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

Cynthia, standing nearby, surveyed the desolate courtyard and asked, "Didn't you leave any elves to guard the house?"

Cynthia, who spends most of her time digging, competing, or handling league affairs, often experiences this situation as well.

However, her house is much bigger, and she always leaves two elves to guard the house when she goes out, so wild elves certainly wouldn't dare to build nests next to the house.

Xia Chen was speechless. "I only have five... no, six Pokémon so far. I can't even form a full team. Who's going to guard the house..."

Although he said that, Xia Chen thought the suggestion was not bad.

Looking at the cozy little nest among the training equipment, he came up with a solution that would satisfy both sides.

Xia Chen said calmly, "Xianbu, go and find them."

“Bu-i!” Senbu responded.

This was no challenge for the scouting expert, Fairy Cloth. The yard wasn't big, and she quickly found four trembling white mice—two large and two small—in a patch of grass.

"Huh, it's a family of rats?"

Xia Chen was quite surprised by the unexpected situation.

A family rat is a very common Pokémon in the Padilla region, probably as common as Pikachu in the Kanto countryside.

However, the Padia region is quite far from the Eastern Region, and he rarely encounters Pokémon from the Padia region even during battles, let alone wild Pokémon.

However, fewer doesn't mean none. In this era of convenient transportation and increasingly frequent exchanges, it's quite reasonable for a few mice to travel across the ocean.

The rats must have been hiding here when Xia Chen entered the yard; they seemed to know they were taking over the place.

Perhaps it was out of a lingering sense of moral conscience, or perhaps it was because they sensed the imposing presence of Lucario beside Cynthia.

In short, they hurriedly hid in the bushes before Xia Chen came in, and were then caught by Xianbu.

…………

"You've got some nerve, daring to occupy my house."

Xia Chen squatted on the ground, interrogating these audacious rats.

The two larger hamsters, presumably the parents, bravely stood in front of the smaller hamster, seemingly unfazed by Lucario's intimidating presence, as if to say, "Do whatever you want with me."

However, the large, round ears on their heads trembling slightly betrayed their fear and anxiety.

Xia Chen snorted and said, "What are we going to do? Are you leaving or am I leaving?"

Two large rats in the same family looked at each other and saw the gloom and frustration in each other's eyes.

It took them so long to find this place, and they even went through a lot of trouble to defeat countless local Radas.

They'd barely built their nest, hadn't even enjoyed their good days for a few days, and were already being driven away by their original owner...

I, a little mouse, am so unwilling to accept this!

But what can you do if you're unwilling? This is indeed someone else's home, and more importantly...

Looking around at the elves beside the human, the mouse knew that none of them were people it could afford to mess with.

That Lucario, with its sheer aura, could make me lose the will to fight.

They didn't rush up and chase me away; instead, they spoke to me politely for a while, which was already very considerate.

After thinking it over, I realized that life was more important than the newly built nest.

The two mice had no choice but to turn around, shoulder their packs, and prepare to leave their home again.

"However, if you are willing to cooperate with me, staying here is not out of the question."

Before they could even step out of the yard gate, they heard the man's devilishly seductive voice behind them.

"squeak?"

The mice's dejected eyes regained their hope, and the feeling of seeing a glimmer of hope rekindled their spirits.

Little did they know that Xia Chen had already completely manipulated the mice's hearts.

Cynthia, who was standing to the side, watched Xia Chen manipulate the mouse's heart the whole time, and a thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

She felt she needed to re-evaluate this seemingly sunny and cheerful young man.

…………

After some communication (or rather, persuasion), Xia Chen signed an unequal rental agreement with a family of rats.

Party A, Xia Chen, needs to provide a place for Party B's family of rats to live, which is where they are currently located.

The second party, a family of rats, is required to perform a series of tasks such as guarding the house, maintaining the yard, and regularly clearing weeds while Xia Chen is not at home, as payment for the rent. At the same time, they are not allowed to cause any damage to Xia Chen's house.

With his handprint pressed against the round, chubby hand, Xia Chen officially acquired four house mice.

However, Xia Chen was not a demon after all. Although he did not officially subdue a family of rats, he decided to give them some of the privileges that only his own elves could enjoy.

"Help us with a big clean-up, and we'll treat you to dinner. How about this deal?"

Xia Chen remembered that a certain rat had a very powerful special move. After using it, it could not only increase attack and speed, but also clear moves such as Spikes, Stealth Rock, and Sticky Web from the field.

It can be described as an enhanced version of Dragon Dance.

But that's not the key point. The key point is that this move is called [Spring Cleaning].

Such a powerful move should be fine for doing housework, right?

Even a pair of mice understands the saying "when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head," and the two large mice looked at each other and accepted the deal.

As it turns out, the rat's signature move, "Spring Cleaning," is indeed very effective.

The house, which had been uninhabited for half a year, was full of dust. Xia Chen originally planned to have Minas give it a light rinse with water first.

