Sneaky Wallace

With everything bought, the old man had no intention of staying any longer. He began packing up to leave.

Upon hearing Yuga's question, he responded, "You've bought everything from me, so why do you care who I am? Do you want me to provide you with customer service now?"

After saying this, he grabbed his belongings and disappeared into the crowd.

Watching the old man vanish into the crowd, Yuga didn't know how to react. Why had this old man been so kind to him? He had even given Yuga such precious books and seeds, some of which held closely guarded secrets. The moss-green seed he received was surely no ordinary item.

Could this old man be a distant relative he didn't even know about?

Unable to figure it out, Yuga simply shook his head. Overthinking it wouldn't change anything. It was clear that the old man had acted out of goodwill.

Yuga found a quiet corner, discreetly placing all the jars he had purchased, along with the book and seed the old man had given him, into his system backpack. After all, the opening ceremony was about to begin, and it wouldn't be proper to carry these items around.

Once everything was safely stored, Yuga returned from his secluded spot. He checked the time and realized that the opening ceremony was about to start. He needed to hurry to the spectator's area.

However, as Yuga took a few steps, he felt a tap on his shoulder from behind.

Turning around, Yuga saw a man dressed entirely in black with a hood covering his head, sunglasses on his face, and a scruffy beard.

Seeing this mysterious man who seemed to be concealing his identity, Yuga cautiously asked, "Uncle, what can I help you with?"

When the man heard Yuga address him as "Uncle," he was clearly displeased.

"What do you mean, 'Uncle'? Look carefully; who am I?"

Saying this, he quickly removed his sunglasses and then put them back on.

Although Yuga had only taken a brief look, he recognized the man. But for fun, Yuga pretended not to know and continued, "How am I supposed to know who you are? With that beard, 'Uncle' seems appropriate. Don't tell me you want me to call you 'little brother'?"

The man on the other side was annoyed and said, "The beard is fake, completely fake! You cheeky kid, don't play games with me!"

Seeing the man's irritated expression, Yuga finally dropped the act and laughed, saying, "Haha, it was just a joke. Is Mr. Wallace here to watch Robert's match?"

Indeed, the person in front of him was Wallace, Robert's senior.

Wallace was visiting under a disguise because his current status was no different from a superstar. Furthermore, this was the venue for the Grand Festival of Pokémon Contest, and the attendees were all enthusiasts of the event. If they discovered that the top star of the Pokémon Contest, Wallace, was present, it would surely cause a commotion.

"Wallace, weren't you in the Unova Regions promoting the Pokémon Contest? How did you end up here?" Yuga inquired with curiosity.

At present, the Pokémon Contest was most popular in the Hoenn Region and the Sinnoh Region. Over the years, with the efforts of the Pokémon Contest's official organizers, both the Kanto Regions and Johto had started to become familiar with the event. However, other regions were still relatively unfamiliar with it.

Therefore, the Pokémon Contest's officials had been making active efforts to promote it in different regions.

Recently, Wallace had been promoting the Pokémon Contest in the Unova Regions. This was common knowledge, so it was unexpected to see him sneaking back to the Hoenn Region.

If it weren't for Wallace's trip to the Unova Regions, he would have been the judge instead of Mr. Juan. The entire Hoenn Region knew of Wallace's achievements surpassing his mentor, Mr. Juan, which was Mr. Juan's greatest pride. His current goal was to train Robert to be as outstanding as Wallace.

Although Robert's achievements didn't currently match Wallace's, no one could deny that Robert was also a genius Pokémon Coordinator.

Wallace whispered to Yuga, "After all, this is an important match for Robert. How could I, as his senior, not come to see it?"

"What about your work?" Yuga asked.

Wallace shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, don't worry about that. Skipping work for a few days won't be a big deal."

It seemed that Wallace was a bit of a free spirit, much like his best friend. Yuga thought to himself.

Yuga inquired, "Are you heading to the spectator's seats as well?"

"Yeah, you too, right? Let's go together. I recognized you from behind; I didn't expect it to be you."

"Alright, let's go," Yuga nodded.

So, the two of them entered the stadium together.

Wallace's strange disguise had successfully concealed his identity, but it also attracted attention, and anyone with him, like Yuga, became a focal point.

As the opening ceremony began punctually with fireworks lighting up the sky, the energetic host, Vivian, started the event. The audience in the stadium erupted into cheers.

Vivian was quite popular in the Hoenn Region, with a large fan base.

Following Vivian's introduction, the official leaders of the Grand Festival of Pokémon Contest spoke, as well as the introduction of the judging panel.

This year's panel included the usual judges, Mr. Sukizo and Mr. Contesta, along with three Nurse Joy and the Gym Leader of Sootopolis City, Mr. Juan.

Each of these individuals was significant in their own right, and even the three seemingly ordinary Nurse Joy were influential members of the Joy family.

Next up was the entrance of the participating contestants.

With a single glance, Yuga could spot Robert in the field due to his striking golden hair.

Unexpectedly, Yuga also saw another familiar face, someone he remembered from the Pokémon Contest in Verdanturf Town. It was the young man who had used Sentret during the finals against Wallace.

Yuga recalled his name as Sora.

The reason Yuga had such a vivid memory of him was because his skills were impressive. He had performed exceptionally well during the Pokémon Contest in Verdanturf Town, and had it not been for Robert, he might have been the winner.