Early the next morning, the semifinals of the Silver Conference got underway. True to schedule, all matches would be concluded in a single day: Ash and Kenta would face off in the morning, while Gary and his opponent would battle in the afternoon. Having learned their lesson from before and wanting to secure good seats, Misty and Brock had applied to the tournament committee for official status as Ash's cheer squad, allowing them directly onto the field to watch the match. Marina had done the exact same thing on the opposing side, entering the arena as Kenta's official cheer squad. Professor Oak and Delia were seated in the grandstands as usual.
"You've got this, Ash! Now that you've beaten me, you have to go all the way!" Misty said, giving Ash some final words of encouragement as he prepared to take the field.
"Oh, right, you guys come out too!" With that, Misty released Politoed, Togetic, and Psyduck, handing out little cheering flags to Ash and his Pokémon to pump them up.
Chapter 17