The Poor Injured

Noon.

The opponents from the two arenas met outside the stadium.

Both sides had just been called to the front desk to collect the Pokémon they could take away that day, the ones whose stamina had recovered.

Some with more severe injuries would need a few extra days of rest.

"Here are your Pokémon~"

The pink-haired Nurse Joy smiled at them, her eyes curved into crescents.

One of them held a huge gold-trimmed trophy, while the other stood empty-handed with an indifferent expression.

If this Pokémon Center hadn't been reserved for competitors, with outsiders barred from entering, this would probably have become a historic masterpiece!

—It was now half past twelve at noon, after Heiduo had enjoyed the audience's cheers and collected his prize.

The award ceremony had been completely different from the Battle Tower Tournament's, exceptionally simple. There were no reporters lining up for photos, nor were there seventeen or eighteen people waiting to shake his hand.

Heiduo only needed to stand on the steps leading to the Ho-Oh Torch and wait for Damaranchi, chairman of the Johto Pokémon Association, to personally hand him the trophy.

Well, along with exchanging a few pleasantries.

Things like "a promising young man" and "you flatter me."

Anyway, it was all just politeness.

After that, there was nothing else to do. The prize money would be transferred into his account, an amount that surprised even someone with his current fortune. It would probably arrive the day after tomorrow.

Of course, there were also some matters related to the Champion League that he would need to ask about at the Johto Pokémon Association headquarters, with Secretary-General Teng Jun.

It was strange. What exactly was the point of asking the chairman?

Unless there was another reason.

For example, Yujian and the others had arranged it