"Ahahaahaha..."
Everyone curiously looked at Misty, who was madly laughing, and then watched her excitedly start jumping around.
"What?" Her sister, Lily, raised her brow, and the Orange Waterflower grinned at Aizen.
"I have won more money than you in this Indigo Conference!" she proudly said and then showed them the sum on her Pokédex, making everyone gasp in surprise or shock.
"18 million?!" Ritchie exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yup. I won all my bets, including the one where I bet 1,500,000 PokéDollars on Aizen winning the Tournament without losing a single round."
Everyone in the room weirdly looked at her, including the Orayen Prince.
"You are crazy," he told her, and she pouted at him.
"I won... so..."
Daisy smacked her head, making her wince, and even though she wanted to shout, she shut up when she saw her sister severely looking at her.
"I did not raise you to become a gambler, Misty Williams!"
The coldness in Daisy's voice scared Leaf, Gary, Ritchie, Ash, Risa, and May.
Even Lily and Violet were scared, and Misty wisely kept her head lowered.
"I won't do it again..." she promised, and her oldest sister's eyes immediately softened.
"Good." Daisy hugged her. "We don't lack money, so don't do these stupid things. Gambling is an addiction you must stay away from."
"But I knew that Aizen wanted to win the League without losing a single round..."
"Misty." The Orayen Prince sighed. "Don't gamble with such a high amount next time."
"Okay!" She beamed a smile at him, and Daisy looked at him in complaint but then sighed.
When they heard the Commentators speak again, Aizen excused himself to speak to the journalists and meet Charles Goodshow.
Except for Leaf, Gary, Ritchie, and Ash, everyone else quickly left the lounge to return to their seats in the Grandstand.
A while later, inside the Indigo Stadium, the stage had been set under the Central Torch, and all the Participants of the Indigo Conference had gathered in the Arena, which had been restored by the management.
One by one, all the Contestants were called up to the stage, where they received their rewards.
Half an hour later, it was the turn of Aizen and Anita's friends.
"The Third Quarter-Finalist, Gary Oak!"
The boy from Pallet Town calmly walked forward and climbed up the stairs.
He received a cheque of 300,000 PokéDollars, a Protector, a Membership Card of the Official Poké Marts, the keys to his Jeep 720, and then finally, the Pokéball of a Charmander, whom he had chosen as his reward.
Alain was next, and he received the same rewards as other Quarter-Finalists, and he had chosen Totodile as his reward.
Vigil was called on stage next, and he received his cheque of 600,000 PokéDollars, a Prism Scale, a Membership Card of the Official Poké Marts, the keys to his Jeep 720, and finally, the Pokéball of his chosen Pokémon, which turned out to be a Vulpix.
After he returned to the ranks of the other Participants, everyone quickly formed up two columns, and they clapped their hands as the Top Three of the Indigo Conference walked out of the Royal Stand and received their Guard of Honour, making their way up to the stage.
Aizen, Egnar, and Leaf took their spots on their respective podiums and then received their medals from the Cameran Queen.
The Orayen Prince smiled at his wife when she put the gold medallion around his neck and congratulated him, and unlike Egnar and Leaf, he did not kneel to her.
Lance Blackthorn then came forward and handed the Bronze Trophy to Leaf Green, who excitedly raised it under the cheers of the crowd.
Egnar received his Silver Trophy from the hands of Charles Goodshow, his grandfather, and the two shared a hug as well.
The young man, without any shame of coming second, raised his trophy to the cheers from the crowd.
Ilene Cameran stepped forward once again, carrying the biggest trophy, and she brightly smiled as she stepped onto her husband's podium and handed him the Golden Trophy.
To the shock of the crowd and the Participants, the two shared a chaste kiss, and the Commentators then announced that Aizen Orayen and Queen Ilene Cameran had gotten married a few months ago.
Despite their shock, when Aizen raised his trophy, the crowd loudly cheered for him.
The sponsors then came one by one and handed the Top Three their cheques, keys to their Jeep 720s, Evolutionary Items, baskets of vouchers, and Membership Cards to the Official Poké Marts.
After them, the old man Charles handed all three of them the Pokémon they had chosen as their rewards.
Leaf revealed her pick first, which was a cute little Mudkip, and the crowd gushed over it.
Egnar then revealed the Ralts that he had chosen for himself.
Finally, it was Aizen's turn, and he revealed the cute little Riolu whom he had chosen for himself.
The Top Three then posed for pictures together, and after an hour of a headache where they had to pose for hindreds of pictures, they were finally free.
This was when the Commentators called an official end to the 197th Indigo Conference, and soon a show of beautiful fireworks started in the evening sky.
On the screens, the highlights of the Indigo Conference started playing, and the celebrations began, which would last for another two days at the Indigo and Silver Village.
Aizen and Leaf, having excused themselves, sneaked into the Hall of Fame.
The girl from Pallet Town held his hand as she stared at her name on the Bronze Wall, smiling at it.
She then followed Aizen to the Golden Wall, where his name was now etched, and she felt extremely proud of him.
However, she also made a promise in her heart that she would put her name on this wall one day.
"I want my name on it." She whispered her desire, and the Orayen Prince smiled and squeezed her hand.
"You will have your name on it one day, Leaf Green." He confidently said, and her heart skipped a beat at his words.
A myriad of thoughts crossed her mine, her heart started racing, and then she bravely looked at him.
