As the three announcers provided commentary, people all over Sootopolis City—and even in front of televisions across all four regions—were looking forward to the upcoming festival.
But who exactly was that former Elite Four who had suddenly appeared? Terrance was desperate to find out. If he were to face off against this Elite Four-level Trainer next without proper preparation, he would definitely face difficulties. Albus was strong, sure, but Terrance knew him well. As for this suddenly appearing Elite Four, Terrance didn't know a single thing about him.
If he were to suddenly encounter him in the upcoming events… Terrance might be caught completely off guard. The six Pokémon he currently had with him—each and every one of them had come with the belief that they would win no matter what.
He couldn't lose!
Next, Wallace, a key figure, stepped onto the stage. Dressed in a white sailor suit and wearing a white sailor cap, his turquoise hair casually flowing beneath it, he dazzled the audience. As he walked on the stage, every single one of his movements drew intense attention.
As a Contest Master, Wallace's social status was no lower than that of the current Elite Four. While a region might have several Elite Four members, there was only one Contest Master in the entire world—and that was Wallace!
At this moment, the three announcers, who had been speaking continuously, handed over the microphone and the control of the scene to this Contest Master. Things seemed to be heading in an interesting direction.
Since Wallace had taken the stage as the representative of the Coordinators, just as Terrance had predicted, the suddenly appearing Elite Four was also brought up to the stage as the representative of the Trainers. Although he had already retired, he had once been an Elite Four member, and that alone earned him the admiration of countless Trainers.
Mr. Raoul Contesta and Mr. Sukizo, who were watching attentively, sat together, looking at the calm-faced former Elite Four from Unova, who stirred up the crowd's emotions with just a few casual words. The two felt a wave of exasperation.
"Former Unova Electric-type Elite Four, Leo… What was he thinking of coming here?" Sukizo asked in surprise, not squinting as he usually did.
"Rumor has it this Elite Four didn't have much patience. Despite his exceptional talent and becoming an Elite Four at a young age, for some reason, his time in the position was especially short…" Raoul Contesta explained.
"When it comes to talent, which Elite Four lacks it?" Sukizo shook his head.
"True enough…" Raoul Contesta said. "But could it really be that his reason for coming to Hoenn is because of Mr. Steven?"
The grudge between Steven and Leo was something many people knew about.
During a time when Devon Corporation had been partnering with a major corporation in the Unova Region, Steven had gone to Unova—and that was when he encountered one of their Elite Four.
Moreover, it was Steven who initiated the challenge. That Elite Four lost—the first Pokémon he sent out was easily defeated. In the end, the Elite Four refused to back down and sent out his ace Pokémon, but still ended up losing to Steven.
One of Steven's Pokémon defeated two of the Elite Four's Pokémon, including his ace. That battle caused many people to start questioning the Elite Four. After all, at that time, Steven wasn't yet the Hoenn Champion, nor had he ever participated in the Champion League—he was completely unknown.
To lose to someone much younger than himself, the Elite Four couldn't bear the pressure and directly stepped down from his position.
These matters... could be said to be Steven's early experiences. After Steven became the Hoenn Champion, these past events were all dug up.
In truth, after Steven rose to the position of Hoenn Champion, Leo's loss became more understandable to the public. But the Elite Four in question—Leo himself—couldn't let it go.
He had always held on to the belief that he must one day avenge this past insult against Hoenn Champion Steven!
"Is that really how it went?" Sukizo found it hard to believe that a top-level Trainer could be so obsessed. But after putting himself in Leo's shoes, he could somewhat understand. Still…
They weren't much hopeful about the Elite Four Leo.
Not to mention the fewer resources available to him after stepping down— even when he was still an Elite Four, what grounds did he really have to go up against the heir of Devon Corporation?
Let alone now, when Steven had already become the Champion of Hoenn!
He had ascended to the top of Hoenn's Elite Four and Champion ranks with absolute dominance!
"Looks like this Elite Four Leo must be well aware of the close relationship between Mr. Steven and Wallace. It's clear he came this time fully prepared," Raoul Contesta said with a laugh. However, neither of them was worried—with Wallace present, a single Elite Four member wouldn't be enough to spiral the situation out of control.
Although the opening ceremony was spectacular, it wasn't the part everyone was most looking forward to.
This segment was bound to be a bit of a grind… until finally, the details for the first event— the Flying-type "Flying Obstacle Challenge"—were confirmed, including its schedule and number of participants. Only then did the crowd erupted into cheers.
Flying-type Pokémon—now that was a type that nearly every Trainer had come across. There were almost no Trainers whose team didn't include at least one Flying-type Pokémon.
Which made this event's participant count downright terrifying.
Thousands of people had signed up!!
As soon as the exact number was announced, countless people gasped—even those who had registered hadn't expected there would be this many competitors.
To stand out from thousands of people?
Just thinking about it made your teeth hurt.
Among them, there were definitely still people who hadn't signed up for this event. After all, the content of the "Flying Obstacle Challenge" had already been made public. Some likely believed their Flying-type Pokémon weren't suited for the challenge, and seeing no hope of victory, chose to give up.
But even so, there were still thousands of participants…
Terrance clenched the Poké Ball containing his Beautifly. For this event, Altaria wasn't the right fit. After going over the detailed rules, Terrance didn't have the confidence to win easily among the thousands of people.
So, his Beautifly—exceptionally skilled in aerial maneuvers—was without a doubt the best-suited Pokémon for this event!
Thankfully, the venue for this event was set in the skies above the Outer Sea of Sootopolis City. The area was large enough—no matter how many participants there were, the event could proceed without issue.
According to the registration numbers given at sign-up, each participant began heading off in different directions.
Maintaining order was still the job of the police officers, along with numerous staff members—this day was going to wear them out completely.
In fact, after the opening ceremony, the "celebrity effect" brought by Top Coordinator Wallace, the Elite Four, and others had started to wear off significantly.
Partly because people had been watching for a while, and partly thanks to the combined efforts of the three announcers, staff members, and police officers, most of the crowd had a decent sense of awareness. They knew that if anything were to happen, it would cause serious problems—not just for themselves, but for everyone involved.
The sea of people began heading toward the starting point, and Terrance suddenly understood—no wonder this festival would last for half a month. Just looking at the first event alone, it already felt like a clash of dragons and tigers!
"Mr. Terrance, water." His assistant, Sharan, suddenly ran up from who-knows-where and handed him a bottle of mineral water.
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