They arrived at the venue for the opening ceremony, which was also the island that would later be used for the tournament matches.
This island was located in the center of the archipelago, and it was quite large—comparable to, if not bigger than, a city.
On their way over, the World Tournament organizers had briefly explained the opening ceremony's schedule.
But Nathan didn't pay it much attention.
Aside from some referee declarations and a few interviews, there was absolutely nothing worth watching.
He had even received an invitation to be interviewed—but Nathan turned it down.
He was here to watch some people throw hands, not to be the center of attention.
Once at the ceremony, Nathan aimlessly hung around a corner.
In front of him, a bunch of boring speeches droned on, making Nathan drowsy.
As expected, speeches were dull no matter where in the world you were.
"Alright, I'm sure many of you came today just for the exhibition match of this opening ceremony."
The host said with a smile.
He then waved to someone behind him, and soon, a large board was brought out.
On the board, it was clearly written: One Hundred Million PokéCoins!
Just seeing that string of zeroes was enough to make everyone—except Nathan—green with envy.
This was one hundred million PokéCoins, after all! The World Tournament truly had deep pockets.
Just a prize for a sparring match, and they were putting up a hundred million? Ridiculously generous.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this hundred million PokéCoins will go to the final winner of today's exhibition match. If you want it—show us what you've got!"
The moment the host finished speaking, many contestants couldn't wait to join.
Nathan was interested in the money, but not particularly tempted. He had plenty of funds himself.
With 15 billion PokéCoins in his account, he hadn't even spent a third of it yet.
"The exhibition match for this opening ceremony has only one rule: the Pokémon used must not exceed Gym Leader level."
Just as many people were ready to jump into the fray, the host announced the rule.
And just like that, enthusiasm deflated.
They could only use Pokémon below the Gym Leader level? This was clearly targeting them.
Anyone participating in the World Tournament usually relied on Elite-level Pokémon.
Pokémon below Gym Leader level—typically Commander rank—were rare among these trainers.
After all, who would bring underdeveloped Pokémon to a world-class tournament?
Nathan's eyes lit up when he heard this. Commander-level Pokémon? Didn't his Hotfoot fall into that category?
If allowed, he was very interested in letting Hotfoot give it a try—to see how it stacked up.
After this filtering rule was announced, the number of people who wanted to participate dropped from several hundred to less than a hundred.
Some were happy, some were not. The ones still eligible to compete? They were grinning ear to ear watching others sulk.
This exhibition match was also being streamed live worldwide.
Even if they might lose during the actual tournament, getting some spotlight here and potentially winning a hundred million PokéCoins wouldn't be bad at all.
Who knows—they might even take down a future champion.
"I'm in!"
"Count me in too!"
"Outta my way! That hundred million is mine!"
The crowd grew noisy after the rule was announced.
The host, seeing so many eager participants, randomly pointed out two individuals.
"Let's have you two kick things off. Don't disappoint us, alright?"
With that, the field was cleared for the selected pair.
They each released their Pokémon, and Nathan watched from the sidelines with interest.
After constantly watching his powerful Pokémon battle, seeing some of these weaker ones go at it made for a refreshing change of pace.
After all, eating rich delicacies every day would dull anyone's appetite.
While Nathan was focused on the sparring, someone else was focused on him—Samuel Light.
Since arriving, Samuel had been keeping an eye on Nathan.
Earlier, he had stirred up that Gyarados incident just to scout for powerful opponents.
Sure, there was data on everyone—but watching someone in real time often revealed more than any report.
When Nathan had his Pokémon deal with that Gyarados, Samuel had been observing from the sidelines.
He was deeply impressed by the power of Nathan's Pokémon.
The strength it displayed suggested that it was extraordinarily powerful.
The only disappointment was that as soon as Nathan acted, the Gyarados was instantly dealt with.
Samuel had hoped to see more trainers jump into the action.
As for Fujiwara Taka? Samuel had completely dismissed him.
Even though Taka had a Champion-level Pokémon, Samuel found his Coalossal unimpressive.
Compared to Nathan, Taka was just a weakling.
Samuel had only come to this exhibition match for one reason—to see Nathan fight.
Unfortunately, it seemed Nathan was here for the same reason as him: to watch, not to battle.
If Nathan wasn't going to step up, then Samuel decided—he'd make him.
Samuel approached Nathan and smiled.
"I hope you won't turn me down~" he said, then walked onto the battlefield.
Nathan blinked in confusion.
"Turn you down? Turn what down?"
Then he saw Samuel replace a defeated participant and step into the arena.
Samuel released a Machoke—a humanoid Pokémon with a physique similar to a bodybuilder.
It had a golden belt around its waist and wore briefs, resembling a muscular athlete.
"Once I win, I'd like to challenge someone directly. Is that alright?"
Samuel asked the host after releasing his Pokémon.
The host was momentarily stunned but nodded in agreement.
Choosing someone to challenge? That sounded interesting.
"Wow, this guy's cocky!"
"Samuel! I love you! That prize money's yours!"
"Who is this guy? Why are there so many Saxo comments?"
Samuel's entrance brought a wave of activity to the livestream chat.
Many previously silent viewers started typing.
Soon after, people dug up Samuel's basic info online.
When they discovered he was one of the seed players from the Liberty Union, many began to take notice.
They were curious—who was Samuel Light, the Libertan seed player, planning to challenge?
"Don't tell me… he's going to challenge Nathan and get crushed?"
(End of Chapter)
(TN: Reminder that the language in Liberty Union is called Saxo.