"Kiss me," she whispered, and when he curiously looked at her, he found her blushing. "Kiss me, here, in this Hall, and I promise you, I will put my name on this Golden Wall one day."
The Orayen Prince was surprised at the resolve in her voice, but soon smiled at her.
He playfully pulled her chin up and then leaned in to plant a kiss on her forehead.
Leaf's eyes went wide in surprise, but then she grew a little mad at him.
"Aizen..." she wanted to complain to him, but he sealed her mouth with his own, and then gently cupped her left cheek as he kissed her properly.
When their lips separated, she opened her misty eyes and quickly hid her silly smile by burying her face in his chest.
"Remember your promise."
"I will." She said and hugged him tighter.
When the two reached the Pokémon Center, she behaved as if nothing had happened between them, and laughed around with the girls as they got busy.
Even though there were a lot of things they could do at the Pokémon Village, they did not want to have their celebrations here.
It was decided that they would head back to Pallet Town early in the morning.
Risa, her brother, and her parents were invited too, May's mother, April, and the Williams Family were going to join them as well.
However, Ilene needed to head back to the Cameran Palace with Grisha Orayen, so Aizen stayed up all night as he accompanied her and met with his friends and some important people.
Jared and Dora, as well as little Crystal, were very happy for him, and Aizen smiled at the blue-haired boy in Dora's arms, who was only eleven weeks old.
He also met with Dexio, Sina, and Sabrina's parents, who congratulated him on his win and applauded Leaf's performance at the Conference.
Aizen also sat down with the other Participants in the Main Lounge of the Center as everyone shared their experiences.
At dawn, when the group woke up, everyone boarded their three six-wheeled, 8-seater Jeep 720s, which Aizen, Gary, and Leaf had won, and left the Indigo and Silver Village.
By lunch, they had arrived at Oak Laboratory, where the Oak Family was waiting for them, and after a sumptuous meal, everyone gathered in the Coral to take pictures with their teams.
Aizen also took the opportunity to introduce his Riolu to everyone else on his team, and he smiled when he saw the stars in the little Pokémon's eyes as it met his new powerful friends.
It was a curious and intelligent creature, and the Orayen Prince thanked Charles Goodshow for arranging the Pokémon for him.
For the rest of the afternoon, everyone spent time with their Pokémon and friends.
"What's next, Leaf?" Misty grinned at the girl who had surpassed all expectations at the Indigo Conference this year.
"I am winning the Silver Conference this year." She declared, much to everyone's surprise, and then smiled at Aizen. "I hope I can meet you in the Finals."
The Orayen Prince chuckled at her words and then shook his head.
"I am sorry, but I won't be participating in the Silver Conference this year."
His words surprised them all. This was their plan, but now it felt like Aizen had changed his mind.
"I have to leave on a Research Mission with Sabrina, Riley, and another friend at the end of this month."
"Where?" Misty furrowed at his revelation.
"Orre."
Those who knew what kind of a place Orre was immediately tensed up.
Ash didn't know about the Fallen Region, and so Gary just glossed things over for him in his explanation.
The son of Blue Oak then revealed his own plans.
"I am heading to challenge the Orange League Competition, and then to Sinnoh. The Lily of the Valley Conference will take place 16 months from now, so I will have enough time to explore the region and make the right additions to my team."
"Nice!" Ritchie brightly smiled at his friend.
"What about you? Where are you and your Miss Trinity going?" Misty playfully asked, and everyone laughed when the boy suddenly blushed.
"I..."
"Come on, spit it out," Gary smirked at him.
"Trinity and I are going to Hoenn," he informed them. "I will challenge the Ever Grande Conference, and she wants to win the Hoenn Grand Festival."
"Awww..." The girls gushed, and the boy turned red as a tomato at their teasing.
"So, Ash, where are you going?" Ritchie tried to change the subject and succeeded.
"I too am challenging the Orange League, and then I will take part in the Silver Conference..."
"No." Brock and Misty shook their heads at the same time.
"Silver Conference first and then the Orange League Competition," the Waterflower seriously said. "You need to spend the next eight months only focusing on the Silver Conference if you want to take part in it."
"I suppose you are right." He scratched the back of his head and nodded.
Leaf, who heard everyone's plans, furrowed her brows and hopefully looked at Misty and Anira, hoping they would be accompanying her on the journey.
"I am going to stay at the Oak Laboratory to help Aunt Hilda and Daisy with the research. I am already a part of it, so I can't leave it." The Orayen Princess revealed.
"Don't forget about the Licence Exams." May reminded her, and Anira nodded her head.
"I won't." She promised.
"Misty?" Leaf hopefully looked at the Orange Waterflower.
"I will be coming with you."
Her words relieved the girl from Pallet Town a lot.
"Can I join you guys?" Risa asked with a bright smile. "I plan on challenging the Kanto and Johto Battle Frontier."
"Of course, you can join us!" Leaf hugged her, and the girl happily laughed.
"We can all form a team!" Ash happily laughed, and both Misty and Leaf froze.
It was not that the girl from Pallet Town disliked the boy. They were great friends now. However, they did not know why, but they felt that travelling with Ash was not safe. He was a trouble-magnet.
"Fine," Misty nodded her head and smiled, mostly because Brock was coming with them.
It was better to have some boys in the group, and who better than the ones they knew and could trust?