There was no need for a video broadcast, every spectator had already focused their attention on the one person who hadn't left: Mark.
The event had only just begun, and he tripped… only to pick up the highest-value score token?
Though his pose wasn't exactly graceful, the gain was absolutely real. You had to know, the highest total in past years was only four or five hundred points.
To suddenly earn a quarter of that was simply unbelievable.
Could it be…
"Ahlalala~ I thought the score token I hid would remain undiscovered until the end. But this participant tripped and found it instead… what luck!"
Nurse Joy's surprised yet adorable voice echoed through the crowd via microphone.
Realizing it was personally hidden by Nurse Joy, the crowd let out a collective "Oooh," and began quietly praying for their favorite Trainer.
'Step in so Gogoat shit too… no wait, maybe run into a stroke of luck instead!'
Then, Mark triumphantly raised the score token and waved it hard at everyone before letting Lucario drag him into Iron Island.
"What luck, tch tch… Maybe that kid Mark will end up in the top3 this ti. What do you think, Leader Sato?"
Byron clicked his tongue in admiration, even placing Mark's final ranking within the top3.
If it were any other Trainer who had just arrived in Canalave City to participate in the Exploration Competition, making the top3 would be considered a fantastic achievent.
But Sato could only respond to Byron with a "polite" smile. He couldn't very well say their goal was first place, right…?
After all, the cara was right in their faces. Saying that on broadcast would only spark unnecessary conflict.
On the other side, seeing Sato's forced smile made Byron even more pleased. 'If I hype your friend up this much and he doesn't even make top10, how will you keep your cool? If your spirit breaks, how will you win against ?' With that thought, Byron's grin grew even wider.
Sato noticed Byron's "dazzling" smile, glanced at the broadcast screen, and realized no one else had found a high-value token yet.
'A middle-aged man smiling so creepily all the ti… tch, I'd better keep so distance.'
At this point, the 200 Trainers had completely scattered across Iron Island. Mark, at the very back, finally entered the island… only to realize he couldn't see anyone anymore.
"Lucario, I'll take lead. You morize the path. As long as we make it back before the end, we're good."
"Luca."
Lucario nodded, glanced back at the "mobile cara", and gestured with its paw. The Magnemite floated into its paw on instinct.
"Lucaru~" 'Stick close. Don't get lost.'
"Mitee~"
Sensing Lucario's unique magnetic field, Magnemite blushed(?) and nodded obediently.
"Alright, we'll go this way!" Mark pointed toward a direction and marched off. Lucario followed right behind.
---
Since the event had just started, none of the participants had encountered any battles yet, so the broadcast screen shuffled randomly. Each participant got about five seconds of screen ti.
The entire screen was split into 36, each showing the mundane exploration of one Trainer.
That was until one participant suddenly encountered a wild Pokémon and began a capture battle. Instantly, nine screens rged into one for the broadcast.
The speakers also synced perfectly to play the live battle audio; it was impressively real-ti and intelligent.
The bored Sato continued to observe and gradually noticed that even the single small-screen feeds were frequently showing Trainers finding tokens.
As for Mark, after that initial appearance, he hadn't shown up again…
Sato frowned in confusion. Then, the nine mini-screens rged once more, and what appeared next was a head of ssy hair.
…Who else could it be but Mark?
'Did he encounter a wild Pokémon he wanted to catch?'
Sato's heart tightened slightly. Depending on the strength and rarity of the wild Pokémon, the scoring for capture varied accordingly.
Catching a Steelix and catching a Geodude certainly couldn't award the sa score. At that mont, the crowd gradually saw who Mark's opponents were.
Two Graveler. 30 points each; not high, not low.
Then Lucario entered the field. Two Aura Spheres easily dealt with both of them. Mark twirled a Capture Ball in his hand, thought for a mont, and chose to walk away.
Whoosh~
The audience erupted in chatter. 30 points per Graveler wasn't bad at all. Catch ten of them, and that's 300 points. More than enough to make the top50 with ease. Yet he just left them behind. Clearly, he had higher aspirations.
But Mark's earlier clumsy "performance" had left a deep impression, and the sudden reversal from Lucario's strength was hard for the crowd to accept.
"He's too ambitious. In past Exploration Competitions, fewer than half the Trainers managed to catch ten Pokémon. He beats a Graveler and doesn't even bother? Let's see if he ends up crying about not finding anything later."
"Exactly! That kid's being reckless. Over 200 people participating, ten Pokémon each, that's more than 2,000 wild Pokémon total. Eventually, there won't be anything left to catch."
"You don't get it. He's representing one of the "Eight Gyms" of the Johto Region. See that? His Gym Leader is sitting right there on the platform. Of course he doesn't care about so re 30 points!"
Joseph was sitting in the front row of the audience stands. Hearing the snide comnts behind him, he couldn't help but chuckle quietly.
The elegant lady next to him was captivated by Joseph's smile and leaned in slightly.
"Don't you agree with them, young man? That boy is just too frivolous. He doesn't have your calm and composed deanor."
Joseph's smile faded, his eyes turning cold. He tilted his head slightly and glanced at the woman who had placed her hand on his arm.
"Leave."
"You…!" The lady flushed with rage, her face turning liver-purple, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes beca more pronounced.
But seeing the contempt in Joseph's cold eyes, for so reason, she panicked and found herself unable to speak a word.
Monts later, the lady hastily left the stands, not even daring to remain seated next to Joseph.
"Wow!"
Suddenly, a wave of gasps echoed through the stands. On the screen, a spectacular capture battle was underway.
A majestic Empoleon raised its flipper and summoned a massive wave. Even on the dry terrain of Iron Island, it moved as if it were in water, overwhelming the opposing Steelix without giving it any chance to retaliate.
A flash of red light. Steelix was absorbed into the Capture Ball and barely shook before falling still, clearly subdued by Empoleon.
Only then did the crowd see Empoleon's Trainer: a young boy with an air of intelligence.
"That's Roark! Leader Byron's son! When did he get back? No one even noticed him earlier!"
Voices from the stands provided the answer, and the locals of Canalave City all beca visibly excited.
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150 PS=Chap
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