At eight in the morning, after an unhurried breakfast, Xia You and the others headed toward the large hall by the lake that he had seen before.
In fact, they were far from alone. Almost everyone on the street was heading there. From above, one would have seen endless streams of people pouring into the hall from three directions, a dark mass like ants. It was truly spectacular.
With people ahead, behind, and on either side, Xia You and the others couldn't have walked faster even if they wanted to. They could only keep pace with the surrounding crowd.
Even under these circumstances, Brock kept pestering every beautiful young woman he encountered, as usual. But each attempt at striking up a conversation ended with the Croagunk following him knocking him down with paralysis. Every attempt lasted only a single sentence from beginning to end, yet he was like a valiant hero: no matter how many times he fell, the moment he spotted another beautiful young woman, he sprang back to life on the spot.
Sometimes Xia You couldn't help wondering whether Brock had received some Pokémon's blessing too. How else could he enjoy this so tirelessly?
Fortunately, the Pokémon Center wasn't very far from the hall. Or rather, the Resort itself wasn't all that large. Before Brock could send the surrounding women into a panic, they reached their destination after just over ten minutes of walking.
Standing in front of the hall's main entrance, Xia You, Cheryl, and Brock stood to one side and said a temporary goodbye to May, Dawn, and Ash.
"Now it's your turn to put on a show. We'll be cheering for you from the stands."
Before May or Dawn could respond to Xia You, Ash slapped his chest.
"Don't worry! I'm definitely winning that Medal