Alex and his Pokémon remained in the middle of the arena for several more minutes, enjoying the moment while the spectators continued to cheer loudly around them.
He simply stood there with his Pokémon, holding the trophy while they gathered around him, occasionally exchanging glances and quietly enjoying the attention from the crowd.
The cheers gradually became less overwhelming, though the excitement inside the arena never truly disappeared.
After giving everyone enough time to celebrate, Professor Birch finally stepped forward and raised a microphone.
He waited for the crowd to quiet down before speaking with a smile. "Everyone, I believe we've given our champion more than enough time to enjoy his victory."
A few spectators laughed at his words, while others immediately began cheering again.
Professor Birch chuckled before continuing, "Ladies and gentlemen, trainers, Pokémon, and everyone who has joined us today, I believe we can all agree that this has been an incredible tournament. Over the past several days, we have witnessed battles filled with incredible skill, unexpected strategies, hard-fought victories, and, of course, some rather spectacular surprises. But a tournament like this is about more than simply determining who is the strongest trainer."
Professor Birch's expression became slightly more serious as he looked around the arena. "Every trainer who stepped onto this battlefield accepted the same risk: the possibility of losing in front of thousands of people. Some of you were eliminated in the first round, while others made it all the way to the semifinals or the final. Regardless of how far you made it, every one of you had the courage to stand here and compete."
The spectators applauded loudly, and several of the eliminated trainers watching from the sidelines smiled.
"And let us not forget the Pokémon. Every battle we witnessed was possible because trainers and Pokémon trusted one another enough to stand together on this battlefield. Behind every victory were countless hours of training, preparation, failures, injuries, and moments when giving up would have been much easier than continuing."
His voice became warmer as he continued. "That is what makes tournaments like this so meaningful. We aren't simply watching Pokémon fight. We are watching partnerships being tested, strategies being developed, friendships being strengthened, and trainers discovering just how far they and their Pokémon can push themselves. Never forget that Pokémon are partners and friends."
Professor Birch chuckled before continuing, "Let's wrap this up—my speech is already long enough. With that, I officially announce the end of this year's tournament. Congratulations once again to our champion, Alex!"
The cheers became deafening as Alex stood in the center of the arena with his Pokémon surrounding him, the tournament trophy still held proudly in his hands
Alex and his Pokémon slowly made their way toward the arena entrance alongside Professor Birch and Mary, with several tournament staff members following a short distance behind them.
Mary walked beside Birch for a while before gradually moving closer to Alex. She glanced at him with a smile and said, "Hey, I'm actually a huge fan of yours, Alex. Could you do me a favor and give me an autograph?"
Alex looked at her with mild surprise. "An autograph?"
Mary nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! You didn't think becoming the champion would let you escape that part of being famous, did you?"
Alex chuckled. "I suppose I just have not expected that a person on your level is my fan."
Mary quickly produced a small notebook and handed it to him along with a pen.
Alex took them and asked, "Where do you want it?"
Mary said with a small smile, "Anywhere is fine."
Alex opened the notebook and wrote his name neatly across the page before handing it back to her. "There you go."
Mary looked down at the autograph and smiled. "Thanks. I'm definitely keeping this."
Alex gave her an amused look. "You make it sound like I'm some kind of big celebrity."
Mary raised an eyebrow. "You just won an entire regional tournament in front of thousands of people, and half the stadium was chanting your name."
She paused for a moment before adding with a teasing smile, "I'd say you've earned the title of a big celebrity."
Alex laughed quietly. "When you put it that way, I suppose you're right."
They continued walking together as Mary glanced at him from time to time. she asked. "So, how does it feel? You finally made it through the entire tournament, defeated some of the strongest trainers here, and now you're officially the champion."
Alex looked at Mary with a thoughtful expression to figure out why she would ask something like that, but He thought she was just making small talk after he had thought about it for a bit, so he answered casually. "Honestly? I'm mostly relieved."
Mary raised an eyebrow. "Relieved?"
Alex hesitated for a moment before he say "Yeah. I know that sounds weird, but that's honestly my emotion right now."
Mary smiled. "Then I am maybe also weird because... I really like that answer."
As they continued talking, Mary occasionally moved slightly closer to Alex, and her tone became a little more playful than it had been during their earlier conversations.
At one point, she lightly bumped his shoulder with hers while laughing at something he had said, and later she asked whether he would be interested in celebrating his victory with her after the tournament.
The signals were subtle enough that some people probably wouldn't have noticed them but Alex was not dull not to picks up on these obvious hints.
He had become quite good at reading people, and although Mary was trying not to be too obvious, it wasn't particularly difficult for him to understand what she was implying.
He didn't want to embarrass her by directly rejecting her, especially since she hadn't actually said anything inappropriate or overly forward.
Instead, Alex simply smiled and casually changed the subject. "You should probably interview some of the other participants while you still have the chance. I'm sure they're going to have plenty of interesting things to say about their matches."
Mary understood the subtle message almost immediately. She was far more experienced and skilled in such matters than Alex, so she understood immediately what he meant.
She paused for half a second before smiling again. "Oh, what a shame."
Mary then returned to walking beside Professor Birch, giving Alex a little more space.
Alex didn't think much more about the interaction.
He had nothing against Mary, and he enjoyed talking with her, but he simply wasn't interested in pursuing anything romantic with her.
Gardevoir, who was standing next to Alex alongside his other Pokémon, picked up on Mary's emotions during the conversation and sensed that something was a bit off.
Mary was displaying the appropriate emotions, yet something felt strange.
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if the story total of 250 powerstones in 24 hours, I will upload 1 bonus chapter tomorrow.
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