Chapter 35

Just as Alex predicted before the tournament began, Elsa and Julius has qualified for the tournament along with another trainer from Hoenn region.

They have beaten their opponents with a sneasel and glaceon respectively and earned their position in the semi finals.

In the semi final bout, Alex will be facing Julius while Elsa would be facing someone named Rosy from Oldale town of the Hoenn region.

In the intermission, there was much buzzing in the crowd.

In the audience, most people feels that Elsa has the most chance of victory and have placed a bet on her even if the odd are only 1:0.9

There are others who have similar views regarding Julius and Roxy and they had a 1:1.3 and 1:1.4 odds.

Alex who havent gone all out yet and only won the bouts with tricks and not sheer power,makes most people feel that he isn't even going to be in top three so his odds of winner is 1:2.5.

This betting is only regarding whether the trainer can reach the semi finals.

Bill has already stopped all bets regarding who will be the winner of the tournament from the very beginning, for if someone bet on Alex then they may have to pay at least five to eight times the betting amount as per the odds set.

Bill is a businessman and he can never make such a losing deal if he already know the outcome so there was only betting regarding who can reach the finals and who can win the match.

Not many dares to bet on Alex but of course there are few daring ones who have done so and Bill sighed in relief because he altered the real odds with this one.

Alex age was the biggest reason for his qualifications to the final, yet Bill used his rights as the owner to tamper with the odds.

With Alex current display of strength Bill decided to open the betting for the winner and win himself some profits. Although it would only amount to a few million dollars, but profit is profit after all.

In the top box,

Captain Bark inquired,"sir, Is it wise to do that. If he fails, we may not earn enough. Also, even if he wins we cannot get enough returns." He tried to make Bill change his mind.

" You should remember what I tell you what he can do if he is angered isn't it." Bill answered with his own question at Bark.

" Yes sir, you said he can destroy the cruise ship if he wished it. But, sir can he really ..." Bark was uncertain about his powers.

"These pokemons are the new ones he caught just a few months ago. They aren't qualified enough to be a sign of his powers.

The next match is between Alex and Julius. In that match, you will see how he is going to deal with the group from Almia.

Captain, If you have any doubts you can ask me?"Bill said while remembering what Alex has said.

" But sir why is Mr. Alex targeting the princess ?" Captain Bark curious as to why she was target.

Bill from his box looks down at the place where Julius, Elsa and Aurea sat together," Because she has a gift. The Almians have always been proud and this gift of hers have increased their arrogance to a whole new level.

Although King Escanor has managed to keep them in lease, after Princess Elsa grow there might be chances of rebellion in Almia.

So the league has asked Alex to remind Elsa and through her the entire Almia royal family, somethings cannot be too excessive. And if they do something that is too much, then league has the power to deal with them, even without showing their fangs to them." Bill said.

He never mentioned what powers she possess. Captain Bark earlier thought why his current boss was so free at revealing so much information to him but the fact that league itself is involved made him aware why he did it.

If these information is revealed out in the public, his boss may be fine but he will be persecuted.

With Julius, Elsa and Aurea,

After her match with Julius, Aurea decided to join together with the Almia group and sit together.

Currently the trio are talking about their strategy for the next round. It is more of Elsa telling how she is going to dominate her match against Rosy while, Aurea adding her thoughts from every now and then.

Aurea noticed that her opponent Julius was quiet and inquired," Are you alright,Julius? Is everything alright? You seem to be in deep thoughts."

Elsa who has some idea why he is like this spoke,"Are you still worried about that brat? Don't worry, Julius, you can beat the brat easily. Didn't you see how close his matches were?"

But, Julius doesn't seem to believe her. He retorts with his words," Your highness. I don't think that was his full strength. Whenever I am in front of him, I feel like I am in front of your father, both keep their strength hidden behind their calm visage, but when it is unleashed it brings absolute destruction.

He has been eyeing us since the very beginning. After that incident with his Pikachu, I was shocked that he let us go without any repression.

But this tournament has given him enough opportunity to teach us a lesson without any reparations.

But I don't fear for myself but for you. I know very well that I cannot beat him and he has chosen you as his prey.

Princess, please I once again urge you to withdraw from the tournament." Julius pleaded to Elsa.

This shocked Aurea but Elsa on the other hand is angry, very angry. Angry that someone as loyal to her as Julius dare to give such an advice to her.

" You.. ... , How dare you insist on something like that, Julius? If not for your years of loyalty I would have you punished. " She warned her guardian. Her eyes glowed light blue and it seems her anger is making the surrounding area cold.

But Julius doesn't seem to be affected by it. He bowed his head and said,"Your highness, he is waiting for you. And, I don't think I can protect you in this situation. Please your highness don't be so aggressive and think carefully." He once again try to convince him.

Elsa wasn't willing to hear anything further but just before she can say anything,Aurea intervenes," Now, now, both if you calm down. We all are friends here, no need to be all hostile here." The two did as she said, calm themselves down, and Elsa turned her face sideways so she doesn't look at him.

Although Elsa act all proud and everything, she knows better than Julius the raw power that Alex possess.

Aurea asked Julius," Is he really that strong?" She doesn't know anything about Alex and from the fights so far, he does not show enough strength which warrants their vigilance so their words confused her.

"Although I don't know how strong he really is, I know one thing. None of the participants are his opponent if he goes all out, even if we face him together." Julius declared his thoughts.

Aurea was shocked by his declaration and before Elsa can retort a sound was heard through the transmission.

' All the participants please report at the prescribed places. The semi finals will be start soon.'

As soon as it is heard, Julius noticed from the corner of his eyes that Alex has left towards the assigned position.

He turns to Elsa and said," Your highness, we might as well get going, if your not going to withdraw. I will try to let him reveal some of his strength for your help in the finals." After these words, he nods at Aurea and walks away.

Elsa sighed to herself at Julius behavior and said to Aurea," Aurea, I am going. You watch how I beat everyone down. "

Although she said it confidently, Aurea feels lack of confidence from her.

Since the battle will be taking place one at a time, so in the semi final and final rounds of the bout, two commentators will be giving his expert comments.

Alex knows about the qualifications of these commentators from Bill. This person is a graduate from the Pokemon Tech academy in the trainer class and has reached the top 64 in the league tournament.

Also, he has been inferred the title of an advanced trainer so he can be considered a pretty good trainer for reaching this level before the age of thirty.

From the loudspeaker installed in the indoor battle room, a soft voice rang through the room.

This soft voice belongs to a coordinator they have hired who can illustrate the various combinations the participants use to fight each other.

" Hello everyone, I am Marian. I thank everyone for their presence in this tournament, in the name of Silph Corp. " said the soft-voiced female

And a hardened voice make came, "And I am Stain. We will be here to help you explain some of the strategies in this tournament.

And now, we will start our semi-finals rounds between the two female trainers. So are you ready?"

" Yes."