Pokémon: I picked up a reborn Eevee at the start of the game

…………

Half an hour later.

Xia Chen discovered that before cooking, there were only four mouths eager to be fed, but after cooking, there were two more mouths to eat.

One is a Violet friend that Ralts just made, but this friend seems a bit timid and looks shy. If you didn't know better, you'd think she had suffered some kind of injustice.

The other was a cherry fish that came ashore with Milotic and relentlessly followed Milotic.

Milotic impatiently lashed at her with its tail, trying to shoo her away, but the Cherry Fish wasn't angry at all; its pink body only made it stand out more.

It seems like she has some masochistic tendencies.

Xia Chen remained silent. Although you two are indeed from the same egg group, the size difference between you...

A child driving a big vehicle?

In short, on the first day of his trip, Xia Chen captured two Pokémon in just the time it took to stop for a meal, completing one-third of his monthly task.

Fortunately, neither of these two elves is particularly large in size or appetite, and Xia Chen's current food reserves are more than enough to keep them occupied.

The sun shines brightly, and all is quiet.

The boundless blue lake surface merges almost seamlessly with the distant sky, making it difficult to distinguish which is the sky and which is the water.

Perhaps this is where the name Mirror Lake comes from?

After finishing his meal, Xia Chen leisurely lay on the grass by the lake, gazing at the beautiful scenery where the water and sky met.

Cherry fish swam closely in the lake following Milotic's movements, while Ralts and her newly met timid friend played nearby.

Ibrahimovic lay beside him, sometimes gazing into the distance, sometimes stealing glances at him, lost in thought.

Perhaps it was because the sunlight was so bright, but she soon snuggled up to herself and fell asleep.

Xia Chen suddenly wanted to take out his phone and take a picture of everything in front of him.

Let's do it!

I secretly took pictures of Milotic in the lake, troubled by its high charm value; Ralts catching a Violet on the grass; and Eevee curled up in a ball and sleeping beside me.

Xia Chen posted his first update of the new year on Pixiv.

“They may never be as carefree as they are today, so of course we have to record it.”

"January 4, 2023, in the Carlos region, at Mirror Lake."

Chapter 123 Karuni, I understand your pain!

Even the most beautiful Mirror Lake is just an insignificant stop on the journey. In the afternoon, Xia Chen returned to Route 14 and headed north.

Mirror Lake seems to be a dividing line in the terrain; before it are plains, and after it are high mountains.

The Alphard Mountains stretch for thousands of miles across the northeastern part of the Carlos region.

Xia Chen's current location is just the starting point. The place where Xerneas awakened, which he wants to explore, is located between Baike City and Yingxue City in the southern part of the mountains.

According to his planned itinerary, it would take at least a month to arrive.

Winter nights come early, especially in the Carlos region of northern Donghuang.

It was not even five o'clock, but the sky was already ablaze with the colors of sunset.

Just like the rest areas along national highways or expressways in my previous life, this world is the same.

Rest areas often include gas stations, small elf centers, and places like restaurants and hostels.

And in this world, wherever there are people, there will always be battlegrounds between elves.

This rest area, located at the beginning of the Albil Mountains, is quite large, and many trainers who are preparing to explore the mountains will stay here for a night.

As the saying goes, the battle begins the moment the trainers' eyes meet.

In the rest area where there is little nightlife, the battlefield is the best place for restless trainers to vent their energy.

After dinner, the open-air battlefield, illuminated by eight powerful spotlights, was already packed with people.

There are no referees here, and the rules are the same as the basketball courts Xia Chen visited in his previous life: whoever loses goes down.

After finishing dinner at the restaurant, Xia Chen and Yi Bu strolled over here to digest their food.

With nothing to do, I went to a brothel to listen to music... oh no, I mean, to watch a match.

However, both are normal recreational activities that bring joy to people's minds and bodies, and there is essentially no difference between them.

…………

In the tiered stands, Xia Chen watched the match intently with several Pokémon.

Because most people were queuing in the player area, there were only a few people in the huge audience area, so Xia Chen rudely released Milotic, which could take up several seats.

Leaning against Milos's smooth body, Xia Chen comfortably watched the show.

As for going up and fighting himself, he had no such idea.

This is the entrance to the Albery Mountains. Most of the people coming and going are senior elite trainers. This kind of "battlefield" doesn't distinguish between levels. If you have the ability, then go for it.

Looking at the menacing Panda and Bricaron fighting so fiercely in close combat, Xia Chen knew he didn't have that ability.

