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"So what's next?" After seeing off the officials, Green looked at everyone and asked.
"I haven't registered yet. I need to go to the Pokémon Center first!"
Hearing this, Ash responded. He'd been planning to sign up, but meeting President Charles had delayed him.
"You're the same as always! I've already started gathering information on my rivals!" Gary returned to his usual confident self.
"And did that help you win the championship?"
"What's with that attitude? Of course I can win the championship!" Listening to Ash's response, Gary felt irritated again.
"Sure, sure, whatever you say!"
"Damn it!"
"Hahaha!" Seeing the two of them bickering, Green couldn't help but laugh. Misty and the others also found themselves laughing along with her.
"Have they always been like this?" Yellow had gotten to know everyone relatively recently, so she'd never seen Ash and Gary argue before.
"Yeah! We've gotten used to it by now," Misty responded with a smile.
Yellow watched with interest and a bit of envy. Because she'd been introverted since childhood, she had few friends. But looking at Ash and Gary—although their relationship seemed contentious on the surface—she found herself envying them.
"Anyway, I'm heading out first!" After arguing for a while, Ash decided to stop. After all, Gary and Green had already registered, and he still hadn't!
The group separated there. Gary went off to continue his research, Green went to take care of her Pokémon, and Yellow followed Ash to the Pokémon Center.
They'd arrived at the main venue area. The Pokémon Center wasn't very far from the main venue—this was designed to help players get their Pokémon treated as quickly as possible after matches.
The four of them arrived at the Pokémon Center and entered the main hall. This Pokémon Center was much larger than the ones they'd seen in other cities.
At this time, it was already packed with people. Not only Trainers, but various Pokémon could be seen everywhere, along with many Chansey bustling about.
Ash walked toward the front desk, where a Nurse Joy was standing.
During the League Conference, even one Nurse Joy couldn't handle everything alone, so whenever this time came around, Nurse Joys were transferred from various locations to help out.
"Ah! Nurse Joy, you're more beautiful than all the other Nurse Joys I've ever seen!"
Upon seeing Nurse Joy, Brock's old habit kicked in. It seemed that what had happened at the circus hadn't taught him a lasting lesson.
"Alright, alright! They all look the same anyway. Nurse Joy is very busy—don't cause trouble here!"
Misty had no choice but to step forward and pull Brock's ear as usual.
Yellow smiled awkwardly beside them, and Ash shook his head helplessly before walking forward to address Nurse Joy, who still looked a bit flustered.
"Hello, Nurse Joy! I'm here to register for the Indigo Plateau Conference."
"Hello! If you want to register, just place your ID on the screen in front of you!" After hearing this, Nurse Joy gestured toward the device.
Ash glanced at the computer beside her, then took out his Pokédex and placed it on the computer screen.
Beep!
Soon, the computer screen began displaying various information about Ash, including the Pokémon he'd caught and the number of Badges he'd earned.
"Ash from Pallet Town has obtained eight official Pokémon League Gym Badges and has caught eighteen different species of Pokémon. Eligible to participate in the Indigo Plateau Conference! Registration successful!"
Soon, a mechanical voice came from the computer. Ash had caught eighteen species of Pokémon. Although there were over a dozen Tauros, they only counted as one species.
However, as long as the number of Pokémon species caught exceeded six, you were eligible to participate. If you didn't have enough Pokémon, even having all the Badges wouldn't matter.
"Alright, your registration is complete!" Nurse Joy looked at the computer and then said to Ash with a smile.
"Thank you. Could you also help us with the check-in process?" Ash retrieved his Pokédex after hearing this.
"Of course, just one moment!"
Nurse Joy responded with a smile and began operating the computer. The four of them quickly checked in. Because there were so many contestants, rooms had to be allocated as efficiently as possible.
During the League Conference, contestants could enjoy everything at the Pokémon Center for free, including accommodation, meals, and Pokémon treatment.
However, Misty and the others weren't contestants, so to make things easier for everyone, they requested a large room.
Having four people share one room wouldn't be a problem.
The room had dormitory-style bunk beds, so it wouldn't be cramped with four people.
Ash also handed over his Pokémon to Nurse Joy to have them checked and ensure they were in top condition. Tomorrow was the opening ceremony of the Indigo Plateau Conference, so Ash didn't plan to wander around.
After staying in the Pokémon Center to rest, night fell before they knew it. The four of them had dinner and left the restaurant to head back to their room.
Just as they walked out of the restaurant, they saw a group of people coming toward them. When the other party saw Ash and his group, the girl leading them looked slightly surprised.
"Ash! Long time no see!" After her initial surprise, the girl showed a proud smile.
"Uh... Um! Who are you?" Ash looked at the girl in front of him and felt she seemed familiar, but couldn't quite place her. He scratched his head awkwardly and asked.
"What?!" The girl nearly stumbled after hearing Ash's words.
"I'm Giselle, and I told you I'd be competing here too!" The girl was clearly upset, feeling embarrassed about being forgotten.
"Giselle...?"
"Ash, you forgot—it's from the Pokémon Tech Academy we visited not long after we left Mt. Moon!" Brock reminded him in a low voice.
"Ah! I remember now!"
After hearing this, Ash remembered. Wasn't she the proud student from the academy? It seemed she had indeed said she would participate in the conference.
But Ash had completely forgotten about it. In his memories from the anime, she'd also said she wanted to participate, but never showed up at all. He didn't know whether she hadn't participated or had been eliminated early—either way, she was never mentioned again.