After closing the door to the Breeding House and hanging up the "Closed" sign, Lucas sat on the back of his Ninetales and headed toward Twinleaf Town.
"Wow, there are so many more vendors along the way?"
Lucas walked along the Breeding Road with Cynthia and the others. On the stretch approaching Twinleaf Town, the sides of the road were crowded with many vendors, and the owners of these stalls looked extremely familiar.
"Wow! What a huge fish!"
Shauna exclaimed. Lucas turned his head to look and found it was our dark-skinned angler, Rhys, accompanied by a sweet-looking girl in gorgeous attire. On their stall, a fish as tall as a person was on display.
Leon and the others had already headed to the arena in advance. Lucas checked the time and saw it was still early, so he rode his Ninetales over.
"Why are you selling fish here today?"
Rhys, who was chatting with the noble young lady, looked up and saw it was Lucas. "Lucas."
He stood up, and the noble young lady beside him stood up as well. "This is Vilia, whom I told you about, from the Unova region."
Lucas looked at Vilia; she was the quintessential noble young lady, with golden hair and golden eyes.
The golden color of her hair was too dazzling; Lucas still preferred Cynthia's hair.
"Hello."
"Hello, Lucas."
Vilia performed a noble greeting to acknowledge Lucas.
Lucas: ————
This————do I need to return the greeting? How should I return it?
Wouldn't it be impolite not to return the greeting?
Lucas was hesitating whether to get off the Ninetales' back when the Ninetales bent its right front leg and bowed its head slightly, returning the greeting on Lucas's behalf.
Ninetales! My dear Ninetales! Oh~ you are the sunshine in my heart~
Watching Vilia's surprised expression, Lucas felt an immense sense of satisfaction.
"By the way, why did you set up your stall here? I remember the foot traffic here isn't very high, not as much as the City center, right?"
After the Ninetales stood back up, Lucas asked Rhys.
Rhys revealed teeth that were the complete opposite color of his skin, then pulled a large bundle of fishing rods from behind him. "Actually, I mainly sell fishing rods. This place is very close to the coast, so after customers buy them, they can walk straight down that path to the seaside to fish. At the same time, this place is very close to the arena, so when it starts, I'll take Vilia and head straight to the arena to watch the match."
After speaking, Rhys took out two tickets—they were front-row seats that were notoriously hard to get.
"You rascal, I'll be going then."
After Lucas finished speaking, he had the Ninetales turn around and leave.
"Good luck with the match, Lucas."
Lucas waved his hand.
Behind him, Gengar floated over to Rhys's side and pointed at the big fish.
"Gengar."
Save it for me. I want to see if a fish this big is actually tasty tonight.
Gengar drooled slightly.
Seeing Gengar take out its phone to pay, Rhys gave a thumbs up. "I guarantee I'll save it for you. When you come back, this fish will still be lively and jumping."
Gengar also showed its signature grin and a thumbs up.
Then it stuffed its phone into its mouth and chased after Lucas and the others.
"What's wrong? Haven't had a fish that big before and want to try it tonight?"
"Gengar—"
"Then should I have Gothitelle prepare it for you tonight?"
"Gothitelle."
"You can't? Processing such a large fish is indeed troublesome. Then I'll do it tonight. When we go home later, I'll buy a few more different kinds, and we'll have a full fish feast tonight."
"Gengar!"
"Little Shauna wants to eat grilled fish."
Passersby strolling along the road were somewhat surprised to see Lucas and the others. A Trainer who had come all the way from the Kalos region to watch the match was standing in front of a stall and curiously asked the owner, "Isn't it forbidden to ride Pokémon inside the City? Aren't they afraid of being penalized by Officer Jenny?"
Seeing it was Lucas and his group, the owner smiled and said, "Oh, them? You don't need to worry about them. They aren't included in that restriction. The order in the City during this period is largely thanks to them."
Thinking about how his wallet had been getting fatter over the past week, the owner smiled even more happily. "The owner of the Breeding House is always the best friend of us people in Twinleaf Town."
The Trainer looked at Lucas and the others in confusion. The black-haired young man in the lead sat on an exceptionally large Ninetales, with a Gengar by his side, warmly greeting the surrounding shop owners. A girl in a princess dress sat on a shiny Rapidash with a Chimecho floating beside her. There was also a quiet girl sitting on the shoulder of a Rhyperior, holding a pink Dratini in her arms. On the back of a Gogoat, which was also of an unusual size, sat a gentle lady, and beside her was a gentleman riding on a Miltank.
What a terrifying group of people————
The Trainer shook his head.
Approaching the arena, Lucas saw the melancholy man with purple hair standing by the bushes from afar, with a Bronzong floating beside him.
At this moment, he was looking up at the sky with a melancholy expression.
Don't ask me why I am so melancholy; you don't understand my sorrow.
Lucas actually came up with this sentence.
He had the Ninetales walk forward and got off its back. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Officer Jenny walk over to report to him about the arrangements for the surrounding area.
Lucas watched Lucian working seriously, pursing his lips while his eye twitched.
"Alright, I'll arrange it that way then."
"Mm, thank you for your hard work."
