Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fireworks burst across the clear blue sky as Sato and Joseph followed Byron to Iron Island, located north of Canalave City.
At that mont, a large temporary platform had already been set up near the beach. Right in the center were three guest seats.
Below the stage, crowds of spectators had arrived by boat early, and the closer they got to the big screen near the platform, the denser the crowd beca.
Clearly, everyone wanted to get the best spot to enjoy this once-a-year Exploration Competition.
"Leader Sato, what do you think? Did I organize this event well enough to impress you?"
Byron, freshly shaved and sporting a combed hairstyle for once, pointed proudly toward the venue. He clearly hoped Sato would play the role of a "polite" guest and give him so praise.
Sato glanced at the large crowd swarming under the platform. Although there were a lot of people, there was no order at all. Still, considering it was just a beach, he could only nod in understanding.
"It's lively. Lots of participants too, it's… bound to be interesting." Sato worked hard to deliver a complint.
A little mutual flattery never hurt, right?
Whether Byron was genuinely pleased or just pretending, it was hard to say, but he grinned wide enough for the bits of vegetable stuck in his teeth to show.
Sato thought about it and decided not to point it out.
Soon after, under the warm welco of the host, Byron, Sato, and Nurse Joy each took a seat on the three guest chairs.
Joseph had also been given a front-row seat just below the platform, definitely not treated coldly.
Their arrival marked the official beginning of the Exploration Competition. Sato quickly spotted Mark among the contestants, waving at him excitedly.
However, there wasn't a single person standing within a ter radius around Mark. Given his shaless, chatty personality, this was extrely "unusual".
The only explanation was that news of Mark representing Shadownight Gym had already spread, naturally leading to isolation.
Still, Sato recalled what Mark and Joseph had casually ntioned over dinner about the content of the Exploration Competition, and suddenly he was calm as ever.
When it ca to "exploration", with Lucario by his side, Mark had absolutely no reason to panic.
The host continued his eloquent introduction of the competition's rules, participants, and all the notable achievents of certain individuals.
Naturally, Mark didn't escape either, his identity was revealed in front of everyone. The gasps far outweighed the applause, but to Mark, it was all the sa.
"I'm pretty famous after all!" Mark waved proudly, while Lucario next to him couldn't help but turn its head away.
'So embarrassing…'
Joseph and Sato were long used to this kind of behavior.
As the host continued his vivid comntary, the audience began to gain a clearer understanding of the event.
The so-called Exploration Competition consisted of three main components: Treasure Hunting, Wilderness Exploration, and Pokémon Capture.
Iron Island had a complex environnt, and many areas remained unexplored by humans. That's why wilderness exploration earned the highest score, but it was also the most difficult.
Every year, those who scored well in the wilderness category were almost always locals of Canalave City. They'd discover unrecorded areas ahead of ti, then reveal them during the competition.
And that… was not against the rules!
Still, Iron Island wasn't that big. After so many years of developnt, the truly unexplored zones were few and far between.
So, the vast majority still focused on Pokémon capturing and treasure hunting.
Before the competition began, all Trainers would draw ten specially marked Capture Balls, each with a unique number, to use for catching wild Pokémon encountered during the event.
Capture Balls were originally designed as single-use tools for mass transfer of Pokémon. Once a Pokémon was caught and then released, it was considered set free and could not be used in battle; but the catch rate was far higher than a regular Poké Ball.
Each of the ten Capture Balls could only be used once. Once they were all used up, the Pokémon capture segnt would end and scoring would be calculated.
One important note: since Capture Balls didn't count as official captures, Mark could still use his existing Pokémon without restriction.
As for the treasure hunting module, it would last the entire duration of the competition.
Three days before the event, Leader Byron had already commissioned the ever-reliable and impartial Nurse Joy to send people across Iron Island to hide official competition "score tokens".
These score tokens ranged from as low as 1 point to as high as 100. The more valuable the token, the harder it was to obtain.
So were hidden extrely well. Others were guarded by powerful Pokémon.
Ultimately, success in the Exploration Competition didn't just require strength.
…It also ca down to luck. When it ca to luck, Sato simply smiled and chose not to comnt.
Then, just before the competition started, Nurse Joy lightly clapped her hands, and over 200 Magnemite floated out from beneath the stage, each Trainer was assigned one, with no exceptions.
Every single Magnemite was fitted with a FHD cara and could self-charge using the static electricity generated by its body.
Truly achieving: as long as Magnemite remains standing, the cara never runs out of power.
"Attention, all participants must carry and protect their assigned Magnemite caras throughout the competition. If you disappear from the cara's view for more than three seconds, your qualification will be revoked!
Restrooms are located at the supply points. Only upon reaching a supply point can you pause the competition briefly. We don't recomnd relieving yourselves in the wild and polluting Iron Island's environnt.
Lastly, to ensure fairness, all Magnemite have been generously loaned by the Joy family. Please rest assured!"
As the host finished speaking, Byron suddenly stood up, pulled out a microphone from who knows where, and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"…BEEEEGIN!"
The starting line was torn apart as all the participating Trainers surged into Iron Island. Mark joined the rush with them.
…But whether due to delayed reaction or soone tripping him on purpose, Mark only took two steps before ducking down and vanishing into the crowd.
Both Sato and Joseph frowned instinctively, while Byron to the side twitched the corner of his mouth helplessly.
As a Gym Leader, he certainly hadn't ordered his staff to use such childish and irritating dirty tricks. But from another perspective -intentional or not- anyone with a suspicious mind would inevitably suspect him.
Seriously, sitting in the guest seat and catching bla from nowhere.
After all 200 contestants rushed into Iron Island, it turned out Mark wasn't the only one left behind.
A girl had also been tripped in the chaos, along with her rather ordinary-looking Mawile. The two of them sat on the ground, covered in dirt, crying loudly.
Byron gave an awkward smile and quickly waved to have the logistics staff check for injuries.
"AHHHHH! A 100-POINT TOKEN!"
A sudden shout drew everyone's attention. Looking over, they saw Mark -who had also been knocked down- on his knees in the sand, backside sticking up, completely dirtied… but holding a score token in his hand.
"Wow!"
Hearing that, the girl who had fallen beside him burst into even louder sobs.
'We were supposed to be unlucky together, and you went and stepped in good fortune on your own…'
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