Chapter 215. Opening Ceremony
The sun was sinking in the west, and the early-winter sky dimmed ahead of schedule.
Bundled up as she stepped out of the dorm, Bronya took in the campus ablaze with light and packed with people. Even with all her expectations, her eyes still widened.
If she was surprised, Kiana—following right behind—couldn't help but gasp.
"This, this, this—this is still St. Freya?"
Only a day had passed, yet the whole world seemed to have changed.
Colored lights painted the roads in a cartoon palette. In some places, scenes from the anime had been recreated one-to-one. The crowds were so dense that even the wide avenues felt a touch congested, though no one looked impatient.
Smiles lit every face, and everyone wore some kind of Pokémon flair—backpacks, shirts, even full Pokémon coats for cosplay—drawing big rings of people for group photos.
Some thrill-seekers claimed a patch of open ground, sent out their Pokémon, and started dueling, while curious onlookers crowded in and burst into cheers, pushing the energy even higher.
A crowd on the order of a hundred thousand poured onto campus all at once, and that was no joke. The entire stadium was ringed in layers by people waiting, thrilled, to have their tickets checked. Every corner of the school teemed with wide-eyed visitors.
If you put on AR glasses now, Pokémon would be playing everywhere. When a rare shiny appeared, whole swaths of people would cry out in unison.
Unfortunately, Pokémon here couldn't be captured. The lucky players who'd drawn tickets could only watch, eyes a little red, as those hard-to-see rare Pokémon strolled past; after a quick stroke of fur, they'd scamper away, teasingly out of reach.
After plenty of stop-and-go gawking, Bronya and the others finally reached the side of the stadium.
They hadn't arranged any "early access" privileges; they just wanted to experience this rare festival as ordinary players.
"Compared to a year ago, it really is a whole new place~"
Kiana looked up at the majestic outer wall and sighed.
"Considering it was expanded from a ten-thousand-seat venue to a hundred-thousand-seat one, the difference was bound to be huge."
Bronya answered, lifting her gaze to the building she hadn't visited in a long time.
The entire exterior was still a naked-eye 3D mega-screen. A golden Pikachu sprinted back and forth across it, then noticed the crowd outside, tucked its little hands in, and stared curiously.
"Pika pika~"
It chirped happily and waved to the audience far below.
The audience hadn't even entered yet, but the cheering had already begun.
As the most beloved mascot of the Pokémon series, Pikachu was always going to get love.
Just then, staff slowly pulled open the gates and braced themselves to begin checking tickets one by one.
Small clusters dissolved fast as everyone converged on the various entrances. In under two minutes, dozens of lines over a hundred meters long had formed—and they kept growing by the second.
By luck, Bronya and the others ended up near the front. A few minutes later, they'd cleared the checks and gone in.
Past security and through the main doors, a huge sign greeted them.
"Please take off your glasses."
"Take off our glasses? If we take them off, won't we be unable to see anything?"
Puzzled, the girls still followed the organizer's instructions and slipped off their glasses.
And then—surprise. The Pokémon that should have vanished from their view were still romping around right before their eyes.
"This, this, this???"
Kiana and the others blinked at the sight. Only Bronya seemed to catch on; she lifted her head and scanned their surroundings.
Soon she spotted, tucked into hidden alcoves, several devices that looked like projectors.
"AR projection. Looks like Academy Head Theresa really went all-in this time."
AR tech wasn't limited to glasses alone. Augmented-reality virtual projection was also well-matured.
A few projectors wouldn't be too pricey. But a projection net covering an entire stadium?
Even Theresa would feel that sting.
"Eh? You can actually pet it!"
Bronya saw Kiana crouch down. Wearing the AR-glove set that went with the glasses, Kiana scratched a little kitty Pokémon under the chin, and it rubbed happily against her hand.
"For real~"
Mei crouched beside her, reached out, and joined in petting the cat.
Good grief—this was a virtual projection system integrated with the AR glasses. Those ran at least twice the cost of the basic kind. Theresa hadn't just gone all-in—she'd shoved the whole stack across the table.
"AR—augmented reality, the virtual projection bit—you've seen it before."
"Then why can we touch…?"
Kiana started to protest, then trailed off. Realization dawned all around. When the little kitty Pokémon gave its head a shake and wandered off, they merged back into the crowd and headed deeper inside.
The exterior was already stunning, but the interior felt outright dreamlike.
Under careful design, the orderly stands had been divided into eighteen attribute zones, each styled to match its type perfectly.
