Over the past few days, Saffron City has become bustling.
In addition to the Coordinators arriving one after another to participate in the Grand Festival, spectators who had managed to secure tickets for the festival were also rushing in from towns and cities everywhere.
This Grand Festival had a total of 236 participants, and it could truly be said to be the gathering of formidable competitors.
In the past two years, Pokémon Contests have developed at an astonishing pace, with the number of participating Contestants nearly several times that of a few years ago!!
Any Coordinator capable of collecting five Ribbons was no weakling, but unfortunately, becoming a Top Coordinator and dominating a region’s Pokémon Contest scene was far from simple.
In a hotel in Saffron City, Terrance quickly finished washing up, put on the outfit he had specially prepared, and set off.
This outfit had been custom-made based on the duke’s cape from the Kalos region’s Battle Chateau. After Terrance put on the white uniform and ice-blue cape, if he were to pick up a longsword, he would surely be mistaken for a knight about to head off to shoot a movie.
“Is this outfit a bit too eye-catching?”
As he walked, Terrance stroked his chin in thought. From what he knew, Kanto’s acceptance of capes was actually quite high, thanks largely to that certain cape enthusiast.
“Right, yesterday Mr. Raoul Contesta told me to be sure to look forward to this tournament… what did he mean by that? Could it be that there are some powerful opponents?”
Out of confidence, Terrance had done no investigation at all before participating in the Grand Festival, so he knew nothing about the lineup of Contestants this time. Still, recalling Raoul Contesta’s half-smiling expression from yesterday, Terrance began to feel a sense of anticipation.
Pokémon Center.
As the opening ceremony of the Grand Festival drew near, many participating Contestants were visibly nervous. This was also the busiest time for the Nurse Joys. At this moment, at least ten Nurse Joys had already gathered in Saffron City. Not only were they responsible for treating the Coordinators’ Pokémon, they would also be in charge of the upcoming judging.
“Miss Marina, your Misdreavus has fully recovered. I wish you the best of luck in the competition.” Nurse Joy said with a smile as she handed over a Poké Ball. Standing across from her was a young girl with two blue braids.
“Thank you,” Marina said, offering her thanks before heading toward the Saffron City’s Contest Hall.
Outside the Contest Hall, a woman with long brown hair and brown eyes leaned quietly against the wall, seemingly lost in thought.
After a while, in the distance, a middle-aged man who looked like a staff member walked over and spoke, “Miss Daisy, the opening ceremony is about to begin.”
“I understand,” the brown-haired woman nodded, then followed him inside.
At the same time, a boy wearing a dark blue suit with blond hair was closely following behind a girl, speaking helplessly, “Lisia, this time, I’ll definitely win… hey, say something, will you?”
“Chaz, how many times have I told you, don’t follow me. And I’m definitely going to defeat Senior Terrance in this time’s Grand Festival.” The girl named Lisia suddenly stopped, turned around, and said solemnly.
On closer observation, one could see that this girl had the same hair color and eye color as Wallace.
“Breaking news! The list of top contenders for this Grand Festival is out!!!” On the streets of Saffron City, Contestant roster booklets were somehow being sold everywhere.
“Is the list of championship favorites really real?” a passerby stopped and asked.
“Of course. These are firsthand updates released by the official Contest Committee website. We just printed them out. They’re mainly sold to spectators who aren’t familiar with the Contestants. Sir, would you like a copy? It’s definitely worth it.”
“Alright, give me one.”
On the eve of the Grand Festival’s opening, many people were discussing this year’s event.
This Grand Festival followed the same format as usual, but the lineup of Contestants was unexpectedly luxurious.
A large portion of them had set their sights on the reputation surrounding Terrance, putting aside their own affairs to specifically come and participate in this competition.
Among them was Marina, a genius rookie Coordinator who had originally been traveling in the Johto region. In her Pokémon Contest record, aside from losses in her first and second contests, she had maintained a perfect streak of victories ever since. After learning that Terrance—the Coordinator hailed as a rising star and second only to Wallace—would be participating in this Kanto Grand Festival, she gave up the Pokémon Contests in the Johto region and started challenging anew in the Kanto region, ultimately obtaining qualification to compete.
There was also Daisy Oak, a successor of a prestigious family. She had already been a Top Coordinator years ago but had since retired. She was Professor Oak’s granddaughter and Gary Oak’s elder sister. For reasons unknown, she suddenly appeared at the Kanto Region’s Grand Festival.
Next, there was the super-genius rookie Coordinator from the Hoenn region, Lisia.
Lisia debuted in the Hoenn region this year. With an uncle who was a Contest Master, she had drawn widespread attention ever since her debut, amassed a huge fan base, and was even fervently nicknamed “Lissi” by her fans.
In addition, there was another genius rookie who debuted at the same time as Lisia at the Pokémon Contest Hall in Lilycove City—Chaz. His strength was second only to Lisia’s, and his outstanding performances had also attracted considerable attention.
These two rookies, who should originally have debuted in the Hoenn region’s Pokémon Contests, suddenly came to the Kanto region to participate in Pokémon Contests and collect Ribbons. Their purpose was already obvious.
There were also others, such as Miss Solidad from Pewter City, who had participated in the Grand Festival multiple times and was hailed as the most promising candidate to become a Top Coordinator.
There was also Miss Yuma, a female Coordinator who had already become a Top Coordinator after winning a Grand Festival thanks to her superb breeding techniques.
Furthermore, there were outstanding Coordinators like Sora, who had received guidance from Terrance and had prior Grand Festival experience, and Chisana, a Coordinator from the Old Green House.
At this moment, Terrance was still unaware that he had already been targeted by many veteran Coordinators and rookie Coordinators alike.
Judging from the list of participating Contestants, this edition of the Grand Festival lacked neither seasoned veteran Coordinators nor gifted genius rookies.
Some of these super-genius rookies were progressing at a pace no slower than Terrance had back then. It could be said that the lineup of this Kanto Grand Festival had left the Contest Committee anxious for quite some time.
And at this very moment, at the Saffron City Grand Festival venue, the lights on the central stage suddenly flared to life.
Under the passionate hosting of announcer Lilian, the Grand Festival opening ceremony officially began!
Coordinators from all regions entered the Contestant lounge one after another, watching the live broadcast and waiting for their turns to appear.
Terrance, who entered one of the Contestant rooms, also saw several familiar faces.
Marina: the game prototype character Kris, a female Top Coordinator who appeared in Raikou: Legend of Thunder.
Daisy Oak: mentioned in FireRed/LeafGreen as having won a Pokémon Contest.
Solidad: defeated May in the anime to become a Top Coordinator.
Yuma: a Breeder/Top Coordinator who appeared in the Pokémon Contest of Gardenia Town in the anime.
Lisia and Chaz: both are game characters.
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