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Today is the opening ceremony of the Indigo Plateau Conference. Yesterday was the torch relay, and today the relayed torch is to be brought to the ignition platform to light a massive sacred flame.
The sacred torch was passed from one person to another. However, the last two people to receive the torch made Ash feel something was off. Although he couldn't clearly see their faces, he had a very familiar feeling.
For him to feel familiar with someone without seeing their face, it had to be someone he knew well, but he didn't think anyone he knew was participating in the torch relay.
Ash pondered for a long time but ultimately couldn't recall who those two familiar figures were. However, he then remembered he still had Aura!
Even if he couldn't see their faces, the waves of Aura wouldn't change. As long as he scanned them with his Aura, he would know who was on the ignition platform.
An invisible blue wave swept across, and Ash's expression instantly changed drastically: "Everyone! Quickly stop those two guys, they're from Team Rockets!!!"
Ash's shout instantly startled everyone. They didn't recognize Ash immediately, but upon hearing the name Team Rockets, everyone instinctively tensed up.
Even though Team Rockets was now in decline, they were still the largest villainous organization in Kanto. To the Kanto League, Team Rockets was nothing now, but to the Trainers present, who had only been traveling for about two years, Team Rockets was still a formidable force.
But soon they remembered that this was their territory now!
They were currently in the Indigo Plateau arena, and it was the opening ceremony. There were Elite and Champion present, and even Champions from other regions had come to observe the opening ceremony. In such a situation, Team Rockets dared to target the sacred torch? They must be tired of living!
As Ash's words fell, the two people who had received the sacred torch also dropped their act. They directly revealed their true identities by tearing off their disguises!
One with blue hair, one with red hair, a male and a female—who else could they be but two members of the Team Rocket Trio?
Ash couldn't even remember when he last saw Team Rockets. It seemed to be before his battle with Giovanni. By his reckoning, they hadn't come looking for him for almost two months.
Ash had thought Team Rockets had disbanded, indirectly leading to the Team Rocket Trio breaking up. He never expected them to go for something big, causing trouble at the Indigo Plateau Conference opening ceremony!
Good heavens, how dare they! If Giovanni came, that would be one thing, but why would you three small fry dare to cause trouble at the Indigo Plateau Conference? Do you really think the Elite Four and Champions watching are just decorations?
Today, besides the Kanto Elite Four, Cynthia from the Sinnoh Region, Steven from the Hoenn Region, and Leon from the Galar Region were also present!
Three Champions were coming today, but due to the long journey, they hadn't arrived yet, though they were close. In such a situation, the Team Rocket Trio dared to cause chaos here?! Ten lives wouldn't be enough for them to die!
Ash expressed his utter incomprehension.
"Kid, your eyes are as sharp as ever. You could see through our disguise even like this?!" James looked puzzled. They had not only covered their entire bodies but also wore masks and hats, only revealing a pair of eyes.
And they hadn't even made eye contact with Ash, not letting their faces turn towards him, because every time they appeared before Ash, they were recognized by him time and again. So this time, they didn't even let Ash see their eyes.
Yet Ash still recognized them. Was there some special ability that allowed him to always recognize them?!
"It's just that your disguises are too poor. It's been so long, and you still dare to come to the Indigo Plateau arena to cause trouble? Are you tired of living? And your boss is already out of the picture, why are you still so loyal to Team Rockets?"
Of course, Ash wouldn't say that he had a special ability to see through their disguises; he just kept saying their disguises were bad.
But what Ash found most incomprehensible was that Giovanni had already disappeared, and Team Rockets had mostly disbanded, so why were these three still causing trouble? Shouldn't Team Rockets disbanding mean they should turn over a new leaf?
As Ash's words fell, a giant robot descended from the sky, landing behind James and Jessie. The robot opened, revealing the pilot inside—Meowth.
