Internet Magic in Fairy Tail (Re-upload)

"Your royal family wants to host a Pokémon tournament?"

Nate was taken aback.

When he posted on the forum, it was partially to generate hype and lure players into buying more card packs. The other half was a shot in the dark—he hoped someone might be interested in sponsoring the event.

But he never expected to reel in such a big catch!

"Yes, I adore Pokémon—both the anime and the Pokémon themselves," Princess Hisui said with a nod. She summoned a Pikachu, cradling it in her arms and gently stroking its head.

"It's a personal passion of mine, and I'd love to host a tournament in this city. To that end, I'm willing to offer a 30-million-J prize pool!"

"What do you think?"

As expected of a princess—she was willing to spend 30 million J purely to indulge her hobby. And that was just for the prize pool, not accounting for the human, material, and financial resources needed to organize the event.

Such an opportunity couldn't be passed up. Just as Nate was about to agree, a rare notification from the system popped up:

…

[Mission: Host a grand Pokémon tournament.]

[Reward: Dragon Taming Technique.]

…

Dragon Taming Technique?

Nate's heart skipped a beat. He didn't know the exact effect, but the name alone sounded impressive.

"I'd be delighted to collaborate with your royal family," he said. "Do you have any specific suggestions for the event?"

"Nate-san, please look over there."

The princess pointed westward toward a mountain. Atop it stood a colossal stadium with four towering statues, each over 100 meters tall, stationed at the arena's corners.

"That's the Domus Flau Arena. The tournament could be held there."

Isn't that the Grand Magic Games arena?

The structure looked familiar to Nate. Even from this distance, his Six Eyes allowed him to clearly discern the arena's intricate details.

"The venue is excellent. What about the tournament structure?"

The princess pondered for a moment. "As for the structure... do you have any ideas?"

Nate thought for a moment. "Currently, there are a lot of players—at least 500,000—and the number is growing rapidly. Even if only one-tenth of them participated, that would still be too many people."

"Could we reduce the number through preliminary rounds?"

The princess suggested, "There are already online battles, aren't there? What if we set a deadline and make reaching a certain rank a prerequisite for participating in the main tournament?"

It was a good idea. Players who reached Diamond rank or above could qualify for the offline tournament. Afterward, they would need to collect Gym Badges.

Players who gathered eight badges would qualify for the final championship at the Domus Flau Arena, ultimately determining the Pokémon Champion.

Nate explained the format, but Princess Hisui looked a bit puzzled.

"What are Gym Badges?"

"It involves collaborating with the mage guilds within Fiore. Each guild selects a Gym Leader. Players who defeat the Gym Leader will receive that guild's Gym Badge."

Having watched the Pokémon anime, Princess Hisui quickly understood.

"Oh, it's like Gym Badges in the show," she remarked, though her expression turned conflicted. "But wouldn't this significantly reduce the number of players able to participate in the finals in the capital?"

Hmm?

Something felt off.

Nate raised an eyebrow. Typically, organizers worry about the quality of competitors, not the number. After all, what matters is the level of competition and putting on an exciting show.

Could it be...

Considering the plot of the Grand Magic Games and the Eclipse Project planned by the royal family, Nate started to suspect something.

Is this princess using the Pokémon tournament as a way to collect magic energy?

At that moment, Princess Hisui proposed another idea:

"How about this? Instead of letting players directly challenge Gym Leaders at their guilds, we can gather the Gym Leaders in the capital for a battle arena showdown. Players who pass the online preliminaries can challenge these stationed Gym Leaders. Only by defeating them and earning their badges will they qualify for the finals."

Nate nodded in agreement. "That's a great idea. Let's go with that. But not every guild will be willing to participate, right?"

The princess smiled warmly.

"Don't worry about that. The royal family will issue a formal request to the guilds. And we don't need too many guilds to join. Eight or so should suffice."

By now, Nate was almost certain of his hypothesis. The Eclipse Project had begun.

Of course, this didn't concern him much. Whether it succeeded or failed wasn't his problem.

If someone was willing to sponsor a tournament and handle most of the logistics, Nate was more than happy.

But why go through all this trouble to collect magic energy? Wouldn't buying Magic Net Coins through the [Magic Net Marketplace] be much easier?

Then again, perhaps Hisui really did just love Pokémon tournaments.

"Since that's the case," Nate said, "why not increase the prize pool? Let's add this 5 million J from your request into the prize fund as well."

"You're contributing too?" Princess Hisui seemed surprised.

"Not just that," Nate said with a smile. "I'll personally contribute an additional 15 million J, bringing the total prize pool to 50 million J."

Nate was well-off now. Spending 15 million wasn't a big deal; he'd earn it back from the players soon enough.

"I admire your boldness!" the princess said with a laugh. "In that case, I'll speak to my father and have him match it, raising the total prize pool to 100 million J!"

In just a few moments of conversation, the prize pool had ballooned from 30 million to 100 million J.

A 100-million-J prize pool would undoubtedly be a massive draw.

Nate vaguely recalled that the prize for the Grand Magic Games in the original story was only 30 million. But the Grand Magic Games was different—beyond money, it also granted the title of the Strongest Guild in Fiore.

"I truly appreciate the royal family's support. I'll leave the tournament arrangements in your capable hands," Nate said with a smile.

"Nate-san, this is a joint event between the royal family and the Magic Net. You can't just leave everything to me," Princess Hisui teased. "Add me as a friend on the Magic Net. We'll need to discuss more details."

The two exchanged friend requests. Princess Hisui's Magic Net ID was simply Hisui.

"Then, I'll take my leave for now. Let's announce the tournament on December 31st as a New Year's gift to the players."

…

The tournament was officially named the [Fiore Kingdom Pokémon Champion Tournament].

Format:

1. Online Preliminaries: Players must achieve a certain rank in online battles to qualify.

2. Badge Collection Phase: Qualified players travel to the capital to challenge Gym Leaders stationed in the arena and collect eight Gym Badges.

3. Finals: Those who meet the requirements compete in a grand offline event to determine the ultimate champion.

…

Princess Hisui would handle the offline arrangements in the capital.

Nate wasn't entirely hands-off—he still needed to develop a special tournament app for the Magic Net to facilitate the preliminaries.

Time flew by as Nate juggled his responsibilities as Guild Master and worked on the tournament preparations.

Finally, just before the new year, everything was ready.

Year X784.

New Year's Day.