Officer Jenny saluted and then turned to leave.
Before leaving, she bared her teeth at Lucas.
After Officer Jenny left, Lucian looked at Lucas and sighed resignedly. "If you want to laugh, just laugh; there's no need to hold it in."
Upon hearing this, Lucas grinned. "Long time no see, Lucian. What a coincidence, you're here too."
"Yeah, it's so strange. I clearly just started my break yesterday, so why am I at work in Twinleaf Town today————I told you, there's no need to hold it in."
Lucian looked at Lucas.
"What are you saying? When did I laugh? I am a trained professional; I don't usually laugh."
Lucian looked at the man whose mouth was stretched almost to the back of his head, feeling completely speechless.
"The capable are always busy, after all————"
Lucas patted Lucian on the shoulder, comforting him.
"Actually, it's not bad. Working overtime here in Twinleaf Town is much better than other places. At least there's delicious food and afternoon tea to drink."
Lucian continued, "And there are many Pokémon helping out, so it's much easier. I might as well take this time to give myself a vacation."
"You rascal, Lucian, you're thinking about slacking off during work hours, aren't you?"
"This is called reasonable relaxation."
"I'll report you when I get back."
"Why don't you just take over as Champion? That way I could be a bit more relaxed."
"You're dreaming."
Lucas thought of something, put his index finger and thumb into his mouth, and whistled.
With a fluttering sound, a Staraptor descended from the sky and landed on a nearby tree, looking at Lucas.
"For the time being, I'll trouble you to patrol from the air."
"Staraptor."
The Staraptor nodded, then spread its wings and flew into the high sky.
"Teacher Lucas."
A vigorous voice rang out. Lucas and Lucian turned around together and found it was a silver-haired girl wearing a training uniform.
"When did you arrive? Why didn't you come to the Breeding House to find me?"
Lucas looked at Bea, who had run up in front of him, and couldn't help but ask.
Bea first bowed respectfully to greet him, then said, "I didn't dare to go over and disturb you, Teacher."
Lucas shook his head. "What kind of disturbance is that? After the match today, you can come back to the Breeding House with me. Perhaps you can even ask Mustard for some advice."
"Yes."
Bea agreed.
"This is our Sinnoh region's Psychic-type Elite, Lucian."
Lucas introduced Lucian to Bea, then looked at Lucian and explained, "This is my student from the Galar region, Bea. She is currently working hard to become a Fighting-type Gym Leader."
Lucian curiously sized up the girl in front of him, sensing a tenacious spirit about her.
As expected of Lucas's student.
"Just like Ash, Paul, and Gary?"
"Pretty much."
"Hello."
Lucian nodded and greeted Bea.
"Hello, Elite Lucian."
Bea bowed again in greeting.
"It's about time, let's go in."
Lucas nodded and followed Lucian into the arena.
Looking at the magnificent and resplendent arena, Lucas's mouth opened wide enough to fit two eggs.
Wait————huh?
"Is this Twinleaf Town?"
Just then, the Mayor Qinn walked over and asked Lucas, "How is it? Is the venue layout okay? I set it up based on the venue in Jubilife City. Although it's not as complete as that one, it looks pretty good overall and can accommodate a lot of people."
Lucas: "..."
"This venue wouldn't happen to be—something you started working on the day I told you about it, would it?"
"Yeah, what's wrong? Actually, there wasn't enough time; otherwise, I could have made it even better."
It's only been about two weeks total, right? How did such a large venue get built out of thin air?
"Although it can only accommodate five thousand people, for now, it's completely sufficient."
Five thousand people?!
Lucas was incredibly shocked.
Once again, he clearly felt the terrifying production capacity of the Pokémon world.
Perhaps building a skyscraper from the ground up wasn't impossible.
"The match is about to start. Shall we go to the preparation area?"
The Mayor Qinn asked.
Lucas nodded and followed the Mayor Qinn to the preparation area.
Lucas's preparation area was specially selected by the Mayor Qinn; it had a good location, could accommodate family members sitting together, and there was no one else around.
"Where are the other contestants' preparation areas?"
Lucas stood on the viewing platform and asked curiously.
"They all have designated waiting areas."
"I see. Is it okay for me to stay here? I mean, don't I need to stay with the other contestants?"
"Not at all. After all, as a contestant and also the organizer, you don't need to stay with the other contestants."
"So that's how it is."
Lucas nodded.
"Then you all watch from here first. I'll go handle the remaining matters."
After the Mayor Qinn finished speaking, he turned and left the viewing platform. Seeing his fast pace, it seemed he was quite happy about hosting this tournament.
"Then Teacher, I will also go to the waiting area to wait," Bea said politely.
"You don't have to go. It's fine to stay up here together, and you can just go over when they call you."
"No, Teacher. I want to go and learn from different martial artists, and there are a few martial artists I particularly like."
"I see. Alright, go ahead. Good luck with the match."
"Yes."
Bea finished speaking and turned to leave.
"A very motivated girl," Elite Four Lucian said, watching Bea's departing back.
"Yes, if she continues like this, I believe she will be able to achieve what she expects with her own hands."
Elite Four Lucian nodded, then found a seat and sat down.
