Chapter 98: Trophy

Chapter 98: Trophy

"Scizor is unable to battle. Ampharos wins."

"Since all six of Norn's Pokémon have been defeated, the winner of this match is Lanny."

The referee's voice was drowned out by the audience's wild cheers.

Norn said nothing. His right hand trembled uncontrollably.

He recalled the collapsed Scizor and withdrew it into its Poké Ball, then fixed a long look on Lu Yun standing on the field ahead.

He pressed his lips together, silent, and turned toward the exit.

As the eldest legitimate son of the White Oak family, he had grown up surrounded by resources beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

To him, second place was no different from last.

He had failed the expectations of his elders at home.

Even the pride he carried from his noble lineage had been shattered to pieces by that Ampharos.

On the other side, Lanny still had not fully come to his senses.

Everything that had happened until now felt like a dream.

He had already given up hope, and then Lu Yun stepped in and swept three straight victories in the most decisive fashion imaginable.

Among those victories had even been one over the opposing Scizor, capable of Mega Evolution.

"So... I'm the champion?"

That must be it.

Had he somehow, in a daze, become the League Champion?

"Heh... hahaha."

Joy surged up from the depths of his heart and burst forth as bright, unrestrained laughter.

"A new League Champion has been crowned!"

"Let's congratulate player Lanny!"

Clap, clap, clap—

At the commentary booth, Audrey took the lead and started applauding.

She had covered many League Tournaments, but never had one been as dramatic as this.

Admiration flared in her eyes.

"What a splendid battle."

"That was worth the trip!"

Beside her, Doctor Shuda was also swept up by the excitement and began applauding as well.

After a while, the applause gradually subsided.

"Audience members, I can say that the commentary portion of this year's League Tournament has now come to a perfect close."

"But please do not change the channel just yet, because after a short commercial break, we will proceed directly to the awarding ceremony for the League's newest Champion, Lanny."

"Under the witness of the sacred flame, the current League Chairman, Mr. Damaranchi, will present the trophy to the winner."

"Now, one last time, let us give our loudest applause to this tournament's sponsors, to Doctor Shuda beside me, and to player Lanny!"

...

The commentary had ended, but the awards ceremony was still to come.

After a short interval for tidying up and rest, the staff laid a luxurious red carpet across the field.

Under the guidance of the staff, Lanny shook hands in turn with the standing League executives, and at last received the golden trophy from Damaranchi himself.

The applause and cheers from the audience seemed about to set the entire arena ablaze.

Unexpectedly, after receiving the trophy, Lanny did not go straight offstage to proceed to the next segment.

Instead, under the astonished gazes of Damaranchi and the others, he took out a black-and-yellow Poké Ball.

As dark mist billowed out, Lu Yun was sent stumbling out of the Poké Ball, looking utterly bewildered.

"What is going on?"

"Don't tell me there's another battle?"

In confusion, he saw Lanny ahead of him wearing a grateful smile as he held out the trophy.

"To me?"

Lu Yun pointed at himself and asked in confusion.

Lanny nodded emphatically, and the brilliant gold trophy was thrust into Lu Yun's arms.

"Raise it. This honor belongs to you."

The crowd's cheers were deafening, and Lanny's soft words reached his ears.

A surge of hot blood rushed straight into Lu Yun's chest.

Under the crowd's shouts and cheers, he gripped the heavy trophy with both hands and lifted it high above his head.

For some reason, a hidden ripple burst forth from the radiant sacred flame above the field, so subtle that even Damaranchi failed to detect it.

A threadlike glow of faint, nearly invisible red flame, in a way no one could perceive, curved like a slender filament and quietly slipped into Lu Yun's body, using the trophy of glory as its conduit, crossing both time and space.

It was a gift from the auspicious divine beast Ho-Oh, a reward for that heroic warrior.

Even Lu Yun, holding the trophy high above his head, did not notice that something had entered his body.

At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind:

"That old bastard Damaranchi is really stingy. Even the trophy is just gold-plated."

...

...

After that, Lu Yun accompanied Lanny on a full lap around the arena to thank the audience, and then returned to his Poké Ball to rest.

The events after the match had nothing to do with him.

He had no interest in attending the celebratory banquet held by those nobles and powerful figures.

The night passed in silence.

The next morning, the streets, though empty at first glance, were still bustling with life.

Bottles and wrappers were strewn all over the ground.

The rigid, orderly citizens of Silverstone City were making the most of the year's grand celebration, reveling and venting their emotions to the fullest.

In the luxurious suite of the hotel, Lu Yun was awakened from sleep by Lanny.

"What?"

"I have to go too?"

Lu Yun pointed at himself in surprise.

Understanding what he meant, Lanny put his hands on his hips and answered,

"Of course."

"Wasn't I the champion of this League Tournament?"

Lu Yun nodded.

"And wasn't you the one who did the most to secure my victory?"

Lu Yun nodded again.

"Then isn't that enough?"

"Don't worry, you just need to come with me and leave a handprint. I won't make you battle again."

"If you don't go, what if someone becomes suspicious? Wouldn't my identity as a spy be exposed for sure?"

"And besides..."

Looking at Lanny, whose personality seemed to have grown much more open after winning the championship, Lu Yun twitched the corner of his mouth and muttered softly,

"I never said I wasn't going..."

...

Under the shuttle service of the League's private plane, after several days of travel, Lanny arrived at his destination.

The League headquarters located in the Kanto region.

But because Lanny had not yet officially taken up his position, the staff found it inconvenient to show him around in detail.

They merely hurried past everything in a quick, cursory tour.

Under the guidance of the staff, Lanny came to a pure white tower.

Ancient white bricks were stacked layer upon layer to form the most solid structure of the tower; pale blue tiles covered the top, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.

Since the League Tournament was first established, every Champion had come to this tower with their Pokémon and left their handprints there as an eternal memorial.

Taking a deep breath, Lanny released all the Pokémon in his belt and walked together with them into this time-honored hall of glory.

Thus, in the most glorious place in the entire League,

a hidden spy from an underground evil organization and a strangely named Ampharos

left behind two deep handprints, one large and one small.