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

Xia Chen pretended to be frightened, making the kids giggle, and then successfully arrived at Teacher Mo Lan's office.

When Mo Lan saw Xia Chen, she didn't seem as surprised as Principal Yu, perhaps because she was somewhat indifferent to emotions.

I wasn't particularly excited when I received the gift; I just said thank you in a casual tone.

Perhaps fearing that Xia Chen might misunderstand, she paused for two seconds before adding, "I really like this gift, but I'm just a little... bad at expressing myself."

Xia Chen smiled nonchalantly and said, "It's okay, teacher is very cute like this."

Mo Lan, who was being praised, didn't blush at all. Instead, Gengar stuck out its big tongue and licked Xia Chen's face, as if to thank him for the gift.

After all, Gengar is the only beneficiary of the Mega Stone.

Teacher Mo Lan was clearly more interested in Xia Chen's Ghost-type Pokémon than in Xia Chen himself.

The Pokémon Zoroark, Dragapult, Cyclops, and Azure Blade were specifically mentioned.

There was no deliberate research involved; it was just close observation and interaction that brought a satisfied smile to her face.

Xia Chen deliberately stayed here for half a day, allowing this woman, who had an almost obsessive fascination with Ghost-type Pokémon, and his own Pokémon to play for a while.

In the evening, he got up to say goodbye and left the eerie place.

After leaving Beijing University, Xia Chen's next stop was naturally the Qianlong Martial Arts Academy, which had an even deeper history with him.

Unfortunately, Long Ye was not there, so Xia Chen was naturally greeted by the Long sisters, Long Yue and Long Li.

…………

“My father has spent most of this year cultivating on Dragon Island. Please forgive him, Mr. Xia.”

Long Yue, dressed in an elegant ancient-style blue robe, brewed tea for Xia Chen, a polite smile on her face.

Xia Chen was speechless. "No, even if Uncle Long isn't here, you don't need to be so polite. Are you really not familiar with him?"

Long Li chimed in with a sarcastic tone, "You hardly ever come to see us all year round, and now you're acting like we're strangers. It's really your fault, little sister."

The tea-talking wasn't annoying, and Xia Chen chuckled and shook his head, "What are you saying? Mega Evolution, Hyper Crystallization, Dynamax—when have I ever thought of calling you over?"

"Alright, little sister knows she was wrong."

Long Li leaned closer and said playfully, "I was just joking with my brother."

Xia Chen joked, "You're so old, why are you still so childish?"

The little girl chuckled happily, taking Xia Chen's words as a compliment.

After the laughter and joking around, Xia Chen chatted aimlessly with the two sisters for a while. Then Long Yue very warmly said that she had already tidied up Xia Chen's room and invited him to stay there for a while.

Unable to refuse such hospitality, and besides, having been here more than three or four times before, Xia Chen did not stand on ceremony.

It was almost dinnertime when he came out of Beijing University, so he cooked a table full of delicious dishes as a thank you. The atmosphere at the dinner table was excellent and everyone was very happy.

During the conversation, Xia Chen learned that Long Yue was also going to participate in this year's Donghuang Tournament, and the latter had some reservations about Xia Chen's participation.

"It's all your fault for bringing a bunch of monsters to this competition."

Xia Chen felt innocent. "Ah, if you want to become a champion, shouldn't you have the determination and courage to defeat all your strong opponents?"

Long Yue retorted confidently, "You've been reading too many chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) manga. Don't you know your own limitations? I don't want to get into a competition with someone like you!"

Xia Chen nodded.

I understand now. She's the kind of player who considers "making it to the semifinals a success."

However, this was just a joke. Xia Chen knew that Long Yue was not the type to back down before even starting a fight.

Sure enough, after dinner, she dragged Xia Chen to a private little battleground to prepare for a thrilling Pokémon battle.

Like Crimson, Long Yue's main Pokémon also possess energy levels at least at the Gym Leader level.

However, the difference is that Long Yue is three years older than Xia Chen.

Having dojo-level skills at the age of twenty-two is certainly impressive, but it's not exactly phenomenal.

