"Alright, please tell me your name and ID number," the staff member said with a smile and a nod.
After cooperating with the registration process, Nathan soon received his official Trainer license—a card similar to an ID, which would be needed for many things in the future.
Once he got his Trainer license, Nathan didn't leave immediately but instead said, "I'd like to register for this year's Trial Tournament, please help me sign up."
To sign up, one could either go to the competition venue directly or register at a Pokémon Center.
The staff lady chuckled. "You're really cutting it close—tomorrow's the first day of the tournament. Registration closes in just a few hours!"
"I was busy training earlier, haha." Nathan scratched his head and laughed.
The lady didn't say anything more. After some typing on the computer, she helped Nathan register.
Only then did Nathan leave.
...
Back at home.
Nathan turned on his computer and checked out the information for the current Trial Tournament. As expected, every time the tournament was held, it created a lot of buzz—news outlets were constantly reporting on it, and it always trended on social media.
"So many people are participating this year?!" Nathan was a bit surprised after reading through the info. There were over a thousand participants this time.
But thinking it through, it made sense.
Every Trial Tournament was basically like the college entrance exam in his previous life—extremely important.
If you managed to win the championship, top universities like Magic University or Imperial University would offer you a place, along with a mountain of resources.
The rewards were also incredibly generous. For this year's tournament, the participants who placed 4th to 7th would each receive an Evolution Stone and 10,000 Pokécoins.
The 2nd and 3rd place winners would get a high-quality Evolution Stone, a TM (Technical Machine), and 100,000 Pokécoins.
As for 1st place, the prize was a mysterious Pokémon egg, a top-tier Evolution Stone, a held item, and a TM—plus a cash prize of 1 million Pokécoins.
You couldn't call that anything less than generous.
Of course, Nathan was probably the only one whose main goal was the million-Poké prize. Most of the other competitors were likely after the high-quality Evolution Stones and the rare Pokémon egg.
After all, those things were hard to come by. A high-quality Evolution Stone usually cost more than five million, and a top-tier one could go for over ten million.
As for the Pokémon egg given to the champion, it clearly wouldn't hatch into some common Pokémon. Even if it wasn't a pseudo-legendary, it would likely be a powerful Psychic- or Ghost-type.
After reading through the tournament schedule, Nathan went to browse the tournament forum. Soon, he noticed a pinned post in bold red text, with a flame icon next to it, indicating the thread was trending and full of discussion.
[The Hot Contenders for This Year's Trial Tournament – A Must-See!]
That title immediately caught Nathan's attention.
Without hesitation, he moved his mouse and clicked on the post. After a bit of fluff at the beginning, it got straight to the good stuff.
The thread was filled with intel gathered by the poster through various channels.
[Every Trial Tournament, there's always a small group of people who stand out—those whose Pokémon far outclass their peers and are destined for the finals.]
[This year is no exception.]
[Leo Ford, from Magic City. His starter was a Bulbasaur, which has now evolved into a Venusaur. His school also gave him a Ponyta as his second Pokémon.]
[Evelyn Mist, my goddess, is from the capital. Most people should know her—she's the heiress of the Poké Ball Corporation. A rich girl prodigy, she's been ranked first in every subject since grade school. Her starter was a Ralts, now evolved into a Gardevoir, known as the Psychic Queen. Her school gave her an Eevee. Given her family's wealth, it's likely she has other Pokémon as well.]
[Willow Blaze, also from Magic City. Cough, cough—everyone should know this fiery-tempered girl. She's the granddaughter of the former Fire-type Elite Guardian member Andrew Blaze. Her starter was a Charmander, and it's probably evolved into a Charizard by now. Her second Pokémon is a Vulpix. Like the rich girl above, she probably has more Pokémon in her lineup.]
[...]
As Nathan read through the list, his brow furrowed in frustration.
No doubt about it—this year's lineup had a lot of tough competitors. After all, there were plenty of wealthy families across the country, many of whom could give their kids top-tier Pokémon from a young age.
But Nathan still had full confidence in his Volcarona.
A Pokémon at the level of an Elite Four member wasn't something others could achieve easily.
Each round of the Trial Tournament only allowed the use of two Pokémon, a rule designed with less-privileged contestants in mind.
As for Nathan, he was aiming straight for the championship.
His Pancham was mostly there to act as support and gain some battle experience along the way.
The real main force was Volcarona.
Letting Volcarona make its debut on the stage of the Trial Tournament would definitely be a grand entrance.
…
Lily: [You're really entering the tournament?]
Nathan: [Yup.]
Lily: [There'll be a livestream, right?]
Nathan: [There should be.]
Lily: [Then I'll tune in. Don't lose in the prelims, okay?]
Nathan: [You're underestimating me. Just wait till tomorrow—I'll show you how awesome your friend is!]
Lily: [Get lost, child!]
