Grassmere City, 12 o'clock midnight.
The flight from Grassmere City to Sky Island landed at Sky Island Airport precisely on schedule, 8 o'clock local time.
"Ahhhh~~~" John yawned, removed his eye mask, and rose to disembark from the plane.
"What's today's itinerary?"
"First we report to headquarters, then return to the hotel to rest. After that, headquarters will arrange battles. We just need to wait patiently," Emerald replied.
This trip to Sky Island Headquarters marked her debut as John's official agent. For this reason, she'd temporarily entrusted John's breeding facility to the newly promoted store manager.
Upon exiting the aircraft, an endless sea of clouds immediately came into view. The rising sun cast brilliant sunshine across the cloudscape, making it resemble a saffron-colored wheat field.
"Nice scenery," John muttered, though he wasn't particularly impressed.
After capturing Lugia previously, he'd often ridden on its back flying above similar cloud seas.
Upon leaving the terminal, a World Pokemon Championship official was already waiting.
"Hello, Champion John. My name is Christina, and I'm the liaison sent by the World Pokemon Championship. If you need anything, please let me know." The person receiving John was a blonde woman in white business attire.
She'd brought two assistants along.
"Take us to report first."
"Right this way, please~"
A large plaza stretched before the airport entrance.
However, it wasn't heavily populated. Apart from a few trainers, most people present were staff members.
Christina led John and Emerald to the plaza's far end, where a row of Charizard waited ready for service.
The Charizard wore riding equipment resembling saddles on their backs.
These served as Sky Island's primary transportation method.
Sky Island wasn't merely a single island, but rather multiple floating landmasses connected by some mysterious force. They moved smoothly in unified direction while maintaining individual independence. Traveling between islands required Flying-type mounts.
"Champion John may also use his own Pokemon for travel," Christina thoughtfully suggested.
"Alright, then please lead the way." John raised his hand and tossed a Pokeball.
The completely black Lugia made a dramatic appearance.
Instantly, everyone in the plaza cast envious glances their way.
A legendary Pokemon, and it was shiny.
How could they not be jealous?
John and Emerald climbed onto Lugia's back with practiced ease.
"Isn't this a bit too high-profile?" Emerald gripped Lugia's feathers with both hands, feeling somewhat nervous.
"Nervous? I think it's just right." John didn't care, everyone already knew he possessed a Lugia, so why not show it off?
Christina and her assistant had already mounted their Charizard and began leading northward.
Lugia flapped its wings gently and followed behind.
While traveling, John surveyed Sky Island's layout.
Sky Island's territory was remarkably vast. Even excluding the gaps between floating landmasses, the actual land area probably equaled three or four big cities.
However, Sky Island's population remained relatively small. Most structures were battle venues, laboratories, and offices. After all, this served as the World Pokemon Tournament headquarters.
Simultaneously, it hosted the main venue for the eight Masters tournaments.
Five minutes later, John arrived at World Pokemon Tournament headquarters.
In his opinion, the so-called Pokemon Tournament headquarters resembled a luxury Pokemon Center.
Upon entering, a beautiful Pokemon Nurse had replaced the traditional "Nurse Joy" role from the games. She could provide preliminary diagnosis and treatment to any Pokemon in need at any time.
The right side featured service windows, while the left contained a rest area.
Why call it the deluxe version?
The medical equipment positioned behind the Pokemon Nurse was unlike anything John had seen before, it looked incredibly advanced.
The sofas, dining table, and refreshments in the left-side lounge area all appeared expensive. It felt like a five-star hotel operating inside a Pokemon Center.
"Please register here." Christina guided John forward.
John stood before a machine, completed a simple scan, entered his information, and finished registration.
"Well, registration is complete. You may now proceed to your assigned island to await battle arrangements."
"Any devices requiring unlocking on the island can be authenticated using your fingerprint." Christina gestured, preparing to escort John to his temporary Sky Island residence.
After each world-class champion trainer arrived at Sky Island, the World Pokemon Tournament prepared a dedicated island. Though merely temporary lodging, it remained thoroughly impressive.
"Pretty efficient." The entire process from deplaning to check-in took only ten minutes.
Today's obligations were complete, time to return and play games.
Orange Islands had just completed its first gym yesterday, located on Kumquat Island, featuring a two-versus-two battle against Luana, known as the Southern Belle.
He needed to work faster today and attempt clearing the Orange Islands by tomorrow.
He'd taken only two steps when suddenly intercepted by a foreigner with blonde hair and red eyes. The foreigner spoke in broken English: "John Champion, pleased to meet you~"
"Is there something you need?" John raised an eyebrow.
"Would you be interested in a battle against me?"
A battle invitation?
John glanced at Emerald.
Understanding immediately, Emerald quickly briefed John: "He's Daralon Kyle, currently ranked 24th worldwide."
Before arriving at Sky Island, Emerald had memorized trainer information for the world's top thirty Pokemon battlers to provide John with comprehensive data support at all times.
"Twenty-fourth? Then you're qualified to battle me." John considered this, he'd been playing high-level matches recently, using all his main team Pokemon. His second and third string teams were getting restless. A lower-tier match would be perfect entertainment.
John asked Christina again: "Can I battle freely right now?"
"Of course, as long as you participate normally in scheduled battles, we don't restrict private battle arrangements."
"If you wish to battle, I can immediately arrange a venue."
"Excellent, then please prepare the arena." After receiving positive confirmation, John looked at Daralon.
"Very well, I accept your battle invitation."
"Great! I've been hoping to fight you for ages." Daralon's eyes sparkled with excitement.