A water-type trainer who specializes in dragon-type water.

When the smoke and dust slowly dissipated like the tide, the sun shone on the square again.

The huge body of the Gigantamax Dragon has returned to normal, with wisps of green smoke still rising from between the steel plates, and Gardevoir's snow-white skirt is covered with scorched earth.

The two men collapsed on the cracked stone slabs, and as the last trace of the battle subsided, the entire open-air arena fell into silence.

“Beep——”

A sharp whistle pierced the stagnant air, and the silver drone Rotom spun and hovered in the center of the field, its red and blue lights flashing alternately.

"Since both Gardevoir and Gardevoir have lost their combat capabilities, the winner is Zhang Heng!"

The dead silence lasted for three seconds, and suddenly the crowd erupted in thunderous cheers.

Reporters holding cameras pressed the shutter buttons frantically. The "click" sounds mixed with the exclamations turned the square into a boiling ocean.

"Oh my God! Zhang Heng scored a one-on-two victory! He must be a freshman. Senior Zhai Yu on the opposite side was a top player who made it into the top 16 last year!" The girl with twin ponytails jumped up and down, her glasses almost flying off her nose.

"When Aluminum Steel Dragon used its last move, Ultra Steel, the moment the ground cracked, I got goosebumps!" Several boys hugged each other's shoulders excitedly, their school uniforms still stained with mud from dodging the aftermath.

"What kind of power is this..." The short boy holding the Pokémon Guide had a trembling voice, his fingers quickly flipping through the pages to find the records.

Among the reporters, a woman in a work vest adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses and muttered to herself as she looked into a precision instrument, "A head-on collision between gigantism and mega evolution... Energy harvesting has been interrupted..."

As she spoke, she looked up at Principal Duan and Mega Charem who were floating in the air.

He said, "It seems that the principal of the academy is no ordinary person. The telekinetic barrier is not only to protect the public, but also to prevent the leakage of this huge energy data."

Zhai Yu staggered and held onto Gardevoir's trembling back. The girl's pale face was covered with dust raised by the battle, but it couldn't hide the burning light in her eyes.

She stared at Zhang Heng, who was kneeling on one knee not far away, still tightly gripping the giant claws of the aluminum steel dragon. The emotions surging in her chest were far more complicated than she had imagined - it was the astonishment of being surpassed by a peer of the same age, and even more so the instinctive admiration for absolute power.

Gardevoir rubbed her wrist weakly, but failed to interrupt her gaze that was following the boy's figure.

Feeling the gaze of Gardevoir's trainer, he subconsciously looked up, only to meet a pair of beautiful eyes.

The corners of Zhai Yu's lips lifted up in a half-smile, and the teardrop mole at the end of his eye trembled slightly with his emotions, with a sharp gaze like scrutinizing prey, and an imperceptible burning heat.

Zhang Heng's heart skipped a beat, mistakenly thinking that the other party was still angry about being defeated. He hurriedly straightened his back and said, "Senior Sister Zhai, thank you for giving in."

Before he could finish his words, Zhai Yu suddenly put Gardevoir into the Poké Ball and walked slowly towards Zhang Heng. Her straight hair brushed past his ears, bringing a gust of warm wind. "We...are not done yet."

When she left, a strand of black hair fell down, drawing a faint thread between the two of them.

This competition between the top 100 teams and the top 32 is the only one in the entire series that is not a direct elimination system. Two consecutive wins today can secure a place in the top 25.

However, due to the mismatch in numbers, the remaining players will have one win and one loss, and they will enter the semi-finals to compete for the final 7 seats, and the final number will be locked at 32.

Zhang Heng assumed this senior was still hoping to get revenge on him in the semi-finals and return to the main event. He didn't think about anything else. Young and full of energy, he wasn't afraid of provocation. He turned around and said, "I look forward to our next match!"

Senior Zhai Yu couldn't help but pause slightly, thinking to herself, "A natural straight man? Haha, interesting."

