In a vast lounge, sixteen young men and women sat quietly in their chairs.
They chatted among themselves in groups of two or three.
At the far right, Cynthia sat with a cool expression, looking somewhat out of place among the others beside her.
"If you ask me, Sinnoh is definitely the strongest!"
A boy with a mohawk grinned rather brazenly as he spoke to the chubby boy beside him, who was gnawing on a chicken drumstick.
"My Pokémon are all the strongest warriors. Hoenn, Kanto, Johto-I can take them all on myself!"
The chubby boy paused and gave an earnest smile, hastily nodding as the fat on his face quivered.
"You bet! Your Mightyena is about to break through to Elite Class. How many rookies can manage that?"
"Hahaha! Of course!"
"We're counting on you, Oda-kun. First place is bound to be yours!"
"Don't worry! With me here, nothing can go wrong!"
Not far away, a black-haired boy caught snatches of their conversation. His lip curled, and he gave a quiet, disdainful chuckle.
As for Cynthia, who sat even closer, she paid no attention to their conversation and remained immersed in her own world.
In another lounge sat sixteen more youths, all from Johto.
One of them, a burly boy with a bare torso, was showing his companions his sun-bronzed skin and solid muscles while laughing heartily.
"What do you think? This is the result of all my hard training! A real man should be just like me!"
"Come on, Bruno, I can barely make out your features anymore!"
The boy beside him replied listlessly.
"I'm perfectly healthy like this. I don't need to work out..."
Bruno frowned slightly and said with disdain,
"You wouldn't last one punch from me!"
"Ah! Yes, yes, yes!"
Following the signs, Yong