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"Damn it! I've done a lot of training to defeat you. I definitely won't lose to you in the competition!"
Seeing Ash's expression of finally remembering, Giselle became even more upset. She felt it would have been better if he hadn't remembered at all! That look of forgetting and then suddenly recalling made her feel even more insulted.
"The same goes for us!" At that moment, the other people behind Giselle also spoke up.
Looking closely, they were the same group from the Pokémon Tech Academy. The humiliation of being completely defeated by Ash's group back at the school obviously hadn't been forgotten yet.
However, since that incident, only Giselle had truly practiced diligently. Her talent was genuinely good, and she'd collected enough Badges through her own abilities.
The others, however, had still relied on their Pokémon Tech Academy quota to register for the competition.
Ash had told them that those who used the academy quota wouldn't get good results. Many of them wanted to prove him wrong here.
"Let's talk about it after you make it past the preliminary rounds!" Ash shrugged slightly after hearing this, then left with Yellow and the others without saying anything more.
"Damn it! Ash, just you wait!"
Feeling Ash's dismissive attitude, Giselle was so angry she gritted her teeth, but she had no choice but to watch them leave.
After leaving the restaurant and returning to their room, Ash didn't go anywhere else. He took off his jacket and lay down on the bed to rest.
Misty and the others knew that tomorrow was the opening ceremony and it was very important to Ash, so they didn't disturb him.
Late at night, the entire facility had become quiet. The contestants had gone to bed early to prepare for tomorrow. The opening ceremony would start very early in the morning.
Then the first preliminary round would begin. The schedule was tight, but this was also a test of the Trainers' ability to perform under pressure.
At this time, it was already late at night, but Ash hadn't fallen asleep. Pikachu and Jigglypuff were already sleeping soundly at his bedside.
Ash lay on the upper bunk, resting his head on his hands and staring at the ceiling. He'd been the first to go to bed, but the last to fall asleep.
To be honest, Ash himself hadn't expected this. He'd originally thought that as someone from another world, he wouldn't be especially nervous in situations like this.
He wasn't particularly nervous, but there was a sense of anticipation and excitement that kept him awake for a long time.
He didn't even notice that Yellow, who was sleeping on the upper bunk across from him, wasn't asleep either. After noticing that Ash was still awake, she silently nestled in her bed and peeked at him.
After a while, Ash glanced at the time and realized it was already past five in the morning. Looking out the window, it was still dark. The sky above was still pitch black. Ash sat up carefully without waking Pikachu and Jigglypuff.
He carefully climbed down from the upper bunk, put on his jacket, opened the door quietly, and walked out. Yellow kept watching Ash's movements the entire time.
At the same moment Ash walked out, Misty, who was in the lower bunk, suddenly opened her eyes and glanced toward the door.
"This isn't like him at all."
In the past, whether it was Gym battles or anything else, Ash had never seemed nervous, let alone unable to sleep like he was now.
"Hm?"
Yellow, on the upper bunk, heard Misty's soft murmur and was slightly startled. She slowly sat up, leaned over, and looked down at the lower bunk. Misty also noticed Yellow's movement.
The two girls looked at each other and were both surprised for a moment. Then they both smiled instinctively. It was obvious they both understood that the other was worried about Ash.
Meanwhile, Ash had left the room and walked out of the Pokémon Center. Following the road outside, he found no one else around at this hour. Ash started jogging along the path.
Without realizing it, he arrived outside the main venue. Although the opening ceremony hadn't started yet and the venue wasn't open, Ash had just been passing by.
However, he noticed that the door seemed to be open. Ash, who'd had no intention of stopping, paused for a moment, then walked inside.
Although he'd seen this large venue on TV, including in his memories from before, this was the first time he'd actually visited the main venue since coming to this world.
The entire massive stadium, including the audience seating, could accommodate more than one hundred thousand people. It was larger than famous stadiums he remembered from his previous life. This showed just how popular Pokémon battles were in this world.
Ash stood in the audience section and looked toward the field. He'd always been on the field before—this was the first time he was standing in the stands looking down at the battlefield.
This venue wasn't just for the League Conference. Many Elite-level Trainers had battled here before, and the Elite and Champions from past generations had constantly changed.
"That should do it!"
At that moment, Ash didn't notice that there was a figure standing near a huge cauldron directly above the stadium behind him. After inspecting the cauldron, the figure nodded with satisfaction and turned around.
"?"
When he turned around and looked ahead, he saw a figure standing at the railing in the front of the audience section below.
"Ash?"
This person was President Charles. When he recognized the figure before him, President Charles was a bit surprised, but he calmed down after a moment and slowly walked down the stairs.
Every year when the Indigo Plateau Conference was held, he personally came to inspect the torch cauldron to avoid any problems when the Sacred Flame arrived, so the outside door had been left open.
He just hadn't expected anyone to come in this time. Normally, the venue was closed before matches started. Even if the door was open, no one dared to enter before the competition began.
This was the main venue, after all—not somewhere you could casually visit. Only those who advanced from the qualifying rounds and secured a spot in the top sixteen were eligible to compete here.
President Charles slowly approached but didn't disturb Ash. When he got close enough to hear, he suddenly caught Ash murmuring softly.
"One day, I'm going to defeat the Elites here!"
"!" President Charles's expression shifted slightly after hearing this. While shocked, he opened his eyes wide and looked at the young man before him.
Many Trainers had this kind of ambition, but only a few were ever able to achieve it. Yet for some reason, when Ash said it, President Charles found himself firmly believing that Ash could do it.
"I'm really looking forward to it, Ash."