Swarms of Pikachu scampered along the Electric-type seats. A knot of Squirtle stood hands on hips, heads pressed together beside the Water-type section, shouting "Squirtle! Squirtle!" nonstop. Countless adorable Pokémon were within arm's reach, and many were rare species seldom seen, letting fans gorge themselves on delight.
Inside the ring of stands, the central floor had become a Pokémon paradise, a natural tableau that seized the eye and refused to let go.
Lush trees swayed gently in the breeze. Between their leaves, Caterpie inched along, while Bounsweet stood at its side, smiling dopily at the world.
On the grass, Sprigatito and Bulbasaur rolled around in a cuddle. A brook murmured nearby, where many Pokémon stopped to drink or play. Lapras ferried Blissey serenely across the surface. Now and then, a lonely Magikarp burst out of the water with a splash.
Beyond the central greensward, linked biomes ringed the arena, each bustling with different Pokémon, weaving a scene of harmony and joy.
Staring, you could almost feel virtual and real melting together, letting people linger in this peaceful world, setting aside the anxiety and fatigue of daily life to bask in pure delight.
Naturally, media streamed the scene live. The chat scrolled at a mad clip, the envy so thick it felt like it oozed from the screen.
[Congrats to those 100,000 lucky dogs who scored tickets. I'm not salty. Really. Not salty at all. sunglasses.jpg]
[Seele: Unmask them! sunglasses.jpg ②玖ˇ⌒寺0♀偲№③wu%↓liù≮4 search; = QUn: → bawling.jpg]
[Real talk, I want to go so badly. Watching them just play with Pokémon—my jealousy is turning me purple!]
[Why can't I draw a ticket? Are unluckies doomed to suffer as spectators? Is there no law? No justice!]
[...]
Beyond the official channel, celebrities and influencers weren't about to miss the traffic. One after another, they went live from their seats, petting Pokémon while laughing at their chat's howls of envy—and, not gonna lie, it felt pretty great.
Anti-Entropy's PR team had been running themselves ragged for this festival, and the results were obvious. Even before the opening ceremony, global viewership had blown past a hundred million—real-time viewers, not faked hype!
Under that load, the streaming company's servers let out a wail like a lady knight fallen into a goblin nest, and the frantic lead flipped on every backup machine he had until the metrics steadied.
With no hiccups on the stream, he finally exhaled. If it lagged even a second, he knew he'd be out of that chair.
Bronya and the others had seats in the Fairy-type section. Stepping inside felt like entering a plush pink dream. They hadn't pulled many strings, but Xander Masato had reserved the very best front-row seats for them.
Even in that massive crowd, a small group of girls together shone irresistibly, their presence drawing plenty of glances as they found their places.
The approaches didn't stop along the way, but Mei smiled and parried every one. Only when they settled into the connected front-row seats, chatting and laughing, did those itchy-footed admirers finally think better of it.
If you could get in through the back door on the arm of Schicksal's Overseer's granddaughter—yeah, best not to pick that fight.
Without the pesky interruptions, the girls relaxed.
Just as Kiana was animatedly telling a story to wide-eyed Griseo, she felt something nudge her hand.
She looked down. A small white creature sat by her leg, peering up curiously.
Four tiny pink paws. Ribbon-like feelers gently undulating. It must have butted Kiana's hand with its head.
"Sy—Sylveon!!!"
Heart-eyes filled Kiana's gaze in an instant.
Everyone knew Eevee had many evolutions. Sylveon, the Fairy-type evolution, had only been discovered half a year ago, yet shot straight into the top five on the popularity charts. Its cuteness had captured more hearts than anyone could count.
Of course, never mind its stricter evolution conditions than the original games—Eevee itself was rare, the stuff of dreams for many. Without asking Xander to cheat for them, none of the girls at home had one.
Kiana's shout drew the others at once; they crowded in with delighted squeals.
Who knew the Fairy-type seats came with bonuses?
While they petted Sylveon—and it obligingly let itself be fussed over—a flustered voice piped up from the side.
"S-sorry, that's my Kuma-Kuma!"
"?"
Bronya turned. A blonde girl in a light purple jacket—adorable, if a bit dopey—was hurrying over.
Sylveon perked up at the sight of her, chirped happily, then trotted over and wrapped its ribbons around the girl's arm.
Ribbon-wrapping was Sylveon's mark of intimacy—treatment reserved for its trainer alone.
"Kuma-Kuma?"
Under several curious looks, the girl flushed and pointed at Sylveon. "Her name's Kuma-Kuma. She's my best partner."
"Mm… very cute."
