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

It's not because I'm disgusted by the hair oil that's been accumulating in my hat for who knows how long...

Chapter 51 Is this how baby cups are rolled up?

A crimson hat, Lance's cloak, Steven's ring, Cynthia's lipstick, Diantha's necklace...

Xia Chen wrote these things down, then ticked them off on the crimson hat and closed the diary.

As someone with an extremely clear life plan, it's perfectly normal to make collection plans.

Xia Chen felt that completing the entire Pokédex was something he would never be able to do in his lifetime.

Instead of pursuing a less demanding goal, we set a less difficult long-term objective.

As a casual gym leader, it's perfectly normal to get to know the regional champions a bit better, right?

Although these things... seem a bit like a fantasy.

Pulling his jumbled thoughts out of his head, Xia Chen yawned and went to bed.

Tomorrow is the last day of the qualifying rounds, and there are still several matches waiting for me and Ibrahimovic.

……

The emergence of a hidden dragon, Crimson Red, from the small pond of Zone E was already unexpected. In the subsequent matches, Xia Chen's opponents were all relatively conventional.

He and Ibrahimovic broke through the encirclement with little effort, securing one of the two spots in Zone E for the main tournament.

On the other side, Mingyi and Yulongtao advanced smoothly in their respective competition zones as expected.

Looking back on his journey to the next round, Xia Chen found it all quite unbelievable.

Among the tens of thousands of trainers of the same age who signed up for the competition in Zhijiang and surrounding cities, he and Eevee advanced all the way and even eliminated Red, becoming one of the sixty-fourth of all the new trainers in Zhijiang.

Did I and Eevee become this strong?

How about... we try to compete for the championship?

Xia Chen made bold conjectures and carefully sought verification.

He opened the official website of the Piplup (Zhejiang) Cup, ready to take a look at the information of the trainers who had also advanced and their Pokémon.

Then he saw... Charmeleon, Starmie, Exeggutor, Scyther, etc... What's with this Nidoqueen?

You call this a baby cup?!

Xia Chen's last glimmer of hope was immediately extinguished by this blue "baby" that was nearly two meters tall and covered in needle-like scales.

They think they can compete for the championship? Forget it, go to bed!

Xia Chen was not being self-deprecating, but no matter how talented his Ibrahimovic was, he had only been training for less than two months.

Compared to Pokémon that have evolved to their final forms, the disadvantages are far too great.

But this is way too curly...

Why is a competition for newcomers with a one-year age limit for Pokémon being so intense?

Hmph, using evolution stones to evolve so early is undoubtedly squeezing out the Pokémon's potential.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, watch me overtake you on the curve, you thin veil!

Xia Chen, fully embracing the spirit of Ah Q, abandoned his fantasies and decided to focus on the Energy Cube seminar next month.

…………

That being said, Xia Chen couldn't simply withdraw from the competition.

As the old saying goes in the Donghuang region, "Since we're already here, and we've made it to the main tournament, we should at least bring Ibrahimovic to play to our full potential and leave no regrets."

Although... such words seem to be used by the weak to comfort themselves.

The school attaches great importance to its students who have made it into the main tournament of the Pogaman Cup. After all, Zhijiang is one of the top cities in the Jiangnan region of Donghuang, and Gucheng Middle School cannot be the only one to dominate.

Besides the annual college entrance examination results, competitions like the Bogaman Cup, which are highly prestigious among new trainees, are also a good way to promote recruitment.

Besides Xia Chen, Ming Yi, and Yu Longtao, four other students from Gucheng Middle School made it into the main tournament of the Bogaman Cup.

There was about a week between the qualifying rounds and the main competition. During this week, Xia Chen and his six friends enjoyed the special treatment provided by the school.

The school not only gave the seven students a break until after the Bogaman Cup, but also assigned each of them a dedicated one-on-one tutor.

Combat techniques, skill instruction, practical training... the seven can learn a great deal from instructors who are at least senior-level experts.

Xia Chen was assigned a female teacher surnamed Qiu who taught the fire-attribute class.

As for why it wasn't Professor Tang, who teaches the general classes, it's mainly because Professor Qiu also has an Eevee.

That's right. Since she's a teacher who specializes in Fire-type Pokémon, her Eevee is naturally known as the one and only Flareon!

In comparison, Tauros and Eevee, although both are Normal-type Pokémon, don't look like a good master and apprentice pair because of their vastly different sizes.

The main issue is the skill pool; Teacher Tang's Tauros follows a violent tank build.