But with the help of the mice, everything they leave behind is spotless, they're practically four biological versions of vacuum cleaners.

Xia Chen was overjoyed and added a clause to the agreement stipulating that the second party's family of rats would need to do a thorough cleaning of their home once a month.

Squeaky Mouse protested against Xia Chen's endless exploitation and freeloading, and applied for labor arbitration with the neutral party, Xirona.

Under Zhu Lan's disapproving look, Xia Chen had no choice but to offer a reward of leaving several boxes of energy cubes at home before each departure.

"Really, even the landlords don't have surplus grain..."

Xia Chen, who had at least tens of millions in savings in his bank account, complained in this way.

Finally, with the help of many elves, Xia Chen's house was spotless again before sunset.

…………

After chatting with Cynthia for a while and getting plenty of rest, Xia Chen went out to buy groceries.

Perhaps it was because of the constant barrage of news reports about Xia Chen's victory that the neighborhood was so enthusiastic today.

This also indirectly confirms that Pokémon battles are the most popular and widely participated activity in the world—the previous research findings on Milotic and Sylveon didn't have this effect at all.

Although each of these two studies, taken individually, has a much higher impact and value than the champion of a youth competition.

But there's no way around it; those kinds of research papers and such are a bit too far removed from the lives of these elderly folks.

As for the champion of Donghuang, just by hearing his name, you can tell that Xia Chen is a promising kid!

Although this championship is only a youth version...

After strolling around the market, Xia Chen returned home laden with homemade smoked fish, cured meat, snacks, dumplings, and other treats from his neighbors.

Dinner was again local Zhijiang cuisine, partly because we were tired from the journey and wanted something light and comforting.

Secondly, since Cynthia seemed quite satisfied with her lunch, we must make sure to take good care of our guests.

Because of the rush at noon, Xia Chen didn't ask Uncle Tai to cook too many dishes. Now that there was plenty of time in the evening, he planned to show off his skills and try to make Xilona's belly grow bigger after dinner.

Biluo shrimp, braised duck, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, crab roe tofu... a table full of fragrant local dishes was served one after another, and was devoured in less than half an hour.

It was already past seven o'clock when we finished eating.

The journey was tiring, and after cleaning all afternoon, although it was nothing for the elves' physical strength, they were still a bit mentally exhausted.

Apart from Roseradore, the cook, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, the other elves began their own nightlife.

The two Milotics went to the rooftop pool to soak in the water and bask in the moonlight.

The eldest sister of the family, Sylph, along with her younger brother Doronmesia, were in the living room teaching the new family of rats the rules.

Lucario, seeing Zoroark whom he hadn't seen in a long time and who had changed so much, led her into the courtyard, perhaps to spar.

Gardevoir placed a plate of freshly cut fruit from the kitchen on the coffee table and then went to check on Gooobur, who was still in its egg and hadn't hatched yet.

on the sofa.

Cynthia stretched, revealing her beautiful figure. "Do you have a training room at home?"

Xia Chen glanced at her still flat stomach and shook his head regretfully. "No, there's no place like that in an old house. Let's rest for a few days and give the Garchomp and the others a break."

Cynthia frowned. It wasn't that she wanted Garchomp and the others to train more; it was mainly because she herself... if she didn't train, she would definitely gain several pounds when she returned to Sinnoh.

But she was too embarrassed to say this to Xia Chen, so after thinking about it, she still didn't say it.

However, Cynthia's hesitant words could not escape the notice of the psychic Xia Chen, who said helplessly, "There is a Pokémon training gym nearby. If you really want to train, you can go there. But I don't know if the training equipment there can withstand the torment of a champion-level Pokémon."

"Never mind, it's alright..."

Cynthia decided to stop worrying about these unfounded things and indulge herself for a few days...

Glancing at the conspicuous game console in the living room, she suddenly felt an urge to play.

She raised an eyebrow and asked, "How about a few rounds of Pokémon duels?"

Xia Chen readily agreed, "I'd be happy to oblige."

Thus began the little exercise routine after meals for stay-at-home men and women.

…………

"Aren't you planning to move? This place is a bit small, isn't it?"

Cynthia, controlling the lightning-fast-updating Zorroark in the game, unleashed a smooth combo and casually asked.

Xia Chen, controlling the Dorambaruto, struggled to block the attacks while replying, "I don't have that idea for now, let's talk about it later. Besides, my idea is to go all out and get a bigger one if I'm going to replace it."

Cynthia pressed further, "Hasn't your company that sells Power Cubes been open for half a year? Aren't you making enough to cover the costs?"

Xia Chen looked worried. "Opening a new factory, expanding production lines, bribing officials, investing in advertising, investing in distribution channels, expanding the market... it costs money everywhere. But the financial report will be out after the New Year, let's see how much we've earned in the last six months."

Cynthia laughed and teased, "You've got a lot to say! No wonder you're such a promising young entrepreneur!"