"A roar came from the rift." Cynthia showed Lin Hao the message. He was sitting cross-legged in the competitors' tunnel, warming up for the match.
Pikachu lay on a bench, its ears twitching. Lin Hao handed her phone back. "What kind of roar?"
"We can't confirm yet, but its frequency is close to Dialga's."
"Close, not confirmed."
"Right."
"Then it hasn't opened yet." Lin Hao rolled his shoulders. The light at the end of the tunnel was already on.
Cynthia looked at him. "Can you focus on the match right now?"
"I was focusing just now."
"You were rolling your shoulders."
"That's how I focus."
The Commentator's deafening voice came from the end of the tunnel. "The finals of the forty-seventh Hoenn League Championship!"
"Reigning Champion Steven versus challenger Lin Hao!"
The cheers of eighty thousand people poured through the exit, making the tunnel hum.
Cynthia stepped aside. "Go."
Lin Hao took two steps, then stopped. "If something happens at Mt. Coronet..."
"I'll handle it." Cynthia's voice was firm. "You only need to do one thing."
"What?"
"Win."
Lin Hao smiled and reached down to pat Pikachu. Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder, tiny sparks crackling at the tip of its tail.
Light flooded in from the end of the tunnel, and he walked into it.
The League stadium in Ever Grande City was filled to its eighty-thousand-seat capacity. More than a hundred thousand people crowded around the giant screens outside. Worldwide live viewers: forty-seven million.
The moment Lin Hao emerged from the eastern tunnel, the roar of the crowd surged.
Across from him, Steven walked out of the western tunnel, his Champion's coat fluttering in the wind and his white hair striking in the sunlight.
They met in the center of the field. Steven offered his hand. "Ready?"
Lin Hao