After finishing the weigh-in, Gary took Hitmonlee to prepare for his first match.
According to the draw, Young Master Mao had the first match of the morning...
Ridiculous. This was probably Master Bruno's first time rigging things behind the scenes. Who pulled strings only to end up going first?
If it had been Lorelei, Gary would definitely have gotten the second match of the afternoon or the last match of the morning.
He would have had plenty of time to eat, warm up, and get into condition.
He might even have been able to slack off a little before leisurely preparing for his match.
Incompetent. Bruno, I, Young Master Mao, will remember this!
Since these were the qualifiers, the spectators had not packed the place, and even the competitors were making the most of their time to get into condition.
So when Gary arrived at the ring, only three rows of the twelve-row spectator stands around it were full.
Raven, who was handling security, stood ramrod straight and even winked at Gary.
Gary nodded without standing on ceremony, then flipped up into the ring with Hitmonlee.
The Fighting Masters Tournament's rules were basically the same as the Pokémon League tournament's Single Battle rules.
However, there were no designated Pokémon Trainer command positions. Pokémon Trainers had to enter the ring and direct their Pokémon in battle at close range.
In battles like these, Fighters could move freely around the ring's outer perimeter.
This allowed them to spot their opponents' weaknesses more directly, while also speeding up the battle's reaction time and making it harder for Pokémon Trainers to adapt on the fly.
We can't attack the Pokémon Trainers anyway, or I'd have brought powdered lime~ Young Master Mao thought.
*With a sack, powdered lime, and a big brick, I'd beat up