"Hello! My name is Yong! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
In the smaller venues, introducing yourself before the match officially began was practically an unwritten rule of the preliminaries. Of course, Yong had only learned that from the staff member who had shown him the way. He smiled at the boy across from him.
The boy had short brown hair and wore a white striped T-shirt with blue shorts. He still looked rather nervous, and when he heard Yong's greeting, he hurriedly replied,
"Ah! Hello! I'm Murakami! It's... it's a pleasure to meet you!"
Yong nodded, then took out a Pokémon Ball and gave it a gentle toss. Amid a burst of white light, his opening Pokémon stepped out!
"Hya!"
The dinosaur-like Tyrunt carried himself a little more steadily than when Yong had first caught him. With a low growl, he stood on the grass and watched his opponent. He had been at level 39 for quite some time now and could evolve at any moment...
The boy opposite him visibly froze at the sight of Tyrunt. A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes before he hesitantly sent out his own Pokémon,
a Ponyta with flames blazing behind its head and along its back!
"Pokémon: Ponyta, Lv. 21, Fire Horse Pokémon..."
Level 21...
Yong sighed. Noticing his opponent's confusion, he explained with a smile,
"This is Tyrunt! A Rock- and Dragon-type Pokémon that lived in ancient times!"
Understanding dawned on Murakami's face, and he gave Yong a grateful smile. Although this was his first time seeing one, he knew there was no such thing as a weak Dragon-type Pokémon! At that thought, his gaze gradually grew serious.
The referee standing nearby finally spoke,
"Tyrunt versus Ponyta! Begin!"
Murakami immediately called out, hoping to seize the initiative!