Orange Islands

The Orange Islands are an island nation, which are a part of Kanto. The islands lie south of the Kantonian mainland, past Cinnabar and the Seafoam Islands. They are bordered on their east by the Sevii Islands and far to their south by Oblivia. The islands benefit from a devolved government, headed by Nicola Qwilfish.

The islands are a large group of mainly tropical islands, 38 of which are populated. The largest island is Mandarin Island South, which is the site of Trovitopolis, the de facto capital of the Orange Islands. Other large islands with high populations are Mandarin Island North, Valencia Island, Pummelo Island, Fairchild Island and Kumquat Island. The islands are said to be the source of all of the water on the planet, with the very centre of the Orange Sea thought of as the origin of life.

The archipelago is known for its gorgeous climate and fierce identity. Since the islands were brought under the control of Kanto in the 1800s, an independence movement has sought to gain recognition. As of 2020, Kanto appears no closer to granting the islands their independence.

## Pokébattling

*See Orange Islands National Pokébattling Team, Orange Archipelago League*

The Orange Islands has competed as a separate national team from Kanto for 20 years. This has been somewhat controversial as Pentre, the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra are expected to compete as part of a combined Galar team in major international events (though they compete as separate teams for smaller tournaments). The islands were admitted to the World Cup in 2020 for the first time as the competition expanded dramatically, from eight teams too 16. They qualified for the tournament after a narrow play off victory against the Socialist Cherrygrove Republic. Seeded in the lowest group, alongside fellow minnows Orre, Ferrum and the Pokémon's Republic of Azalea Town, they were not expected to make an impact at the tournament, and were mainly thought to be making up the numbers in Group A alongside tournament favourites Alola and hosts Johto. Back-to-back victories in their first two games against Oblivia and Alola meant that the Islands were the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals. A 6-0 loss to Johto in their final group game did nothing to detract from a fantastic performance.

The Islanders went on to easily defeat the Pokémon's Republic of Azalea Town in the quarter-finals, before also beating Galar 6-2 in their semi-final clash. The team was still thought of as underdogs for their rematch with Alola in the final, and were 5-2 down right up to the closing moments of the match. They would have lost and handed the Alolans their maiden trophy, where it not for a superb comeback and reverse sweep courtesy of Tortuga, who Shell Smashed and grasped victory from the jaws of defeat for the Orange Islands, sealing their first World Cup victory at their first attempt.

This has been described as "the greatest upset in this history of competitive Pokébattling" by dozens of pundits, with the notable exception of Seb O'Horick, who claimed he'd seen it coming years in advance. Several of the team's competitors sealed contracts with top professional clubs as a result of their triumph.

The Orange Islands maintains a competitive domestic league, the Orange Archipelago League. The league's top two clubs are Valencia CP and Mandarin Island North Star, although Trovitopolis and Pummelo United have several league titles to each of their names. Teams from the Islands often get to the latter stages of the Lesser Regions Cup, as well as putting in solid performances in the Kanto Cup.