Xia Yan, Come Battle!

Most of the people below the stage were astonished by Xia Yan's identity.

But after their initial surprise, some had already begun forming their own thoughts.

For example.

At the table closest to the stage sat the senior officials currently in charge of research for the Kanto League.

The way they looked at Xia Yan was no longer the way one looked at a young man. It was as if they had discovered a dazzling gem, glittering brilliantly.

If publishing an occasionally sensational paper was coincidence or luck,

then Xia Yan, who had now published so many influential papers, was absolutely not relying on luck or coincidence.

Everyone present could tell that much.

If Xia Yan had merely been quite knowledgeable about a Pokémon like Eevee, while his understanding of other Pokémon was lacking,

they might have suspected as much before.

But after that paper three days ago about Feebas evolving into Milotic, such doubts had completely vanished.

He could not only contribute to Eevee research; he had his own insights and abilities in many other areas as well.

The only thing that pained these senior officials

was that Xia Yan had become a Gym Leader in the Sinnoh Region rather than the Kanto Region.

They could not accept the loss of such talent.

But it did not matter. The Kanto Region possessed the finest resources and equipment, and they believed they had the means to win Xia Yan back.

Besides them,

there was also the table of Gym Leaders not far from Xia Yan's group.

Sabrina and Lt. Surge were relatively calm.

Koga, who had kept his eyes closed the entire time, opened them.

His gaze fell on Xia Yan, though no one knew what he was thinking.

After making his announcement, Xia Yan nodded apologetically to the crowd,