After earning the Legend Badge, Bai Shi traveled swiftly and soon arrived in Vertress City, the host city of the Vertress Conference.
By then, Vertress City was already steeped in the excitement of the tournament.
The streets bustled with Pokémon Trainers accompanied by their Pokémon, their figures filling every corner of the city.
Perhaps one of those Trainers would become Bai Shi's opponent in the upcoming Vertress Conference.
After wandering around the city for a while, Bai Shi finally went to the Pokémon Center and registered for the Vertress Conference.
He then accepted the key to his room in the Athlete's Village from Nurse Joy.
As Bai Shi was about to head over to check in, he encountered Trip at the entrance to the Pokémon Center.
"Bai Shi, I'll defeat you at this Vertress Conference and claim the championship!"
"Then I'll make it through the Champion League and challenge Mr. Alder."
Confidence shone in Trip's eyes as he stared at Bai Shi and declared his resolve.
After the Junior Cup ended, he had put his Pokémon through extensive special training.
Following that long stretch of training, he felt his strength had improved by leaps and bounds.
He was clearly determined to win the Vertress Conference.
He also regarded Bai Shi, who had defeated him several times before, as his greatest rival.
"Oh, really? Then I look forward to seeing what you can do!"
Bai Shi maintained his smile and replied without either shrinking back or showing arrogance.
According to the anime's plot, Trip would be eliminated by Ash in the preliminary round.
Unless the plot changed significantly, Trip would never get to face him.
"Hmph, don't you dare lose to someone else before you face me!"
Seeing that Bai Shi seemed rather unconcerned, Trip snorted, left him with those words,