The time that followed passed unusually slowly. Among such a large number of participating students in the school, the contestants who could directly enter the top 100 without any defeat all had their own tactics and special trump cards, so the competition lasted very long.

In addition to Zhang Heng who defeated two opponents at once, there was also Duan Ling, the youngest son of Principal Duan, who had met Zhang Heng once, and several senior students. They were all extremely strong, but everyone knew how strong they were, except for Zhang Heng, the dark horse.

After two hours of waiting, the first round of the game was finally over. The game system began to quickly adjust the number of players, and the electronic screen in the square of 10,000 people displayed the new round of match schedule.

Zhang Heng's name popped up next to senior Lu Chuan. Lu Chuan was already renowned within the school. His ace, Arcanine, mastered powerful fire attacks, while his Onix, with its solid defense and ground-based moves, had repeatedly turned the tide of battle.

This stern-faced senior is good at controlling the rhythm of the battle and can often accurately capture the opponent's flaws in seemingly stalemate situations.

However, the fire and ground elements were like open-book exams for Zhang Heng, who relied on his exquisite grasp of attribute restraint and seamless cooperation with Swampert and Milotic.

After a short and intense battle, he successfully incapacitated his opponent's Pokémon, securing a spot in the top 32 and once again becoming the center of attention.

After securing his spot, Zhang Heng no longer had any interest in watching the upcoming semi-finals, because most of the people he was familiar with had been eliminated, and it didn't matter whether he watched or not. He now had more important things to do and was preparing to leave the academy.

At the same time, in the square in front of the Gigantamax Research Institute, hundreds of cameras were pointed at the makeshift press conference stage.

Ivan was wearing a well-tailored researcher's uniform, and the Gigantamax energy core embedded in his brooch was glowing faintly. He raised his hand to signal the restless media to be quiet, and the holographic projection behind him suddenly lit up the battle scene between Zhang Heng and the Gigantamax Aluminum Steel Dragon.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there are only three key points in today's press conference." Ivan's voice resounded throughout the venue through the surround sound system.

"First, Dynamization technology is not accidental, but the result of a Chinese scientific research team with the support of the Zhang family."

He tapped his fingertips, and the screen switched to a precision-operated energy amplification device in the laboratory. "From energy capture to safe release, every step is the product of the painstaking efforts of thousands of researchers."

Flashbulbs flashed like daylight below the stage, and foreign journalists frantically tapped away at their keyboards. Yet, Irwin calmly raised his second finger.

"Secondly, Xingyao Technology will release the basic version of Dynamax technology, and once the technology is fully mature, it will be directly available to the Chinese public."

These words were like a huge rock dropped into a deep pool, and the scene immediately erupted with exclamations one after another.

"We welcome all countries and organizations that uphold the ideals of peace to jointly promote the advancement of Pokémon battle technology."

The Sakura Country reporter in the front row suddenly stood up and asked, "Are you worried about the technology leaking out and potentially leading to military applications?"

"Good question."

A sneer curled up the corner of Ivan's mouth. The projection behind him switched to the "Convention on the Peaceful Use of Pokémon Technology" signed by various countries. "All authorizations will be accompanied by strict monitoring protocols. Any violations will be subject to global sanctions - including certain countries that are accustomed to stealing technology."

He deliberately dragged out the last word, his eyes full of warning as he swept across the Sakura Country press corps.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became tense, but Ivan suddenly showed a friendly smile and raised his last finger: "Finally, about the source of the Gigantamax core energy..." He paused, and the scene behind him turned into a mysterious energy vortex on the bottom of the East China Sea.

"While some countries are still polluting the ocean, we are already exploring a technological path for coexistence with nature. To prevent malicious sabotage, the energy core will not be disclosed."

The press conference ended in an uproar. As Aiwen turned to leave, he quietly sent a message to Duan Guanjun: "As you requested, all three sentences are full of thorns."

The phone vibrated immediately, and Duan Guanjun's reply was concise and to the point: "Well done. Next, it's time for Zhang Heng to step forward."