Match 5:
Nothing too special, just the best of the group.
Match 6:
One of my favorite bugs in Kanto, and also one I used to sponser.
Match 7:
Just the best of the group.
Match 8:
I liked it ever since I first saw it, so it's a favorite.

Cubone beat up Gengar? What part of Levitate doesn't he understand?

In Match 5: I have to go with the brother that I'm sponsoring; I don't want to turn my tail on the guy. It's a shame he has to fight against his kin, but I guess that's life.
In Match 6: Same for this guy. I'll be with him to the bitter end, come what may. Falcons are awesome, no denying that.
In Match 7: Aw yeah.
In Match 8: The nominee for Manliest Pokemon Ever is going to use his Sheer Force to dominate the competition thoroughly. Go forth, Earth Power.

My votes for Round 2 are as follows


Match 5 Sponsoring and much superior to the others
Match 6 Don't really like any of these particularly well
Match 7 As well as Fearow did on my original SoulSilver Team Diglett is one of my favorite ground pokes.
Match 8 I don't really like any of these and I really don't like Pikachu so nidoking

M5 - Awesome fire type.
M6 - One of my favourite birds.
M7 - Favourite of this group.
M8 - Favourite of this group.

Already only a few hours into the competition, and the public have already pledged their support for little Diglett! Armed with a few Iron and Carbos.. the small guy has just beefed up a little to give him a better chance!

EXTRA VOTES: +1 Diglett

Updated to Dare234's post:

PROGRESS SCOREBOARD
M5: +5 | +5 | +3 | +1
M6: +3 | +2 | +7 | +1
M7: +3 | +3 | +7 | +0
M8: +1 | +3 | -1 | +3

Match 5 is proving to be a tight one, with Ninetales and Alakazam locked into 1st place! Seems like its going to be a two way race with these two.
Pidgeot races out early to give him a 4 vote berth from Beedrill, however the round is far from over! Or can maybe perhaps Rapidash and Slowpoke take it up to Pidgeot?
Diglett the little powerhouse is also 4 votes ahead of his counterparts, but with Fearow gaining a lot of unexpected votes, can he perhaps make this match a lot more tighter?
And in the 8th match we have Pikachu and Nidoking locked up at 3 votes apiece! It's going to be a tough one... But with Onix just looming and gaining unexpected support, don't count him out yet either!

Keep the votes coming guys!

M5: slightly better than Alakazam imo
M6: one of my favourite Pokémon ever, for reasons I can't explain because I'm not entirely sure myself
M7: bow down before the grand master of all things bad
M8: almost as badass as Wigglytuff

lol, that got a chuckle out of me, good one

Anyhoo letting people know that there are 48 hours to go with these matches! I've made an http://countingdownto.com/countdown/64182 online countdown which shows exactly when the round will end. So keep in mind that if I don't receive your votes before the timer explodes, I won't be able to process your votes

Updated to DragoBoy's post:

FINAL 48 HOUR SCOREBOARD
M5: +6 | +5 | +3 | +1
M6: +4 | +2 | +7 | +1
M7: +4 | +3 | +7 | +0
M8: +1 | +3 | -1 | +4

If no one posts in between me receiving extra votes I'm simply going to edit in votes as I get them, similar to what I did with Matches 1-4.

Match 5: - I've always been a fan of the "original" psychic. There is no spoon.

Match 6: - Sponsored! My favorite bug type from Gen 1, possibly from any gen?

Match 7: - Ehh... best of this matchup? Diglett is pretty cool overall, I guess.

Match 8: - I can't see Pikachu go out in the first round. The most famous Pokemon, and a darn good Electric type.

25 HOURS TO GO: We are currently at 100ft above the Ground arena from our coverage chopper, where we can see it's pretty much just Nidoking and Pikachu left to fend off the Mud Shots flying from all over the place. The two seem to be pretty exhausted, and it takes a lot of energy to be flying around trying to avoid hurls of mud from obstructing your view. Then.. suddenly... what's that in the distance? Could it be an Air Balloon? Nidoking and Pikachu stare at each other for a moment, then dash towards the item. It could be the difference between life and death in this arena. As we all know, Air Balloon, when held by a Pokémon, the Pokémon will float into the air. A must have item for the ground arena then! And with one final Quick Attack from Pikachu, looks like he got there first. Talk about a much needed advantage for the little guy!

10 HOURS TO GO: With Alakazam and Ninetales locked in a 6-6 tussle for 1st place, there seemed to be not much separating them. However, a pledge from the public! Looks like they've got their favourites in their sights, sending a Lum Berry towards Ninetales' way! Seems like he's got a bit of an edge now, his Poison status now cured. And with the refresh, Ninetales springs up, proving to the crowd he's still got a lot left in him yet.

