League opening ceremony

While all regions have their own respective leagues, the International League is the most prestigious, and opens once every two years for 3 weeks of heated battles. It was created by regional leagues who banded together. The opening ceremony is organized by whichever region hosts the league that year, and often has famous artists, singers, and battlers collaborate.
It's often considered to be the biggest chance for a region to express its culture to the whole world, so it's taken very seriously. It also starts off a smaller chain of festivities, from victory celebrations to random street parties.

In recent history:

• Unova was the host, in which it had a full concert performance by a newly uber-famous idol named Lune. Dubbed SAFARI, it was Lune's first concert as well as an extravagant performance that took full advantage of Lune's illusory powers to be able to bend perceived reality.
• In the 70's, a memorial was held when Sinnoh hosted the event, as the champion's wife had recently tragically passed.

History

After individual regional league creations, representatives came together and founded an international league, where trainers would battle for world recognition. The major event would happen every two years, and was first held in Kanto.

Execution

On the first night of the International League, spectators gather in the stadium, awaiting the lighting of a display by various Pokemon. After the lighting, music of the hosting region plays, and the champions of each region walk out with their main Pokemon. After that, the show and festival very much depend on what region is hosting - in the bright and flashy region of Unova, the presentation has included pop stars and idols preforming, bright lights, and flashy clothes; while in Johto, it often has traditional music played along with traditional dances.

Components and tools

Again, what is exactly used in the opening will often depend on the region hosting - but a constant is the international league's display, which is the shape of the Pokemon league's logo. Either made of flammable straw, a set of bulbs seeking electrical charge, flowers about to bloom, or other variants, it's brought to life by Pokemon (being lit on fire, being charged by electric types, etc.)
Another constant is outside of the stadium on the streets, where lights, music, vendors, and livestreams of inside the stadium play.

Participants

Preliminaries take place over the two years waiting period between leagues, where trainers who go through their home region's league are then qualified to go to the international league. During the opening ceremony, these trainers walk out into the stadium, along with regional champions and their Pokemon.
Important during the opening ceremony is the entertainment, which changes from region to region, though famous people in pop culture from the region are commonly invited to be a part of the festival.

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