Ahem, it's a paid gig," the staffer added.
Say no more.
"Ahem, I'm just doing my part for the League. Do I look like someone who cares about the money?"
Totally not about the paycheck. Just a change of perspective for watching the matches.
With that, Johan was led to the commentator's booth.
"Whoa! It's Professor Johan as the commentator?"
A keen-eyed spectator noticed Johan taking the seat and excitement rippled through the stands.
But while the audience was thrilled, all eyes soon turned to the first match of the day:
Cynthia vs. Lucian.
Under the vibrant energy of the host, the two Sinnoh trainers entered the battlefield.
Clack, clack—
Lucian, with pale purple hair, a burgundy suit, brown shoes, and a scholarly air, walked out with a book in hand. He looked composed and serious.
He adjusted his glasses and smiled gently at Cynthia.
Johan immediately leaned into the mic, "Let me translate Lucian's smile for everyone—it means 'please go easy on me.'"
Lucian nearly tripped. He wiped sweat from his brow awkwardly.
"C'mon, Professor Johan! We're close, but do you really have to interpret that?!"
"Pfft—"
"Best commentary ever!"
"This is what real analysis sounds like! Everyone else, take notes!"
On the other side—
Clack, clack—
Cynthia's golden hair cascaded like sunlight, her elegant face radiant with confidence. Wearing a sleek black trench coat, she walked out like royalty.
"And here we have Cynthia's smile," Johan continued, "which translates to: 'No problem at all.'"
"Professor Johan is hilarious!"
"Right on point! He's a psychologist—he's reading them like books!"
Cynthia smiled up at Johan in the booth—her grin seemed to deepen slightly.
The referee signaled the battle was about to begin, and both trainers readied their Poké Balls.
The host, worried about losing their job to Johan, quickly jumped back in:
"Both trainers are in position! The battle is about to ignite!"
"Lucian's first Pokémon is out—it's Bronzong!"
"And Cynthia's opening choice is... Garchomp!"
Cynthia started with Garchomp?!
Even Johan hadn't seen that coming.
"Ka-kaah~~"
Gengar floated out of Johan's shadow and plopped beside him, pretending to adjust a bowtie.
Commentary? Please—he was made for this.
"Ka-kaah!"
Garchomp, time to dance!
"GARRR—!!"
Garchomp snarled, sweeping its deadly blades across the field and locking eyes with the booth for a moment—terrifying.
Lucian kept a poker face.
Come on! Gengar was the one taunting—you don't need to glare at us!
The referee's flag dropped.
"Bronzong, use Trick Room!"
"Garchomp, Dragon Dive!"
Classic openers—Trick Room's eerie glow began warping the battlefield.
But Garchomp took flight before it could activate, roaring through the sky like a comet.
"Here it comes!" Johan clenched the mic. "Tear it all down, Garchomp!"
In the stunned silence of the crowd, Garchomp shredded the Trick Room field.
"That's not supposed to happen—but this is Pokémon battle!"
With that line, Johan excused all the times he had pulled equally bizarre stunts in battle.
The game isn't about perfect logic.
If it were just number crunching, we'd all be playing simulations.
But in Pokémon battles, there's room for:
Type disadvantage victories
Standing up when you should be KO'd
Dodging when it should be impossible
That last-second counterattack
That's the thrill.
So—Cynthia, charge!
And the result?
Cynthia defeated Lucian decisively.
Lucian was more of a cerebral, academy-style tactician.
When you've got enough power, strategy can dominate raw aggression.
But when power is close?
The hot-blooded fighters can flip the board.
Especially against Cynthia's unreasonable Garchomp.
As Lucian later said: "She tore up my Trick Room—how the hell am I supposed to fight that?!"
Neither trainer used Mega Evolution, meaning Cynthia still had hidden cards.
Though the tournament was global, there were subtle regional rivalries.
Fans naturally cheered more for contestants from their own regions.
Lucian lost, but at least Cynthia didn't reveal too many tricks.
Today had four matches:
Cynthia vs. Lucian
Leon vs. Drasna
Caitlin vs. Acerola
Steven vs. Malva
Leon may have abandoned the "Everything revolves around Gigantamax Charizard" strategy, but "Everything revolves around regular Charizard" was still on the table.
Drasna, while powerful, didn't have enough to compete.
Leon wasn't a mono-type trainer—against Drasna's Ghosts, he had plenty of tools.
Like Aegislash.
And Dragapult, the so-called "True Giratina."
As for Caitlin vs. Acerola?
Caitlin was Psychic, Acerola was Ghost—ghost had the type edge.
But unlike Marshal, Caitlin wasn't completely walled. She had options.
And being a literal psychic didn't hurt. She advanced to the Top 8.
Then came Steven vs. Malva.
Malva was Kalos' future Fire Elite Four—on paper, she had the type advantage.
But Steven didn't just run Steel-types. He was all about Steel-Ground-Rock.
Combined with his sheer strength, it wasn't even close.
Tomorrow's matches?
Way more unpredictable.
Lance vs. Wallace
Flint vs. Rika
Lorelei vs. Diantha
Johan vs. Raihan
Facing Raihan, huh?
"Ka-kaah~~"
Gengar practiced his vocals with Meloetta.
Johan sat on the porch, calculating expenses.
Larvitar waddled up to him. The bench was taller than it.
"Yoji!"
It leapt, clung to the bench edge, and struggled to climb up—finally flopping into Johan's lap.
"What's up?"
Johan switched the screen to tournament matchups.
"Yoji~~"
Larvitar opened its mouth and dropped a half-fist-sized brown stone—Earth Plate fragment.
Wait, what?
There was a chunk missing!
It bit into a Plate?!
"You ate it? Or absorbed it?"
"Yoji!" Larvitar made a gesture like turning gears, then stood tall, arms akimbo.
Of course it absorbed it! Duh!
Johan's expression twitched.
This kid... it ate a Plate fragment?
Does that make it a walking fragment now?
What happens when a full Plate appears?
Still—looking at its proud little face, Johan couldn't scold it.
"Good job, Larvitar."
Maybe he should send the little guy into the match tomorrow?
Raihan was called the "Child of Weather," a master of sun, sandstorm, and rain.
Maybe Larvitar could seize the field?
If not, there was always Ninetales as backup.
"Wanna give it a shot tomorrow?"
Larvitar's eyes sparkled.
"Yoji!!"
Power!!
Seeing that, Johan figured he better slap an Everstone on it. The last thing he needed was spontaneous evolution.
Aside from the Plate fragment, Larvitar still had the Land Stone from Landorus.
If it could absorb one, it could definitely handle the other.
Once it did... its power would be terrifying.
Maybe it's not so bad if it never flies?
Johan froze.
Am I crazy? Why would I think something like that?!
Tomorrow—Top 8, day two!
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Powerstones?
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