Smiling, Nathan put down his phone and walked over to his computer to check the official tournament website. By now, the match schedule should be posted, so he wanted to see when his first battle would be.
The format was simple.
The preliminaries were split into six arenas and would run for three days. Once the number of contestants dropped to 64, the top 16 round would start a week later to determine the finalists.
Nathan entered his Trainer license number into the website and clicked search.
The result popped up on screen.
[Match: Nathan vs. Felix Weston]
[Arena: Arena Two]
[Time: 10:00 AM]
Contestant info was also visible to opponents, but Nathan wasn't a well-known player, so no one had leaked anything about his starter or second Pokémon.
And he didn't know what Pokémon his opponent would use either.
He just checked the schedule to confirm the time.
"Ten o'clock, huh?" Nathan rubbed his chin and nodded slightly, then turned off the computer. After checking the time, he turned off the lights and went to bed.
...
The new day arrived in the blink of an eye.
He got up, washed up, and had breakfast.
After packing lightly, Nathan headed out.
He wore blue jeans, white sneakers, and a white T-shirt with a Volcarona print. Around his waist, a belt hung with two Poké Balls.
That was his outfit for the day.
After unlocking a shared bike by scanning a code, he rode straight to the competition venue.
The tournament was being held in a massive, ring-shaped stadium built in Brightlight City specifically for Pokémon battles—like a local version of the Bird's Nest, full of style and symbolizing the passion and intensity of battle.
When he arrived, the place was packed with people.
Besides the competitors, most were spectators coming to watch.
After locking his bike, Nathan checked the signs to confirm where Arena Two was and headed in that direction.
But he hadn't walked far before a girl in casual clothes with an Eevee print stopped him. She held a microphone, followed by a cameraman. Her badge showed she was a reporter.
"Hey there! Can I bother you for a moment?" the girl asked.
"A reporter?" Nathan asked.
"That's right," the girl nodded and introduced herself. "I'm a reporter from Poplar City TV. I'm covering the tournament. I saw you arrive on a shared bike—are you a local? Or one of the contestants?"
"Yeah, I'm a contestant," Nathan nodded.
He had expected reporters to be around, just didn't think he'd run into one himself.
Looking at Nathan's calm demeanor, the reporter smiled and asked, "Mind if I ask you a few questions? Are you confident about the tournament? What are your goals?"
"Well..." Nathan responded modestly, "Of course I'm confident. As for my goal, I don't have any big expectations. I just hope my opponents are strong."
"Oh? You must really believe in your strength," the reporter said in surprise. She had interviewed many contestants already, but few gave answers like his. Especially after reading about all the tournament favorites online, most participants seemed less sure of themselves.
"It's just the truth," Nathan said with a smile.
After all, the stronger the opponent, the more experience Pancham could gain after victory.
"Could you tell us your name and match time?"
"Nathan Vesper. Arena Two. Ten o'clock."
"Got it. Best of luck! We hope you win. Thanks for the interview!"
With that, the interview ended, and Nathan went on his way.
Watching him walk off, the reporter blinked in curiosity. She clearly found him interesting, but then shook her head and turned to the cameraman.
"We searched forever to find a local contestant from Poplar City. Looks like there aren't many this year."
"Pretty normal," the cameraman replied. "There were more in past years, but none even made it into the top 16. After a few rounds like that, the students here have kind of lost interest."
"Well, let's keep looking and see if we can find more local contestants. Hopefully, someone from Poplar City will finally get a good result this year. Otherwise, it's kinda embarrassing to report on every year. Oh, and later, let's go watch that guy's match—Nathan Vesper, right? I've got a good feeling about him."
Shaking her head with a smile, the reporter walked off with the cameraman.
...
Arena Two, Contestant Waiting Room
When Nathan arrived, the place was already full of people—both guys and girls—waiting to hear their names called over the PA system to head into the arena.
Everyone was a stranger.
Nathan quietly stood in a corner and pulled out his phone, scrolling through the tournament forums as he waited.
Not long after, the loudspeaker came to life.
"Would contestants Nathan and Felix Weston please head to Arena Two immediately? Your match is about to begin!"
"Would contestants Nathan and Felix Weston please head to Arena Two immediately? Your match is about to begin!"
"Would contestants Nathan and Felix Weston please head to Arena Two immediately? Your match is about to begin!"
Hearing his name, Nathan looked up at the speaker, then put away his phone and walked toward the contestant tunnel.
It was his first time competing.
As soon as he stepped into the tunnel, he could already hear the roar of the crowd in the arena. His body trembled slightly—filled with excitement and anticipation.
"So this is what they call… being fired up?"
Nathan murmured, a smile forming on his lips.
…
"Alright, let's move on to our next match! This one is between Felix Weston from Peace City No.1 High School and our local Poplar City contestant, Nathan from Poplar City No.1 High!"
Just as Nathan stepped into the arena from the tunnel, he heard the announcer's voice loud and clear.