Pokémon: Starting with Lucario and Gardevoir

"I can do these chores like making the bed myself." Haoyan took the sheets and blankets from Dujuan's hands.

Seeing this, Du Juan smiled and said, "Mr. Haoyan, then I'll trouble you."

"No trouble at all, Miss Dujuan, please go and rest." Haoyan started making the bed.

After explaining the location of the bathroom, Du Juan returned to her room to rest.

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Silent all night.

Haoyan maintained his habit of waking up early, but he didn't expect Dujuan to wake up even earlier than him.

Pushing open the door, I saw Du Juan wearing a T-shirt with a bear printed on it, making breakfast.

The T-shirt was oversized, clearly the kind of casual wear worn at home, almost completely covering the pants underneath.

The partially concealed design has a certain allure, reminiscent of a seductive home setting.

Hearing the voice, Du Juan turned around and greeted Hao Yan: "Good morning, Mr. Hao Yan."

Good morning, Miss Azalea.

"Making breakfast?" Haoyan replied with a smile.

"Just started making it," Du Juan replied while frying eggs.

Her movements were skillful, showing that she was a girl who usually did housework.

"Let me help you." Haoyan stepped forward and took the work from Dujuan's hands.

"I'll do it. How can we let the guests do it?" Du Juan wanted to take the work back.

"I am already very grateful that Miss Dujuan is willing to take me in. I would feel bad if I didn't do something for her."

"I usually do the cooking at home, so you can leave these things to me," Haoyan said with a smile.

Since Haoyan had already said so, Dujuan no longer refused.

He stood aside, assisting with the tasks.

Both of them cook regularly, and they work together quite well.

While washing the dishes, Du Juan asked Hao Yan, "Mr. Hao Yan, what exactly do you mean by the ladder-like nervous system that we talked about yesterday with Professor Oak?"

Hao Yan casually replied, "Nerve cells gradually converge forward to form the 'brain,' and several longitudinal nerve cords branch off from the back of the brain. Transverse nerves connect the longitudinal nerve cords..."

A whole bunch of technical terms were confusing to Du Juan, who tried her best to keep up with Hao Yan's pace.

Unfortunately, these technical terms were too profound for her to fully understand.

To ensure Du Juan understood, Hao Yan gave a simple answer: "The term 'ladder-like nervous system' is mainly used to describe Bug-type Pokémon."

"Many Bug-type Pokémon in their early stages actively distribute their thinking abilities to various parts of their bodies in order to avoid being pursued by their natural enemies."

"This allows their bodies to quickly assume an attack or defense posture when they are injured."

With Haoyan's patient explanation, Dujuan suddenly understood.

I have grown to admire Haoyan’s powerful and wise mind more and more.

Then, Du Juan continued to ask questions, which Hao Yan answered.

As Du Juan got to know Hao Yan better, she felt more and more that it was absolutely the right thing to shamelessly invite Hao Yan to her home!

... ...

Chapter 18 The Bustling Kanaz Gym

"If my stomach weren't so full, I would definitely eat three more bowls." Safia stroked her belly, which was noticeably bulging.

"Yes, Haoyan, your scallion oil noodles are so delicious."

"I never expected that such an ordinary-looking bowl of noodles would smell so delicious!" Du Juan was a bit more ladylike, but her belly was noticeably bigger.

After Haoyan finished preparing breakfast, Shafiya woke up, and the three of them sat down together in Dujuan's dining room to eat breakfast.

Du Juan originally thought that Hao Yan was just helping to make breakfast out of courtesy to a guest.

But when she saw Haoyan's skillful cooking, she knew that Haoyan often cooked in the kitchen.

What surprised her even more was that the breakfast Haoyan made was exceptionally delicious.

This seemingly ordinary bowl of scallion oil noodles is surprisingly delicious!

She, who usually has a small appetite, ate two large bowls.

"Hehe, I'm glad you like it." Haoyan chuckled softly and prepared to tidy up the things on the table.

