Xia You had arrived neither early nor late. There was still some time before the contest began, just enough to learn a few things from May and the others.
"How are your preparations going?"
He looked at May and found little nervousness in the girl's expression. It seemed her experiences in the Hoenn Region had helped her grow considerably. She felt completely different from when she first entered the Slateport Contest.
Sure enough, traveling really was the best way to grow.
"All my preparations are done." May smiled at Xia You too, her tone relaxed. "Though I still feel I'm lacking in some ways, I'll show everyone my very best!"
"Confidence is a good thing. Good luck."
Just then, Ash suddenly said, "Xia You, guess who we saw yesterday?"
Though Xia You knew it had to be someone he knew, he had no clues to go on and couldn't begin to guess. Nor could he be bothered to waste the brainpower.
"Who?"
Ash clearly wasn't the sort to keep people guessing, and he couldn't keep anything to himself anyway. He blurted out, "Harley!"
"He came to Kanto too?" Xia You wasn't particularly surprised to hear that name from Ash. After all, Harley seemed to have appeared in Kanto in the anime too, so it wasn't anything too astonishing. "First Drew yesterday, and now him. Why do all these people from Hoenn love coming here? So? Did he say anything?"
"Not really." Ash shook his head. "But he's helping out at the Pokémon Center now."
"Helping out?" Xia You's expression didn't change at all, as though he couldn't care less about the man, but he still asked casually, "Is he working here?"
Max chimed in, "He said Nurse Joy helped him before, and it made him feel ashamed of his past.