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"Hehe, Delia, you really have to give it your all in the upcoming League Conference! I'll definitely go cheer for you when the time comes!"
It was already the next day. At the entrance of the Blackthorn Gym, Clair held Delia's hands tightly, her face full of reluctance as she sent her off with encouragement.
Yesterday's final battle had ended with Blastoise's victory. After that, Liam and Delia were warmly hosted by Clair. The injured Pokémon were all handed over to the old butler for treatment. Since the healing would take some time, Liam and Delia stayed overnight at the Blackthorn Gym.
Now that Delia had obtained the Rising Badge, all eight badges required for the Johto League Conference had finally been collected. At last, she was officially qualified to challenge the Silver Conference.
The venue for this League Conference was Silver Town, located on one side of the Silver Mountain range. With only one month left before the competition began—and the journey being long—it was better to set off early.
After thanking Clair for her guidance and hospitality, Liam and Delia bade her farewell and prepared to head toward Silver Town, the site of the League Conference.
However, before that, Delia still needed to return to the place where she had originally registered her Gym challenges to report the results. Only after that would her qualifications be officially recognized by the Silver Conference.
Thus, their next destination was actually New Bark Town.
New Bark Town—The town where the winds of beginnings blow. The place of beginnings, and also the place of completion.
After half a month of travel, Liam and Delia returned once more to this town where it had all started. Seeing that the flow of people in the town had increased noticeably, both of them felt a sense of nostalgia.
"Hello, Miss Delia. I've finished registering your information and Gym Badges. Next, you just need to activate your credentials at the Pokémon Center in Silver Town, and you'll be able to participate in the Silver Conference. Thank you very much for your cooperation, and I wish you outstanding results in the competition."
"Thank you very much for your help, Nurse Joy."
At the same familiar Pokémon Center, Delia accepted her ID card and badges from Nurse Joy after completing all the registration procedures. After thanking her, she left the Center together with Liam.
Originally, Liam and Delia had planned to visit Professor Elm's residence to see how he was doing, but they discovered he wasn't home. According to his family, he was still studying under Professor Oak and hadn't returned yet.
So they didn't linger any longer. Once again, they left New Bark Town and headed north toward Mt. Silver.
After nearly another half month of travel, Liam and Delia finally arrived at the venue of this year's Johto League Conference—Silver Town, located on the northern side of Mt. Silver.
Silver Town was already a highly developed town. Despite being called a "town," its total area actually exceeded that of any city in the Johto region. Surrounded by the sea on two sides and dense green forests on the third, the scenery was exceptional.
There was also a Players' Village here whose size and facilities far surpassed those of the Indigo Plateau's Players' Village in the Kanto region.
The Players' Village in Silver Town was luxuriously equipped, and its balconies directly faced the sea. Just standing there and gazing at the vast ocean in the distance was enough to put one's mind at ease.
After activating their registration information at the Pokémon Center in Silver Town, Liam and Delia checked into the Players' Village.
With only two days left before the competition began, it was the perfect time for Delia and her Pokémon to get some proper rest in preparation for the upcoming battles.
The rules of the Silver Conference differed somewhat from those of the Indigo Conference, so it was necessary to familiarize themselves in advance.
First, the Silver Conference adopted a selection-based system for its initial round. After the Conference officially began, all participating Trainers would engage in one-on-one selection battles. Each participant would fight three matches. Only those who won at least two matches—or demonstrated exceptional performance—would be selected to advance to the preliminary rounds.
After this selection stage, only 48 Trainers would remain. These 48 Trainers would then be divided into 16 groups, with three Trainers in each group. Each group would conduct round-robin 3v3 battles, earning points for wins and losses. Only the Trainer with the highest total points in each group would advance to the final Top 16.
From that point onward, the rules were similar to the Indigo Conference—full 6v6 battles, single elimination, until a champion was crowned.
Since there was still some time left, Liam suggested that he and Delia go out and take a look around while resting. Maybe they could spot other Trainers doing practice battles and get a sense of their opponents' strength.
Delia happily agreed, and the two left the Players' Village together, strolling around aimlessly.
After an entire afternoon of wandering and observation, evening finally arrived.
Although the sun had not fully set yet, the sky had already begun to darken. Streetlights in the Players' Village gradually lit up, signaling that dusk had arrived.
On a small hillside not far from the Players' Village, Liam and Delia lay quietly together, watching the sun slowly sink toward the horizon, savoring the moment.
"Liam… after watching all those battles this afternoon, I saw so many strong Trainers. I'm starting to lose confidence in myself. What should I do? I suddenly feel really nervous…"
Delia lay on the grassy slope, hugging one of Liam's arms, her face filled with worry.
"Hehe, there's nothing to be nervous about. Delia, you need to have confidence in yourself. Your strength is definitely not weak. You'll absolutely get great results in this Conference. Believe me."
Liam turned his head slightly, smiling as he looked at her and spoke gently.
"Oh…"
But it didn't seem to help much. Delia only held onto Liam's arm more tightly, replying in a weak voice.
Seeing her like this, Liam felt a bit troubled. Just as he was thinking about what else to say, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from below the hill.
"Huh?! Senior Liam? Senior Delia? So you've already arrived! Haha, long time no see!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Liam looked up—and saw Axu, whom he hadn't seen in two months, standing at the bottom of the hill with luggage. Behind Axu were three boys and girls who all looked quite young. It was unclear what their relationship with Axu was.
"Yo, Axu. Long time no see."
Recognizing Axu, Liam and Delia stood up immediately and walked down with smiles.
"Haha, I was startled when I saw you from afar—I thought I'd mistaken you for someone else. I didn't expect it to really be you! So, Senior Delia, have you finished registering for the Conference already? We just arrived and were about to head to the Pokémon Center to register."
Running into familiar faces right away clearly put Axu in a great mood.
"Uh… and these three are…?"
After walking down the hill, Liam got a clear look at the three behind Axu. They seemed oddly familiar, as if he'd seen them somewhere before—but he couldn't recall where, so he asked.
"Senior! Hello!"
As soon as Liam finished speaking, the slender boy on the far left—with light green hair and a gentle smile—stepped forward. He nodded politely toward Liam and Delia and introduced himself.
"The three of us are traveling partners from the Hoenn region, taking on challenges together. We've been under Axu-senpai's care this whole time. Since you're Axu-senpai's seniors, that naturally makes you our seniors as well. It's a pleasure to meet you.
Let me introduce us properly—my name is Wallace. This blue-haired one here is Steven, and this young lady is Winona. We've just arrived and still have many things we don't understand. We hope you'll take good care of us in the future."
After Wallace finished speaking, Steven and Winona both bowed slightly as well and said in unison:
"Please take care of us!"
Liam: "…"