"There aren't many participants. With only one large battle arena, my match with Opal is scheduled for the fifth round."
Shiro sat in the lounge and watched the ongoing battle playing on the television mounted on the wall. He pulled out the Larvesta egg from his backpack and wiped it with care.
After feeding it dozens of Fire Stones, the egg had grown hotter. The red light flickering inside it had become brighter and more frequent. But according to Dalton's bug-Pokémon handbook and the fire-type notes Shiro had studied, it still needed one or two more months before it could hatch.
He simply lacked proper incubation conditions. If he had a Pokémon with Flame Body or access to a professional nursery, the hatching time could probably be cut in half.
For now, all he could do was wipe it every day, replace the Charcoal and Fire Stone powder packed around it, then place it back into his backpack.
Knock, knock, knock.
A sudden knocking sound came from behind him.
This was the private room for contestants. No one usually came this close to a match.
Tensing up, Shiro asked quietly, "A, who's outside?"
Unown A answered lazily, 'It's that orange-haired kid. Sneaking around.'
Orange-haired kid…
Shiro quickly matched the description. It had to be Marvin.
That guy's match was about to start. What was he doing here?
Placing the Larvesta egg back in his bag, Shiro stood up and opened the door. Marvin, who had been checking both sides of the hallway, quickly slipped in and spoke in a rush.
"Shiro, I found out Opal's Pokémon info!"
"...How did you find that out?"
He couldn't help asking, finding it rather strange. Opal was an old gym leader with almost no contact with newcomers. She hid her strength well. The company had no files on her either… or maybe he just couldn't see them.
Marvin moved closer, put an arm around Shiro's shoulder, and whispered behind his hand.
"That old man Edgar… He was talking with my teacher about Opal and I overheard them…"
Shiro fell silent. He suspected Edgar and Granny Shae had done it on purpose.
Old man Edgar… he was a veteran Ghost-type expert. He wasn't someone careless enough to leak things by accident.
* * *
Marvin then quietly told Shiro everything he heard about Opal's team.
Opal was a long-established gym leader. She lived alone and was already old. She had no children, which meant she had no one suitable to inherit the Gym.
Rumor said she was searching for a talented young trainer to take in as her personal heir.
She hadn't found anyone yet.
She belonged to the same era as Shae and Edgar. Back then, Opal was already a well-known successor of the Ballonlea Gym and performed well in the Champion Cup.
Unfortunately, Edgar and Shae could only participate once and had faced Opal only a single time.
Opal, however, entered the tournament every year as a Gym Leader.
Click.
The door closed softly after Marvin left. Shiro replayed everything he heard.
Opal had raised Elite-level Pokémon long ago. But because of her age, she likely would not bring her earliest partners to fight right now.
If the old woman fought with her full strength, she would have at least two Elite-level Pokémon and four at Gym-level strength.
According to Marvin, Edgar had also mentioned that Leon and Raihan shared similar strength. They each had two Elite-level Pokémon and four Gym-level ones.
"Mawile, Togekiss, Alcremie… those are the ones Opal likes to use the most," Shiro muttered softly, though something bothered him.
In the original game, Opal was a Fairy-type specialist, and the Ballonlea Gym was a Fairy Gym too.
The Pokémon she used all carried Fairy typing, yet there was no Fairy-type in this world. Rather than saying it had not been discovered, it was more accurate to say it did not exist at all.
The energy of the Fairy-type was still dormant. Many Pokémon that should have had the Fairy-type had become Normal-types because they could not sense that power.
After all, typing was the most basic discovery in Pokémon research. If Fairy type had always existed but simply remained undiscovered, Dragon-type trainers would have noticed the inconsistency the moment they fought someone.
So Opal wasn't a fairy specialist here. She probably only liked cute, sweet-looking Pokémon. She was simply a multi-type trainer.
Multi-type trainers needed more knowledge, more resources, and far more effort than single-type specialists. Opal's Elite-level Pokémon were not more numerous than what Edgar and Shae had.
'Good thing there's no fairy typing… Otherwise I wouldn't stand a chance.'
Shiro let out a quiet sigh of relief. He kept watching Leon's match on TV and waited in silence.
* * *
Leon was much stronger than Bobby, who was filling in at the last minute. His team alone was overwhelming, and his command was even more terrifying.
In less than half an hour, Charizard swept all six opponents.
Next was Nessa versus Lina. The result was obvious. With Lina already shaken, Nessa crushed her without much effort.
Marvin fought his brother Grodie, and Marvin won.
Allister faced Felix. Allister won. Felilx didn't seem to care that he lost.
When those matches ended, it was already three in the afternoon.
The first group had finished all battles. Next was the second group.
On the field, Ryan wiped sweat from his forehead, tightened his grip on the mic, and raised his voice.
"Everyone! The first group has finished beautifully! The strongest will advance until the very last moment of the Champion Cup!"
His loud voice stirred the crowd again.
"Oooh! Oooh!"
The cheers fired him up. He straightened and continued, "Next match… stepping onto the field are the genius trainer from Spikemuth, Shiro! And the veteran trainer from Ballonlea, the pink-loving wizard, Opal!"
The crowd erupted once more.
"Shiro! Spikemuth's Shiro!"
"The hero trainer!"
"I know Shiro. Who's the other one?"
"Ballonlea's Gym Leader. A veteran."
"Ms. Opal! My mother loves you! Look this way…"
The mix of chatter and shouts filled the stands. Instead of bothering the match, it reignited the arena's energy.
* * *
Shiro stepped out from his side of the passage. The bright lights before him cast a shadow across the tunnel that slipped off his body in an instant. A wave of spotlights and a wide stretch of green battlefield met him as he walked forward.
He raised his hand high and greeted the cheering crowd.
Their voices quickly synced together as they shouted.
"Shiro!"
"Shiro!"
"Shiro!"
It sounded as if his name carried some sort of charm. The crowd repeated it more than ten times before the noise gradually faded. The entire open-air stadium rang with his name.
The gifted trainer from Spikemuth. The hero who saved Stow-on-side. Someone known for being willing to help others.
The company's previous relentless promotion had pushed his fame close to Raihan's, almost enough to stand next to Leon's. Opal, on the other hand, had already lost the fame she once held, along with her former beauty.
"Both trainers have arrived at the field. The battle rules are six versus six. Please send out your first Pokémon!" Ryan shouted at the right moment.
Shiro stepped into the white Poké Ball-shaped line that marked the trainer's position. His hand was already on the first Poké Ball he planned to use.
Because Opal was a veteran trainer with years of experience, he needed to be careful. He would send out his strongest Pokémon first.
"Come out, Drakloak!"
"Draaa~"
Drakloak's blue body formed from the red light. It never enjoyed staying inside a Poké Ball, yet with the bright lights flashing and tens of thousands of people gathered here, being the center of attention felt... incredible.
It drifted upward with narrowed eyes, its tail swaying.
On the other side, a cute white creature shaped like a tiny airplane floated into the air. It smiled warmly at the crowd.
Togekiss, the Pokémon known for bringing blessings.
Opal rested her hands on her cane and lifted her eyelids just enough to look at Drakloak. A faint trace of surprise showed in her eyes.
She had already learned from the company that Shiro owned an Elite-level Drakloak, but she still did not expect him to send it out first.
"I thought you would start with that Corviknight," she murmured before turning her gaze toward Ryan.
He seemed to feel her eyes and quickly lifted his hand.
"Both Pokémon are on the field. Shiro from Spikemuth versus Opal from Ballonlea. Battle start!"
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