The Curtain Rises

One day.

The Battle Tournament, the grand finale of the Twinleaf Festival, arrived as promised.

Spectators had already packed the area around the battlefield.

The many Pokémon Trainers who had entered gathered as well, waiting for the matches to begin.

"Wow, there are a lot of contestants. Dozens, maybe?"

Bai Shi looked around and spotted quite a few familiar faces.

Ash and his two companions, Barry, and Kuroda were all there.

Ash and Barry are probably the strongest trainers in this Double Battle Tournament.

Even so, I've got a good chance against either of them now.

As for Kuroda, I'll need to watch him first.

Bai Shi remained confident that he could win the Battle Tournament.

"Welcome to the Twinleaf Festival, everyone! On behalf of the committee, I'd like to thank you all for coming!"

"And now, I declare the Battle Tournament officially underway!"

With Dawn's mother, Johanna, hosting, the Battle Tournament began.

Palmer, the special guest, arrived a few minutes late, but it was no great matter and did not hold up the tournament.

The tournament bracket was posted soon afterward.

More than thirty contestants had entered.

They were divided into upper and lower halves, with sixteen groups in total.

The two contestants in each group would face off. The winner would advance to battle the winner of another group.

The matches would continue this way until a champion emerged.

Bai Shi, Kuroda, and Barry were all in the upper half.

Ash and his two companions landed in the lower half.

That meant Bai Shi would have to win five matches in a row to take the title.

With the entire Battle Tournament scheduled for one day, the matches came thick and fast.

To keep his Pokémon from running out of stamina, Bai Shi decided on a broad rotation.