Meowth's face was full of anger: "Don't talk nonsense! Boss Giovanni isn't out of the picture! He's just taking a temporary rest, Meow! In the near future, he will definitely lead us to rise again, Meow!"
"Exactly! Our boss's thoughts are not something you can fathom. His disbanding of Team Rockets now definitely has some secret plan!"
"Before that, we must offer this sacred torch to the boss, to make him look at us with new eyes and include us in his plan!"
Jessie and James spoke one after another, their words filled with adoration for Giovanni. They believed that Giovanni's disbanding of Team Rockets definitely had some hidden reason, and it wasn't due to him being disheartened!
The current disbandment was merely a prelude to future world domination!
"Stop wasting time with the kid, Jessie, James, hurry up, let's take the sacred torch!"
James nodded, then directly threw the torch in his hand onto the sacred fire platform, igniting the massive platform. Immediately after, the two jumped into the Metapod robot with hands and feet that Meowth had built.
The machine closed, and the 'Metapod' extended its arms, preparing to lift the sacred fire platform onto itself.
At this moment, Mr. Charles Goodshow, in the special viewing area, had a darkened face. Never mind where these three came from, or why they had the courage to break into the Indigo Plateau arena, just allowing three members of Team Rockets to enter was already a failure of security!
"Who is in charge of security?! Why were members of Team Rockets able to infiltrate the sacred fire platform? Is the security system made of paper?!" Mr. Charles Goodshow's angry roar echoed throughout the arena.
He, who was always a good-natured man, was truly furious this time. It was important to remember that the Indigo Plateau Conference was broadcast nationwide!
As the Kanto League's annual grand event, it naturally received worldwide attention. This not only represented the fresh blood of Kanto but also the future of the Trainer profession.
Now, the Kanto League had made a fool of itself directly in front of the whole world! And the embarrassment was still ongoing; not only was the sacred torch almost stolen, but those three guys even wanted to take away the enhanced sacred torch in broad daylight!
If they were really allowed to walk out of the Indigo Plateau arena, the entire Kanto League would probably become the laughingstock of all Leagues today!
The League had reserves of sacred torches, but this wasn't about the torch; it was about reputation!
Lance, beside Mr. Charles Goodshow, also had a grim expression. He had been chasing Team Rockets throughout Kanto, yet today, he was watching the Indigo Plateau Conference live, and members of Team Rockets dared to come and cause trouble in his home base?
Didn't his previous actions of clearing out Team Rockets just make him a joke?!!!
Were these three guys high-ranking officers of Team Rockets? How dare they come!
Ash was about to release a Pokémon to stop them, but someone else acted faster.
"Torterra, Frenzy Plant." A calm, indifferent voice sounded, and countless green roots and plants rose from beneath the giant Metapod, firmly binding the Metapod robot in the blink of an eye.
"Can't... can't move, Meow!!!" Meowth desperately shook the levers, but the robot's power couldn't break the Frenzy Plant.
The owner of the voice emerged from the crowd. He had black hair that almost reached his shoulders, and his expression was utterly cold, devoid of any emotion. His hands were in his pockets, and he seemed to completely disdain Team Rockets' giant robot.
"Torterra, destroy it." The cold voice sounded again. The Frenzy Plant wrapped around Team Rockets' robot tightened abruptly, and then the giant Metapod machine shattered with a crash!
"Damn it! Why are there new kids getting in the way again!"
"This operation failed again..."
"What a nasty feeling, Meow!!!"
The Team Rocket Trio once again turned into stars in the sky, disappearing without a trace. And with the explosion of the Metapod machine, the sacred fire platform also tumbled and fell from the air, the flames scattering, some even flying into the audience seats.
"Blastoise, Water Pulse."
Clear, gushing water shot out from the arena, forming a spreading wave in the air, blocking all the falling sparks. The sacred fire platform was also caught by Torterra using Frenzy Plant, and then gently placed back in its original position.
At this moment, the cold young man's gaze turned towards the person who had just commanded Blastoise to help him. That person was, of course, Ash.
