The Double Battle Tournament Begins
Vertical sun.
All the Pokémon Trainer gathered at the venue of the Double Battle Tournament — Hearthome Stadium —to await the official opening of the competition.
The stadium was packed with people, and every seat was taken.
The cameras and microphones responsible for broadcasting the match are also in place.
"Welcome to Hearthome City, fellow Pokémon Trainer have traveled from afar."
"I am Enta, the mayor of Hearthome City, and also the host of this conference."
I welcome your guidance and advice!
As the audience eagerly awaited his arrival, a short, stout middle-aged man with a gray beard and eyebrows, wearing a blue top hat and a blue tuxedo, appeared in the center of the specially set-up stage and introduced himself to the crowd.
"Slap slap~"
Enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted from the audience.
With a larger audience, the Double Battle Tournament's scale and atmosphere surpassed yesterday's Pokémon Contest.
"As everyone knows, Hearthome City is known as a place where hearts meet."
"The regularly held Double Battle Tournament were created to promote spiritual exchange between Pokémon and humans, between Pokémon and Pokémon, and between humans."
"I hope everyone will enjoy the Double Battle Tournament over the next three days."
"Alright, enough with the chit-chat, I now declare the Double Battle Tournament officially open."
After the applause subsided slightly, Enta began to explain the origins of the Double Battle Tournament to everyone.
The competition was only announced to begin after the origins of the event were explained.
Using the large screen behind him, he explained the rules of the competition to everyone present.
The 32 participants will be randomly divided into teams based on the number plates they received.
Then, the two-person teams were divided into eight groups.
The four teams within the group battled each other head-to-head.
During a match, you must defeat two of the opposing team's Pokémon to advance to the next round.
After four rounds of competition, the final winning team was determined.
The two winners will receive Soothe Bell provided by the organizers.
Soon, the 32 numbers representing the Pokémon Trainer' identities filled the match-up chart on the screen.
"I've been assigned to Group A, and the number next to me is... 29?"
Bai Shi also saw the number next to his own number 3.
It was obvious that this number 29 was his temporary teammate for the next few days.
"So, who is number 29?"
As Bai Shi held up his number plate, he looked around for his future teammates.
During this time, he focused his attention on Paul and Ash.
It's worth mentioning that as he passed by Paul, he glanced at Bai Shi a few times.
However, upon realizing that Bai Shi was not his teammate, he quickly looked away.
It's clear they've forgotten about Bai Shi, whom they met once before.
Bai Shi also showed no intention of acknowledging Paul's identity.
He came to participate in the competition, not to find a relative.
Let the competition provide the answer!
"Paul is number 6, Ash is number 16, Brock is number 17, Dawn... wait, number 29!"
Bai Shi was taken aback when he saw the number plate in Dawn's hand.
I never imagined that I would team up with Dawn.
His ideal teammate is actually Dawn's partner in the Original Storyline — Kōhei.
Of course, Bai Shi would be willing to team up with Dawn if it really came down to it.
He was quite familiar with Dawn's personality.
Even if the two cannot work together, there is no need to worry that she will have conflicts with him.
Before this, Bai Shi had worried that he would encounter a difficult teammate.
Now, I can finally relax.
"Hello, I am number 3, my name is Bai Shi, and I come from Twinleaf Town. Nice to meet you!"
Bai Shi walked up to Dawn, waved the number 3 tag in his hand, and greeted him.
"Ah, hello, I'm Dawn, number 29, from Futaba..."
"Oh, are you from Twinleaf Town too?"
Dawn suddenly realized something and exclaimed with delight.
It's incredibly lucky to meet someone from my hometown in this place.
"That's right, I grew up in Twinleaf Town."
In response to Dawn's question, Bai Shi nodded in confirmation.
"That's wonderful! I'm also from Twinleaf Town. I look forward to your guidance."
Upon receiving Bai Shi's affirmative answer, a smile involuntarily appeared on Dawn's face.
"Poga~"
The penguin in his arms also stretched out its little hand to greet Bai Shi.
Because they were from the same hometown, the two quickly became closer.
"By the way, we live in the same town, so why didn't I see you at the Twinleaf Festival?"
No wonder Dawn asked Bai Shi out of curiosity.
After all, the Twinleaf Festival is one of the most important festivals in Twinleaf Town.
At this time of year, the town's residents usually gather together to celebrate this grand event.
Twinleaf Town is neither very big nor very small, and its population isn't particularly large either.
Logically speaking, having lived in Twinleaf Town for so long, she should have seen Bai Shi at least a few times.
However, she had absolutely no recollection of Bai Shi.
"Before I became a minor, I spent almost all my time in Orphanage and rarely had the opportunity to go out. It's normal that you haven't seen me."
Seeing that Dawn was very curious, Bai Shi gave a brief introduction to his background.
To prevent orphans from getting lost or causing trouble, the management of Orphanage is very strict.
Naturally, these underage orphans had no chance to participate in large, noisy gatherings like the Twinleaf Festival.
They could only stay in the Orphanage, playing games or watching TV with the other children.
The management of Orphanage will only be relaxed once the orphans have reached adulthood.
"I see... I'm sorry, I didn't know you were an orphan."
Dawn suddenly realized that he had brought up something that saddened Bai Shi, and said apologetically.
"It's okay, I'm used to it."
Bai Shi waved his hand dismissively and said.
While the two were talking, Ash and the others also finished forming their respective teams.
Brock, number 17, was assigned to Group E and, as he wished, teamed up with Enka, number 22.
Judging from Brock's infatuated expression, you can tell how satisfied he is with this assignment.
Unfortunately, Enka didn't seem interested in Brock, who was younger than her.
Bai Shi, however, was quite understanding of this.
Judging from Brock's current appearance, people who don't know him would probably think he's some kind of pervert.
Compared to Brock's "dream come true," Ash wasn't so lucky.
Number 16 was assigned to Group H, teaming up with Paul, number 6.
The two, who already didn't get along, felt as if they had swallowed a live fly after learning the team pairings.
Whether between humans or between Pokémon, the atmosphere was thick with Pokémon and tension.
"Apart from Dawn, the other two's teammates are the same as in the anime."
"Only her former teammate, Kōhei, was influenced by me and was assigned to Group D, teaming up with an unknown Pokémon Trainer."
Bai Shi looked at the match schedule on the big screen and said thoughtfully.
He is quite satisfied with the current team composition.
She managed to avoid Paul and team up with Dawn, whom she was quite familiar with.
Ash and Brock were not affected by their own actions and continued on their original paths.
Kōhei was a little unlucky, as he ended up "breaking up" his own team.
But it doesn't matter.
He wasn't familiar with Kōhei, so he just wanted to have his own fun.