"Hey, Brother Ye Feng and Aunt Meiziko aren't here!"
On the eve of the competition.
Xiao Zhi discovered that Ye Feng and Meiziko were absent.
Xiao Sheng also noticed, "Perhaps something delayed them, they'll be here soon."
Xiao Yao didn't worry too much about it.
With clenched fists, she was ready to participate in the competition.
Meanwhile, Ye Feng was still training with Meiziko.
Time passed quickly.
The day's competition ended.
Xiao Yao narrowly and successfully advanced to the second round.
Tomorrow was the second round of the competition.
Evening.
Xiao Zhi and the others finally met Ye Feng and Meiziko.
They asked where they had been.
Meiziko quickly explained, "It's our first time in Kaisei City, so I asked Ye Feng to accompany me out to play."
"If that's the case, Mom, I can accompany you too,"
Xiao Sheng said.
Xiao Yao was a bit displeased, "Mom, is my competition more important or is your sightseeing more important?! Can't we go sightseeing anytime?!"
"Alright, alright, I'll definitely watch you compete tomorrow."
...
The next day.
This second stage was still a performance.
After the contestants performed, the top 32 in total score would enter the final showdown tomorrow.
Ye Feng leaned against the railing.
He watched the performances of the Contestants below.
Indeed, it was a visual treat.
Ye Feng noticed two people during the competition.
One was that green-haired little Shun.
The one who was marketed as Xiao Yao's CP.
He was quite skilled.
The other was a young man with long golden hair.
He wore a flamboyant wine-red outfit.
His every move exuded elegance.
And in this second stage performance, only these two had so far received perfect scores.
The more Ye Feng watched, the more familiar the golden-haired young man seemed.
Not familiar in the sense of knowing him personally.
Ye Feng didn't know this golden-haired guy, but the aura he exuded was very similar to someone.
"Meiziko, go get me a contestant introduction manual."
Unlike regional league competitions.
The Pokémon Coordinators who would emerge from the Grand Festival were akin to movie stars.
Many were signed with agencies.
Naturally, there were such introductory booklets.
Ye Feng found the information of this handsome and elegant golden-haired man in the booklet.
Roderick.
Male, twenty-three years old.
Disciple of the famous Pokémon Coordinator, Wallace.
Renowned Contest Master, junior to the Hoenn Grand Festival Champion, Steven.
Favorite food: Buns
Favorite animal: Puppies
What kind of girls he likes: Top secret
Other information was readily available.
"So he's Wallace's junior, and Adam's disciple."
"No wonder he feels so elegant and gentlemanly, so much like someone."
Ye Feng turned his gaze back to the arena.
Just then, he suddenly felt as if a pair of eyes were staring at his back.
He turned his head, but the crowd was so dense he couldn't tell who it was.
"Perhaps it's my fans,"
Ye Feng said narcissistically.
The second day's competition also ended quickly.
Xiao Yao smoothly advanced.
Tomorrow would be the final stage of the Grand Festival.
The champion would be decided.
And tonight.
Ye Feng was still training with Meiziko.
Meiziko was becoming more and more engrossed in this feeling with Ye Feng.
The next day, the third day of the competition.
Ye Feng and Meiziko did not watch, but instead focused on training.
The third day's competition was a double battle.
Similar to the Grand Festival.
Within the allotted time.
Whoever inflicted the most damage on the opponent's Pokémon would win.
The battles were intense.
Xiao Yao ultimately stopped at the quarterfinals, losing to the green-haired Shun.
And Shun, after overcoming all obstacles,
eventually lost to Roderick.
Perhaps this was fate.
Perhaps you all remember, the very first Grand Festival Xiao Yao participated in.
She lost to Shun in the end.
And Shun lost to this Roderick.
History was repeating itself.
However, Shun's loss was not in vain.
Because Roderick was truly strong.
And at this moment.
At the awards ceremony.
Everyone was cheering.
Champion Roderick, Runner-up Shun, Third Place Little Scum.
The other quarterfinalists and top 16 participants stood below the podium, holding commemorative badges.
"Xiao Yao, my daughter, I'm so happy to see you grow up."
From a secluded corner of the audience stands.
Stood a man in his thirties or forties.
He looked at Xiao Yao, who was holding a commemorative badge.
A gratified smile appeared on his face.
But it quickly vanished.
Because he thought of his wife and Ye Feng.
"Why, why did you betray me?"
"Why?"
He couldn't understand why.
And the reason he discovered was precisely the mark left on the table that morning.
Everyone says men are less meticulous than women.
But no matter how careless a man is, he isn't a fool.
He knew exactly what that thing was.
At this moment.
Norman clenched his fist weakly.
So powerless.
Truly so powerless.
This terrifying sense of powerlessness filled his heart.
Ye Feng put a hat on him, and he didn't even have the ability to take revenge.
"Just wait, Ye Feng."
"Evil will be rewarded, good will be rewarded. It's not that retribution doesn't come, it's just that the time hasn't come yet."
Norman turned and left.
He left the place.
The Grand Festival was officially concluded.
The contestants here also departed, as did the spectators who came to watch.
Xiao Yao also said goodbye to Shun.
However, before they parted ways.
Shun still said, "Do you not plan to continue being a Coordinator in the future?"
Xiao Yao: "No, I will definitely become a Master Coordinator in the future!"
And at this time, Ye Feng was still training with Meiziko.
About three days later.
At the port of Kaisei City.
The group faced separation.
Meiziko was returning to Verdanturf Town.
Xiao Zhi, Takeshi, Xiao Yao, and Xiao Sheng were going to Sootopolis City.
There were less than two months until the Sootopolis Conference.
Xiao Zhi decided to go there first to train in preparation for the conference.
Ye Feng still chose to stay in Kaisei City.
The world was not entirely peaceful.
Where there was peace, there was chaos.
At this moment, in a high-rise conference hall in Sootopolis City.
People were gathered.
Both men and women.
About forty to fifty people.
The oldest were seventy or eighty, and the youngest were eighteen or nineteen.
These people were all from the Pokémon League or the Hoenn region's Sootopolis League.
The conference room was quiet and oppressive.
Even though the lights were bright, everyone present felt as if the sky was dark.
Finally, someone spoke.
"Regarding the Sootopolis Conference, which will begin in less than two months, what are your thoughts?"
The speaker was an old man, around sixty years old.
He was the chairman of the Hoenn region's Sootopolis League.
Every region had such a chairman.
And Wallace was the chairman of the overall Pokémon League.
Everyone understood the meaning behind the old chairman's words.
He wasn't talking about how the conference would go, but about Ye Feng participating.