To decide the battle venues for the first round, Red and the others went to the selection venue. The event was being recorded by a TV station, which made Delia very excited as she watched from home
To cheer on the four contestants from Pallet Town participating in the Indigo League, most of Pallet Town's residents gathered at Professor Oak's research lab, bringing banners for support.
"Red, Ash, you must do your best!" Delia called out, hoping both brothers could achieve satisfying competition rankings.
"Good afternoon, please show your trainer registration cards," the staff member said kindly.
"Your sweet smile has already been registered in my heart!"
Before Red and Ash could react, Brock immediately stepped forward and enthusiastically grasped the staff member's hand.
"What time do you get off work?"
The staff member looked embarrassed and at a loss, not knowing how to respond to Brock's words. Fortunately, Misty nearby promptly pushed the love-struck Brock away, preventing him from affecting the contestants who would arrive at the selection venue later.
"Ash, you go first," Red said casually. Since they had come to the same registration desk to draw battle venues, there was a chance they wouldn't accidentally end up facing each other.
Red had deliberately come to the same place with Ash to register, since he didn't want to depress his little brother by defeating him in the first round.
"Are you Ash from Pallet Town?"
The staff member opened Ash's Pokédex and confirmed again.
After seeing Ash nod, the staff member inserted the Pokédex into the computer and uploaded Ash's competition data.
"Alright, registration is complete."
The staff member returned the Pokédex to Ash.
"May I ask who my battle opponent is?" Ash asked with slight urgency, afraid that he would face his older brother in the first round.
If that happened, Ash might as well pack his bags and head straight back to Pallet Town...
"Ash, don't be so impatient. I understand what you mean, but rest assured—you and Red absolutely won't face each other in the first round."
The calmed-down Brock came over again to analyze and explain for Ash.
"First, we need to decide the battle venue. In recent years, the Indigo League has featured four types of battle venues: Rock, Grass, Water, and Ice. After winning on these four types of venues, starting from the fifth round, all matches will be transferred to the main venue for battles."
"You really know a lot, Brock," Ash praised.
"You dummy! All this information is written in the trainer handbook that every trainer should have, right?"
After speaking, Brock looked shyly at the staff member, hoping for praise from the young lady.
"Okay, okay, you can move aside now."
Misty helplessly pushed Brock away again.
Afterward, Ash also drew the Water venue under the staff member's guidance.
"Now I'll input the data into the tournament bracket."
After the staff member input the competition data, the display screen above also showed Ash's battle opponent—still Mandi, who loved juggling tricks from the original story.
"So that person is my battle opponent!" Ash said excitedly, looking forward to the upcoming match with Mandi.
"Water venue, third match, the competition starts at two o'clock. Don't be late," the staff member reminded, telling Ash to pay attention to the match time.
Seeing Ash draw Mandi as in the original story, Red also looked forward to Kingler's upcoming one-versus-three performance, then began drawing his own battle venue.
After Red pressed the red button, the light on the display screen above continuously moved between the four battle venue squares before finally stopping on the Rock venue.
"Rock venue, second match, the competition starts at one-thirty. Please be sure not to be late," the staff member reminded.
"Rock venue? Nice opening..." Red said with the corner of his mouth turning up, having already chosen the Pokémon to lead off in his mind, planning to send out only one Pokémon.
"Now I'll input the data into the tournament bracket."
After the staff member again used the computer to input Red's competition data, the display screen above also showed Red's battle opponent.
Red's opponent was a male student about Brock's age, whose only obvious characteristic was the uniform he wore.
If Red wasn't mistaken, this opponent's uniform was from the Pokémon Technical Institute—the school that specialized in theoretical knowledge but lacked practical battle experience.
'Looks like my luck isn't bad either.'
As for Team Rocket's trio, who had been blasted off earlier, they had now disguised themselves as TV station interview staff to screen for powerful Pokémon to steal, though they were all third-rate Pokémon not worth mentioning.
By coincidence, the disguised trio happened to encounter Mandi, who was performing Pokémon circus acts.
"That guy attracts more attention than us," James complained.
"He's probably a performing artist," Meowth agreed.
To avoid clashing with his companions, after learning that Gary drew the Ice venue for the first round, Red specifically sought out Leaf to ask about her battle venue. Fortunately, Leaf had drawn the Grass venue for the fourth round match, coincidentally avoiding conflicts with all three of Red's companions.
"Not being able to face Red in the first round is really 'unfortunate,'" Leaf said with a joyful smile, unable to resist teasing him.
After all, Leaf didn't want to be eliminated in the first round either.
Ash's trio, who had separated from Red, also discussed tactics. Since it was the Water venue, Misty suggested lending Ash her Water-type Pokémon, but Ash firmly refused because he wanted to win the upcoming matches with his own strength.
"I already have Squirtle!"
"But Ash, you're not very used to Water-type Pokémon battles yet. I think you should listen to my advice," Misty said with concern.
"It's fine, I have my own way," Ash said confidently.
"Ash! I heard that you drew the Water venue!"
Seeing Ash's confident appearance, Gary planned to knock him down a peg.
"Yeah, what about you, Gary?" Ash asked.
"I have no obligation to answer your question, but your battle opponent isn't me—consider it your last bit of luck. Because if your opponent were me, you'd basically be sentenced to death!"
"Gary, you jerk!" Ash said angrily.
"Oh no, it's almost time for the match."
After Gary looked at the clock, he got up to leave.
"See you later, I must excuse myself. Don't become Pallet Town's shame—do your best."
With that, Gary left laughing with his female cheerleaders, ignoring Ash's gradually darkening expression.
"Ash from Pallet Town, Ash from Pallet Town, there's a phone call for you. Please go to the nearest Pokémon Center to return the call."
Just then, a nearby broadcast sounded, notifying Ash to hurry to the nearby Pokémon Center.
Although puzzled about who it was, Ash's trio still ran toward the nearby Pokémon Center.
At this time, Gary's battle match also began.
Indigo League - Ice Venue - First Round
"Too bad your opponent will be me. Let me use you to showcase my strength!"
With that, Gary immediately threw the Poké Ball in his hand. The white light faded, and a robust Rhydon appeared on the Ice venue.
"Damn it, it's actually Rhydon!"
The opponent exclaimed in shock, not expecting Gary to not play by conventional rules.