May 26th, the Round of 16 officially began, with the first match featuring Six Mausoleum Sprite University against the First Sprite University of Minglong Nation.
Both sides arrived at the venue on time. Xia Huanao looked at his team standing neatly before him with great satisfaction. The strict precautions of the past few days had paid off; no one had encountered any trouble, and everyone was present for the competition.
Guo Shuang'er whispered, "Coach Xia, I have a feeling they're staring at me."
Xia Huanao subtly glanced at Ming Yi Da not far away. "Heh, it's too easy to guess what they're thinking. Shuang'er, you'll use Plan B today."
After a brief rest, the two teams took to the battleground. They bowed to each other, and then the referee walked between them, producing a coin.
Xia Huanao looked at Guo Shuang'er. Guo Shuang'er shook her head at him. Xia Huanao nodded upon seeing this and then turned to the referee, about to speak, when he heard Ming Yi Da say, "Referee, we choose tails. Is that alright, Coach Xia?"
Hearing the vice-captain's gritted teeth, Xia Huanao nodded indifferently. "You go first, whatever you like."
The referee tossed the coin and pressed it onto the back of his hand. When he removed his hand, the Sprite Alliance emblem was revealed. The Ming Yi Da team's expressions froze, while Xia Huanao excitedly high-fived Guo Shuang'er beside him. "Referee, we choose the west half."
Ming Yi Da's captain mumbled, "We choose to go first."
Both sides selected one-on-one for the free battle event. As they returned to the waiting area, Ming Yi Da's captain asked, "What's going on? Didn't you say the woman nodding meant heads and shaking meant tails? Now we haven't even managed to dampen their morale."
When a team becomes accustomed to winning streaks in a certain area, a sudden break in that streak can cause the team to doubt themselves for an instant, even if that streak was determined by a coin toss.
Ever since Xia Huanao had established the habit of coin tossing at the start of this tournament, Six Ling University had built a formidable thirteen-win streak. Ming Yi Da had hoped to break this streak and demoralize Six Ling University from the outset.
To achieve this, they had diligently studied recordings of Six Ling University's coin tosses and eventually focused their attention on Guo Shuang'er. They discovered that before every coin toss, Xia Huanao would first look at Guo Shuang'er, and her actions would then dictate the outcome of the coin toss.
On Six Ling University's side, Xia Huanao was well aware that given Ming Yi Da's personality, they would try every means to gain any advantage, especially seemingly arbitrary ones like coin tosses. Therefore, he had specifically tested this with Guo Shuang'er. The result was that regardless of whether Guo Shuang'er said "heads" or "tails," it did not affect her absolute dominance in coin tosses.
It was precisely because of this that Xia Huanao and Guo Shuang'er confirmed their so-called Plan B. For this coin toss, Guo Shuang'er would deliberately say the opposite of the actual outcome, and Xia Huanao would mentally reverse Guo Shuang'er's signal before reporting it to the referee. This way, regardless of whether Ming Yi Da called first, Xia Huanao would secure the win in the coin toss.
Thus, Six Ling University maintained their perfect record in the coin toss segment of this Sprite Tournament, fourteen tosses, all correct.
Returning their attention to the battleground, Xia Huanao arranged, "For our first one-on-one match, Wei Chiting, it's up to you."
Wei Chiting nodded and stepped onto the battleground. Ming Yi Da also sent out a participant. With both sides positioned on the field, Ming Yi Da released their sprite first.
"Koffing?"
Wei Chiting muttered a few words softly, then sent out his sprite. "Go, Gastly!"
Xia Huanao observed the situation on the field. "Well, this is no pressure at all for Wei Chiting."
"Koffing, use Smokescreen!"
Seeing Koffing use Smokescreen, Wei Chiting thought for a moment. "Gastly, ignore him, just keep floating."
Gastly did not attack proactively, allowing the Smokescreen to obscure Koffing. A brief stalemate ensued before a Ming Yi Da participant called out, "Koffing, use Pursuit!"
Koffing emerged from the Smokescreen and lunged towards Gastly, but Wei Chiting calmly responded, "Gastly, use Psychic."
Gastly and Koffing's attacks hit their opponents simultaneously. Gastly merely swayed slightly, while Koffing immediately collapsed on the ground, motionless.
Xia Huanao breathed a sigh of relief. "Thankfully, I gave him an Oran Berry. Otherwise, this match would have been a real toss-up."
Wei Chiting, having secured a point, walked off the field. "Coach Xia, I've completed my task."
Xia Huanao said, "Very good. You confirmed they've used Toxic Spikes, right?"
Wei Chiting nodded. "Yes. When he used Smokescreen, I deliberately didn't attack, or I could have gotten a one-hit KO."
Xia Huanao patted his shoulder. "Alright, you can rest now. Tan Yue will handle the second one-on-one. Tan Yue, have you remembered all the previous arrangements?"
