The Masters Tournament opening ceremony went smoothly.
After introducing every contestant, the referee announced the rules.
Unlike the Pokémon World Championships, the Masters Tournament would draw its brackets at random after the opening ceremony. The battle format, however, was fixed: every match would be a full six-on-six battle, the ultimate test of a Trainer and their Pokémon!
Each match also allowed only one Battle System. If both sides agreed, though, they could ask the referee to lift that restriction and even allow banned Pokémon.
Everyone turned toward the arena's big screen. The contestants' portraits shuffled, and the system began assigning brackets at random.
Mingyou had been lost in thought with his eyes closed. Only when the crowd started shouting did he look up. To his surprise, he was in Group A, scheduled for the first match of the day. That had to be deliberate. They wanted his opening battle to fire up the crowd.
But that hardly mattered. What mattered was his first opponent... Cynthia!
Leon had been placed in Group B and would fight in the day's final match. Unless both men reached the finals, they would not face each other in this tournament.
"But I'm up against Cynthia..."
He glanced her way and found her looking at him too. They exchanged smiles.
The contestants then left to prepare. The first match would begin in half an hour.
As they filed off the field, the stands and livestream erupted again. Everyone began discussing the brackets and the matches ahead.
"They're meeting in the very first round. In a way, I suppose that's fate."
Akari murmured to herself. She was looking forward to their battle. Two of Mingyou's strongest Pokémon had been banned, but it would not affect him too badly. And today, he was ready to go all out!