It was another beautiful, sunny day!
The many Trainers welcomed the second day of the preliminaries.
Just as expected, Yong waited only two hours before receiving notice that he had advanced to the main tournament.
And, unsurprisingly, several competitors had been hiding their strength. All of them, including Xiao Yi, advanced without a hitch.
Once the Pokémon League officials formally announced the names of the sixty-four competitors who had advanced to the main tournament, the Lily of the Valley Conference preliminaries were over!
The remaining half of the day would bring the conference's Sacred Fire relay and opening ceremony!
No one noticed that Yong had already disappeared into the crowd.
Whoosh~~~ bang!
Whoosh~~~ bang!
Whoosh~~~ bang!
Colorful fireworks shot into the sky, bursting into dazzling displays. Hot-air balloons rose with enormous banners! Countless hydrogen balloons of every color drifted freely above the plaza, weaving upward through flock after flock of Bird Pokémon toward the higher reaches of the sky.
A broad road stretched toward the Final Venue, with dense crowds packed along both sides. Cheers and shouts rose in wave after deafening wave!
There were spectators from all over, competitors who had advanced, competitors who had been eliminated, and Pokémon League staff.
Everyone wore a smile as they eagerly watched the torchbearer running toward them from the far end of the road!
He wore a red-and-white tracksuit and a sun cap, his youthful face paired with a determined gaze!
The announcer's exuberant voice rang out from the speakers in the plaza!
"Here he comes! At last!"
"Running toward us now is this conference's final torchbearer! A Pokémon Trainer from the Hoenn Region! The champion of the last Hoenn League Ever Grande Conference! The competitor who claimed the title of Frontier Brain-Shiyan Yong!"
"I'm sure some of our friends from