stonecrandall Chapter 506 An Encounter in the Audience
Chapter 506 An Encounter in the Audience
The following morning, warm sunlight bathed Lily of the Valley Island.
After a night's rest, the excitement of yesterday's opening ceremony still seemed to linger, with the air still filled with the unique and enthusiastic atmosphere of the competition.
The road leading to the central arena was bustling with people, and all the trainers heading toward the same goal wore excited smiles.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the arena, Ash stopped and briefly said goodbye to the others before heading towards the players' seats alone.
After giving Ash a brief blessing, Dawn and the others headed to the audience seats.
Xiao Gang took out the tickets he had bought in advance to check the seat information and read aloud:
"It's in the second row of section B, walk that way."
Led by Xiao Gang, the group followed the flow of people through the ticket gate and entered the huge arena.
The audience seats were already more than half full, and the deafening roar of the crowd surged towards us like a wave.
"How magnificent!"
Serena couldn't help but gasp in surprise, looking around curiously.
This was her first time watching such a grand competition live, so she was naturally curious about everything.
However, Serena's amazement didn't last long before Xiao Gang's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"This is it."
Xiao Gang checked the numbers on the tickets and led the group to the row of seats at the front of Section B.
Just as Xiao Gang and his friends had settled down, a slightly hurried yet incredibly familiar voice came from behind them.
"Phew... Is this it? Thank goodness—I finally made it!"
The familiar voice made Xiao Guang and Xiao Gang freeze almost simultaneously, instinctively turning their heads sharply.
Three figures appeared from the side staircase.
Neither of them would feel unfamiliar with these three figures.
"Professor Oak?!"
"Xiao Mao?!"
"And Aunt Hanako too!"
Xiao Guang and Xiao Gang exclaimed in unison, their faces full of surprise.
"Xiao Guang, Xiao Gang, it's been a long time~ But it hasn't been that long, really."
When Hanako saw the three of them, a happy smile appeared on her face, and she raised her hand slightly to wave to them.
Xiao Gang finally stood up and asked with some concern.
"Professor Oak, did something happen to you on the way? Why are you so late?"
The fact that Professor Oak and Hanako were coming to watch the Lily of the Valley Conference was something that not only Brock but even Ash only found out last night.
Xiao Gang still remembers that Xiao Zhi was talking about not being able to contact his family yesterday.
Professor Oak approached, a wry smile on his face.
“Sigh, there’s nothing we can do.” He sighed and explained, “When we came here by bus yesterday, we encountered a rather troublesome Pokémon on the way up the mountain.”
“That guy was a bit tough; we were held up by him for quite a while.”
"Otherwise, we should have arrived at Lily of the Valley yesterday afternoon. We were planning to surprise Ash, but..."
"Oh, I see." Hikari suddenly realized. "No wonder Satoshi couldn't contact you guys yesterday."
Xiao Guang patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Xiao Zhi was worried yesterday that you might have encountered some trouble on the way."
Xiao Gang crossed his arms and nodded in agreement, saying, "After all, it's quite a distance from Pallet Town to the Sinnoh region. He originally thought you wouldn't be coming to watch the competition this time. He only found out from Xiao Jian that you were already on your way after he called the research institute at night."
"Anyway, everyone's arrived safely, so everything's fine." Shigeru sat down in his seat, trying to smooth things over, but then his gaze shifted to Professor Oak, complaining, "That's why! I told you long ago, Grandpa, you should always carry a few strong Pokémon with you, otherwise it would be terrible if you ran into trouble on the road! Luckily, I came along this time, otherwise—"
"Haha~ I got it, I got it, I'll definitely bring it next time~"
Professor Oak smiled awkwardly and quickly agreed.
Just as the group was chatting animatedly, Xiao Guang suddenly realized something.
She glanced at Serena and Sakiko beside her, who were looking at the group with some unease and curiosity, and quickly spoke up.
"Oh! Right! Let me introduce myself."
Hikari turned to look at Professor Oak and the other two, and introduced them one by one:
"This is Professor Oak from Pallet Town, and he's very skilled at Pokémon senryu!"
Professor Oak: "......"
"This is Gary, Professor Oak's grandson."
Xiao Mao simply nodded in greeting to the two of them.
Finally, Hikaru's gaze fell on Hanako, and his tone became even more affectionate.
"And this is Ash's mother, Aunt Hanako."
Sakiko was the first to react, smiling and nodding to the three of them, and introduced herself: "Hello, I am Sakiko from Asaka Town in the Carlos region."
After briefly introducing herself, Sakiko looked at her daughter.
When Serena heard the words "Ash's mother," her body visibly stiffened.
Her cheeks flushed uncontrollably, her eyes darted around in a flustered manner, and her hands unconsciously gripped the hem of her skirt.
Is this... Ash's mother?
We need to greet them properly.
After Sakiko nudged her arm, Serena finally realized what was happening, took a deep breath, and quickly stood up from her seat, wanting to introduce herself.
She bowed slightly, her voice trembling with a barely perceptible hint of panic.
"Hello! I am..."
Just as Serena was frantically trying to finish her self-introduction, Hanako suddenly interrupted her with a smile.
"Serena...right? I don't think I've got the name wrong, do I? I remember you."
"Huh?!" Serena suddenly looked up, her face full of surprise.
"You...remember me?"
Serena's eyes were filled with disbelief; she never expected that Hanako would recognize her.
"Yes, I remember you came to Pallet Town a few years ago to attend Professor Oak's summer camp, right? You were the girl on Ash's team back then, weren't you? I remember you. Where's Professor Oak?"
After Hanako's reminder, Professor Oak fell into deep thought, but he quickly realized what was going on and clapped his hands.
"Ah!? Now I remember, there was indeed a girl who traveled all the way from the Carlos region. So it was you!"
"Yes, yes!"
Serena answered hastily, but she also had doubts in her heart.
It's normal for Professor Oak to recognize himself, but why does Ash's mother also recognize him?
......
(I was planning to take a short nap, but I ended up dozing off from 8 o'clock until 11:30. I rushed to finish this chapter.)