A large part of it came from the added appeal of her beauty and great figure, along with the sense of involvement fans got from watching the competitor they supported grow.
On top of that, she had the prestige of attending an elite university and the draw of back-to-back summer and autumn championships. Together, these gave her a level of attention out of proportion to a T3 Driver and attracted support from many people who did not normally watch races. It was a rather unhealthy foundation for a fan base.
"Damn it... I'm so jealous..."
Lisia sat beside Shen Qi. She genuinely wanted to become an Idol, had a solid foundation in singing and dancing, and had achieved some results in Pokémon Contests with her Pokémon. Of course she envied the attention Ayaka received from fans.
"Lisia."
"Hmm?"
"Why did you come all the way from Hoenn to Kanto for the Winter Race?"
"Because!"
Lisia clenched both fists and declared indignantly, "Because my greatest rival, Li Yizi, is in Kanto!"
On a competitive variety show in Hoenn, Li Yizi had utterly trounced Lisia with her astonishing singing and dancing skills.
When Lisia declared that she would challenge Li Yizi again in the future, Li Yizi had said...
"She said she only debuted as an idol to keep racing in her hometown from being scrapped... damn it!"
Someone casually doing better than someone who had practiced painstakingly was the most infuriating thing.
Especially since Li Yizi had also challenged Lisia, saying they should settle things at the Kanto Regional Race.
So Lisia had come to Kanto to work on her career. She generally came for races and performances, then returned to Hoenn once the events were over.
"What? Settle things at the Regional Race?!"
The Kanto Regional Race was a T2