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The first night at home was not particularly wonderful.
The house had gained many noisy creatures with boundless energy, and they had caused a ruckus for a long time together.
When Gong Xu returned, Li Xiang went over to say hello and also gave the blond young man some things.
Gong Xu clearly hadn't expected that Li Xiang could bring back so many "local specialties" from his special training trip. He initially didn't want to accept them, but upon seeing that it was just things like Moomoo Milk and berries, he took them.
Then, less than ten minutes later, he came to knock on Li Xiang's door, asking which region they were produced in and whether online pre-orders were accepted.
Li Xiang told him the items weren't rare and that he could get them through the Ranger Union.
Upon hearing it involved the Ranger Union, Gong Xu seemed to understand something and left.
...….
In the middle of the night, the lights in Song Jie's villa came on.
Li Xiang scurried over with his things and happily caught up with the white-haired youth, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
He even introduced Mewtwo to him.
Standing face to face with Mewtwo, Song Jie was stunned. It was the first time he had seen such an amazing Pokémon.
It possessed high intelligence, spoke human language, and exuded a unique aura. Crucially, it seemed curious about him.
If its appearance weren't so different from a human's, and its behavior also somewhat distinct, he might have experienced the uncanny valley effect.
Noticing that Song Jie wasn't particularly taken with Mewtwo, Li Xiang reluctantly ended the meeting.
Mewtwo was a fond memory from his childhood, carrying a special meaning. Whether it was good or evil, seeing it made him exceptionally excited, even instinctively wanting to be close to it.
Song Jie didn't share this sentiment. Seeing Mewtwo, he only thought of it as a new species of Pokémon. It was normal for him not to be excited.
If it were a fellow time-traveler, they would probably be jumping for joy right now.
At Song Jie's house, they talked for a long time.
The white-haired youth found it strange that Li Xiang, after just a month away, was even more enthusiastic than after being gone for over half a year, almost becoming a talkaholic.
He, of course, didn't know the inside story and could only occasionally chime in as Li Xiang rambled.
At 11 PM, to avoid disturbing Song Jie's rest, Li Xiang got up to leave. Talking to people his own age was definitely more comfortable than talking to elders like Mo Ye.
Back home, Mewtwo was playing with a laptop in the living room, while the sound of games boomed from the study. To adjust his sleep schedule, even though he wasn't tired at all, Li Xiang chose to return to that soft, large bed and have a good dream.
He hadn't touched a proper bed in nearly six months.
Usually, it was either a tent or a cave, with bedding only in the form of a caterpillar-like sleeping bag. It was the opposite of comfortable.
"You're going to sleep?" Mewtwo poked its head out, watching Li Xiang take off his clothes, a little curious.
"Yes. Want to give it a try? My bed is pretty big." Li Xiang patted the bed. The fluffy rebound almost brought tears to his eyes.
"Okay." Mewtwo had long wanted to try out what a bed was like.
So man and Pokémon lay down flat, staring at the ceiling in silence.
Before long, Li Xiang's breathing gradually slowed. He had clearly fallen asleep.
Mewtwo stared blankly for a while, then turned its head to look at Li Xiang's sleeping face, unable to suppress a soft laugh.
Then, it carefully floated up and left the bedroom.
"Sweet dreams," it whispered, closing the bedroom door behind it.
...….
The next morning at the crack of dawn, Li Xiang took his Pokémon out for morning training.
Mewtwo quietly read books. Only after truly arriving in the human world did it realize how lacking its knowledge was. There was so much it didn't know.
After morning training, Li Xiang began making breakfast as usual. Having used primitive cooking utensils for nearly seven months, he now felt a sense of happiness just holding a stainless steel knife.
Why could cutting vegetables, controlling the heat, and getting water be so easy?
This intense emotion made breakfast receive unanimous praise from all the Pokémon. Even the Mist Island Pokémon who had come with Mewtwo were impressed.
After the meal, to fulfill a promise, Li Xiang took Mewtwo, who had transformed into Pikachu, to the campus store.
Mewtwo had used Mimic to copy Ditto's Transform, and it had found the Ditto itself on campus.
Association matters were somewhat urgent, so Mewtwo couldn't stay on campus for too long. So right after buying phones, Mo Ye called.
A flash of displeasure crossed Mewtwo's face, but it didn't say anything. It understood that important matters came first.
"I'll take good care of your underlings until you get back," Li Xiang said, patting its shoulder with a smile.
"Okay." Mewtwo nodded, teleported back to the villa to explain things to the Mist Island Pokémon, then got into the car sent by Mo Ye.
Who knew how long this trip would take? At least a week, possibly even a month.
The burden of living expenses had increased. Li Xiang thought about the remaining few Mist Island Pokémon and sighed.
Back home, he noticed that the boss's departure hadn't caused much reaction from the others.
That made sense. After the timid ones left yesterday, those remaining were all sufficiently independent. How could they be nervous or flustered?
Li Xiang scanned the room, confirmed their numbers and species, told them not to run around, and nodded with satisfaction after receiving their acknowledgements.
High-intelligence Pokémon didn't have many advantages, but being able to communicate was what made them wonderful.
Afterwards, he took the Mist Island local specialties and either mailed them or delivered them in person.
After nearly an hour of running around, he finally finished giving out the gifts and was truly free.
There weren't actually many people on his list, but a few of them, like Zhao Jie, were particularly high-maintenance.
Those girls insisted he stay for snacks and tea.
