Forty days later.
In the backyard of Himeko's villa, a pink figure and a green-and-white figure were locked in an intense battle.
No need to guess—the pink figure was Lopunny.
As for the green-and-white one, it was Ralts, which had already evolved into Kirlia.
Off to the side, Shiko sat on a bench, watching Lopunny and Kirlia fight.
[Ding! Today's daily quest has been completed!]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining Experience Points +45!]
After finishing today's daily quest—watching a battle—the system's voice rang out in Shiko's mind once again.
Another forty-five experience points in the bag!
With that, his level had risen to exactly Level 34.
That meant he was only two levels away from evolving for the second time.
In three days, it would be the Entry-level Trainer Exam.
A few days after the exam would be the battle days for the Pokémon Tournament.
The timing matched his calculations perfectly.
"Alright! That's enough for today! Take a break!" Himeko's voice called out.
As soon as she finished speaking, Kirlia and Lopunny both stopped at once.
They shot each other a glare.
Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they sat down beside Shiko.
One on the left and one on the right, each hugging one of Shiko's arms, putting on a display like they were openly competing for attention.
"You really are popular," Himeko teased as she sat down on the edge of the bench.
Over the past month or so, this scene had played out every single day.
Shiko scratched his head and forced a bitter look onto his face.
There was nothing he could do.
Outstanding men were always popular with the opposite sex.
In truth, when it came to Lopunny and Kirlia, he couldn't bring himself to give up either one.
Lopunny's graceful figure and fiery, curvy build—she was the very definition of a top-tier mature beauty.
And after Ralts evolved, she had also shed that pure, cute loli vibe.
Now she looked more like a lively adolescent girl—bright-eyed and radiant, cute and captivating.
Each of them had her own strengths and her own unique charm.
Even though their styles were completely different, Shiko liked both of them from the bottom of his heart.
It wasn't as if he hadn't tried to smooth things over between them.
It was just that every attempt ended in failure.
There was nothing he could do.
It was all because of that damned possessiveness and competitiveness women had!
Until he found a better solution, Shiko could only let it be.
Himeko's attention stayed on Lopunny and Kirlia.
Ever since the day they returned from Wintergreen Forest, something seemed to have happened in the forest.
The outskirts had been completely sealed off, and Trainers weren't allowed to enter.
After losing such a great place to grind levels, Himeko had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and have them train in the backyard at home.
Fortunately, Lopunny and Kirlia both had a strong competitive streak.
Even during training, neither of them was willing to lose to the other.
The results were no worse than battling wild Pokémon out in the field!
Lopunny's level had long since crossed past Entry-level.
She had reached Professional-tier, early stage—Level 23!
And Kirlia was even more outstanding than Lopunny.
She had reached Professional-tier, late stage—Level 28!
With strength like that, passing the Entry-level Trainer Exam would be effortless.
As for the Pokémon Tournament, Himeko was also quite confident.
The only thing she worried about was Shiko.
During this period, Shiko had continued eating, drinking, and sleeping as usual.
He hadn't done a single session of cultivation or training.
On top of that, Himeko still couldn't see Shiko's attribute information at all.
So she had no idea what Shiko's current level actually was.
Had Shiko become stronger?
Had he stayed in place?
Or had his strength actually regressed?
Himeko had no way of knowing.
But Shiko's lazy demeanor really did make her worried.
Thinking of that, Himeko hesitated for a moment.
Then she decided to probe a bit and ask Shiko about his current situation.
After all, the Pokémon Tournament's standard battle format had always been 3v3.
If Shiko hadn't improved and ended up dragging them down, then the match would turn into 2v3.
The pressure would spike immediately.
"Shiko, what level of strength are you at now?" Himeko leaned a little closer, smiling as she asked.
"Me?" Shiko glanced at his level display.
A glaringly obvious "Level 34, Elite-tier mid-stage" was sitting right there.
"I'm a bit stronger than the two of them," he said.
(End of Chapter)
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[[email protected]/Zukooo]
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