Seeing that the situation with Shana was resolved, Victor relaxed and focused on watching the tournament battles.
The "King of the Hill" was defeated one after another, constantly being replaced.
Some trainers had weaker Pokémon, but through strategic planning, they managed to defeat several challengers in a row.
The trainers who lost didn't leave; instead, they began to wander around the nearby stalls.
Many young women and wives, accompanying their fathers or husbands, had dressed in festive attire and were strolling down the seemingly endless, stall-lined road.
Others wandered with their best friends, male and female.
Some clever trainers, after asking Victor for permission, found a shady spot that didn't obstruct foot traffic, spread out a blanket, and took out items they had acquired from other regions or other memorabilia, and started their own business, supporting trade and barter.
As long as both parties were satisfied, a deal was made.
Still others were having picnics with their Pokémon, enjoying this brief, orderly moment amidst the sea of people.
Seeing all this, Victor handed the tournament over to Gary and Gengar and began to patrol the area with Dali and the others.
He designated a large area for these trainers and families who wanted to set up stalls or have picnics.
At the same time, more and more people began to pour in from Sandgem Town, as well as from the newly arrived ships at the Twinleaf Town port.
The sheer number of people began to overwhelm the Jennys from both towns, forcing them to report the situation up the chain of command.
Soon, a large contingent of police support arrived to help maintain order.
Mayor Arthur of Twinleaf Town watched the increasingly lively roads and open spaces, grinning from ear to ear.
It had been years since anything like this had happened.
In the tail end of summer, people were gathering to chat, laugh, and play with Pokémon.
An event of this scale couldn't be sustained without a central figure to rally around.
He happily made a call to the mayor of Sandgem Town, and the two of them discussed it for a good while.
Let's use this opportunity to recreate the summer festivals of our youth!
He called his secretary and gave the order.
Prepare for a grand fireworks display tonight!
With the arrival of police support, Victor let out a sigh of relief.
He truly hadn't expected it to escalate into this.
He had originally thought he was just hosting a small tournament, with only a few vendors showing up.
He never expected it to spontaneously turn into a massive festival.
But as Victor looked at the scene before him, he felt a strange sense of excitement.
In his past life, he had only ever seen such events on TV; he had never experienced one.
When he was a child, he was locked at home because his parents were at work. When he was a student, he had to study. When he was an adult, he had to work to earn money.
When would he ever have had time to participate in such a relaxing event?
So, Victor's feelings were complicated.
It was the same for the others. Usually, they would only attend the small, local festivals with their parents or loved ones, but those were always the same old programs.
Only the children would get truly excited. The adults would just walk around for a bit and go home, or they would wait until just before the fireworks to put on their festive clothes and head out.
It was nothing like this, where everything was so chaotic, yet so orderly.
The stalls weren't grouped by category but were all mixed together. You never knew what the next one would be selling. You could find cheap but exquisite handmade crafts, and even items from other regions.
Even though the paths were dusty from all the foot traffic, staining their beautiful dresses, outfits, and even their makeup, they were still all smiles, enjoying the festive atmosphere.
They were with their Pokémon, buying little snacks and drinks, accompanied by their families, friends, or loved ones, and could even stop to watch an exciting battle.
They all told their friends about the situation, and so, more and more people, dressed in their finest clothes, rushed over from their homes.
They had also received word that there would be an unprecedented, grand fireworks display tonight.
Meanwhile, in the crowd, a small, silver-haired girl with her hair in buns, wearing a delicate princess dress and with a rosy-cheeked face, was running around with several cute Pokémon, a small bag slung over her shoulder. The bag would swell, then shrink, then swell again as she specifically sought out pretty "big sisters," refined-looking "big brothers," and kind "uncles" and "aunts" to sell her little snacks.
A Staravia was always following her from above, and even the Vespiquen had been roped into bodyguard duty.
In this crowd, only flying Pokémon were suitable for protecting Shana.
Far behind them, Mr. and Mrs. Fujino were following, watching as Shana communicated with person after person, and as her face lit up with a smile every time she sold a snack or a drink. Their own eyes were wet, but they were smiling.
The crowd grew, which meant more trainers. Some were even returning from the League Conference.
They all came to ask Victor if they could participate. At first, Victor allowed them to challenge the current king, but the number of people soon became too much. It was clear that at this rate, the tournament wouldn't even be over by nightfall, so he had to start turning people away.
He apologized and explained the situation to the trainers he had to refuse. They were understanding and just said that next time he held an event like this, he should announce it earlier and make it longer.
After all, the chance to battle trainers from their own and other regions without any conditions was a rare opportunity for them.
Victor smiled and promised he would.
He was getting a headache from the endless stream of trainers coming to ask.
Thankfully, other trainers started to explain the situation on his behalf, and soon, the news spread, and almost no one else came to ask.
Victor sat down, wiping his sweat. His throat was raw. He took a sip of the honey water Gothita handed him.
Gary, beside him, was in even more pain.
No one said it would be like this!
No one said this many people would come!
And no one said the battles would be at this level!
Gary screamed internally in frustration.
The battles in the tournament now had the shadow of the official League Conference. Some of the trainers were exceptionally strong, and there were times during his commentary that he couldn't even keep up with what was happening. How was he supposed to commentate on that?
But as Professor Oak's grandson, he had a stubborn streak. He gritted his teeth and persevered, even as his throat became hoarse.
I'm never agreeing to something like this from the owner ever again, Gary resolved, taking a sip of honey water from Victor to soothe his throat.
Victor, meanwhile, was watching a boy who had just stepped down from the stage.
He had a single-strap bag, brown hair, a blue vest, and droopy, "dead fish" eyes.
An Elekid was following him.
He had gone up to challenge the king, only to be swept 6-0 by a Snorlax.
Victor couldn't help but smile when he saw him.
Another rival.
Victor turned to look at Gary.
A rival meets a rival, he thought to himself.
This is just too much fun.
However, the Paul of this timeline (the author notes they will use "Paul" uniformly) probably couldn't beat Gary yet. After all, Gary hadn't returned to Kanto, and Ash hadn't arrived in Sinnoh yet.
I'd really love to see a battle between a late-stage Gary and Paul, Victor thought.
"What is it, Owner?"
Gary, seeing Victor staring at him, started to sweat. "Is something wrong?" he asked in a low voice.
"Oh, nothing. I just spotted a trainer with a lot of potential."
"Who?"
Gary followed Victor's gaze and saw Paul.
A different light sparked in his eyes.
He had watched the last battle. Paul's skills hadn't been that great, but since the owner said so, he must have some other kind of talent.
After watching so many battles, Gary's own hands were getting itchy.
But he pulled his gaze away, looked back at the stage, and continued his commentary.
...
It wasn't until after five in the afternoon that the tournament officially ended.
Unexpectedly, the champion wasn't the trainer with the powerful Snorlax, nor was it the trainer from another region with an ace Charizard. It was a young trainer from Twinleaf Town.
Facing a series of powerful Pokémon from the other competitors, he had somehow, by relying on "Dodge it!", "I believe in you!", and "Go!", taken the championship.
Victor took a picture of him.
In the photo, he was holding his "trophy" and smiling happily, surrounded by his Pokémon.
A Beautifly, a Dustox, an Ambipom, a Pachirisu, a Golduck, and an Azumarill.
...
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