Eating is the easiest desire to satisfy, and Haoyan never compromises on food.

"I'll do it! We can't let the guests do it anymore."

"Otherwise, it would be too impolite of me, the host," Du Juan said, taking the initiative to start tidying up.

"Let's do it together." Seeing this, Haoyan and Dujuan started packing up.

... ...

"Miss Dujuan, you really went to a lot of trouble last night."

"I won't bother you any longer, I'll take my leave now." After packing his things, Haoyan said goodbye to Dujuan.

"Thank you, Sister Dujuan."

Safia stood beside Haoyan and obediently echoed his words.

Safia received the badge from the Kanaz Gym and prepared to head to the next city.

"Hey~"

"Mr. Haoyan, didn't you say yesterday that you would fight me when the opportunity arises?"

Du Juan never thought that Hao Yan would be let go so easily; his curiosity about Hao Yan grew stronger.

He has excellent cooking skills, extensive knowledge of Pokémon, and is humble and polite.

Dujuan wanted to know how strong Haoyan was with Pokémon, given how knowledgeable he was.

"A battle?"

Haoyan was taken aback. He had only mentioned it casually yesterday, but he didn't expect Dujuan to care so much.

After attending Professor Oak's lecture, Hao Yan planned to go to the League Center to see if there were any suitable missions to earn some living expenses.

The battle with Du Juan was effortless, and he readily agreed, "No problem."

“Okay, let’s go to the dojo!” Du Juan said, leading the way after receiving Hao Yan’s affirmative reply.

"I'm going too!" Safia was also very curious about the battle between Haoyan and Dujuan, and followed behind them as fast as she could.

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A large number of trainers had gathered outside the Kanaz Gym.

Du Juan takes her match against Hao Yan very seriously.

Upon arriving at the gym, I informed the gym staff that I would temporarily suspend accepting challenges from ordinary trainers in the morning.

I specifically set aside time to fight Haoyan.

Upon receiving the order, the dojo staff immediately began to act.

Trainers who come to challenge the trainer will be informed that the station is closed in the morning.

It's not surprising that the dojo is not open.

Although gym leaders are responsible for being challenged by trainers, they are also human beings.

They also have their own private matters to attend to.

Or perhaps one should take a break to cultivate oneself, or go on vacation to relax; these are all perfectly normal human desires.

The trainer who originally wanted to take on the challenge thought that Cuckoo had something to do, which was why she refused the challenge.

But when they learned that Du Juan refused the challenge because she had to fight someone else, they were shocked.

This immediately piqued their curiosity.

They gathered at the entrance of the dojo, eager to find out what was going on.

I wanted to see who it was that had such a grand entrance.

It's something that a dojo owner would take so seriously.

As word spread, more and more trainers began heading to the Rustboro Gym, gathering at the entrance and craning their necks to look inside.

... ...

Du Juan felt somewhat helpless even before the battle began.

Unexpectedly, her unintentional act led to so many trainers gathering at the gym's entrance.

Originally, I just wanted a quiet, undisturbed battle with Haoyan.

Now, it's become common knowledge.

"Sorry, Haoyan, I need to go take care of this first." Dujuan gave Haoyan an apologetic smile.

There were too many trainers at the entrance, and with everyone pushing and shoving, it was easy for a stampede to occur.

"It's alright, you can go ahead." Haoyan nodded understandingly.

... ...

Du Juan walked to the door and looked at the group of trainers who wanted to find out what was going on, feeling a bit of a headache.

In order to disperse the crowd, the staff had to open the audience seats to accommodate these trainers.

After being directed to their seats, the audience filed in.

Each city's gym is a landmark building, and they are built to be quite large in order to attract trainers to come and challenge them.

The dojo has a large fighting arena in the center and spectator seating on both sides.

Guided by the gym staff, a large number of trainers took their seats and finally got a clear look at Haoyan, who was battling Cuckoo.