Early the next morning, after a quick wash and an equally lavish breakfast, Xia You and Sabrina followed Clair toward the Gym's first floor.
On the way, Sabrina looked at Xia You, who still seemed a little bleary-eyed, and asked quietly, "Why do you look so listless? Did you not sleep well last night?"
"No, I slept fine. Why do you ask?"
"You've got dark circles under your eyes."
Dark circles?
Xia You fell silent for a long while, but offered no explanation. He instinctively rubbed his eyes a few times, then shook his head at her with a wry smile.
He had chatted with Serena for a long time last night, and they had not said good night until after one. With too little sleep, he naturally did not look his best.
But this was something he absolutely could not tell Sabrina.
They passed through a long corridor and descended a flight of marble steps before finally arriving in a spacious hall. This was Blackthorn Gym's battlefield.
Looking ahead, he saw a combined land-and-water battlefield before him.
Xia You first looked at the outer edge of the field. It was nothing more than ordinary, bare ground, with nothing particularly special about it. In the center, however, was a square pool, four or five meters deep, its water clear all the way to the bottom. It was more than sufficient to meet the battle needs of most Water-type Pokémon.
Presumably, it had been designed this way because most of Clair's Dragon-type Pokémon were dual Dragon and Water types, adept at fighting in water.
Xia You and Clair headed toward the Trainer command areas on opposite sides. At the same time, Lance appeared in the second-floor spectator stands. Rather than finding somewhere to sit, he simply leaned casually against a railing.