His breakfast hadn't even digested yet, but his stomach was forcibly stuffed full before he was allowed to leave.
Before leaving, Abigail kept pushing matcha cake into his hands. Refusing wasn't an option. She had made it herself and was looking at him with puppy-dog eyes. How could he not take it?
Li Xiang reluctantly brought the sweets back home.
He gave her something because he owed Lu Shu a favor and had a good relationship with Abigail.
And because Zhao Jie truly treated him like a younger brother, he had prepared a gift for the pink-haired girl too.
After resting for a long time and finishing all the loose ends—sending messages to parents, elders, his master, senior and junior siblings, and so on, without missing anyone—he could finally relax and go out to enjoy his long-awaited "candy-earning battles."
He had earned nothing in nearly seven months. Poor Li Xiang almost shed tears.
He was determined to make a big profit while he had the free time!
His first victim—no, his first dear opponent.
Adhering to the principle of keeping good fortune within the family, Li Xiang bestowed this glorious mission upon the white-haired youth, Song Jie.
Song Jie's Pupitar was leveling up at a snail's pace. A few more battles should speed up its growth. Only when Tyranitar emerged would Song Jie's team be truly complete.
Coming to his door to request a battle, there was naturally no reason to refuse.
Song Jie was also very curious to see just how much Li Xiang had grown after his secret training.
The two didn't choose an open-air venue but found a free spot in the indoor gymnasium used by the school team.
It just so happened that the reserve team students were all there.
Seeing Li Xiang after a long time, they came up to say hello, asking him where he had been for further training and where he had caught all those Pokémon the day before.
Wei Xiang was conspicuously among them.
When the young man saw Li Xiang, his expression was somewhat resentful, so creepy that Li Xiang couldn't help but rub his arms.
They seemed... not that close, right?
'Well... alright, considering you contribute candy every day, I'll grudgingly count you as an acquaintance.'
Li Xiang greeted Wei Xiang and then shooed the crowd away, preparing for the battle.
Goodness gracious. As soon as he mentioned a battle, it attracted most of the onlookers, drawing them closer.
The two who were battling in the distance also sped up their pace.
Was this necessary? Li Xiang didn't quite understand, but he couldn't be bothered to waste time.
...….
The neat arena. It felt like it had been a long time.
He stepped onto the flat ground, looking at the white lines at the edges, feeling like he had returned to where he belonged.
His hand gripping the PokéBall tightened slightly.
"The usual rules?" Song Jie across from him asked.
"The usual rules!" Li Xiang nodded. He wanted a continuous battle!
There was no referee, and none was needed. The two looked at each other and released their Pokémon simultaneously!
Bang! Bang! Two soft sounds.
"Roar!" "Aggron!"
Roars that shook the roof!
The black-and-red large tiger and the silver-armored monster landed at the same time, howling at each other!
Abilities activated! Aggron's Attack fell!
Song Jie didn't mind at all, commanding directly, "Meteor Beam!"
"Aggron!" Aggron roared, lowering its head slightly and charging towards Incineroar.
In its mouth, energy as brilliant as a galaxy gathered, boosting its Special Attack.
A new move! Li Xiang had never seen Aggron use this move before. It must be a recent achievement.
He couldn't help but feel excited. He planned to take this move head-on and see if Incineroar's current endurance could withstand Aggron's powerful attack.
Lately, he had only been battling Mewtwo, Mo Ye, and his own similarly growing team members. The results weren't intuitive enough.
"Go! Drain Punch!" Li Xiang waved his hand.
Incineroar understood. Facing Aggron, whose mouth seemed to contain a gathering galaxy, it grinned maliciously, sprinting towards it on all fours.
At the same time, brownish-red air currents formed spirals around its fists, mesmerizing to behold!
Within a few breaths, the two massive beasts were within arm's reach.
Aggron's eyes widened as it suddenly opened its mouth and sprayed. The brilliant starlight transformed into a crimson beam, blasting towards Incineroar!
Along its path, the air vibrated, kicking up dust, proving this attack was not ordinary! Yet…. Incineroar still didn't dodge or put up a shield. It charged straight into the Rock-type move that could potentially knock it out!
Onlookers gasped!
Boom!
The beam hit, causing a massive explosion!
The sudden flash of light forced everyone to shut their eyes. A reddish-brown shockwave rose from the ground, accompanied by slight tremors, like a cloud of dust, covering the surroundings.
Li Xiang squinted his eyes, but amid the continuous roar, he heard a strange, dull thud.
Soon, the light dimmed and the smoke cleared. The scene inside was gradually revealed.
Meteor Beam was incredibly powerful; that was obvious. Although the onlookers knew Incineroar was very durable, taking this super-effective hit head-on could not have been pleasant.
It might even be a "dying candle in the wind," with only its last bit of strength left. That was certainly possible.
That was a poor move, someone sighed quietly. Others were curious about Incineroar's condition. What exactly...
Huh?
Everyone present stared blankly at the center of the arena. It was because they saw a massive head buried deep in the ground, limbs limp, tail hanging weakly—clearly unconscious—the silver-armored giant beast.
And they saw Incineroar, looking at its own palm with a face full of confusion, its chest slightly singed black.
Other than that, there was nothing else.
It was as if the earth-shattering Meteor Beam from just a moment ago had never existed, as if it had all been an illusion.
Everyone was stunned.
Li Xiang: "?"
Incineroar: "?"
Song Jie: "?"
Reserve Team Members: "?"
Aggron: "..."