October 21.
Several days had slipped quietly by.
Today was the opening day of the Kalos League's Lumiose Conference.
Ash, who had already earned eight Badges, arrived at the Lumiose Battle Arena in Lumiose City.
For the next stretch of days, the annual Lumiose Conference would be held here.
This year's Lumiose Conference had drawn a great deal of attention.
It might even have been the most closely watched and prestigious Lumiose Conference in history.
Under normal circumstances, this year's Kalos tournament would not have attracted so much attention.
But the appearance of two contestants had ignited the people of the Kalos Region's enthusiasm for watching the tournament.
That held true even with the Knockout Round of the Third Master League starting in just a few days.
Besides, not everyone could take a special flight to the Galar Region just to watch such a long tournament.
The first contestant needed no introduction.
Naturally, it was Ash, the runner-up at Sinnoh's Lily of the Valley Conference and the winner of Unova's Vertress Conference.
The second contestant was Alain, who was entering a Pokémon League conference for the first time.
But Alain had an even more impressive record.
Alain had made the top 32 in the Second Master League.
Although he had finished in the top 32, most people believed he could have made the top 20 and had simply been unlucky.
And that top-32 finish carried more weight than a Pokémon League conference result.
After all, the top 128 had been determined through one points match after another in the Master division.
Alain had then fought his way through the rounds of 128 and 64 to reach the top 32.
Many people believed Alain would return this year to compete in the Third Master League.
Whether Alain could reach the top