The moment their eyes met, an inexplicable feeling arose in their hearts. Although they were meeting for the first time, they could feel that the other person was completely different from themselves.
After a moment of eye contact, the cold young man took out a Poké Ball, recalled Torterra, and then returned to his team without a word. Ash also recalled his Blastoise.
This sudden incident ended in a rather hasty manner, but the final outcome was good: the sacred torch was saved, and few people present were injured. It was just that the Kanto League's reputation suffered quite a blow.
In such a grand competition, to allow Team Rockets to infiltrate was definitely a serious dereliction of duty. Fortunately, Team Rockets was not allowed to openly walk away, otherwise, Kanto would have been utterly nailed to the pillar of shame today.
After the small interlude, the opening ceremony continued. Without Team Rockets' interference, the opening ceremony concluded in just ten minutes.
After the ceremony, the drawing of lots began. The Indigo Plateau Conference preliminaries consisted of four rounds, all of which involved drawing lots for battle venues. After achieving four victories, participants would advance to the main venue of the Indigo Plateau Conference, the Indigo Plateau arena, for battle.
That's when the Top 32 battles would begin.
The preliminaries alone showed the large number of participants. Each participant had only one chance, with no room for error. Once defeated, they would be completely out of the Indigo Plateau Conference.
That's why it's said that the Indigo Plateau Conference is actually a competition that relies heavily on luck. Other conferences allow some room for error in the preliminaries, with direct elimination after one loss only starting from the Top 32.
But in the Indigo Plateau Conference, one loss in the preliminaries means instant elimination. You need to achieve four consecutive wins to successfully enter the Top 32, otherwise, it's directly 'say good-bye'.
In total, there were over 500 participants this time. The preliminaries alone were expected to last four days, and this was just an estimate, because even the preliminaries were 3-on-3 battles. If some matches were particularly intense, four days might not be enough to complete the preliminaries.
Ash and the others arrived at the venue and participant drawing location. His arrival immediately caused a huge commotion. Everyone's attention was drawn to Ash's drawing location.
Ash's opponent was very important to them, because no one wanted to meet Ash in the first round. Otherwise, what's the difference from being directly eliminated? If you're out in the first round, that's like being in the Top 500 of the Indigo Plateau Conference, which is incredibly embarrassing!
At the drawing location, the cold young man had just finished his draw. His opponent was someone named Doran, and the cold young man's name was also displayed on the electronic scoreboard—Paul.
Ash and the cold young man's eyes met once again, and at the same time, he saw the name on the electronic scoreboard.
'Paul... So it's him.'
Ash was not unfamiliar with this name. Gary had mentioned before participating in the Indigo Plateau Conference that there was a very strong person among the participants named Paul, who had been traveling for at least a year and a half, and had achieved good results in his first tournament.
He was only participating in this Indigo Plateau Conference for a spot on Dragon Island. Otherwise, a Trainer of his caliber wouldn't bother with a beginner's competition like the Indigo Plateau Conference, which was in such a remote corner.
After exchanging glances with Paul, Ash turned his head and began his drawing ceremony. Anyway, he definitely wouldn't be battling Paul in the first round, since Paul already had an opponent.
As the electronic scoreboard flashed, Ash's opponent was quickly assigned.
"Ash, you've drawn the Water Arena. Your opponent is Trainer Mandi. The battle will start at 2 PM. Here, this is your Pokédex." The receptionist smiled her signature smile and handed Ash his Pokédex back.
Registration could be done using an ID card or a Pokédex. For Ash, using a Pokédex was more convenient, as he hadn't yet obtained his own ID. Mainly, the Pokédex could serve as an ID, so why bother with the extra effort?
The onlookers, seeing that they hadn't drawn Ash, all breathed a sigh of relief.
However, among all those whose expressions relaxed, one person's face was extremely grim. That person was—Mandi.