"Looks like I was right."
Seeing Xia Yan's brief look of astonishment, the person who had spoken earlier chuckled again.
"But you don't need to wait anymore. Do you know why they haven't appeared in the Galar Region? Because they won't be coming today."
That person seemed extremely certain of it.
His words were filled with ease.
It was as though the person standing before them was not the mighty Sinnoh Champion, but merely some ordinary Regular Trainer found anywhere.
After his brief surprise, Xia Yan quickly regained his composure.
His fingers counted them one by one.
Including Sordward and Shielbert, who had appeared earlier, there were eight people in total.
Six of them wore pitch-black cloaks, making their appearances impossible to discern. It was not even easy to determine their genders.
"So, there are only eight of you?"
Xia Yan asked calmly.
"Hm?"
Xia Yan's composure and calmness startled the people across from him.
"He is the Sinnoh Champion, after all. You can't scare him. At least show him what we're capable of."
This time, it was clearly a woman speaking.
Judging by her voice alone, Xia Yan estimated that she was not very old, at most twenty-five or twenty-six.
In her slowly raised slender hand, she held a Great Ball.
"Stop wasting time. Delays breed trouble. Do it!"
This voice was much sharper and harsher, and it offered no further clues.
Yet his words immediately sobered the others. He seemed to hold a rather special status among the eight, since even the arrogant Sordward and Shielbert did not argue or contradict him.
Then—
Several Poké Balls flew from their hands.
As those red lights flashed, the Pokémon that appeared made Xia Yan's expression turn serious at once.
"Venusaur—!!"
"Roar—!!"
"Blastoise—!!"
The first to appear were the traditional Starter