EXTRA VOTES:
+3
+1

Updated to JsXtm's post:

LIVE SCOREBOARD
M5: +7 | +6 | +3 | +1
M6: +7 | +2 | +7 | +1
M7: +4 | +3 | +8 | +0
M8: +1 | +7 | -1 | +4

AAaaah I hate it when I key in CTRL R instead of CTRL T and lose everything... gaaah.

Anyway.. here are the results!

6 HOURS TO GO: Pidgeot flies higher, getting away from the grass attacks that thrive on the ground below. He's fairly confident, however knows that Beedrill is closing in on him in terms of voting prowess. Pidgeot squints into the distance... A parachute loaded with goodies! Wasting no time, he flies off towards the package at Mach speed, managing to uncover stacks of goodies, including Potions, TMs and X Defends. With his new found items, will it be enough to hold on to victory?

3 HOURS TO GO: Back outside the network station, it is a chaotic scene. Fangirls, (most of them preteen), holding up all sorts of banners and chanting out for Beedrill! And it's easy to see why. His smoldering good looks and his superstar status make him one of the most marketable Pokemon around. "I HOPE YOU BEEDRILL ME TONIGHT" shouts one girl, before fainting. The support is absolutely overwhelming! They're sending all sorts of items into the arena to help out Beedrill.. and to show his appreciation, Beedrill blows a kiss at the camera. Yow, what a charmer!

EXTRA VOTES:
+3
+5

RESULTS:

M5: NINETALES def. [5] Alakazam / Kadabra / Doduo (7-6-3-1)
M6: BEEDRILL def. [12] Pidgeot / Rapidash / Slowpoke (12-10-2-1)
M7: DIGLETT def. [13] Wigglytuff / Fearow / Machop (8-4-3-0)
M8: PIKACHU def. [4] Nidoking / Onix / Nidorina (8-5-2-0)

Gaaaaah my seeds keep falling out :O :O :O

Ninetales manages to edge out [5] Alakazam, winning by 1 vote! He'll be facing Beedrill in the next round, who also had a close defeat over fan favourite [12] Pidgeot, although Beedrill must be commended for amassing a whopping 12 votes. In the meantime Diglett thrashed the 13th seeded Wigglytuff, whilst Pikachu beat out the 4th seeded Nidoking. This quarter has opened up quite largely, and now it's really anyone's for the taking now. You can't underestimate anyone, or anything here in the Battle Royale, and it's been really an upset of all sorts in here. Here's hoping the next set of matches will be just as exciting as the previous rounds have been!

ROUND 1 MATCHES - SOUTH BATCH



COMMENTARY: Brrrr! We better have our snowcoats on in this match, because these guys are going to be battling it out in the freezing cold. Poliwrath has the immediate advantage, so of course he might fair quite well in this battle, despite a not so strong result in the prelims. Expected to go through to the next round is Sandslash, who despite being weak to Icy Wind attacks, does have a relatively high defense stat. Ivysaur's also got a chance here, with the backing of his sponsor and also being a popular starter Pokemon. And don't count out Electrode either! The speedy ball is the fastest of any Pokemon remaining in the tournament, so let's see if his quick reflexes can translate into results. This one is going to be a ripper! Even I'm a bit unsure who's going to qualify here.

EXPECTED: [10] Sandslash
WILL BE A TIGHT CALL WITH: Ivysaur



COMMENTARY: I know I've been wrong in the past: but I'm calling it now. Dugtrio will stomp the living daylights out of everyone else in this group. Dugtrio was only one of 3 Pokemon who posted a perfect result during the preliminaries... however the other two were Gengar and Nidoking, so I'm not sure if that actually means much anymore. I expect Clefable to give him some competition at least, and if not then cute little Sandshrew might pick up a few votes here too... but I favour the mighty Dugtrio, and I'm thinking he'll rip this match apart.

EXPECTED: [7] Dugtrio
SHOULD COME SECOND: Clefable



COMMENTARY: Arcanine, my personal favourite Pokemon, is given the Dark arena to shine in! However, he'll have to contend with Marowak, whose little brother Cubone had already qualified in an earlier match! This could be trouble for the large fire dog. Throw in cute little Jigglypuff and you now all of a sudden got yourself a very tough match! Can he do it? Or will tradition continue, and will the seeded Pokemon continue to drop one by one? I hope not, even though I personally can't vote or alter decisions, I'll be rooting for you old pal!

EXPECTED: [2] Arcanine
WILL CAUSE TROUBLE: Jigglypuff



COMMENTARY: FREEEE! Butterfree finally gets the chance to stretch out his wings, going into the competition picking up an unexpected seeding. He should do well in this arena, however must be wary of some threats - Growlithe is an ever popular Fire type, which means his appeal stretches throughout the general public, and Victreebel might not look much but he's got the support of a sponsor. Don't forget Golduck either, although I'm not so sure the Kappa duck can make much out of this arena.

EXPECTED: [15] Butterfree
CAN THIS GUY SNEAK IN: Growlithe

PRELIM SCOREBOARD
M5: -1 | -1 | +1 | +0
M6: +0 | +0 | +0 | +0
M7: +0 | +0 | +0 | +0
M8: +0 | +0 | +0 | +0

Same standard rules apply... Batch will last 4-5 days... Here we go!

