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Early the next morning, when Kai, Ash, and the others gathered in the dormitory lobby, the matchup boards for the preliminary groups were already displayed on the giant screen.
Looking up, they saw the screen divided into sixteen groups, each with three trainers, along with their photos displayed next to their names.
"I see it!" Ash only needed one glance before spotting his own photo. Pointing at the screen, he shouted, "I'm in Group H! Let's see who my opponents are… huh?"
Hearing his surprised tone, the others turned their heads.
"What's wrong?"
Looking closer, they realized that in Ash's Group H, aside from him, there was a small girl and a slightly chubby boy. That boy was none other than Vincent Marina and Jimmy's childhood friend from New Bark Town!
"It's him? Well, this is…" Misty smirked, patting Ash on the shoulder. "I remember Marina mentioning him Vincent's supposed to be really strong. Getting placed in the same group as him… that's pretty unlucky for you."
But Ash's eyes lit up with excitement. "Doesn't matter! No matter who it is, I won't lose!"
After checking Ash's group, everyone went to look for Kai's name to see which group he was in.
"I found it!" Misty squinted her eyes first and pointed. "Kai's in Group C!"
Sure enough, following her finger, Kai spotted his own photo. His group contained two trainers he had never seen before.
"Not bad. At least I didn't get grouped with Jimmy or the others."
Relieved, Kai let out a small breath. Since only one person could advance from each group, if he ended up facing friends so soon, he'd feel guilty about eliminating them with his own hands.
Of course, they were bound to clash eventually as the tournament progressed, but the later that happened, the better. At least then his friends could go further and achieve better results before facing him.
Even when it came to Gary, he didn't want to see him knocked out so early.
After checking their groups, they reviewed the rules for the preliminaries.
According to the system, the three members of each group would battle in a round-robin format. Winning a battle earned three points, losing gave zero, and a draw gave one point.
The trainer with the highest total points would move on to the Championship Tournament.
"But there's a rare case," Brock analyzed, rubbing his chin. "If every battle ends in draws and the points are completely tied, there'll be a tiebreaker round until a clear winner is determined."
"Uh…" Ash tried counting on his fingers, but quickly gave up. "This is way too confusing… whatever! As long as I beat everyone, I'll definitely make it to the next round, right?!"
"You've got the right idea," Kai chuckled. "Since we came here to compete, don't overthink it just keep that fighting spirit!"
Once the match schedules were confirmed, Kai and Ash parted ways. Kai headed to his Group C matches with Erika by his side.
Meanwhile, Misty and Brock, realizing how important this was for Ash, decided to accompany him to his Group H matches.
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The Silver Conference had four smaller arenas beside the main Silver Stadium, labeled A, B, C, and D. The sixteen preliminary groups were spread across these arenas.
Kai's Group C was assigned to Arena A.
When he entered the field from the trainer's tunnel, Arena A was already packed, its popularity clear from the massive crowd.
In the stands, Martha and Misha had already claimed the most noticeable seats. Waving flags furiously, they cheered the moment Kai walked in.
Compared to their rowdiness, Erika looked much calmer as she quietly sat nearby, her gentle gaze fixed on Kai.
Kai's opponent was already waiting in the red trainer's box. A popular Johto trainer, he had a serious expression instead of the usual relaxed demeanor.
After all, standing across from the Indigo League Champion, one of the hottest favorites to win the Silver Conference, was overwhelming pressure.
Beforehand, upon learning he had been grouped with Kai, the trainer had rewatched Kai's past matches. The experience could only be described as suffocating.
Gardevoir, Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur, every one of Kai's Pokémon displayed frightening strength. Above all, that Gyarados inspired raw fear.
Now, facing Kai in person, the trainer could only pray silently that Kai wouldn't use his strongest Pokémon in the preliminaries.
Kai waved at the crowd, his face calm as he stepped into the blue trainer's box.
The referee walked to the center. "We'll now decide which trainer sends out their Pokémon first!"
Unlike other rounds, the preliminaries used a roulette system to determine who would lead. While slightly unfair, it reduced uncertainty and gave weaker trainers a slim advantage.
Of course, if the weaker trainer ended up with the lead, it could just as easily hasten their defeat.
On the big screen, a roulette wheel appeared with alternating red and blue sections. The pointer spun, and both trainers held their breath.
Finally, the arrow slowed… and landed on Kai's blue square.
The opposing trainer sighed in relief.
The referee turned to Kai. "Trainer Kai, please send out your first Pokémon."
Kai nodded slightly, showing no disappointment at being forced to lead. He trusted his Pokémon completely, knowing that even if type disadvantages came into play, they wouldn't go down easily.
From his belt, he drew the Poké Ball he had already decided on. With a toss, a flash of blue light filled the arena.
When it cleared, standing on the battlefield was a massive Pokémon with leafy fronds and a blooming red flower on its back its four limbs planted firmly on the ground.
It was none other than Venusaur, the partner that once shone brightly in Kanto but had since been resting in Professor Elm's lab.
Venusaur roared, shaking the arena.
The crowd erupted as the battle was about to begin.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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