First Battle

"Bai Shi, we're in Group A, so we'll be up first. Do you have a strategy?"

To give the contestants time to get used to working with their partners,

the organizers had thoughtfully scheduled the first round for the afternoon.

Dawn used the break to discuss tactics with Bai Shi.

"My strategy is simple. Give it everything we've got and take down their Pokémon as fast as we can!"

Bai Shi smiled and laid out his plan without holding anything back.

Battles always came down to the same thing.

If they knocked out both opposing Pokémon, their team would win.

The two Pokémon Bai Shi planned to use, Staravia and Zangoose, both excelled at fast, aggressive attacks.

Rather than make them divide their attention trying to coordinate with an unfamiliar teammate,

he would let them focus entirely on bringing out their full strength.

They could take down one opposing Pokémon quickly,

then join forces with Dawn to overwhelm the other.

That was why he had been training those high-speed combinations lately.

"Huh?"

Dawn stared at him, dumbfounded by his remarkably "simple" strategy.

For a moment, he felt strangely familiar.

It was as if her partner wasn't Bai Shi at all, but the companion she'd traveled with for days—Ash.

"Are you... really... sure it'll be all right?"

Looking at her brimming-with-confidence partner, Dawn began to worry about their prospects.

Was this teammate of hers going to be a liability?

Before long, the first round began.

Bai Shi and Dawn stood together in the same command area, facing their opponents across the field.

Opposite them stood a burly blond man and a red-haired girl.

Enta stood at the edge of the field as the referee.

"Each contestant may use only one Pokémon. Switching is prohibited, and there is no time limit."