With all those people for witnesses, Vance stood in the champion's place and took the trophy and the certificate and the rest of it from President Charles Goodshow's hands without the least awkwardness.
"Keep at it, young man, and work hard. The future of the League belongs to your generation."
President Goodshow smiled a little and patted Vance on the shoulder, then put the smile away and presented the runner-up's award to Wren.
There were seven others up there with Vance.
Only the last eight had the right to come up and receive an award.
"I knew you could do it."
Steven said, and touched fists lightly with him.
"Congratulations."
Cynthia said it from behind him.
"Thank you."
"Ha ha ha, what are you two up to, Steven? Poaching, is it? This happens to be our Kanto tournament champion."
Lance came over, laughing as he said it.
"The thought had crossed our minds."
Steven answered with a smile.
"That won't do at all."
With that Lance came up in front of Vance and put out his hand, formally, for a handshake.
"Hello. I'm Lance. We may yet be comrades-in-arms one day, who knows."
"It's an honour, Dragon Master."
Vance said it with feeling; he had long admired this Lance of the Elite Four.
"Ha ha ha. Any interest in coming to us, in the investigators?"
Lance said, making his pitch.
"Off with you. This is the part where we celebrate."
Lorelei called out from behind him, and squeezed him aside.
"Lorelei."
"Hello, Lorelei of the Elite Four."
"Heh heh. Hello. You may simply call me Lorelei from now on. And there's no need to go off to the investigators; the islands out my way are very pleasant too."
Lorelei said with a giggle.
"What's all this, Lorelei? Wasn't this the part where we celebrate? What are you doing making a pitch to young Vance to come to you?"
Lance was not pleased.
"It hardly matters."
"Ha ha, my turn, my turn. Bruno."
Bruno came over and made himself known to Vance.
"Bruno of the Elite Four."
"Ha ha ha, Bruno will do."
Bruno said it with his honest, open smile, and after the handshake said nothing more but gave up his place and let Agatha come forward from behind him.
Vance duly met Agatha of the Elite Four and the many senior League figures behind her.
Taking this tournament seemed to have brought him into their view as well.
Vance made the acquaintance of each of them in turn. That too was part of what came with being tournament champion.
Those present knew as well that this was no ordinary champion — he might not even have shown his full strength, and there was no end to what he might become. Getting to know him could do no harm.
Vance smiled his way through photograph after photograph with celebrities and men of affairs; it was the custom for a new champion.
Vance felt the muscles of his face had gone stiff with smiling.
The champion of the Indigo League Conference was acknowledged to be worth a very great deal.
To say that winning the tournament made a man famous overnight would not be wrong.
Once a man was tournament champion the road ahead of him was smooth, and he would want for neither wealth, nor reputation, nor standing.
Which is what people work so tirelessly for.
"Three months from now there's the Elite Four Tournament. You're qualified to enter it."
In the middle of the bustle Steven came to his side and said it.
"Mm. I know about that."
Vance nodded. A tournament champion was qualified for the Elite Four Tournament by that fact alone; and the Elite Four Tournament was, as its name says, the competition by which the Elite Four and the League Champion were chosen.
The qualification that came with being tournament champion was for life, besides, and needed no other trial or competition to go with it: he could challenge a sitting member of the Elite Four directly, and if he won, he was a member of the new Elite Four.
Beating a sitting member was naturally no easy thing, but it was a head start all the same.
Anyone else who wanted to become one of the Elite Four had a great many trials to pass first.
"So will you enter?"
"Of course."
Vance answered at once. Even if he were beaten, he would get to feel at close quarters how wide the gap between himself and the Elite Four was; how could a thing as good as that be passed up?
"Ha ha ha, my money's on you. Oh, and you could come to the Hoenn region as well. A champion of the Indigo League Conference is recognised in every region there is."
Steven said, smiling again.
A Kanto tournament champion was, as he said, recognised across all the great regions.
"I know."
Vance said nothing more, and looked across at Wren hurrying away.
The Darkrai's murmur came back into his mind, and there was nothing he could do about it.
*Never mind. I wish it luck.*
Vance said it to himself, and then, looking about at the warmth in the arena, he went over to an empty space at the side, took up his Poké Balls, let his Pokémon out, gathered them together and had each of them stand where it should.
Vance stood in the middle of his Pokémon with the trophy held in both hands and a broad smile for the camera.
The Pokémon were full of delight as well, and looked at the camera all together.
"Click—"
That happy scene was caught and held.
Vance looked at it and was very pleased. This was a keepsake worth far more.
The man in the picture, there among his Pokémon — that smile came out of the whole of him. That was a real smile.
"Kirl—"
"Ha ha ha. Kirlia, I'll take one of you."
The Kirlia struck a pose, then thought again and went and pulled Zoroark along with her, and the pair of them appeared in front of the lens.
"Click—"
With the great arena behind them, Zoroark and the Kirlia both smiled at the camera.
"Slaking, shall we have one too?"
The Gyarados proposed it, and was turned down by the Slaking.
"Hmph. There's nothing worth photographing between you and me. If you had the boss in it as well, there might be something to discuss."
"Hah. Where's the difficulty in that?"
With that he pulled Vance over, and they took several together; and after Vance had gone the two of them took a good many more.
Something tugged at his trouser leg. Vance looked down and it was the Sandslash.
"Er...... boss, could I have one with you?"
The Sandslash said it carefully.
With a scene like this so worth remembering, the Sandslash wanted something to remember it by too.
"Of course you can. Everybody gets one. We're partners, aren't we — what could be wrong with it? This honour is what all of us worked for together, and you did no small part of that work, Sandslash."
To have what it had given acknowledged like that moved the Sandslash greatly.
What a fine thing it was, that it should have met this Trainer.
One at a time, or two, Vance and his Pokémon left behind pictures worth keeping.
The others nearby saw it and had the tact not to intrude.
The tournament title was in hand. It was time to lay plans for what came next — a seat among the Elite Four, perhaps.
That was what Vance was thinking.