Chapter 224 : The First Pokémon Battle Tournament

"Ryo."

While surveying the stadium, Ryo turned at the sound of Tsunade's voice. She approached with a small group in tow.

She greeted Cynthia and the others before turning back to Ryo. "These are the representatives sent by the other villages to observe the competition."

Ryo nodded. "Welcome, everyone. Glad you could come."

Of course, Ryo recognized them all—Gaara from the Sand Village, Kurotsuchi's uncle Kitsuchi from the Stone Village, Mabui from the Cloud Village, and Ao from the Mist Village. They were all familiar faces from the original story, so there was no way he wouldn't know them.

"Boss, it's been a while," Gaara said, stepping forward with a rare smile.

It had indeed been years since Ryo last visited the Sand Village.

"Yeah, long time no see. I heard you've become the Kazekage now," Ryo responded.

"I got lucky, that's all," Gaara said modestly.

Suddenly, Hoopa jumped forward, eyes wide. "You! Big Tanuki! You owe me! I'm gonna teach you a lesson!"

Both Ryo and Gaara froze, their expressions twitching in embarrassment.

Even after all these years, Hoopa hadn't forgotten—and was still holding a grudge. Impressive, really.

"What do you mean, 'teach a lesson'?" someone nearby asked curiously, sensing the tension.

"Ahem—" Ryo quickly coughed to defuse the moment. "Let's not worry about that. Since you've all come a long way, allow me to show you to your seats."

Tsunade nodded. "Right. You've traveled far—take a break first."

The village representatives agreed politely, and Ryo led them to the second floor of the stadium.

The arena was designed with two viewing levels. The second floor was made up of private boxes—for VIP guests or those willing to pay a premium. Hosting the tournament and building the stadium had cost a fortune, so of course Ryo planned to turn a profit.

Soon, they arrived at the best private box available.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable. I'll have refreshments sent up," Ryo said and turned to leave, wanting to avoid the formality as quickly as possible.

But just before he reached the exit, Tsunade called out, "Wait, Ryo!"

He turned back, a bit exasperated. "What is it now?"

Tsunade stepped up to him and whispered, "This box… and the tea… it's free, right?"

Ryo blinked. "Huh?"

"What?" she asked, frowning. "Is it expensive?"

Ryo coughed again, clearly holding back his frustration. "Seriously? You stopped me just to ask that?"

Tsunade nodded as if it was completely natural. "Of course. You know how it is—Konoha's finances are tight."

Ryo rolled his eyes. "You've been saying that for years."

She gave him a shameless grin. He sighed deeply. "Fine. This time, it's on the house."

"Thanks," she replied with a quick smile, before clearing her throat and loudly addressing the others, "Alright, Ryo will take care of everything from here."

Ryo had no choice but to nod. "Understood, Lady Hokage. Please wait here—I'll make the arrangements."

With that, he left, calling over a staff member and handing out some quick instructions before heading down the stairs.

As he walked away, he muttered under his breath, "Where did she learn to be this shameless…?"

Meanwhile, in the main arena—

"The competition's about to start. I want to see how far I've come compared to the real geniuses."

"Doubt we'll see any of them today. I heard the preliminary rounds were full of nobodies."

"That doesn't mean anything. Today is the official tournament—there have to be strong contenders!"

"Exactly! The real talent only shows up in the finals. I can't wait to see it."

"Shh! Look—it's starting!"

Excitement buzzed through the stands as a figure stepped into the center of the arena.

"Welcome, everyone, to the very first official Pokémon Battle Tournament!" the woman called out. "I'm your host for today—you can call me Eliza!"

The crowd quieted as all eyes turned to her.

"On behalf of the Pokémon House, thank you all for your support and love of Pokémon. We hope you'll continue supporting us in the future."

The audience broke into enthusiastic applause.

Eliza smiled warmly and lifted a hand to settle the crowd. "Okay, I know you don't want a long speech. So let's get right to it! Please welcome the 36 talented trainers who made it through the qualifiers!"

As she spoke, three sets of seating platforms rose from the side of the arena. Each row had six seats, arranged across three sections—thirty-six in total.

The spectators murmured in surprise.

"Only thirty-six people made it through?"

"Wow, the competition must've been brutal. I heard thousands tried out!"

"Exactly! If they narrowed it down to just thirty-six, these trainers must be beasts!"

"That just means the battles will be awesome—and we might even learn something!"

"Totally worth the price of admission!"

Cheers filled the air as anticipation built toward the first match of the tournament.

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