Ross found it hard to sleep as his thoughts wandered all over the place. His body, though, was exhausted, so he quickly fell into a deep slumber, waking up only early afternoon the next day.

Jessica had no more further words, except for "Good luck," when Ross collected the Sneasel, which had been nursed back to health. Ross' worried friend, Brooke, came to see him before they both split their paths. Ross had to return the Sneasel to its surroundings before going to Canaleve. He had put the Sneasel in a temporary Pokéball for protection.

He promised to visit Brooke when he was in the vicinity. As Brooke was leaving, Ross challenged her to a battle. Brooke thought the idea was preposterous, as Ross had never battled before, in addition to the Sneasel possibly not reacting to his commands. However, they fought, and Brooke won. Now Ross walked slowly towards the woods, already finding it hard to part with his Sneasel.

Brooke

As the sun rested itself upon the horizon, Brooke finally entered Jublife city. She saw the same roads, buildings, and general layout of the structures, though everything had been renewed or repainted. The previously cobbled roads were now steady and smooth. The Pokécenter had put together an extension for the inn to accommodate more guests.

Seeing the Pokécenter reminded Brooke that she should do two things before exploring the shops in town. One, sign in and pay for the inn and food services and two, sign up for the Little Cup tourney.

Elekid was withdrawn in his Pokéball, and Brooke considered letting him out but decided against it when she spotted a trainer feeding his Cranidos, Budew and Roselia nearby. The always famished and ravenous Elekid would rush up to them and eat their meal before they realised what was going on. The trainer looked very happy and pleased and smiled as his Roselia did a little dance out of joy, but his outfit was extraordinary.

The man wore a black shirt and a black and white striped jacket on top. He was dressed in baggy blue jeans and small shoes. On his left hand he wore a black and white fingerless glove, which spiralled up his arm in a peculiar way. On top of his intense, spiky blue hair he wore a black and white jester's hat, the colours separating in the middle. He had painted a triangle over his left eye in a deep dark blue colour.

Brooke realised she had been staring rather rudely, so she turned her watch to the Pokécenter and looked back at the strange joker man once more before walking inside. The inside was decorated colourfully. The walls were a soft purple and red, and many trainers socialised on the comfortable red couches on the right side.

Behind a short counter stood a jubilant Nurse Joy, with flowing pink hair and a happy smile. To her left there was a notice board with a variety of colours of paper pinned in an orderly fashion. One notice dominated above the rest- a blue and green poster, almost a quarter the size of the whole board, with the words "Little Cup" printed in a fancy font.

Brooke walked to the counter shyly, looking back as the automatic glass doors shut behind her. Nurse Joy looked up at her.

"Hello there," she said cheerfully. "How can I help you?"

Brooke explained her necessities and handed over some coins to pay.

"Can I also sign up for the Little Cup?"

"Sure," she responded. "Let me check the register."

Nurse Joy took out a list and schedule from beneath her desk and looked over the register.

"Looks like you're lucky," she murmured. "There are only two spots left."

She then handed over the register to Brooke, and told her to sign in one of the remaining empty places.

Brooke Hallows

Brooke went over several of the other people's names.

Katherine Jacobs

Drake Dennis

Chester Davidson

After handing the register back to Nurse Joy, she handed Brooke the schedule.

"All battles, except for the finals, will take place in the plaza in the centre of town." She explained. "The first battle will take place tomorrow; you can go watch it there."

"Ok," Brooke said and nodded understandingly. "When will my first battle be?"

"Your schedule is here," Nurse Joy clarified, turning the paper over to reveal another table. "Your first fight will be in two days time."