On the Indigo Plateau, the main stadium bustled with activity again after three days of silence.
The first round of the final tournament, cutting the top sixteen down to eight, officially began.
The eight matchups were spread over two days, with four each day: two in the morning and two in the afternoon.
Gary had drawn the second day, so he had no match today. With Eevee-chan in tow, he hunkered down with Janine in the competitors' tunnel to watch the battles.
The two facing off on the field were Yuto Sayo and Tyson from the Hoenn Region.
Despite giving it everything, Marowak ultimately fell to Sceptile's Leaf Blade.
Tyson became the first competitor to advance to the quarterfinals.
Watching Janine shovel popcorn into her mouth beside him, Gary remarked speechlessly, "I have a competitor's pass, so it's perfectly normal for me to be here. How did you sneak in?"
Janine proudly lifted her chin. Perhaps she had been eating too well lately; the girl had even developed a double chin. "As a ninja, stealth is a basic skill, okay? Sneaking in to watch a match is nothing~"
"Hurry back to the spectator stands. It'll be a real riot if Officer Jenny catches you here," Gary said disdainfully.
"Tch, fine~" Janine pouted, then did a backflip and vanished into the shadows...
Sento walked out through the competitors' tunnel with her head lowered. When she looked up, she saw Gary leaning against the wall in a white knit sweater.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Oak. I embarrassed you," Sento said, bowing with reddened eyes.
"Well~ your ace Pokémon was at a type disadvantage. Getting this far was already pretty good." Gary nodded calmly and patted the girl on the head. "Cheer up."
Seeing how down she was, Young Master Mao showed a rare