"Exactly what it sounds like." Steven offered no further explanation.
Lin Hao leaned back in his seat, staring at his phone. The comments beneath Steven's repost had already passed a hundred thousand. "Is the Champion publicly challenging him?!"
"No way, Steven's going to fight that Trainer of God?"
"Oh my god, can I buy tickets to watch?"
"Eight million people watched his Gym battles. The servers are going to explode on the day of the League tournament."
May called. "Did you see what Steven posted?"
"I'm sitting right next to him."
May's voice faltered. "...You understand what this means, right?"
"What does it mean?"
"It means the whole world is waiting for you to battle Steven!"
"I never said I'd battle him."
Steven cut in from beside him. "The Champion challenge is part of the League tournament rules. Anyone who reaches the final has to face the reigning Champion."
"Then I just won't reach the final."
The car fell silent for three seconds before Steven laughed. May paused on the other end of the call. "Lin Hao, listen to me."
"Yeah."
"The video of you clearing six Gyms in six hours with Pikachu has three hundred million views worldwide."
"..."
"Three hundred million," May repeated. "Trainers in every region are talking about you. The Kanto forums, the Johto forums, the Unova forums-the top three trending topics are all about you."
"I just challenged a few Gyms."
"You took out every Gym Leader in an instant with one Pikachu! You call that 'just challenging a few Gyms'?!" May could no longer control her volume.
Lin Hao held the phone a little farther away. "All right, I get it."
"You don't get it at all!" May's voice rose another notch. "Registration for the League tournament had been open for less than an