By the time the exhibition match ended, it was past three o'clock in the afternoon.
The sun began to set in the west, and the light in the arena gradually turned from bright sunlight to soft golden color.
The host announced the end of the opening ceremony. The audience left the venue in twos and threes with unyielding emotions, and people in the contestants area also got up and walked out one after another.
Xinhai picked up Eevee and put it on his shoulders, and followed the flow of people out of the arena through the player tunnel.
The crowd on the street outside has not dispersed yet. Many spectators were walking and discussing the exhibition match just now. Some people were arguing about who had released the water between Flint and Aaron. Some people were holding up their mobile phones to show their friends the recorded video of Sacred Fire being set on fire.
He stopped at a quiet alley, took out Pokédex and sent a message to his mother Nami: "The opening ceremony is over, have you come out? I'm at the south gate of the arena."
Not long after the message was sent out, Xinhai was tapped on the shoulder from behind.
"Xinhai!"
Xinhai turned around, and his mother Nami was standing behind him with a small bag on her shoulder, her face still flushed with excitement. Dad Yantai followed her, holding a paper bag with half a bag of popcorn in her hand, putting it in her mouth as she walked.
"Have you seen us? We are sitting in the east stand, not too far from the Sacred Fire stage." Mom Nami took the popcorn from Dad and stuffed one into Xinhai's mouth.
Xinhai chewed popcorn and responded vaguely. In fact, he didn't find their location at all, but if he was honest at this moment, his mother's interest must at least be dampened, so he nodded.
The three of them walked slowly along the streets outside the arena toward the city. Mother Nami was walking to the left of Xinhai, talking nonchalantly about the exhibition game just now.
"That Drake King of yours, that dragon is really powerful. With that move, my stand was shaking. And that Poni King, when you play with ice cubes, it's like Trick..."
"Xinhai, if you can perform like that in future games, mom will be satisfied."
Xinhai couldn't laugh or cry, "Mom, that's Elite Four, how many years has it been playing? I'm still in the top eight."
"I'm just talking." Mom Nami smiled and patted his arm.
When they reached a fork in the road, mother Nami stopped, turned around and looked at Xinhai, the smile on her face faded, and her tone became a little more serious:
"Okay, let's go this way to our hotel. You go back to Pokémon Center. Have a good rest tonight. Don't be nervous about the draw tomorrow. Whoever gets drawn counts. Just try your best."
"Your mother is right." Dad Yantai stood nearby, carrying a popcorn paper bag and raising his chin, "Anyway, your mother and I have bought the tickets. You play a few rounds and we watch a few. If you lose, we will take it as a trip."
"Dad, your way of comforting people is really..." Xinhai smiled and shook his head.
"Really." Dad Yantai answered the question himself, then waved his hand, "Let's go, see you tomorrow."
Mom Nami warned again, "Go to bed early at night and don't stay up late", and then followed Dad towards the hotel.
Xinhai stood at the fork in the road, watching their backs blend into the crowd on the street, and did not look back until they were out of sight.
"Bu Yi." Eevee squatted on his shoulder and gently patted the side of his ear with her small paws.
"Let's go back." Xinhai reached out and rubbed its little head, then turned and walked in the direction of Pokémon Center.
Back in the room, Xinhai put Eevee on the bed and took out the ingredients for dinner from Spatial Backpack.
He planned to have a simple meal tonight - boil a pot of beef tree fruit porridge, and heat up some energy cubes and dried meat for the Pokémon.
The aroma of porridge soon wafted in the kitchen. Eevee turned over on the bed, shrugged his nose, jumped out of bed and ran to the kitchen door to squat down. His big brown eyes stared at the small pot on the stove without blinking.
"It's not ready yet, just wait two more minutes." Xinhai said without looking back.
"Bu Yi." Eevee responded, his tail lightly sweeping on the threshold.
After the porridge was cooked, Xinhai distributed the food to his friends, and he also took a bowl and sat at the desk to eat slowly.
The sky outside the window has darkened, and Ever Grande Stadium in the distance lights up. The white dome glows softly in the night sky, and a circle of colored lights around it makes the whole area very lively.
After dinner, Xinhai washed the dishes, gave my friends a simple relaxing massage, and then washed up and went to bed early.
Early the next morning, Xinhai was woken up by the noise on the street below.
He glanced at the alarm clock beside his bed. It was just after seven o'clock.
The sunshine outside the window has filled the street, and many trainers gathered at the entrance of Pokémon Center downstairs, walking in twos and threes towards the arena.
Xinhai got up, washed up, had a simple breakfast, put Eevee on his shoulder, and went out.
Ever Grande Stadium Today is even more lively than yesterday. There is a long queue at the entrance of the contestant tunnel, and the staff holds the loudspeaker to guide everyone to enter according to the zone.
Xinhai showed his player ID and was assigned to the east zone channel.
The East Zone battle venue is located in the open-air area outside the arena. There are six standard battle venues spread side by side. Each venue is surrounded by a circle of temporary stands. The audience can freely choose which game to watch.
The distance between the venues is about ten meters, and the cheers of the audience, the whistle of the referee, and the collision of Pokémon skills are intertwined, creating a lively and noisy atmosphere.
Xinhai found an empty seat to the side and sat down. Eevee jumped from his shoulder to the folding chair next to him and squatted down, with his tail on the chair. His big brown eyes curiously looked at the other Pokémon and trainers in the tent.
There is a large electronic screen in the corner of the tent, which Rollout displays the lottery results and event arrangements for each zone.
Xinhai looked up for a while. The screen refreshed every few seconds, with batches of trainer names and Pokémon icons scrolling past it.
"Eastern District, third court, seventh round, Xinhai Bai Mu--opponent: Fujiwara Takuma."
Xinhai's eyes paused on the screen for a moment, then he lowered his head and took out Pokédex from his pocket, and wrote down the opponent's name.
Eevee next to him also saw the screen, tilted his head, and made a questioning "beep" sound.
"I don't know." Xinhai shook his head, "We'll find out later when we go on stage."
As time goes by, on the big screen in the waiting area, the rounds of the third court in the East District are being pushed down one by one.
Xinhai, who was sitting in the viewing area, watched the battle on the field and had a general understanding of the strength of the contestants.
The pace of battles in the ring is very fast, and the winner can often be decided within a few minutes.
Finally, his match information popped up on the big screen. "The third venue in the Eastern District, the seventh round--Xinhai Bai Mu VS Fujiwara Takuma."
Xinhai stood up, Eevee jumped from the chair and squatted on his shoulders.
He walked out of the tent and walked along the waiting passage to the entrance of the third venue.