After Heavenly King Kona chose the number, a staff member quickly came over to invite Fang Yuan.
"Congratulations."
The staff member saw Fang Yuan standing in front of the seat, smiled heartily, and thought how lucky he was to be personally taught by Heavenly King Kona himself.
"Thank you."
Fang Yuan responded and suddenly felt something was missing, as if there was a void.
He turned to look, and sure enough, Eevee had slipped away from him and was lying on the seat, indicating its disinterest in battle.
I didn't plan to let you fight anyway...
Fang Yuan muttered to himself in dismay.
Shaking his head, he followed the staff member to the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Kona was awaiting his opponent, while the other Trainers were frustrated that it wasn't them.
They all looked enviously at the young man ascending the steps toward the battlefield...
Dark blue trousers, a black undershirt, over which he wore an oversized red sleeveless jacket...
Apart from his handsome appearance, there was nothing particularly remarkable about this young man.
He wore no expression of excitement about being selected, nor did his identity spark any noteworthy conversation.
Since arriving in the Pokémon World, whether it was his battles with Erika, Percy, or Wu De, they were not publicized; therefore, though Fang Yuan was ranked just over 1000 in the championships, no one recognized him.
To the audience at the stadium, Fang Yuan was merely a lucky bystander who had been chosen, and that was all.
Even the staff and the announcer didn't think much of Fang Yuan when they saw him.
Xiaozhi and his friends, on the other hand, had a heated discussion.
"Speaking of which... who would be stronger, Brother Fang Yuan or Miss Kona?" Xiaozhi asked curiously.
"That..." Misty and Brock were at a loss for words.
That was a tough question for them: was Fang Yuan weak? Not at all, he was exceptionally strong. His Dragonite and the Giant Rock Wolfman had greatly shocked both Brock and Misty.
But now, Fang Yuan's opponent was a woman whom even Champion Percy had struggled to defeat.
Plus, the venue meant that Fang Yuan couldn't have his Super Ancient Mohawk Werewolves enlarge, leaving Brock and Misty unsure how to respond to Xiaozhi's query.
"It should be Heavenly King Kona who's a bit stronger," Misty finally spoke up, reasoning that a King, after all, is a King. If Fang Yuan were stronger than a King, how could he be so obscure? Besides, she preferred Kona over him.
"A pointless question..."
Above Xiaozhi, the girl with light green hair spoke up again, quite unimpressed with Xiaozhi's lack of common sense.
After all, Heavenly King Kona was a top master in the Water and Ice Systems. How could Xiaozhi ask such a nonsensical question?
"What did you say—" Xiaozhi glared at the girl sitting behind him and challenged, "Wanna bet? I bet Brother Fang Yuan can win."
The idol-dressing girl rolled her eyes and responded, "Fine, I, Lu Qiya, will take your bet. Whoever loses has to shout 'I am a fool' three times right here!"
"Deal!" Xiaozhi said gruffly, finding this girl even more annoying than Misty.
"Hey... Xiaozhi..." Brock and Misty looked at Xiaozhi with resignation, wondering why he was starting a quarrel over this.
"You just wait to lose!"
Lu Qiya snorted, not believing for a moment that Aunt Kona would lose. She had witnessed Aunt Kona and her uncle battling, and anyone who could make her uncle fight seriously wouldn't be just anybody.
And her uncle, a Master of the Grand Festival and the most formidable Coordinating Trainer, even Champion Diantha had to take Mikkeli seriously!
......
Meanwhile, on the battlefield.
Kona maintained a dreamy smile, just as she described her own battling style as "like flowing water".
Being battle-hardened, Kona had developed a demeanor of composure and was not going to get nervous over a mere lecture or a demonstration.
However.
When Kona finally saw the face of the coming spectator, her lazy smile instantly vanished.
Her expression froze.
Wasn't that Fang Yuan???
Although Fang Yuan didn't know her, Kona, who also served as the president of the Kanto Branch of the Pokémon Battle Committee, was all too familiar with him.
She had seen all the battle videos of Fang Yuan's fights with Erika, Wu De, and even arranged the battle with Lt. Surge from behind the scenes.
Moreover, Kona had once sent Percy to test Fang Yuan, and the result? Percy claimed they were evenly matched??
In other words, Fang Yuan was definitely stronger than most of the Four Heavenly Kings, in a manner of speaking.
[The number I randomly called out, and it had to be him???] Heavenly King Kona's heart cursed silently.
Life couldn't be that coincidental!
Heavenly King Kona's original casual smile now turned serious and heavy, giving off a tremendous pressure felt by the nearby audience.
"Look... when she enters battle mode, Master Kona becomes a different person. Amazing," the audience murmured among themselves.
Kona: ...
"Hello, Heavenly King Kona, I am Fang Yuan." At this moment, under the guidance of the staff, Fang Yuan had arrived opposite Kona, greeting her with a smile.
"Hello..." Kona, forcing a smile again, nodded her head. She knew who he was.