After the first round of 512-to-256 matches concluded, medical staff quickly helped the advancing contestants recover their stamina, and then the next round of 256-to-128 competitions began.
By this round, few second-year students remained, and most contestants were third-year students, all of whom possessed formidable strength.
However, for some exceptionally strong contestants, these changes had little impact.
For example, Chen Kai drew an early match in this round, and his opponent's Pokemon was a Raticate.
Grovyle still easily defeated Raticate with its quick-attack strategy.
Next up was Wang Yi. She was still the same, commanding Dubwool to use Cotton Guard. Dubwool's fleece puffed up like exploding clouds, and its defense rapidly increased.
The opponent's Kingler waved its large pincers, menacingly striking and clamping Dubwool, producing continuous clanging sounds.
However, these attacks landed on Dubwool like mere tickles.
Dubwool leisurely shook its head, standing its ground, occasionally bumping Kingler and kicking Kingler, slowly depleting Kingler's stamina.
After a few rounds, Kingler was panting heavily, unable to even lift its pincers, and finally collapsed to the ground with a thud, completely out of strength.
Dubwool proudly let out two 'Moo Moo' cries, easily winning the battle.
After Wang Yi's victory, Qin Ying was next to enter the arena.
She casually tied her jacket around her waist and walked onto the field with confident strides.
The Mankey beside her jumped up and down, its small fists continuously waving, chirping, full of desire for battle.
Qin Ying's opponent was a gentle and pretty girl, wearing a cute pink dress over her school uniform.
She gently stroked the head of the Kirlia beside her, greeting Qin Ying in a friendly manner while softly cheering on her Pokemon:
"Hello! My name is Fang Zhirou.
Kirlia, although we have a type advantage, we still need to work hard and not be careless!"
Kirlia stood gracefully on one side of the arena, responding. Its light pink body shimmered with a soft glow under the lights, and its intelligent, deep eyes seemed to convey wisdom.
The match officially began, and Fang Zhirou gave the first command:
"Kirlia, Hypnosis!"
Kirlia's eyes glowed with a mysterious, faint light. This light quickly spread towards Mankey, and wherever it went, it seemed as if even time slowed down.
Qin Ying quickly shouted:
"Mankey, jump to dodge!"
Mankey had battled Dubwool many times, sometimes even dodging Thunder Wave, so Hypnosis, with its lower accuracy, was even easier. Mankey pushed off with its hind legs, leaping high like a bullet from a gun, successfully avoiding the faint light.
After landing, Mankey's eyes were wide with fury. Its already volatile temper was thoroughly ignited, and its fighting spirit soared even higher.
Qin Ying immediately shouted:
"Mankey, now, use X-Scissor!"
Mankey charged towards Kirlia like an arrow released from a bow, its claws crossed, slashing fiercely at Kirlia with a gust of wind.
Fang Zhirou remained calm and unhurried, commanding:
"Kirlia, Teleport to dodge, then use Confusion!"
The space around Kirlia's body twisted, and with a slight flash, it easily avoided Mankey's X-Scissor using Teleport.
Then, it concentrated, moving its hands rapidly, forming a huge Confusion orb in front of it. With a forceful push, the Confusion orb whistled as it shot towards Mankey.
Qin Ying reacted quickly:
"Mankey, use Fury Swipes to break its Confusion orb!"
Mankey quickly extended both hands, its claws glinting coldly, and rapidly clawed at the incoming Confusion orb.
Its claws were like sharp blades, each strike carrying immense power. Under a rapid and fierce barrage of Fury Swipes, the Confusion orb was torn to shreds, with fragments scattering in all directions.
After this exchange, both sides were a little out of breath.
Fang Zhirou bit her lip, firmly commanding Kirlia to gather Confusion again. She thought to herself, since the opponent could dodge Hypnosis, its ability should not be 'Guts'.
Qin Ying frowned slightly. Although she wasn't worried about the type disadvantage, she didn't expect her opponent to be so strong, capable of using two moves in one go, and Hypnosis was very troublesome; once Mankey was hit, it would basically lose.
But as long as it could get close, Qin Ying believed that Mankey, proficient in various fighting techniques, could take down the 'humanoid' Kirlia in one combo.
