The day's preliminary rounds finally drew to a close before sunset.
More than six hundred competitors had been whittled down to 256.
After watching matches all day, Young Master Mao felt truly stuffed...
Besides all the eating he had done, some competitors' performances had been so laughably bad that they practically spoon-fed him rice...
Fortunately, Ash, Tyson, Masamune, and Brendan-all the people he knew-had avoided any upsets and advanced together to the main tournament.
None of the spectators left their seats, either, because the official opening ceremony of the Hoenn League's Ever Grande Conference was coming up next.
The winning competitors waited backstage to enter, while those who had lost went outside to buy admission tickets~
As Tyson cast the Sacred Fire into the brazier, flames roared to life atop the conference's Sacred Fire Altar, symbolizing the official ignition of the Ever Grande Conference's battles.
In the backstage waiting area, Young Master Mao greeted Ash and the others before heading to his own waiting room to prepare for the opening performance.
Tyson asked Ash curiously, "What's Young Master Mao doing?"
Ash shrugged. "His regular act. We're all used to it."
"Hehe, my teacher is the Pokémon League conferences' go-to opening performer!" Brendan said excitedly.
In the dressing room, Young Master Mao sat in a chair, tuning his guitar strings.
Golduck, the bassist, Armarouge, the drummer, and Gengar, the keyboardist, gathered around him.
They quietly waited to take the stage, completely unmoved by the lively Sacred Fire lighting ceremony...
Seriously, these flames weren't even as pure as the flames on the Moltres back home...
In the main stadium, the host spoke passionately into the microphone. "Next, the Hoenn League's Ever Grande Conference officially opens!
"Let's welcome the First Generation Band to the stage!"
First Generation was the name of Gary's band.