Tan Yue clenched his fist. "Coach Xia, don't worry, there won't be any mistakes."
The two sides bowed, and then sent out their sprites.
"Huh? Wishiwashi? Do they have a sprite like that?"
The Ming Yi Da participant's Wishiwashi, upon entering the field, excitedly floated around, releasing Smokescreen as it went.
Witnessing this, Tan Yue glanced at the referee, who immediately said, "This contestant, please restrain your sprite's actions."
The Ming Yi Da participant then hushed his Wishiwashi. "I'm so sorry, Wishiwashi is in its first match and is a bit too excited. Please forgive us."
The referee simply said, "This is the last time," before allowing Tan Yue to send out his sprite.
Tan Yue took out a Poké Ball. "Go, Steelix!"
Ming Yi Da had researched the sprites Tan Yue possessed and naturally knew his main Pokémon was an Onix. However, how had it evolved into a Steelix in just a few days?
Xia Huanao watched the Steelix on the field and grinned. He then looked towards the spectator stands. In the stands, a woman wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask was seated. Seeing Xia Huanao look over, she nodded slightly.
This mysteriously dressed woman was, of course, the principal of Six Ling University, Zheng Xiaoxiao. Xia Huanao had called her earlier, wanting to see if there was any way to obtain a Metal Coat.
It had to be said that Principal Zheng's connections and methods were indeed beyond what a novice like Xia Huanao could match. She had effortlessly procured a Metal Coat and facilitated Onix's successful evolution.
According to the rules of the Sprite Tournament, contestants were not allowed to change their Pokémon through trading. However, special evolutions like that of Onix were not prohibited, and the Sprite Alliance officially offered services for trainers to facilitate special evolutions. This allowed Steelix to appear in this match.
Although the two teams had entirely different reactions upon seeing this Steelix, the match would not be delayed or affected by the spectators' thoughts.
"Steelix, use Iron Defense!"
"Wishiwashi, use Double Team!"
Xia Huanao watched the Ming Yi Da participant's commands and shook his head. "What a wasted loss. If it weren't for their unfortunate plan, they might have put up a fight."
Wei Chiting beside him nodded. "Indeed, but Coach Xia is still more skilled, managing to get the Metal Coat from the Principal."
"What do you know? I made him a guarantor. Tan Yue has to work for the school after graduation and repay the cost of the Metal Coat before he's free."
"So, you're saying he's been assigned a job?"
"If you think of it that way, then yes."
We shall not dwell on their conversation. On the field, as Xia Huanao had said, the student using Wishiwashi was in a dire situation. Their tactical choices influenced their moveset. Upon Wishiwashi's entry, Smokescreen and Toxic Spikes had already been used. Of the remaining two moves, one had been revealed: the extremely useful Double Team for stalling. The other move was a Poison-type attack that caused poisoning upon hitting the opponent, which was completely useless against Steelix.
This one-on-one match was no longer a matter of being one-sided; it was utterly devoid of excitement, purely a situation of Tan Yue's Steelix toying with the opponent. After using Iron Defense, Steelix's speed had significantly increased. It charged forward, rapidly changing direction, effectively turning a formal match into a training session. Eventually, the Ming Yi Da participant could no longer endure and voluntarily surrendered to the referee, thus ending the match.
Upon returning to the waiting area, the participant slumped into his chair. "Captain, I..."
"Shut up. What do we do next? The opponent will definitely use Steelix in the team battle. We must take him down first, otherwise, if the score becomes seven to zero, there'll be no point in the team battle."
A participant raised his hand. "Then let me go. I can still take down Steelix."
Ming Yi Da's coach shook his head. "Qiao Shenyi, you go."
The student named Qiao Shenyi nodded, gripping his Poké Ball and looking towards Xia Huanao's side.
On Xia Huanao's side, ever since Tan Yue had stepped off the field, Xia Huanao had been staring intently at the referee, waiting to see if he would clear the field. The referee, unnerved by his gaze, asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Xia Huanao spread his hands. "I was admiring your referee uniform; it looks quite cool. I was wondering if I could get one too. It wouldn't look out of place for a Grand Festival, would it?"
Although Xia Huanao said this, the referee felt that Xia Huanao was subtly mocking him. However, without concrete evidence, he could only let Xia Huanao continue. "Please return to the waiting area, Coach, and arrange the lineup for the next match."
Xia Huanao shook his head. "No rush. I have two guaranteed points. Even if I swap out five one-on-one matches, we still have an advantage. Hey, where did you get that referee uniform? I really want one."
The referee was being driven to distraction by Xia Huanao, but Xia Huanao expertly maintained his actions within acceptable boundaries, giving the referee no grounds for complaint.
Xia Huanao continued his banter until there were only five seconds left before the break ended. Then, he pointed to someone in the Six Ling University lineup. "You're the one. The main player steps up!"