"Huh, a Shiny Ralts?" A clear, melodious voice came from behind.

Xia Chen didn't pay much attention. When he was out and about, several people would express surprise at this every day, including one or two pretty women who would use it as an excuse to chat him up.

So he didn't turn around and casually replied, "Yeah, it's cute, but you can't touch it even if it's cute."

"Ralts~" Ralts, sitting on Xia Chen's shoulder, nodded.

That's right, I belong to Xia Chen alone, and Xia Chen is also mine...

Ralts looked down at the Eevee in Xia Chen's arms and snorted inwardly.

"Sana~"

The person who had just struck up a conversation didn't reply, but a voice from an elf came over; it sounded like Gardevoir.

"Oh, we share the same hobby," Xia Chen thought curiously, turning around to say hello.

But when he saw Gardevoir's trainer behind him, he suddenly froze.

Her delicate face, and her white attire almost matching that of the Gardevoir beside her...

"Karuni?"

…………

When Xia Chen first arrived in this world, he searched online for the famous champions from his previous life.

He discovered that the timeline of this world was very chaotic, and some superstars and champions were still on their way to becoming legends.

For example, there's Cynthia, who just became the champion, and Steven Stone, the Devon prince, who's obsessed with digging for rocks...

And in front of me is this rising star in the entertainment industry, Karuni.

If I remember correctly, Karni in this world is only twenty-four years old, even a year younger than Cynthia.

At such a young age, Karuni has naturally not yet become a champion.

However, Xia Chen estimated that Karune had already reached the level of a gym leader during this period, even though she was not a gym leader.

The Gym Leader level is simply a classification of skill, indicating that the trainer's skill level is sufficient to serve as a Gym Leader.

Moreover, even among the gym leaders, there are differences in strength. For example, the Galar people love to boast that Chibana has the ability to become a champion in other regions.

But speaking of which, how did Karuni end up here?

Karni wasn't surprised to be recognized; her fame in the film industry far surpassed her fame as a trainer.

Last year, she starred in "Xernias," a phenomenal global hit, so it's perfectly normal for fans to recognize her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, surprised, aren't you? Do you need my autograph? Or a photo?"

Karuni's first half of her statement was exactly the same as what Xia Chen had just said, while the second half indicated that she was not as stingy as him.

Xia Chen gave an awkward laugh; this future champion seemed to hold a grudge...

In the awkward moment, Eevee once again stepped forward and used its charm on Karune, which worked wonders.

No girl can resist Eevee's cuteness, and Karune is no exception.

She scratched Eevee's chin and snorted at Xia Chen, "Your Pokémon are much cuter than you."

…………

With Eevee mediating, the atmosphere finally returned to normal, and Karune sat down next to Xia Chen with Gardevoir.

“You don’t look like a Carlos, do you?” Karuni asked.

The people of Donghuang and Carlos are quite easy to distinguish by their facial features. Xia Chen nodded, "I came from Donghuang and plan to travel here for a while."

Karuni asked, "Are you also going to challenge the Lumiose Tournament next year?"

Xia Chen shook his head, but seemed quite surprised by a certain word from Karuni. "I'm just here for tourism. But Miss Karuni, are you going to challenge the Alliance Tournament?"

Karuni frowned slightly and asked, "What? Doesn't it look like it?"

Xia Chen clearly sensed that something was wrong with the other person's mood. It seemed that she... felt that Xia Chen looked down on her?

"It's not that you don't resemble him, I know you're also a very outstanding trainer, but... with your current popularity, do you still have time to participate in competitions?"

Karuni replied calmly, "You may not see me on the big screen anymore."

"You're retiring from acting?" Xia Chen's voice rose in surprise.

What's going on? Xia Chen remembers that even after becoming a champion, Karuni didn't give up her film career. What went wrong?

Seeing Xia Chen's surprised expression, Karuni smiled broadly, never expecting to encounter her loyal fan here...

However, she didn't know that Xia Chen was surprised by the potential deviation in the world line...

He tentatively asked, "Miss Karune, won't you reconsider? Being a trainer and an actor aren't mutually exclusive, are they? Like Cynthia, who also works as a mythologist, and she even won the Masters Tournament a few days ago..."

Before Xia Chen could even utter the word "champion," he noticed that Karuni's face, which had just brightened, had turned cloudy again.

Xia Chen seems to have discovered something extraordinary: Karuni... is she competing with Cynthia?

…………