Their moves are all things like ramming, mind control, and ultimate attack, which don't really suit Eevee.

And Flareon, after all, came from the Eevee stage, so teaching a six-month-old Eevee is definitely not a difficult task.

Currently, Teacher Qiu and Xia Chen, and Fire Eevee and Eevee, these two pairs of "master and apprentice" are giving lessons separately in the school's training hall.

…………

Eevee yawned, looking at the Flareon that kept circling around it and observing it.

To be honest, she didn't really want to come here for any one-on-one guidance.

Just kidding, back then... no, in the future I was a Champion-level player, why would I need a senior-level Eevee to guide me?

And it's a Flareon!

I wouldn't have come if it weren't for Xia Chen's sake.

After wandering around for an unknown amount of time, Flareon finally stopped and nodded in satisfaction at Eevee.

"Buee—(Your little Eevee has quite a bit of talent. How about evolving into a beautiful Flareon like me?)"

Eevee twitched its lips. One of the great traditions of the Eevee family is to pull Eevee that has not yet evolved and persuade them to evolve into their own evolved form.

Flareon is particularly notorious for this; it is said that a group of wild Flareon go around harming wild baby Eevee every day with a Fire Stone.

I heard they have a slogan, something like "The sacred flame shines brightly, meow meow meow meow," which sounds like a shoe cult.

Could this Flareon be one of them?

Eevee cautiously took two steps back; she certainly didn't want to evolve into some kind of Flareon, chubby and ugly.

"Bu-i! (I refuse!)"

Flareon was not surprising; after seeing so many baby Eevee, very few wanted to evolve into Flareon.

Even before he evolved, he didn't have this idea.

He asked slowly, "Eevee? What kind of Eevee do you want to evolve into? A Glaceon that looks like an ice cube? A slippery, disgusting Vaporeon? Or a Umbreon that looks like coal?"

Eevee pouted and replied, "Eevee—(Anyway, not the Flareon that looks like a fat orange cat)."

"Buyi!"

As if a switch had been flipped, Flareon immediately exploded upon hearing the word "fat".

He stood upright, his fiery red fur standing on end, and emitted a piercing cry.

Eevee was stunned. How could such a big Eevee still be so easily defeated?

Want to learn Chapter 52? I'll teach you!

Flareon ultimately didn't argue with the little Eevee too much, after all, it was the senior and had the important responsibility of guiding her.

Suppressing his anger and calming himself down, Flareon said, "Eee? (So, what do you want to learn from me?)"

Ibu tilted its head and thought for a moment, then replied, "Bu-i—(I want to learn how to make rain.)"

Flareon's anger, which it had just managed to suppress, surged again. "Eek?! (You're asking a Flareon to teach you Rain Dance? Are you looking for trouble?)"

Ibrahimovic didn't answer him, but stood there, gathering the not-so-abundant water-type energy within his body.

A few seconds later... a light drizzle of water droplets fell from the sky, making a crisp sound as they hit the floor.

Flareon paused for a moment. This was the training gym; it certainly wouldn't rain naturally indoors. So the source of the raindrops could only be...

He looked up and, sure enough, a small dark cloud was looming over his head, with a few cool raindrops falling from it.

Although it was just a light drizzle over a small area...

But this is definitely a prayer for rain!

This Eevee can actually use weather-related moves?!

Flareon was stunned.

It's important to know that weather-related and terrain-related moves are always the most difficult to learn of all moves.

Because what ordinary moves need to do is simply use energy to affect oneself or a specific object.

Self-motivation or sword dance are examples of using energy to strengthen one's body.

Weather-related moves like Rain Dance and Sunny Day require the Pokémon, being tiny individuals, to influence their surroundings.

The difference is significant, requiring the spirit to have a certain level of understanding of attribute energy.

Generally speaking, even many experienced Pokémon cannot master this move.

Although it's embarrassing to say, Flareon, as a veteran Pokémon... won't have sunny days.

…………

Flareon suddenly felt a pang of jealousy and retorted sarcastically, "Eevee—(So what if you know it? What's there to brag about? I have nothing more to teach you, so you can leave.)"

Eevee still didn't answer. She held her breath and focused her energy, gathering the fire-type energy within her body, which was also insufficient.

Then, the temperature around Eevee continued to rise, and a small fireball radiating light and heat appeared in the sky, replacing the dark clouds.

In an instant, the drizzle stopped, the sky cleared, and a small rainbow even appeared in the sky!

Although its scope and impact are small, it is undoubtedly... a bright and sunny day!