The sun shone brightly. Looking out the window, Yong saw that it was another beautiful day.
With a cheerful smile, Yong slung his backpack over his shoulders and returned his meticulously polished Pokémon Balls to his belt, one by one. The six identical Luxury Balls shrank as he handled them, then settled into their slots.
"All right! Everything's ready!"
Today, Yong wore a white short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers, along with a black cape trimmed in gold that hung down to his waist.
On the back of the cape was a silver outline of a Steelix.
Cynthia had sent it to him two days earlier.
Her reason was that it carried the blessings of her "teacher" from the "Temple Family"...
Yong maintained that the blessings didn't really matter. Rather, because of the person who had given him this gift, he would reach the summit and let this cape fly on the Champion's stage...
Falcon and the others could only say that the three of them couldn't stomach this display of affection.
After saying goodbye to Yong, the three headed straight back to Ever Grande City. And today, the time had finally come!
The Champion Challenge would be waiting for the young man's arrival today!
Leaving his room, he waved to Nurse Joy in the first-floor lobby.
"Nurse Joy! Thank you for taking care of me these past few days! I'm sorry for all the trouble!"
Seeing Yong come downstairs, Nurse Joy smiled back and said gently,
"I'm glad I could help you with your upcoming challenge, Yong. Give it your best! I'll be waiting for good news!"
The young man answered with a radiant smile,
"No problem! Leave it to me!"
Sunlight streamed in. As the Pokémon Center's doors opened and closed, the young man's figure vanished from