The soul penetrates Xiaozhi and destroys Gou Hao at the beginning

However, it is polarized; as mentioned earlier, there are three quasi-gods among them.

Some Pokémon are so weak that some trainers actually dare to use them in league matches.

For example, Magikarp, Feebas, Spearow, Dewpie, Vulpix, Crab, Slowpoke, Zangoose, Aipom, Krookodile, Piketo, Growlithe, Blue, Geodude, Staryu, Cuttlefish, Ladybug, etc., you should evolve a bit before competing.

"Now, let's begin the Alola League Manalo Tournament qualifiers, a free-for-all battle of all 151 players."

Each contestant can use one Pokémon. When a Pokémon becomes unable to battle, the contestant is eliminated.

During the match, no player may change their Pokémon.

"Furthermore, Mega Evolution, Z-Moves, Dynamax, and Crystallize—these four enhancement methods can be used infinitely in battle," the referee said.

The free-for-all battle mode offers a lot of room for skillful maneuvering.

For example, you can fight alone.

You can also find a few friends to form the Akatsuki organization.

One-on-one is possible.

It's also possible for ten people to fight one person.

It's possible that a powerful Pokémon that has been constantly defeating its opponents, perhaps having already defeated twenty or thirty Pokémon, could be eliminated by a sneak attack from behind by a novice. Caught off guard and having already fought dozens of battles, the Pokémon would be exhausted.

It's also possible that some of the sixth-place players just played it safe from the start, never engaging in combat, and simply surviving until the final 16 were eliminated and advanced.

Wouldn't that mean the most capable people get eliminated, while the sixth-place winner gets promoted?

Ash thinks that even if Professor Kukui insists on a Royal Battle, perhaps a slight modification could be made?

For example, you can advance in rank simply by defeating an opponent's Pokémon.

If we run several rounds like this, the first round will determine 75 people, the second round 37 people, and the third round 16 people.

Would this effectively prevent the emergence of slackers?

It's useless for a player to just coast along from beginning to end, because everyone you don't get kills will be eliminated, and everyone you defeat will also be eliminated.

Alternatively, it could be like this: still a free-for-all with 151 players, but only those who get kills can advance. Those who are defeated or don't get kills are eliminated, and then the advancing players go into another free-for-all until only 16 players remain.

The difference between this method and the previous one is that it does not specify the number of winners in each round.

However, both of these methods can effectively prevent the emergence of slackers.

Of course, the fairest way would be to have the players compete one-on-one, just like in other regional league tournaments.

However, Ash had already let it go by now, because Professor Kukui's words had convinced him.

At that time, Ash asked Professor Kukui about this issue.

Ash: Professor Kukui, you only stipulated the rule of eliminating the remaining 16 contestants from all participants, but you didn't specify the task for each person.

In other words, I can also be lazy.

If I just play passively from the start and avoid fighting others, waiting for them to defeat all the other opponents, I can still advance.

Right? Normally, among the 16 winners who advance, I'd lower the bar to the minimum; each of them should get at least one or two kills. That's not an unreasonable requirement, is it?

However, according to Dr. Kukui's rule,

Does that mean that in the end, I might not even defeat a single one of my opponent's Pokémon, yet I could still win and advance?

Isn't this a bit unfair to the other players?

Dr. Kukui responded as follows:

For Pokémon trainers, battle ability is indeed very important.

However, the purpose of this competition is to highlight the unique strengths of each participant.

Hiding and surviving isn't a skill in itself, but mastering the art of hiding and surviving is a skill in itself.

Because others aren't blind. If someone wants to play it safe, then why don't others attack or chase them? There must be a reason for it.

Choosing the right opponent is also a skill for a trainer.

If a player can survive from beginning to end, even if other players' battles happen within a meter of him, and he can still survive without being affected by the battles, then he is a master and should win and advance.

"The battle of the Alola League Manalo Conference begins right now!"

The countdown is about to end, 3, 2, 1, begin!

Accompanied by the host Shi Kuang's heart-wrenching yet exciting roar, several cannons fired in unison in the air, marking the official start of the preliminary rounds!

The flames of hot war have been ignited!

"Come on, everyone, come at me!"

As soon as the game started, a boy named Yuqi rushed to the center of the field and shouted.

Such a request was something no one else had ever heard of in their lives, so they immediately granted it.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a water cannon, a flamethrower, and an electric ball appeared.

Three attacks were simultaneously launched at Yuqi and his Pokémon, Gryphon, catching him completely off guard.

Apart from one ineffective skill, the other two skills instantly sent Yu Qi and Mud Donkey Boy, donkey and all, flying into the sky.

The mud donkey was beaten into incapacitated on the spot.

One of the referees, Hala, immediately announced that Yuqi and Niluzai were eliminated, and the number on the big screen changed from 151 to 150 in an instant.

"How could that be? I am the champion."

After leaving behind these words of resentment, Yuqi, who had been knocked unconscious by the mud donkey that fell from the sky, was carried away by medical staff.

See, this is the downside of Super Smash Bros.

Yuqi had previously battled Ash in Pokémon battles and was a student at the Pokémon Academy.

His partner is Mud Donkey, and he has a Z-Bracelet and a Ground Z-Race. In a one-on-one match, he might be a very strong player.

But now, he was taken down by three or four people working together.

However, Yuqi's elimination is not the end; the competition has only just begun.

An Alolan Geodude and a Tauros Horned Alolan were put to work.

A Tortoise used Flamethrower to attack a Spearow, but the Spearow's desperate flapping of its wings blew the flames back, causing the Flamethrower to hit Tortoise itself.

To be honest, this kind of chaotic qualifying tournament really gave Ash the feeling of playing the Pokémon Legends ZA ranked battles; it was practically identical.

The only difference is the winning mechanism: one is to get the most kills, and the other is to survive until the last 16 people.

Ash's team was blocked by a Dexterity right at the start.