Passing Through

Upon seeing Aromatisse and Mawile both lying on the ground, Yuga and Brawly simultaneously let out a sigh of relief, thinking, "Finally, this match is over."

Valerie recalled the two incapacitated Pokémon on the field into their Poké Balls and then smiled at Brawly and Yuga, saying, "Congratulations on successfully passing this round."

"Thank you," Yuga and Brawly both expressed their gratitude to Valerie.

After the congratulations, Valerie turned and left. In no time, she disappeared into the forest. Just like when she arrived, neither Yuga nor Brawly had any idea how she entered or exited the battle arena.

After waiting for a while, Yuga and Brawly saw the large Baheeyem that had transported them in earlier reappear in front of them. Before they could say anything, Baheeyem used Teleport to send them back out.

Yuga and Brawly found themselves teleported to the central platform on the top floor of the Battle Company Building. The area was surrounded by spectators, and not only were Yuga's group here, but all the other participating trainers as well.

This time, Yuga and his companions officially made their appearance in front of all the spectators.

Once all the participating trainers gathered, the judges also appeared. Afterward, they summarized and made speeches about the day's competitions.

When the speeches concluded, the names of the qualifiers for the day's matches were announced on the large screen in front of Yuga and the others.

This competition didn't have rankings. Anyone who persevered until the end without being eliminated qualified for the next round.

However, the performances of all the participants had been observed by the audience through cameras, and everyone had a rough idea of each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Surprisingly, out of all the participants, including Yuga's group, only 16 teams had made it through this round. Considering that there were originally 50 teams competing, less than one-fifth of the participants remained after the first round.

However, teams like Marlon, Roxie, and Sora had all successfully advanced.

Perhaps due to the thunderous applause from the audience, Ribombee, which had been sleeping on Yuga's head throughout the competition, finally opened its eyes.

"Ribombee, Ribombee."

Yuga, is the competition over?

Ribombee rubbed its sleepy eyes and called out to Yuga.

However, when Ribombee's gaze fell on Siebold, who was sitting at the top of the platform, its drowsiness disappeared instantly, and its mind became alert.

At this moment, Siebold also sensed Ribombee's gaze and cast a meaningful glance at Ribombee, causing Ribombee to shiver involuntarily.

Feeling Ribombee's unusual reaction, Yuga asked Ribombee in a hushed voice, "Ribombee, what's wrong?"

"Ribombee, Ribombee."

Nothing's wrong, nothing's wrong.

Ribombee quickly shook its head to indicate that there was no issue, then weakly returned to its spot on Yuga's head.

Not long after, the spectators began to leave, and the participating trainers were informed that they could also leave.

By this time, it was already evening. Yuga and his group hadn't had a proper meal since breakfast, and they had been engaged in high-intensity battles from morning until now. Both physically and mentally, they were quite exhausted.

"Congratulations on making it to the next round."

As Yuga and his companions passed by, Viola and Grant greeted them with smiles.

"You too," Yuga replied with a smile.

Viola and Grant had also performed exceptionally well and, unsurprisingly, advanced to the next round.

Since Yuga's group didn't know Viola and Grant, there wasn't much interaction between the three parties.

"Shimizu Yuga."

At this moment, Yuga heard someone calling his name from behind and turned around to see Siebold approaching.

Viola and Grant noticed that Siebold was approaching, understanding that he had something to discuss with Yuga. They nodded in Yuga's direction and discreetly left.

Seeing Viola and Grant depart, Brawly also exchanged greetings with Yuga before departing.

"Is Siebold here for Ribombee?" Yuga asked as he carefully lifted Ribombee from his head and held it in his right hand, addressing Siebold.

"Ribombee..."

I don't want to go back.

Ribombee stood in Yuga's palm and uttered a plaintive sound. However, Siebold couldn't understand Ribombee's vocalizations, and Yuga pretended not to grasp the meaning either. Eventually, Ribombee was dejectedly recalled into its Poké Ball by Siebold.

During the competition, when Siebold saw Ribombee rejoining Yuga, he had someone deliver its Poké Ball to him.

Siebold shook the Poké Ball containing Ribombee and remarked to Yuga, "I didn't expect it to like you so much."

Yuga sighed, "Perhaps we're just meant to be."

Siebold chuckled, "It's a pity. This Ribombee is from the Pokémon Day Care Center of the Kalos League. If it were a personal Pokémon of mine, I could've considered giving it to you."

Yuga shook his head; he hadn't intended to take ownership of Ribombee. Moreover, he didn't want to trouble Siebold unnecessarily.

After parting ways with Siebold and Ribombee, Yuga left the top floor of the Battle Company Building. Mayor Ishida and Liliana also waited below for him.

Before returning to their accommodations, Yuga made a stop at the Pokémon Center. After a full day of intense battles, he felt it was prudent to have Nurse Joy check on his Pokémon.

After enjoying a hearty meal with Mayor Ishida and Liliana, Yuga headed back to his lodgings.

On his way back, he coincidentally encountered Brawly in the small garden, tending to his Pokémon.

Upon seeing Yuga approach, Brawly said, "Thank you for your help during today's match. If it weren't for you, dealing with Valerie's Aromatisse Trick Room would have been quite a challenge."

Yuga waved his hand dismissively and replied, "Even without me, I'm confident you would have found a solution. Besides, since we're a team, lending a hand is only natural. I should also thank you for helping Chimecho fend off Mawile's attacks."

In this match, Valerie didn't give her all. She had selected her battle Pokémon based on the participants' previous performances. Brawly indeed had a contingency plan to deal with Valerie's Trick Room, though it wouldn't have been as effortless as Chimecho had made it look when blocking Mawile's attacks.

However, Yuga and Brawly had displayed outstanding performances earlier, prompting Valerie to raise the difficulty level of their challenge. The tests set by other Gym Leaders for their respective participants weren't as complex as what Yuga and Brawly faced.

Of course, Yuga and Brawly were unaware of this fact.

While this competition didn't have rankings, the performances of the participants were roughly estimated by the audience and judges.