svetikya Chapter 215 A Reunion with Xiaoyao by the Lake of Determination
Chapter 215 A Reunion with Xiaoyao by the Lake of Determination
The next day, at nine o'clock in the morning.
After several more hours of travel, Ash and his friends finally arrived at the shore of Lake Tadashi, the place where the Wallace Cup tournament was about to be held.
"Mmm, the scenery is so beautiful! Just thinking about participating in the Mikkelsen Cup in a place like this is really igniting my fighting spirit!"
Leaning against the railing by the lake, Xiao Guang stretched and sighed. Xiao Gang, flipping through a travel guide beside him, couldn't help but smile and remarked:
"But the Mikkelsen Cup is held indoors, so it doesn't seem to have anything to do with how beautiful the scenery is outside."
Xiao Guang: "......"
"Atmosphere! I'm emphasizing a sense of atmosphere! As long as you know in your heart that you're competing in this kind of environment, that's enough!"
Xiao Guang stood with his hands on his hips, expressing his dissatisfaction.
Feeling the fresh morning breeze blowing across the lake, Xiao Guang looked around and then asked in confusion:
"Speaking of which, where did Ash go? He seemed to have disappeared early this morning."
"Hmm...Although Ash didn't tell me, I guess he probably went to the Pokémon Center, because our companions from our Hoenn trip seem to be coming today too."
"Huh? Really?"
Xiao Guang's tone carried a hint of barely concealed excitement.
Xiao Guang's personality is like this, and the praise he received from Mikoli last night made him even more excited.
But before Dawn could ask for the names of their former companions, Ash's voice came from behind—
"Hey! She's almost here!"
Ash, who was walking from a distance, saw Dawn looking questioning earlier and guessed that Brock had already told her about it. So Ash didn't explain much and led the two of them toward the dock on the east side of the lake.
.......
After waiting for a short while at the dock, a ship slowly approached from a distance, its horn blaring.
"So who were the companions you traveled with in the Hoenn region? Ash, you didn't tell me any specific names when we were in Twinleaf Town."
Having already spotted the ship, Dawn continued to ask the question she hadn't yet posed, but this time she was asking Ash instead.
"Hmm... You should know after we meet, in theory."
Xiao Zhi said this first, and then added something else.
"I should know? I know her? And since she's here at Lake Risshiden, that means she might also be participating in the Wallace Cup... Hoenn, the Coordinator...?!"
After speculating to himself like this, Xiaoguang suddenly seemed to realize something.
"Could it be that—"
"Hey!! Ash! Brock! And Pikachu—"
Before they finished speaking, a beautiful figure appeared in front of them as the ship sailing on the lake approached.
She stood at the very front of the ship's deck, waving to Ash and the others.
"I've been waiting for you for so long, Haruka!"
"Pikachu!!"
Ash and Pikachu also greeted the figure on the deck. Brock was relatively restrained; he didn't shout out loud, but simply did the same thing as Ash, raising his hand and waving his arm.
"Haruka... Eh?! Could it be that Hoenn dancer?!"
Following Ash and Brock's gaze toward the deck, and considering their names, Dawn finally realized who Ash's former travel companions were.
Xiaoyao.
Although she unfortunately finished eighth at the grand festival, her performance there attracted the attention of many trainers.
This includes Xiaoguang himself.
She never imagined that the Hoenn dancer was actually Ash's former partner.
"Are you surprised? I can understand, but Xiaoyao isn't the kind of exceptionally talented player you imagine, so don't feel distant from her."
"No, not really..."
As Ash stepped forward to help May down, Dawn denied Brock's almost certain guess.
With a slightly surprised and stiff expression, Hikari met Haruka's gaze on the ship. Although Hikari wanted to look away, she realized that Haruka's gaze did not seem to leave her.
What's wrong?
Xiao Guang thought to himself, somewhat inexplicably.
.......
Shortly after, the ship docked, and Koharu and Satoshi, who had disembarked, approached. Before they could exchange pleasantries, Koharu, hands on her hips, leaned forward, and said with a hint of accusation in her eyes:
Why did you hang up the phone at the Pokémon Center earlier?
"what?"
When asked this question suddenly, Xiao Zhi was a little confused, but in this atmosphere, his brain worked quickly. Before long, he remembered what Xiao Yao was talking about, so he smiled and tried to smooth things over.
"Weren't you arguing with Xiaosheng at the time? I thought you two were going to argue for quite a while, so I just hung up the phone. Anyway, we'll be meeting soon, right?"
"...Damn it, just thinking about Xiaosheng makes me angry!"
Hearing Ash say this, Haruka couldn't help but feel resentful towards her younger brother who was far away at home.
He clearly knew that Ash had encountered so many things here, yet he didn't mention it to him at all, and instead blamed everything on him.
He couldn't even guarantee that he hadn't stolen the snacks he brought back from the store that day!
Xiaoyao was making a plan to give Xiaosheng a good talking-to when she got back when her gaze met Xiaoguang's again, who was walking over looking a little confused.
There was little excitement or unease associated with a first meeting, and little formality in the greetings. Xiaoyao simply extended her hand to Xiaoguang and said:
"Hello, my name is Haruka~ Your name is... Hikari, right? I've seen a report about you in a magazine, nice to meet you."
"Um...please, please guide me..."
Xiao Guang nodded blankly and shook hands with Xiao Yao, which was considered a formal introduction between them.
.......