PS: I know some people may be disappointed their sponsored Pokemon are dropping out of the tournament (perhaps somewhat unexpectedly...) but please don't be disheartened - there are certain Pokemon qualifying who haven't yet attained a sponsor (well... only Venusaur so far.. but maybe this number will increase..). These Pokemon will be able to attract a sponsor before Round2 starts, so watch out for that.

Match 9 - Sponsored
Match 10 - Pretty awesome Poke.
Match 11 - On of my favourite Pokes.
Match 12 - Evolves into Arcanine.

Btw, the match numbers on the Prelim Scoreboard need to be fixed ;P

M9: - I recall reading about the "middle-stage predicament" - Pokemon stuck between the adorable baby and the cool, full-grown beast - but Ivysaur has quite a flair in that it's very cute yet always has a determined look on its face (which adds to its cuteness!)
M10: - Just a fun Pokemon with Magic Guard, a lot of defensive potential, and a ridiculously big movepool
M11: - How can my stutter do justice to the awesomeness of this legendary canine?
M12: - Sponsored, duh. Plus that I always liked this gloomy yet comedic pitcher plant's design :3

Hey, I just noticed that with Gengar gone, Arcanine is next in line for the Top Expected Winner position! I just jinxed it didn't I

Match 9: Electrode - What a stud
Match 10: Clefable - Clearly the biggest superstar in the Kanto Safari Zone
Match 11: Jigglypuff - Just give him a marker and he'll stomp the competition
Match 12: Butterfree - freeeeh. Has been so helpful in my current HG playthrough :3

I see the list of who wins this round and all I can think now is allofmywhat
Also,

...could have been worded better.
On to business.

In Group 9: . Poliwrath, you've been good to me, but Electrode just has that amazing speed to contend with plus some really sexy eyebrows to boot. You just can't compete with that kind of awesomeness, I'm sorry. Oh wait, there are other people in this group too? Who cares?
In Group 10: . Three times the cuteness means three times the awesomeness. Go get 'em.
In Group 11: . I'd vote Arcanine, but he's trolled me one too many times in the Subway with a random Close Combat. Thus, I push for Electrode's younger brother so that I might be able to push two trolls through. Yes I'm aware Jigglypuff is a troll, but he doesn't have a Magic Marker right now, so no one cares.
In Group 12: . If Butterfree wasn't so utterly outclassed by Venomoth in every conceivable manner, I'd have picked Butterfree. But alas, no one here is Venomoth nor do they have mouths on the tops of their heads. Also Weather Ball.

finally I get this post right and uncheck 'disable smilies' before I post it!

9:
Best of the group.

10:
Best of the group.

11:
Gotta support my sponsored 'mon!

12:
Best of the group.

Rather a 'meh' round this time.

Round 9 sponsored
Round 10 sponsored
Round 11 pre-evo of sponsored electrode
Round 12 it is *awesome*


Yeah!

Yes! I don't know why but I prefer middle stage to final stages of grass starter Pokemon. Ivysaur > Venusaur, Bayleef > Meganium (so much so I refused to evolve Bayleef in my HG file because I think Meganium... looks super dumb), Grovyle > Sceptile. The only exceptions are Smugleaf & Turtwig, and that's because these two 1st stage Pokemon ROCK.. however just get uglier and uglier.. anyway enough about me!! (thanks for pointing out my typoes)

PRELIM SCOREBOARD
M09: +3 | +3 | +1 | +5
M10: +5 | +0 | +3 | +1
M11: +4 | +4 | +2 | +1
M12: +0 | +1 | +5 | +3

Wow who saw this coming? Electrode races off to a 2 vote lead, over the popular Ivysaur and the seeded Sandslash. Now I actually have no idea who's going to make it... And talk about having no idea, Clefable too is 2 votes clear from the seeded Dugtrio, , who would have thought the space fairy could have so many lurking fans? And to add to the suspence, both Arcanine and Marowak are deadlocked at 4-4 in the Dark arena. And also, -get this- Victreebel, of all Pokemon, has taken the lead in Match 12! Looks like the upset train keeps on tooting! We still got about three days left of voting though, and still anything can happen yet! (as noted in the previous rounds). Can yo feel the excitement?
48 hour countdown will start sometime tomorrow!

M09: I never liked suicidal upside-down pokéball
M10: sponsored
M11: slightly better than Cubone's evo imo
M12: FREEEE!

48 hours until the quarter finishes! Countdown thus begins now http://countingdownto.com/countdown/66010

SCOREBOARD
M09: +3 | +4 | +1 | +5
M10: +5 | +0 | +6 | +1
M11: +5 | +4 | +2 | +1
M12: +0 | +1 | +5 | +4

Extra votes in the last 8 hours will not be revealed until the the final results, similar to last time.