The next morning, prompted by his alarm, Zhang Cheng headed to the Town's battle arena.
After a short wait, Xiao Wei arrived right on time.
The two sat in the preparation lounge, which was much emptier today.
Only four teams remained in the tournament, after all, meaning there were no more than eight competitors.
At nine o'clock, Referee arrived at the arena on time and began organizing the draw.
Today's draw was simple. There were four slips in total: two marked A and two marked B. The teams that drew the same letter would battle each other. The losers would be eliminated, while the winners would advance to tomorrow's final.
Xiao Wei drew an A this time, so they would be playing in the first match.
Once the draw ended, Referee quickly posted the matchups on the big screen.
Zhang Cheng and Xiao Wei's opponents were reportedly top students from Jinling No. 1 High School. They had come to Magnolia Town to visit relatives and happened to arrive in time for the tournament.
Led by Referee, the four competitors made their way to the battlefield.
Once there, Zhang Cheng got a look at their opponents. One of the two boys before him had dyed yellow hair and was named Xiang Chen. The other, a shorter boy, was named Xiang Liang.
The two were cousins who had come together to visit relatives and friends. When they came across the double battle tournament, they decided to enter.
"Our opponents this time will be tough. They're top students from Jinling University, and they're strong. Their Pokémon are all starter Pokémon, too."
Xiao Wei looked at their opponents with a grave expression.
"We'll deal with whatever they throw at us. There's nothing to be afraid of!" Zhang Cheng wasn't intimidated by their status as