Leaving the Orange League headquarters, under Karl's guidance, Natsui and Sabrina ascended a small mountain via a stone staircase on the side.
The mountain was not high, and its vegetation was sparse, making it look a bit bare. But for that very reason, a magnificent building standing on the summit was visible even from the sea, long before one set foot on the island.
This building was the exclusive battle venue for the Orange League Winner's Cup—the Pummelo Stadium.
The Pummelo Stadium's exterior resembled the ancient Roman Colosseum. Its towering outer walls had two levels, adorned with numerous columns, giving it a mysterious, majestic, and ceremonial feel.
As Natsui walked up the steps and reached the summit, he looked down and could see the entire Pummelo Town spread out before him.
In fact, when he had arrived here yesterday, Natsui had noticed that most of the buildings in Pummelo Town, whether they were shops or residences, had white walls and red roofs, in a European-style villa aesthetic, looking very uniform.
From this, it wasn't hard to see that both the Orange Archipelago and the Orange League had made great efforts to develop this place into a sports town with a strong atmosphere.
"This way, please."
Karl led Natsui into the Pummelo Stadium.
Entering the arena through a long, narrow spectator tunnel, Natsui's view suddenly opened up, and a huge battlefield appeared before him.
At the same time, a standard, ordinary battlefield was laid out in front of him.
But at this moment, apart from them, the stadium was empty and looked deserted. Looking to the side, just like in the Orange League headquarters lobby, there were also many Dragonite statues here.
It seemed what Karl had said earlier was true; they really did regard Dragonite as their guardian deity.
"Mr. Natsui, please look," Karl said, pointing forward. "This is where you will be battling tomorrow. Don't be fooled by its ancient appearance; it's fully equipped with facilities like large screens, lighting, and a sound system. It can also accommodate twenty thousand spectators at once. It is, without a doubt, the largest, best, and highest-capacity venue in our Orange League."
If it had been any other challenger, Karl would have been too lazy to explain. But for a contestant like Natsui, he naturally had to be more detailed.
Natsui nodded and offered a few words of agreement.
He could hear the genuine pride in Karl's voice.
But to be honest, a stadium with a capacity of only twenty thousand, not to mention other regions, was a bit small compared to the fifty-thousand-seat venue of the Indigo Conference.
Of course, regardless of the crowd size, it had no effect on Natsui's mindset.
In fact, he didn't really care whether there were spectators, how many people it could seat, or if the equipment was old.
His goal was to win. Even if only a few people came to watch the match, he would still give it his all and perform to the best of his ability.
And compared to the venue or the equipment, he was more concerned about other issues.
"Mr. Karl, what are the rules for the Winner's Cup match?"
When it came to the match, Karl's expression also became serious. "The rules are a six-on-six Full Battle. When any three of one side's Pokémon have fainted, the battlefield will also change."
"Oh?" Natsui said. "I thought this ordinary field was the final battlefield."
Karl smiled. "That's just an ordinary training field. Don't be fooled by its plain appearance. There's actually an elevator underneath it. As the match progresses, we can switch to fields of different types at any time!"
"I see."
Elevators were not uncommon in major competitions. Even some gyms had such functions, so it wasn't anything to be surprised about. Natsui had just been asking casually.
Leaving the Pummelo Stadium, they came to a slightly shorter building on the side.
The style of this building was similar to the Pummelo Stadium, both constructed with stone pillars and marble. But unlike the stadium, it had a large dome covering the entire structure, which made it look darker and more solemn.
"Alright," Karl said. "This is the Palace of Victory, also known as the Hall of Fame. Just like the Hall of Fame in other regions, it was built specifically to commemorate the contestants who have won the Winner's Cup."
As he spoke, they had already walked into the Palace of Victory.
Like other places, at the entrance, they were unsurprisingly greeted by two Dragonite statues.
When Natsui entered the main hall of the Palace of Victory, the first thing he saw were over a dozen Pokémon statues. However, these Pokémon were not of any rare species, but mostly common Pokémon found in Kanto and the Orange Archipelago, like Venonat, Poliwrath, and Pidgeot.
Behind the statues were many display cases, in which rectangular stone slabs were placed side by side, looking rather peculiar.
As they got closer, they saw that these stone slabs were imprinted with Pokémon handprints of various sizes. In front of the slabs were exquisite photo frames.
Natsui walked up to one of the photo frames and saw a picture of a trainer who had won the Winner's Cup, posing with his Pokémon. He was half-kneeling on the ground, holding a gleaming golden trophy, surrounded by his Pokémon, and smiling very happily.
Beside him, Karl, like a diligent tour guide, explained, "These photos and handprints were left by the honored trainers and their Pokémon who have achieved victory. If you also win tomorrow's match, Mr. Natsui, you will be able to leave your name and your Pokémon's handprints here permanently, for future generations to admire."
Leave them permanently?
This piqued Natsui's interest.
To be honest, as a transmigrator, he felt like a rootless drifter, with no sense of belonging or security here. He feared that one day, he would suddenly dissipate like the wind, leaving no trace behind.
If he could really leave his name here, even if it was just a photo, wouldn't that count as leaving a mark, as proof that he had truly been to this world?
With this thought, his resolve hardened.
"Mr. Karl, these Pokémon statues in the front must be the ace Pokémon of those honored trainers, right?"
"Well… that's not wrong," Karl nodded. "But to be precise, they are the Pokémon that performed the best in the hands of those honored trainers during the Winner's Cup."
"Strange…" Natsui looked around at the slightly empty hall and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "I heard the Orange League has been running for decades and should have held hundreds of matches at least. But there are too few statues and photos here. Could it be that very few people have actually won this Winner's Cup?"
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