The opening ceremony ended, and after a night's rest, the Ever Grande Conference preliminary tournament officially began!
Early that morning, the Pokémon Center announced the rules and matchups.
Watching Ash and Masamune argue off to the side over who was more excited, Young Master Mao's lips curled into a dangerous smile.
"Stop arguing~ I'm the most excited~" Young Master Mao beamed.
He couldn't help it. The preliminaries were actually single-elimination Double Battles.
Weren't they walking straight into his line of fire~?
After all, Young Master Mao was seriously fired up after missing out on the qualifying matches!
The Ever Grande Conference's format was quite brutal. All three preliminary rounds would be decided by a single Double Battle. The winner advanced, and the loser went home. Simple and brutal!
Only the top thirty-two would survive the three preliminary rounds and enter the Championship Tournament.
After that came the six-on-six Full Battles! There wasn't a single match where anyone could afford to relax.
In particular, there was the round of thirty-two, the round of sixteen, the quarterfinals, the semifinals, and the finals.
Anyone who wanted to go all the way would face five consecutive rounds of six-on-six battles.
That would test the competitors' nerves, their Pokémon's stamina, and the depth of each Pokémon Trainer's reserves.
Young Master Mao thought about his first team back home, all raring to go, then looked at his second team in the Hoenn Region, itching to make a name for themselves.
Even that shameless old Lugia and Rayquaza, who loved crushing weaklings more than anything, were warming up...
Mm~ That's me, all right. Rock-solid! Young Master Mao rubbed his chin in satisfaction...
Ding~ His phone chimed with a message from the organizing committee. Information about Gary's first-round opponent and match venue had arrived in his inbox.
Young