That same night.
The Pokémon Nightstar Club convened an emergency meeting.
Sitting around the conference table, the atmosphere was extremely heavy.
"We miscalculated. It seems the other clubs were already informed beforehand. Compared to them, our information network is far too slow."
At the table, Rachel Blake's expression didn't look good at all.
Just moments ago, the headquarters of the Pokémon Clubs had published the rules and prizes for this competition.
And among the prizes for the top four places, what stood out was none other than... the right to use a Pokéblock-making machine!
As long as the club reached the top 4, they could place one of these machines inside their headquarters.
And just imagining how strongly such a machine would attract regular trainers, it was clear that whoever managed to place one in their club would draw in a massive crowd of trainers.
Even if those trainers didn't consume anything else inside the club, just the usage fees and the percentage of profits generated by the machine would already amount to an enormous figure.
That's why, once the news spread, countless clubs had already begun mobilizing, preparing their people, trying to recruit everyone they could.
"Sis, then what are we waiting for!?"
"We need to start recruiting right now! That Pokéblock machine has to come back to our club."
As a Pokémon breeder, Hailey Blake was extremely interested in the machine, and couldn't help showing her excitement.
"I already sent someone to contact everyone as soon as I got the news. But we found out too late. The competition is tomorrow, and I'm not sure how many of our honorary members we'll be able to locate in time."
Rachel sighed. In truth, the veteran clubs representing Imperial City and Duskwell City had been taking action for quite a while since receiving the information.
Compared to them, clubs from cities like Ironvale City received the news last; in terms of initiative, they were already losing from the start.
"This... seems like it's going to get really complicated."
Listening to the meeting, Ethan couldn't help but sigh.
At first, he believed that having Cacturne alone was enough to dominate the competition.
Now that Cacturne had significantly expanded its arsenal, he was sure he would win easily this time.
But with the appearance of the Pokéblock machine, all the clubs would start gathering their honorary members: trainers who had previously stood out in their clubs and possessed considerable strength.
That meant he would now not only face the "normal" competitors, but also the aces carefully recruited by each club.
Fortunately, the competition had one strict rule: only intermediate-level trainers were allowed to participate. That made Ethan let out a small sigh of relief.
Bit by bit, the competition between all the League's clubs had turned into something entirely different: everyone was going all out.
It was way too difficult.
...
After the meeting...
Rachel went directly to look for Ethan.
"I'm sorry... it seems things got more complicated than expected."
She gently adjusted her hair, leaning against a railing as she gazed into the distance.
"Yeah, it got a bit complicated. But I'll give it everything I have. Though... I can't guarantee victory."
Ethan shrugged and leaned beside her.
"I know. But as compensation, after the competition I'll take you to a Secret Kingdom. I think your Water-type Pokémon will love it."
Rachel turned to him with a soft smile, offering her promise.
"A Water-type Secret Kingdom?"
Ethan nodded slightly. A smile curled at the corner of his lips.
...
Mid-November – Pokémon Club Guild
Perhaps due to the Pokéblock machine, the tournament venue was much livelier than in previous years.
When the participating clubs made their entrance, applause erupted throughout the entire stadium.
The organizing committee officially announced the beginning of the ceremony, and several high-ranking figures of the League attended, demonstrating how much importance they placed on the development of the clubs.
After a round of official speeches, the moment the audience had been eagerly waiting for finally arrived: the draw that would determine the matchups.
The tournament rules were very simple: a 1-on-1 format, ten members per club, with no possibility of switching members or Pokémon in the middle of a matchup. When all ten members of a club were defeated, that club would be eliminated.
Since arriving, Ethan had been observing the participants from the other clubs.
Suddenly, among the members of the club representing Imperial City, Ethan unexpectedly saw... Lucien Foster.
The moment Ethan looked at him, Lucien also lifted his gaze and gave him a smile that made Ethan suspect he had come specifically to face him.
However, seeing that the name accompanying the team was "Club Drako," Ethan understood the situation.
As expected, that club had to be owned by the Foster family. Besides Lucien, Ethan could see the always-stealthy Marcus Foster hiding in the formation.
In addition to them, Ethan also saw Derek Ashford and Brandon Hayes in the team representing Duskwell City.
When Ethan looked at them, both turned around almost at the same time, frowning.
"Ah, Derek... don't tell me we're doomed to bad luck again?"
"Looks like it... It was already bad enough that the university sold us out to participate, and now we have to run into Ethan and Lucien."
"No... I'm going to check Ethan's eligibility. This is too much. At this rate, we're going to keep our title of eternal second place!"
Derek and Brandon began murmuring among themselves.
The enormous stadium was divided into ten zones, where ten different battles would unfold simultaneously. But since each matchup involved twenty participants, each round stretched out considerably.
The club representing Ironvale City had been assigned to the second round. While waiting, Ethan took the opportunity to observe the battles of other clubs, especially those of Imperial City and Duskwell City.
Several months had passed since their last encounter. He needed to confirm how much Lucien, Derek, and the others had advanced.
It was impossible for them not to have improved in all that time. And indeed, their strength had increased noticeably: against weaker clubs, they could almost dominate the competition on their own.
And not only those two major clubs. In the club representing Arcaia City and other strong clubs, powerful trainers had also appeared.
All of that made Ethan feel an increasing pressure.
(End of chapter)