After leaving the beach, Natsui and Sabrina didn't wander elsewhere but went straight back to the inn where they were staying.
Along the way, Sabrina was still quite puzzled as to why Natsui had made a bet with the stall owner.
"You won the Indigo Conference, a proper champion. Why would you make a bet with an insignificant vendor? If word gets out, won't it make people look down on you?"
Seeing her slight frown, as if she disapproved, Natsui just smiled and shook his head, unconcerned. "It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. I just wanted to give him a surprise. When the match starts tomorrow and that stall owner finds out that the person he made a bet with is the challenger in this match, the look on his face will be priceless!"
Hearing such a childish reason, Sabrina couldn't help but find it amusing and rolled her eyes at him.
"That's so pointless."
Seeing that she was still a bit concerned, Natsui put an arm around her and comforted her. "Come on, it was his fault for not even knowing the opponent and just arbitrarily deciding that Drake would win. That's why I played a little joke on him. Besides, it's a trivial matter, don't worry about it."
As they spoke, the two crossed the street, entered the inn's courtyard, and went into their room.
Taking off his shoes, Natsui lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about his strategy for tomorrow. Sabrina sat on the sofa and casually turned on the TV.
The old fan on the ceiling rotated weakly, making an unsettling 'creak, creak' sound, as if it could fall at any moment.
From the videos he had watched on the beach and the conversation with the stall owner, Natsui now had a good idea of which Pokémon Drake would likely send out tomorrow.
Ditto, Onix, Venusaur, Gengar, Elekid, and his ace, Dragonite—these six Pokémon were almost always Drake's lineup.
If nothing unexpected happened, these should be the same Pokémon he would face in their battle.
But… although he knew his opponent's team, the number of Pokémon he himself could use in battle, excluding the not-yet-ready Dratini and the already-sent-back Blastoise, was only eight. It seemed he would have to come up with a reasonable lineup under these limited conditions.
Just then, Natsui suddenly heard the TV broadcasting content about tomorrow's match.
He sat up and looked at the TV. On the screen, a male and a female host were sitting in a studio, warming up for tomorrow's Winner's Cup.
The male host, dressed in a casual suit, said in a smooth voice, "…As mentioned, tomorrow at 10 AM, the long-awaited Winner's Cup match will be held at the Pummelo Stadium. We invite everyone to come to the venue to watch this grand event and cheer on the two trainers!"
His partner, a female host with short, playful-looking hair, nodded and added in a cute voice, "Time flies, doesn't it? It feels like it's been so long since the last Winner's Cup match. I'm so excited!"
"Exactly!" the male host said mysteriously. "And I hear that this time, challenger facing Drake is no ordinary opponent!"
"Oh?" the female host asked cooperatively. "Really? Who is he?"
The male host spoke eloquently to the camera, as if he had memorized the material. "This is a truly heavyweight contestant. As far as I know, although this challenger has only participated in one major tournament since his debut, he has battled his way through, displaying extraordinary strength, and has never been defeated!"
"Is he that amazing!?" Hearing this, the female host, her curiosity piqued, pressed on. "Don't keep us in suspense about such a mysterious contestant. Tell us who he is!"
The male host drew out the words, then suddenly announced loudly, "…is the one who, not long ago, won the Indigo Conference—Challenger Natsui!"
"Wow! Natsui!?" The female host covered her mouth in surprise. "It's really him!? I can't believe he's come to our Orange League! I've seen his matches before. Not only is he a handsome trainer, but his Pokémon also left a very deep impression on me!"
"Mhm, that's right," the male host nodded. "I also didn't expect that after conquering the Indigo League, Challenger Natsui would set his sights on our Orange League. It seems the strength of our region has been recognized by others. But I wonder, when the undefeated champion and the undefeated Head Trainer clash, who will have the last laugh? I believe tomorrow's match will be incredibly exciting!"
"I wish it were tomorrow already! I can't wait to see it!" The female host clasped her hands in excitement. After a moment, as if reminded of something by someone off-camera, she turned back to the camera and said with a sweet smile, "Alright, that's all for today's special broadcast. So, remember tomorrow at 10 AM, the Winner's Cup will be exclusively broadcast by Orange TV. We'll see you there!"
As the two hosts waved goodbye, the TV screen switched to a commercial.
Sabrina leaned back, letting herself sink into the soft sofa, and then turned her head towards Natsui.
"This special feature… it seems they think very highly of you."
"I didn't expect it to turn out like this either," Natsui shook his head. "I clearly told them to treat me as an ordinary challenger, but I never thought the Orange League would promote it so heavily. Now it's impossible not to attract attention."
Natsui could already foresee that when tomorrow's match was broadcast, it would definitely generate widespread discussion. Besides the local audience in the Orange Archipelago, it would also attract many viewers from the Kanto region to watch the match live.
And this, invisibly, put a lot of pressure on him.
Lowering his head, Natsui's gaze swept over the Poké Balls of Gardevoir, Gyarados, Charizard, Jolteon, Venusaur, Crystal Onix, and Scyther, one by one. He then glanced at Haunter's shadow at his feet, a thoughtful expression on his face.
How should I arrange the lineup?
With this thought, he called out all his Pokémon, held a brief meeting, and went over some important points.
And that night, with so much on his mind, Natsui, for once, had trouble sleeping.
To stop his mind from racing, he ended up exhausting himself with Sabrina several times, until he was completely spent and fell asleep on her stomach.
Things had come to this point. He had done all he could. Now, it all depended on his performance on the spot tomorrow.
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