He had caught a Pokémon he was happy with at Safari Paradise, adding another formidable member to his sandstorm team.
Cycling along Route 121, Yong was in a pretty good mood. He had finished almost everything he had planned to do before the Ever Grande Conference.
Unlike the Elite Tournament, Pokémon League conferences reached a much wider audience and had a long history. Although most participating Trainers were only of average ability, plenty of elite Trainers from all over lay hidden among them.
With so many competitors, their strength varied wildly. With so many competitors, there were also more unexpected powerhouses.
It was nothing like the Elite Tournament, where he had some idea of every competitor's abilities.
The Ever Grande Conference had three stages: the preliminary rounds, the qualifying rounds, and the finals. They used 1-on-1, 3-on-3, and 6-on-6 formats respectively, each with different battlefields. After giving it considerable thought, Yong decided that before the Main Tournament, he would choose two out of Tyrunt, Shieldon, Larvesta, and Screw Diglett, then add one of his main fighters to the lineup. Once he entered the Main Tournament, he would use a different lineup.
As for Larvitar, he could only watch this time and learn how his seniors battled.
One reason for this arrangement was to give the little ones more battle experience. Fighting in a major tournament like this would earn them more experience than usual.
The other was to muddy the information other competitors had on him and reduce the chances of certain unexpected situations arising.
Although there was a good chance he would run into "familiar faces," it would not matter if they figured him out.
After returning home, Yong settled all his companions in the Pokémon Home. Once everyone had met their newest companion, Screw Diglett, he scheduled no