November 6.
Hammerlocke, Hammerlocke Stadium.
As the last qualifying match ended, the final lineup for the Top 16 was settled.
In the waiting lounge, the list of the Top 16 appeared on the big screen.
Red, Blue, Leon, Cynthia, Steven, Lance, Diantha, and Wallace had all advanced.
They were all current or former Champions.
Lucian, Flint, and Volkner, who had been eliminated, had gone fishing together on Fog Island...
Then there was Li Wei, who had defeated Norman,
and Caitlin, who had defeated Roland.
The battle between Roland and Caitlin had been the fiercest match of the qualifiers.
In the end, Caitlin had narrowly defeated Roland 6-5, winning by a single point.
Although Roland hadn't managed to prove herself to her older sister Cynthia in the Master League as she had hoped, she had given it her all.
The remaining contestants were Siebold, Lorelei, Bruno, Drake, Raihan, and Alder.
Alder hadn't participated in the Master League for the past two years.
Most of Alder's team had grown old,
and he had been busy searching for a successor.
He simply hadn't had the time for an international competition.
But now, after spending several years building another team,
he had also found a successor:
the rapidly improving Iris.
With less weight on his shoulders, Alder had finally entered this year's Master League.
Showing what he could do in the Master League and proving he still had it, Alder had fought his way into the Top 16.
The biggest surprise to everyone was probably Elite Four member Siebold.
Perhaps luck had played a part.
During the qualifiers, Siebold had drawn another member of Kalos's Elite Four, the Fire-type specialist Malva.
But Siebold had still fought his way through plenty of obstacles to advance.
All in all, no one had any objections to Siebold