After Ursaring and Elekid mastered their newly learned moves, Paul left Eterna Forest the following day.

  Entering the bustling streets of Jubilife City, Paul walked with his hands in his pockets, heading toward the Pokémoer he remembered.

  "Miss Nurse Joy, I'll leave it to you."

  At the ter, Paul hawo Poké Balls to Nurse Joy and spoke politely.

  "Of course. Please wait a moment." Nurse Joy replied warmly, taking the Poké Balls.

  Reality wasn't like the games—Pokémoers couldn't instantly heal Pokémon with a quick "ding-dong." Seriously injured Pokémon might even require surgery or extended hospitalization.

  While waiting for treatment, Paul walked out of the Pokémoer, hands still in his pockets, and headed to the department store to purchase supplies for his journey.

  For Paul, the most important items were Pokémon food and medie, followed by portable, and ready-to-eat meals.

  It wasn't that Paul disliked good food—he simply preferred venience. When in the wild, he couldn't be bothered to spend time cooking.

  Paul, already familiar with seleg supplies, quickly gathered everything he needed, paid at the ter, and packed it all into his ste backpack.

  Just as he stepped out of the department store, a familiar voice called out to him.

  "Hey, Paul! You're still here?"

  Turning around, Paul saw Lucas emerging from the department store, adjusting his backpack while holding a Pokémon Egg in his arms.

  "You left Saown before us, and we didn't see you at the tour here a few days ago. I thought you'd already left Jubilife City. So, why are you just arriving now?"

  Lucas finished anizing his bag and walked up to Paul with the egg still in his arms.

  "I was training in the wild. What tour are you talking about?" Paul asked calmly, gng at the Pokémon Egg.

  Unfortunately, most Pokémon Eggs apart from a rare few, looked very simir, making it impossible to dis ecies was inside.

  "A few days ago, Jubilife City hosted a tour called the Jubilife Novice Cup. I made it to the finals against Barry, and the prize was this Pokémon Egg. Sadly… I don't know what's iher." Lucas said, suddenly remembering something and hurriedly pg the egg into an incubator inside his backpack.

  "Paul, want to have a battle? I'd love to see how much you've improved!"

  "Sorry, my Pokémon are currently receiving treatment. It's not ve." Paul replied without hesitation.

  Paul never accepted battles when his Pokémon were resting, rec, or being treated.

  "What a pity. Let's battle aime, then. I'll be on my way…" Lucas said, slightly disappointed. As he was about to leave, he added, "Oh, by the way, I heard the Battle Pza oy outskirts is hosting a Pokémon battle tour over the couple of days. You should check it out."

  "A tour? Might be worth a look." Paul thought.

  With his Pokémon ureatment and no other pressing matters, he decided to visit the Battle Pza. If it seemed iing, he could always join ter.

  Following his memory, Paul soon arrived at the venue.

  The Battle Pza was located oy outskirts, easily visible to passing travelers.

  In addition to basic battle arenas, there was a rger stadium with seating for spectators.

  Currently, there were no battles happening in the smaller arenas—everyone had gathered around the main stadium to watch a match.

  A makeshift stage nearby dispyed banners for the event alongside advertisements.

  "Iing… very iing. It's been a while since I've seen a tour like this." Paul muttered with a smirk after reading the event rules.

  The tour called the Jubilife Victory Cup had unique rules: partits could use one Pokémon at a time in one-otles. Winners stayed on as the defender and could switon before the match.

  Defenders could use a maximum of two Pokémon per match, and any Pokémon used could not be reused ter.

  The trainer with the most secutive wins over the three-day event would be ed champion. If multiple trainers had the same win streak, a final one-otle would determihe winner.

  Paul found the rules intriguing. Suats were rare, making the tour worth his attention.

  "Are you here to sign up, Trainer? You enjoy the thrill of battle, train your Pokémon, and have a ce to win a mysterious grand prize. The rewards for this tour are on par with the Novice Cup!" a staff member at the registration desk invited.

  "Grand prize?" Paul's attention shifted to the prize details.

  Besides cash and a trophy, the champion would receive a Pokémon Egg. Trainers achieving a ten-win streak could also selee item from a pool of rare held items.

  After thhly reviewing the rules, Paul quietly left the registration desk and found a secluded spot in the audieo observe the matches.

  The Victory Cup had fewer restris than the Novice Cup, attrag trainers of varying skill levels. Some were newers with just their starter Pokémon, while others were seasoravelers. Even people from different professions joined after work for fun.

  This diversity led to fierpetition on the first day. The current record was a five-win streak.

  In the arena, a trainer with a five-win streak aheir Luxray, now visibly exhausted, awaiting their sixth challenger.

  Due to their first Pokémoing too muergy ihird match, the trainer had to switch to Luxray for subsequent battles.

  Their fourth oppo was a Jolteon with Volt Absorb, their fifth was a Dugtrio, and now, the sixth—a Hippowdon.

  Seei another Pokémon immuo electric attacks, the trainer's face turned grim.

  Fortunately, Luxray's sheer power secured a victainst Hippowdon, earning a sixth win. But it was clear that Luxray couldn't tinue.

  After the referee annouhe end of the match, the trainer recalled Luxray, visibly disheartened.

  "This is worth noting." Paul thought.

  This tour was tough. To maximize win streaks, a trainer's first Pokémon o endure as long as possible.

  However, the challenge y in the oppos who could choose Pokémon specifically to ter the defender.

  If unlucky, defenders might face multiple ter-picks, like the trainer whose Luxray struggled against oppos immuo electric moves.

  Paul tinued watg several more matches, noting the challengers' strategion choices to avoid being tered by the defender.

  As Paul pondered how he might fare in such a tour, he cluded that achieving a ten-win streak would be incredibly difficult. Luck would py a signifit role in avoiding hard ters.

  After watg for a while, Paul checked the time a a message tie before leaving the Battle Pza.

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