Several more days passed like this.
During that time, the other four also finished exploiting all the resources of the place.
At the same time, the Totem Kommo-o accepted his invitation and decided to bring Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o to the Dragon Valley.
There was no reason for it to refuse. After all, the current state of its Secret Kingdom was no longer good, and compared with the enormous Secret Kingdom of the Dragon Valley, this place no longer had anything worth feeling nostalgic about.
"You guys take the Kommo-o first. The magnetic field in this area is very beneficial for my Meltan. Also, the concentration of rock- and ground-type energy here is very high. I plan to train my Pokémon here for a while."
At the moment of parting, Ethan said that to the other four. This place was truly an excellent training ground for his Pokémon.
The other four said nothing more.
Compared with this Secret Kingdom, the training environment of Dragon Valley was more suitable for them.
After saying their goodbyes, the four took all the dragon-type Pokémon from the Secret Kingdom.
Naturally, during the mission everything had been reported to Dragon Valley, so the share of merit corresponding to Ethan would not be small either.
...
Time passed quickly and soon June arrived.
At the same time, the youth category competition of the Pokémon World Championship was about to begin.
The youth category competition of the Pokémon World Championship is also known as the contest for the title of the strongest young trainer in the world.
Unlike the real World Championship, in the youth category only trainers under the age of 22 can participate.
Moreover, the youth championship is held separately from the main world championship. Although both take place every four years, they are separated by two years.
That is to say, after this youth edition, the main World Championship will be held two years later.
Because of this, in these days Harvard City, where the Federal League would organize the tournament, had become extraordinarily lively.
In addition to the participants from each League who were arriving one after another, many spectators backed by major organizations crossed continents and oceans to reach Harvard City.
In total, 32 Leagues registered for this edition of the championship.
Each League had 8 slots, so the total number of participants was 256.
And each of those 256 trainers was, without a doubt, an outstanding talent of the new generation of their respective League.
It could be said that the strongest young trainers in the world had gathered in Harvard City.
Moreover, this world championship was extremely important for every League.
The strength of the new generation would also determine the strength of a country for a long period in the future.
On the world stage, the more achievements the participants of a League obtain, the more resources their League will receive.
Especially now, when the fusion between the Secret Kingdoms and the real world was accelerating. All the Leagues wanted to obtain sufficient resources to prepare for possible future fusions of Secret Kingdoms.
This made every League attach even greater importance to this world championship and seek every possible way to strengthen their participants.
For example, in the Daleron League, Ethan and the others who obtained slots for the championship received enormous amounts of resources, enough for their Pokémon to considerably increase their power in a short time.
Because of this, the atmosphere in Harvard City became extremely tense.
Every League wanted to obtain good results, and the competitive atmosphere became increasingly intense.
...
"Now the opening ceremony of the Pokémon World Championship youth category is about to begin!!!"
"The place where this world championship is being held is right here: in the largest stadium of the Federal League..."
"This is the great stage where the best Pokémon trainers and their partners battle using their skills and power."
"Here stands the highest battle stage for the young generation of the world. The final champion will receive the title of the strongest young trainer in the world..."
"Everyone look! The participants are already entering the stadium one after another. They are..."
In the Federal League stadium, the host's voice echoed throughout the entire venue.
The trainers of each League entered the stadium forming squads.
When all the participants entered representing their respective Leagues, the audience burst into cheers.
At the same time, the bearer of the sacred torch entered through the central corridor.
After making a lap around the participants, he ran toward the cauldron to light the flame.
The sacred flame symbolizes peace, light, unity, and friendship, and it also commemorates the god of fire Prometheus, who stole fire for humanity.
For that reason, in major events, the torch relay and the lighting of the sacred flame are indispensable rituals.
With the lighting of the sacred flame, the Pokémon World Championship youth category officially began.
After that began the first step of the tournament: the draw to decide the order of the battles.
On the giant screen first appeared the flags of the 32 Leagues, and below each one the information of their 8 participants was displayed.
On the other side of the screen the numbers from 1 to 8 were displayed, representing the eight groups of the tournament.
With the start of the draw, the names of the eight participants from each League began to be randomly selected and distributed among the eight groups.
This was done to avoid members of the same League facing each other during the group stage, reducing internal battles and allowing each League to show its greatest strength.
Moreover, the youth championship is divided into a group stage and a knockout stage.
In the group stage the double elimination system is used.
During this phase there are a winners' bracket and a losers' bracket.
In the winners' bracket, the victors advance to the next round, while the defeated move to the losers' bracket.
In the losers' bracket it is decided who continues in the competition; whoever loses again is directly eliminated.
In short, the tournament uses a double-loss system: any participant who loses two matches is eliminated.
In each group there will be two slots for the knockout stage, which will determine the top 16 who will participate in the final rounds.
As for the battle rules: In the group stage all battles will be 3 vs 3, and in the knockout stage they will be full battles of 6 vs 6.
(End of Chapter)