"It's me. Is there a problem?"
Ye Qing looked back. Everyone else had gotten through the procedures quickly, so why had things stalled when it was his turn?
"Hey, buddy, that Badge of yours isn't fake, is it?"
The man behind Ye Qing was getting anxious. He had been holding in his pee the whole way, and just when his turn was finally coming up, the process had stalled at Ye Qing. He had never expected this.
"Of course it's real."
Ye Qing's expression suddenly shifted slightly. There had been cases of competitors having their Badges stolen before a tournament, but Gengar was in his shadow. There was no way his Badge could have been swapped.
Only then did the staff member snap out of her daze and hand Ye Qing a watch with a square display. "This is your Wristband. You can use it to pay for any purchases on the island. Tournament notifications will also be delivered through it."
"Good luck in the tournament."
The staff member gave Ye Qing a few more looks. She had never expected this competitor to be exempt from the elimination rounds. Usually, only people who had made tremendous contributions to the Pokémon League received such privileges.
"Thank you."
Ye Qing took the Wristband and declined the slip of paper the young staff member offered him.
After he passed through security, a huge plaza came into view, with a statue of Ho-Oh standing in its center.
There were many shops around the edges of the plaza. Since the National Tournament's elimination rounds alone would last many days, all necessities were available here to meet the competitors' daily needs.
The place was packed with people. Ye Qing crossed the plaza and arrived at the competitors' village.
The competitors' village provided accommodations for the competitors.