svetikya Chapter 505 The First Round of Drawing Lots on the Eve of the Lily of the Valley Tournament
Chapter 505 The First Round of Drawing Lots on the Eve of the Lily of the Valley Tournament
As night fell, the central arena on Lily of the Valley was illuminated by countless lights, making it as bright as day.
A huge electronic screen hung in the center of the arena, and the battle groups, which had not yet been displayed, were keeping every trainer present on the edge of their seat.
The air was filled with the anticipation and tension of many trainers.
Ash, Dawn, Brock, Serena, and Saki stood in the crowd, while Ash and Kao Ping were not far away, each staring at their screens.
Even the usually aloof Shinji stood alone in a corner, his gaze fixed on the huge screen.
"Xiao Zhi..."
Serena's voice was filled with undisguised worry. She approached gently, her fingers unconsciously touching Ash's sleeve, feeling a cool sensation on her fingertips.
"Mr. Dacto, have you figured out how to deal with him?"
Her voice was very soft, as if afraid of disturbing Xiaozhi's thoughts, yet she couldn't help but feel worried.
Upon hearing this, Ash looked away from the screen and towards Serena.
He pondered for a moment, a hint of seriousness appearing on his face, but his eyes remained clear.
"It's hard to say," Ash answered honestly. "After all, I don't know what Pokémon Darkrope has, so there's no way to prepare anything special. I can only think about how to make the Pokémon perform better in the competition."
Ash frowned slightly, as if trying to recall something from a distant past.
Of Darkrai's Pokémon, only Latios is known to exist besides Darkrai.
Even Latios was forced into it by him.
In the past Lily of the Valley tournaments, no other trainer besides myself had been able to force Darkrai to summon a second Pokémon.
The remaining four Pokémon of Darkrope remain a mystery.
Ash remembered that after the Lily of the Valley Conference, Darkrod seemed to have challenged Cynthia. Even this news was only told to him by Cynthia much later when they were chatting.
The battle ended in Dakdo's defeat.
As for which Pokémon Darkrope sent out during his battle with Cynthia, Cynthia didn't say in detail, nor did Darkrope ask in detail.
Cynthia only mentioned that the remaining four Pokémon are indeed legendary Pokémon.
Furthermore, Cynthia mentioned that one of Darkor's legendary Pokémon is incredibly powerful. If it were sent out at the Lily of the Valley Conference, it might completely astound everyone. It seems that Darkor captured that legendary Pokémon after defeating five legendary Pokémon in a row during battle.
I'm really curious.
Xiao Zhi thought to himself.
"here we go!"
In the night sky illuminated by lights, the large screen suspended high in the air began to flicker, and Xiao Gang's voice drew everyone's attention back to the screen.
The names and avatars of all the trainers on the screen began to scroll and match rapidly.
The atmosphere at the scene was instantly ignited.
The matchups for the first round were quickly determined.
Kohei, Shinji, Asuna, and Darko all did not meet, meaning that several dark horse contestants in this year's Suzuran Tournament all received byes.
Ash's name appeared in the left corner of the screen.
The name and portrait of Ash's opponent to his right also freeze-framed.
Shangzhi.
"My first opponent is Mr. Shangzhi," Xiaogang said, looking at the screen. "I never expected to face Mr. Shangzhi in the first round, this is really..."
Xiao Gang was at a loss for words.
Is Shangzhi's luck really that bad or that good?
"Eh?"
Just as Xiao Gang was casually marveling at Shang Zhi's luck, Xiao Guang suddenly exclaimed, interrupting his thoughts.
Xiao Guang looked at all the match groups that had been finalized on the screen and counted them with some surprise.
"Why does it feel like there are so few people? Are there only 64 people participating in the preliminary round?"
Serena noticed this as well and cast a curious glance at her.
"..."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Gang glanced around before quietly moving closer and explaining in a low voice:
"I had seen some related reports in a magazine before."
"It seems that... Ash, Paul, and Darkrai were crushed by several gym leaders along the way..."
"The pressure on the gym leaders was too great, causing them to seem to overexert themselves in the subsequent challenges..."
Xiao Gang's expression was somewhat subtle.
"So the number of trainers who passed the qualification review and received the badge this year has decreased sharply."
Xiao Gang couldn't help but recall the Quartz Conference, the Silver Conference, and the Rainbow Conference.
"In a normal league tournament, the number of participants is usually controlled to around 256, and at the very least, there are usually around 200 participants."
"So that's how it is..." Hikari's gaze couldn't help but turn to Satoshi.
She finally understood why Ash had endured so much hostility and wariness from other trainers along the way.
Unbeknownst to them, Ash and the others had already had such a significant impact on trainers throughout the Sinnoh region.
How pitiful.
Dawn and Serena began to mourn for the other trainers who failed the gym's assessment, as well as the gym leaders who had been traumatized by Ash and his friends.
Just then, a melodious harp tune came from afar.
Shangzhi, carrying a harp, walked over with a smile.
His gaze fell on Ash, filled with gentle expectation.
"I never expected that we would meet in the first round." Shang Zhi's voice was as calm and powerful as his music. "Although the ending may not be so wonderful for me, I am still looking forward to the battle with you. I really hope that our battle can leave a strong mark in the history of the Sinnoh League."
"Of course, I will do my best in tomorrow's match, and I look forward to fighting you!"
Ash and Takashi shook hands, both expressing their anticipation for the battle that would begin tomorrow.
After a brief farewell, Shangzhi turned and left.
"Ash, are you going to register for battles next? Or do you want to register tomorrow morning?" Brock asked Ash as he walked up to him.
Before the battle begins, each trainer must register the Pokémon they will send out the next day in the corresponding room.
The entire process is kept strictly confidential.
In principle, even family and friends are not allowed to enter, but as long as the person involved doesn't care, the league officials won't mind.
"Just go register now."
Xiao Zhi didn't seem to hesitate at all.
"Have you already decided on the Pokémon to battle tomorrow?"
"Yes, they're all old acquaintances."
Ash smiled and took the three Poké Balls off his belt.
Ash managed to call back his three old friends this morning, and sending them out to fight Shōji was a good choice.
......
P.S.: Looking back now, I realize there were only so few participants in the Lily of the Valley Conference. No wonder I always felt the Sinnoh League was progressing too fast.