As Qin Ying expected, Fang Zhirou was a top-ten student at Qu County First High School. She had defeated countless Fighting-type Pokemon relying on Hypnosis and her type advantage.
And she also had a Plan B.
Now, victory and defeat hung in the balance; one wrong step by either side would result in total loss.
Fang Zhirou crisply ordered:
"Kirlia, Psybeam!"
Kirlia's body trembled slightly, and the surrounding air distorted as fantastical beams of light shot out, seemingly tearing space wherever they went.
Qin Ying waved her fist, signaling:
"X-Scissor to break it!"
Mankey crossed its hands again, gathering Fighting-type energy, and slashed through the Psybeam.
Seeing Mankey still resisting Psybeam, Fang Zhirou shouted:
"Now, Kirlia, Charm!"
Kirlia immediately looked at Mankey with watery eyes, its body twisting delicately, releasing an alluring aura, attempting to greatly lower Mankey's attack power.
However, Mankey possessed the 'Defiant' ability. The moment the Charm effect took hold, Mankey's eyes became even more resolute, and its muscles tensed, as if an invisible force surged within its body.
Miraculously, the attack boost from the 'Defiant' ability perfectly canceled out the attack reduction from Charm. Mankey maintained its original attack strength, roared, and lunged at Kirlia again.
Fang Zhirou, who had always been gentle, had a somewhat distorted expression. Her Plan B had failed: "Darn it! It's the rare 'Defiant' ability! Kirlia, Teleport to dodge!"
Kirlia's body twisted again. This time, the distance it created was greater, but it also consumed more of its psychic energy.
Qin Ying snorted: "Hmph! How many more times can you dodge like that? Mankey, chase it, X-Scissor!"
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Fang Zhirou quickly shouted:
"Kirlia, Hypnosis, try again!" Kirlia's eyes glowed faintly again, preparing to unleash Hypnosis.
If Mankey kept leaping so dramatically, it would consume too much of its stamina. Before Kirlia's psychic energy could recover, Mankey would be exhausted first. Qin Ying could only try a risky gamble:
"Close your eyes, use your ears to pinpoint its location, then chase it!"
Mankey quickly closed its eyes. Indeed, as long as it couldn't see the faint light of Hypnosis, it wouldn't be hypnotized.
Then, it wiggled its pointed ears, listening for the position of the already panting and tired Kirlia.
Plan A also failed. Fang Zhirou clicked her tongue in annoyance:
"Kirlia, change move, Psybeam!"
Hearing the opponent change moves, Qin Ying had Mankey open its eyes again and use Fury Swipes to break the light.
In this way, Mankey pressed closer and closer with its extremely fast speed.
Kirlia continuously used Teleport to dodge, but the arena space was limited, and its psychic energy was also limited. After using Teleport more than a dozen times, it was finally caught by Mankey.
Qin Ying seized the opportunity and loudly commanded:
"Mankey, Throw Down!"
Mankey suddenly lunged forward, raising its hind leg high, and kicked Kirlia fiercely with immense force.
This kick was powerful and heavy. Kirlia had no time to react and was directly kicked to the ground.
Before Kirlia could recover, Qin Ying immediately shouted:
"Seismic Toss!"
Mankey quickly moved forward, grabbing Kirlia's body tightly with both hands. With a roar, it gathered all its strength into its arms and threw Kirlia high into the air.
Kirlia struggled in mid-air, its face filled with terror.
Just as Kirlia was about to fall, Qin Ying shouted again:
"Grin and bear it, use Fury Swipes again!"
Qin Ying and Mankey often trained together. Although it was very strenuous, Mankey could still manage to use three moves consecutively if it pushed itself.
Mankey leaped with all its might, rushing through the air towards the falling Kirlia.
Its four limbs flailed wildly, its claws glinting coldly, scratching at Kirlia like a fierce storm. Each strike carried immense power, scratching...
Under Mankey's final, desperate Fury Swipes attack, Kirlia in mid-air was completely unable to resist.
Ultimately, it was completely defeated by this fierce attack, falling limply to the ground, losing its ability to battle.
Fang Zhirou could only watch in exasperation as Kirlia was defeated by this combination attack.