How to even respond? Calling such a delicate, adorable Sylveon "Kuma-Kuma" was… a choice.
"Mm-mm! I think Kuma-Kuma is the cutest, too!"
She bowed. "Just now, Kuma-Kuma ran off while playing with the other Fairy Pokémon. Thank you for helping."
"Eh? Then why didn't you just recall her into a Poké Ball?"
Kiana asked, baffled.
"Ah…"
The girl froze, and a blush spread across her cheeks. Scratching her head, she mumbled, "I—I forgot…"
Kiana snorted with laughter. For the first time, she felt the crushing superiority of her IQ.
The little mix-up brightened the mood. They noticed the girl's seat was right next to theirs, and conversation bubbled up naturally.
Kiana and Griseo resumed happily squishing Sylveon, while the girl—nervous and excited—chatted with everyone.
After brief introductions: the girl was Susannah, a junior employee at Schicksal.
A junior employee pulling front-row seats?
Bronya and the others pretended to buy it.
When it came to Bronya's turn, Susannah suddenly yelped and leaned right in.
"Y-you're Gensokyo's Metal Gear Bronya?!!"
"Uh… I—I guess so…"
Hearing her handle shouted that loudly gave Bronya an odd flush of embarrassment.
Weird. She never felt like that online.
When Bronya nodded, Susannah nearly bounced. She reached for Bronya's hand on reflex, thought better of it, snatched it back, and stammered, voice shaking, "H-hello, I'm your fan!!!"
"My fan??"
"Mm-mm-mm!"
Nodding like a pecking chick, Susannah rattled on, "I've followed Gensokyo since To the Moon. I cried for so long at that one. Then Hollow Knight, Plants vs. Zombies, Cities: Skylines—all super fun. But most important is Pokémon. I feel like it saved my life…"
The praise poured out like a true believer's creed. Bronya couldn't stop her or cut her off, so she just responded, cheeks warm. The credit that should have gone to Xander was landing on her, and she wanted to curl her toes into the floor.
At last, catching a pause, Bronya jumped in. "So, you're a fan of that old thief Xander, too?"
"Mm-mm-mm—he's my favorite, my most admired idol!!"
"Is that so? Want to meet him?"
"Eh?"
Susannah's excitement rose visibly. "C-can I really?!!"
"Of course. He won't disappoint cute fans. After the opening ceremony, come backstage with me."
Bronya's grin turned wicked. She could already picture Xander's awkward face.
Susannah's eyes lit up. She couldn't help grabbing Bronya's hand and shaking it hard.
"Thank—tha—"
Before she could finish, the arena dimmed, and the seven o'clock bell tolled.
The roar dipped to silence. A hundred thousand eyes turned toward the field. In the soft wash of spotlights, a halo of wine-red hair appeared.
In the midst of this harmonious Pokémon scene, Eden stepped out of the woods in an elegant wine-red gown.
A moment later, her intoxicating, lilting song began to flow. Colored notes drifted around her, and Meloetta's petite figure appeared at her side. Lady and Mythical Pokémon traded a glance and a small smile.
A hand in pure-white silk extended and met Meloetta's tiny fingers. One tall and one small spirit danced a resplendent movement together for the crowd.
"Eden!! Eden!! Eden!!"
The audience erupted into their wildest cheer yet. In the live rooms, the ones who'd been merely salty nearly flipped their desks at her entrance.
Damn it—how did they not pull a ticket?!!!
"Eden's popularity hasn't dipped one bit."
Backstage, Xander Masato listened to the wave of sound and sighed.
"It is Eden, after all~"
Smiling, Elysia finished her last check in the mirror, then slid over to Xander and tilted her face up to him, affectionate and expectant.
"Well? Well? Am I pretty today?"
With a face already close to flawless, the touch of light makeup made her breathtaking.
Resisting the urge to taste her lipstick, Xander steadied himself and nodded with a smile.
"Hehe, Xander is such a good boy. Tonight Elysia-sis will reward you with a nibble~"
Off to the side, Seele blinked.
Wait—was that something you just said out loud? Elysia-sis was this bold?
A few minutes later, Eden's song reached its close, and Xander knew it was time for him and Elysia to go on.
"Bro, Elysia-sis, you've got this!!"
"Mm-mm, thanks for the pep talk, Seele~"
Elysia waved with a grin, then laced her fingers with Xander's and led him toward the passage.
"Nervous?"
"Not with you here. I'm not nervous."
The gentleness in his voice made Elysia's eyes shimmer. She leaned closer, hugged his arm, and drew him forward.
"In that case, let's get moving!"
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