At the Seven-Star Resort on Lake Valor, contestants who had come for the doubles tournament were already entering the circular open-air stadium in small groups.
Before the opening ceremony, some still needed to find Pokémon Trainers to team up with.
When Gary and Paul arrived with their hands in their pockets, they immediately caused quite a stir.
Fortunately, Paul had an unapproachable look, so many fans could only suppress their urge to ask for autographs.
Young Master Mao waved with a smile, and only then did several girls excitedly run over for photos and autographs with their idol.
A little while later, Ash and the others arrived to join them.
"Huh? Where's May?" A look around revealed that May hadn't come.
"May couldn't get her competition schedule sorted out, so she couldn't make the timing work. She had to prioritize the Wallace Cup," Brendan replied with a shrug.
"So Brendan decided to enter as my partner!" Ash grinned smugly.
"Hmph. Gary and I will crush you." Paul was brimming with confidence.
"Paul! Just you wait! I'll make sure you remember what losing feels like!" Ash retorted indignantly.
"Tch. Useless." Paul's expression was utterly scornful.
Brock and Dawn had also registered successfully and were now waiting for randomly assigned teammates.
Besides contestants who formed their own teams, the doubles tournament also welcomed solo entrants. Those contestants simply had to accept randomly assigned doubles partners.
Soon, Dawn and Brock found their teammates too.
Brock was paired with a dashing older woman and already felt as though his life had reached its peak.
"I shall claim victory, no matter what!" Brock was so moved that he nearly teared up.
A romantic encounter like this had actually come his way! Heaven had finally opened its eyes!
Meanwhile, Dawn returned with a gloomy-looking guy in