Charizard and his trainer slowly descended onto the awards platform, and the entire venue erupted in warm applause and cheers once more.
The champion's prizes were awarded on the spot—a check for five hundred thousand League Coins, along with the precious Pokémon item, the "Sharp Beak."
Charizard's trainer raised the yellow beak gleaming with a sky-blue sheen and waved it at the audience, drawing another round of cheers.
"So nice..." Akong gazed at the stage, his voice filled with pure envy. "If only I had a Flying-type Pokémon too."
Xinhai turned his head to look at the boy beside him.
There was no jealousy in Akong's eyes, only pure longing.
"You will." Xinhai looked away, his tone calm but certain. "As long as you keep moving forward and keep getting stronger, you'll eventually encounter what you're meant to encounter."
Akong froze for a moment, then nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Thank you!"
After a pause, he scratched his head a little sheepishly. "Oh, right, we've talked for so long, but I still don't know your name."
"Xinhai," Xinhai answered briefly.
"Brother Xinhai!" Akong immediately changed how he addressed him, the name coming out naturally. "I'm Akong, from Mossdeep City. If you ever get the chance to visit Mossdeep City, you have to come hang out with me!"
He took out his Pokédex, signaling that he wanted to exchange contact information.
Xinhai did not refuse. He took out his Pokédex, and the two added each other as friends.
Just then, the broadcast sounded again:
"Ladies and gentlemen—the flight exhibition is about to begin! Let us welcome the participating trainers with our warmest applause!"
The entire venue burst into enthusiastic cheers again.
On the big screen, the camera swept across several participating trainers—each was a somewhat famous local Flying-type trainer from Fortree City, accompanied