He entered a slacking-off state in a second.
Shauna and Tomoyo were sitting beside him.
Elite Four Lucian listened to "Uncle Lucian" on the left and "Uncle Lucian" on the right, and his heart blossomed with joy.
No one could refuse two cute little potatoes, not even Arceus.
Mime Jr. was sitting on the fence as usual, but this time it had an Alcremie beside it. This was also Alcremie's first time stepping out of the Breeding House.
In order to watch the match properly, Mime Jr. had been working overtime for the past few days to finish filming its scenes for this period.
Leon called, and Lucas took the opportunity to have them come to the viewing platform to watch, so it would be livelier.
Since there weren't many contestants, just a few dozen, which was just enough to pair them up for battles, Lucas arranged the tournament as one-on-one battles where the winner advances. Since it was a Martial Arts Tournament, according to Lucas's idea, everyone could only send out their strongest Fighting-type Pokémon to participate.
1v1 duels, punches meeting flesh.
After watching Maylene's battle, Leon and the others arrived late.
"Why did you come so late?"
Lucas asked curiously.
"It's because someone can get lost even going to the restroom—"
Sonia complained.
Lucas: "..."
"I know you have no sense of direction, but this is just too—"
Leon rubbed his head embarrassedly, "After all, this place is too big—"
"I remember this place is still far from comparable to the Wyndon Stadium, right?"
"That's different; there I just need to stay on the Champion's throne."
Lucas shook his head.
After everyone sat down, Gengar took out its hidden stash of snacks again, placed them on a table that appeared out of thin air, and then there was hot tea and milk tea.
There was everything to eat.
"Speaking of which, you're actually willing to bring out so many snacks."
Lucas lowered his voice and asked Gengar, who was sitting beside him.
"Gengar!"
It was the bottom of the stash.
Lucas: "You mean, you couldn't fit your snacks, so you took out the food at the bottom of the box?"
Gengar nodded.
"You're something else—I don't know who you learned that from."
"Gengar," none of your business!
"I really didn't expect that watching the match could be this comfortable—hiccup—"
Sonia hiccuped and said contentedly.
"Actually, if you stay with Lucas for a long time, you will find that he is the type of person who lives quite refinedly. Last time at the Lily of the Valley Conference, he was drinking tea while watching the match."
"I see."
Sonia nodded, holding a sausage in her hand.
"Leon, I heard you went to battle Cynthia?"
Lucas looked at Leon.
Leon nodded and said, "Because we came to the venue too early and were a bit bored, Sonia and I flew over and had a friendly match with Champion Cynthia."
"Did you win?"
"Neither of us used our true strength; it was just a friendly match."
"Looks like you lost."
Lucas understood.
Leon: "..."
"A move behind."
"However, after this exchange and sparring, I found that Champion Cynthia's strength has improved again."
Leon continued, "But fortunately, I haven't been standing still either."
Looking at Leon's expression, he was still confident of victory.
As expected of the strongest Champion of Pokémon.
"That contestant—is that a Dynamax Band on her wrist?"
Sonia asked.
Lucas and Leon looked over and discovered that it was Bea who had just entered the arena.
Opposite her was a girl with a ponytail, wearing roller skates and a skateboard cap.
Huh? Korrina? The little cucumber?
So this match is—dark-skinned Bea versus little cucumber Korrina?
The battle between two future Fighting-type Gym Leaders should be very exciting, right?
"By the way, when is my match? I hope I don't have any matches today?"
Elite Four Lucian was exchanging knowledge about Pokémon battles with Leon. Seeing Lucas look at him, he frowned.
"You are the organizer, and I came here to be responsible for maintaining order. You're asking me about the schedule?"
"Oh right, I'm used to it. After all, you're the one who always told me about the Lily of the Valley Conference."
Elite Four Lucian: "..."
Elite Four Lucian took out his phone and got a copy of the schedule from the Mayor Qinn.
"Lucian-san, I knew it. You are the most reliable. The Sinnoh region cannot lose Lucian, just like the Breeding House cannot lose Gothitelle."
"I like women."
Elite Four Lucian's eyes were full of vigilance.
"Sorry, I have Cynthia."
"That's true."
Elite Four Lucian relaxed his vigilance.
Sonia on the side: "Huh? Lucas and Champion Cynthia are together?!"
Lucas nodded proudly, "Of course, we got together the day I defeated her."
Lucas had an expression on his face that said, "Hurry up and praise me."
Sonia curiously asked about the ins and outs of Lucas's story.
Lucas vividly described how he turned the tide and defeated Cynthia.
Gothitelle on the side: "..."
Forget it, I'll just pretend I didn't hear it.
"Next, contestant Bea from the Galar region will battle contestant Korrina from the Kalos region. Please, both sides, send out your Pokémon."
Bea threw a Poké Ball, and it was a Machamp.
Korrina sent out her Lucario.
"It's Machamp and Lucario, both are very powerful Fighting-type Pokémon. So next, let us wait and see what kind of intense battle the two contestants can bring us."
The referee, standing on a flying device, finished speaking and made a muscle pose, "Then I announce, this match officially begins!"
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