"Early next spring, the Sinnoh Alliance will host the Lily Conference on Lily Island," Hilona said.
"The Lily Conference?" Natsuhiko paused mid-air with the dessert he was about to stuff into his mouth, blinking at her.
Isn't the Lily Conference the one Master Ash and the others participate in?
"To be precise, it's the Lily Youth Competition. It's organized by the Sinnoh Alliance and held on Lily Island, and participants must be under twenty years old," Hilona said, gently brushing her hair back and taking a small bite of bread.
At her pace of eating, Natsuhiko estimated he could eat five or six pieces himself.
This was clearly a losing deal, wasn't it?
All these desserts on the table were free, after all.
"Youth Competition?"
"Yes, but it's not just Trainers from the Sinnoh Region. The Sinnoh Alliance will also send out some invitations to other regions to make the competition more interesting."
Hilona glanced at the bread she'd bitten and then at the empty space in front of Natsuhiko.
Instantly, she felt a bit embarrassed.
She called Natsuhiko over, and all he ended up doing was eating these. As a host, she hadn't done a great job.
Without a word, she subtly pushed some of her desserts toward Natsuhiko.
"What's this got to do with becoming a Dojo Leader?"
Natsuhiko acted as if he hadn't noticed Hilona's actions and continued eating the desserts.
Dr. Yamanashi is truly an authoritative figure in the Sinnoh Region; even the taste of the snacks is quite impressive.
Although maybe it's because Natsuhiko hadn't tasted anything better or more exquisite before.
"If you can win, you'll definitely gain the Alliance's attention. It's said that to attract more young Trainers, the prizes for this year's Lily Youth Competition are quite attractive," Hilona said, pursing her lips slightly before continuing. "If you're willing to give up the rewards, or if you get the Alliance's favor, you might even qualify for the Gym Leader examination."
Winning once to qualify for the Dojo Leader examination?
It's not even a direct qualification to become a Leader.
Natsuhiko nodded thoughtfully.
It's not too bad; at least it's a chance to try.
He immediately asked, "Do you have to be the champion to qualify?"
Hilona hesitated and said, "Probably... I'm not really sure. I just thought it might be a chance. Even if it doesn't work out, you can at least get some prizes and resources."
She wasn't sure, but Natsuhiko estimated that if the Lily Youth Competition gained enough popularity this time, maybe just being in the top three would be enough.
"Then why did you leave this option for last?" Natsuhiko curiously asked.
Upon hearing that, Hilona's lips curled into a beautiful and confident smile.
"Because I'll be participating too."
So naturally, she's the champion.
Natsuhiko remained silent.
What she said made so much sense, he couldn't refute it.
With Hilona's skills, unless future champions from other regions join, claiming the top spot is practically a certainty.
The Sinnoh Alliance knows how to handle things. Hilona, as one of the best of the younger generation in both the Sinnoh Region and the entire Pokemon Alliance, not to mention her outstanding appearance, has an enormous fan base.
If she participates, it could attract more Trainers to compete and, at the same time, draw significant attention to the competition.
It's like hiring a celebrity for endorsement.
It might even have more influence than a celebrity.
"Did they pay you an advertising fee?"
"Huh?" Hilona seemed a bit confused.
"No, no. Don't mind the details," Natsuhiko waved his hand repeatedly.
Returning to the main topic.
"What's the competition format? Is it a full-on battle, a round-robin style, or is the number of Pokémon limited to a certain level?"
"Since these are young Trainers, the Lily Youth Competition sets a limit of three Pokémon for each participant upon entering the knockout stage," Hilona explained.
After a slight pause.
"As for the format of the semi-finals and finals, the organizers will adjust based on the situation. It could be a full-on battle, a round-robin format, or similar to the knockout stage with three Pokémon."
Natsuhiko silently nodded.
If it's a full-on battle, it would not favor him since he's mainly trained only four Pokémon.
If it were a full-on battle, he would either have to call up two spare 'utility' Pokémon or start training two more now.
But since Hilona mentioned early spring, it's not far off, and training definitely won't be completed in time.
Moreover, training Pokémon would require a lot of resources.
If nothing else...
He'd just have to call Snorlax up.
As long as Snorlax cooperates with Natsuhiko, with his understanding of Snorlax and his 'unique' tactics, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say... sweep the team!
And yet.
If he used Snorlax, he might be directly expelled by the competition organizers.
"Actually, I personally highly recommend you participate, Natsuhiko," Hilona said, looking up seriously at him, "I've always wanted to have a match with you."
Natsuhiko was stunned.
He always felt there's a bunch of people who seemed to be constantly watching him.
They just wanted a match with him.
The more he didn't want to fight, the more they wanted to.
It felt like... the 'commoners always want to harm you' syndrome.
Suddenly, he had a feeling.
If Lance and Flint knew he intended to participate, they might join the competition as well just to find an excuse to face off with him.
When the time comes.
Hilona, Lance, Flint, the three of them standing in the top three.
How would he stand a chance at qualifying as a Dojo Leader?
Just thinking about it.
The possibility seemed quite high.
Maybe...
He should find a way to have Hilona knock them out or let them knock each other out...
Natsuhiko's eyes glinted as he pondered ways to 'backstab' these influential and capable friends of his.
He glanced at Hilona again.
Gently rubbing his chin.
Hilona's Eevee should evolve by now.
If it doesn't evolve, facing a certain bird would be quite a hassle.
In Natsuhiko's view, Hilona was the ideal candidate to backstab those two.
Not that Hilona was stronger, but those two were loyal to one or two particular types, whereas a Trainer like Hilona who hadn't specialized in any specific type was just easier to target.
He hadn't even decided whether to participate yet, and he was already thinking about how to backstab others.
'I truly am a villain, filled with dark thoughts,' Natsuhiko shook his head repeatedly.
Hilona observed the changing expressions of Natsuhiko, finding it hard to gauge his inner thoughts.
Slightly probing, she asked, "Natsuhiko, will you participate?"
"Participate... maybe, I'm not sure yet," Natsuhiko snapped back to reality, "Oh, when does the Lily Youth Competition start?"
Hilona remembered and said, "Starting from today, there should be just over a month, but the deadline for registration is one week before the competition starts. If you plan to join, don't miss the registration."
Hearing her reminder, Natsuhiko thought aloud, "So there's roughly a month left?"
A month is enough time to bring about significant changes and improvements.
Given this, converting the resources collected from Regigigas's Alternate Space into power becomes especially urgent.
Calculating it carefully, a month should be barely enough to digest those resources.
"If you decide to enter, give me a call, it'll save you the registration step," Hilona said.
"That would be nice, but apologies for troubling you."
"It's no trouble."
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Congratulations to EDG! Watched the match too late last night, got a bit too excited... wrote this morning. I'll keep my promise.