"Sorry for the wait after that long speech, everyone. Now Mayor Yuantai and I will decide the pairings for the first round. Mayor Yuantai, shall we begin?" As Zhuguang spoke, he placed his hand on a red button on the podium's table.
"Begin!" At Mayor Yuantai's cue, they pressed their buttons simultaneously. Two rows of photographs appeared on the big screen, eight in each row. The sixteen Pokémon Trainers' photographs quickly flipped over and began spinning through the air on the screen, still arranged in two rows. When the two men pressed the red buttons again, the flying photographs immediately stopped and flipped back over, revealing all sixteen competitors in pairs, one above the other.
"A winning start, Liu Qing. Congratulations!" Seeing Liu Qing's photograph appear first for their team, Han Ye broke into a slightly wicked smile. He knew how strong Liu Qing was, and he also knew that winning the opening match would give their side a considerable boost in morale.
"And your opponent is the beautiful Anna!" Shui Nai muttered in an unreadable tone.
"I-I'm facing Mr. Liu Qing?" On the other side, Anna seemed extremely nervous, her hands slowly tightening around the fabric over her chest.
"Anna, relax. Remember what I told you? As long as you give it your all, you do have a chance of beating him!" A trace of worry flashed through Xun Chaoze's eyes, only to be replaced by delight. He walked over to Anna and rested a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.
"Mr. Ze, Mr. Liu Qing really won't..." Anna asked uncertainly.
"Trust me!" Xun Chaoze nodded, and his deep gaze somehow put Anna at ease.
"Liu Qing, I'm sure you don't need any encouragement from us, so I won't waste my breath. Anyway, we'll be waiting for good