After all, not to mention Xia Chen, there is also the formidable figure of Cynthia, who at only twenty-five years old ascended to the throne of the Eight Masters champion.

However, on the other hand, this year's Donghuang Tournament only has the strength of a dojo, so the probability of making it into the top four is not high.

…………

For a while after that, Xia Chen did not travel far, but stayed at the Qianlong Dojo to wait for the start of the tournament preliminaries.

With the quadrennial Donghuang Conference approaching, the international metropolis of Shangjing is gradually taking on the atmosphere of a major competition.

Promotional banners for the competition are visible everywhere on the streets, and for the various dojos, it's a rare extended holiday.

Registration for the tournament has ended, so the dojo can rightfully close to the public and reopen next spring.

As November approaches, winter has arrived in Beijing.

Unlike Yuanling Dojo, Qianlong Dojo, an old dojo with a history of thousands of years, occupies a large area, as it also serves as a place for teaching and spreading the Dao.

The vast place was inhabited only by Xia Chen and the three Long sisters. In the original world, it would have been rather desolate, but fortunately, there were elves in this world.

Xia Chen's daily routine consists of lying on a recliner playing on his phone, watching the elves playing and frolicking in the courtyard, occasionally bickering with the chatty little Long Li, and then refusing to challenge Long Yue to a battle with his elf.

They lived a very carefree and comfortable life.

Until those guys found him.

"No way, you guys actually came..."

Xia Chen squinted at the familiar faces before him—Mikori, Daigo, Aomori, Darko...

"You came as a group? When did you guys become so close?"

Long Yue chided, "You're here, so why are you talking to your guests like that?"

As she spoke, she warmly invited the unexpected visitors in, "Since you are Xia Chen's friends, please come in and sit down, don't be shy."

Xia Chen was speechless. Why did this tone make it sound like you were my mother?

In any case, at Long Yue's enthusiastic invitation, Mikey and his friends came to visit the Qianlong Dojo.

These trainers, who hadn't seen each other for a month or two, or even more than a year, chatted happily and shared interesting stories from their time together.

"By the way, Darkrai, is he still with you?"

Qinglu suddenly asked.

The legendary battle in the final of the last World Junior Championship was impressive. Later, people learned that the relationship between Darkrai and Darkrai was more like that of a master and apprentice than partners.

That's why Qinglu asked that question.

Darkrai smiled and shook his head. "No, Darkrai wanted to come when he heard he could fight Gullerton again, but I wanted to see how far I could go on my own. Besides, we don't necessarily have to fight each other in this tournament, right, Gullerton senior?"

Dakdo smiled and looked at Guletun, half-jokingly and half-invitingly.

This was the first time Guleton had been called a senior. It was slightly taken aback, and then nodded in a composed manner.

"Hmm... In that case, I might as well offer some pointers."

Therefore, Leighton had the confidence to say this.

Although the two legendary Pokémon seemed evenly matched in the last battle, that was when I was injured.

If we're really going to be honest, Darkrai's strength is at most similar to Zapdos, making it one of the more approachable legendary Pokémon.

Xia Chen was slightly surprised by Darkrai's choice, as he had already prepared himself to face Darkrai and Latios in this match.

However, this is also good. Then there is no need for me to send Guleton and Deoxys to participate in this Eastern Tournament. Everyone can return to the most primitive and pure Pokémon battles.

…………

Although Long Yue repeatedly emphasized that there were plenty of rooms and wanted them to stay there, Mikoli and the others politely declined the invitation. After chatting and having dinner, they returned to the hotel as a group.

Xia Chen had thought they would challenge him to a match in the days leading up to the competition, but to his surprise, it was as if they had planned it all along, and none of them approached him.

Is he hiding his true strength, preparing to give himself a surprise?

Xia Chen wondered if he was just imagining things.

But if they don't come, they don't come; Xia Chen is happy to have some free time.

As the weather gradually turned colder, the flowers, plants, and trees in the courtyard of Qianlong Taoist Temple were bare. The Pokémon Sylveon and Gardevoir, who were a little afraid of the cold, stopped moving around and preferred to lie in the house and enjoy the underfloor heating in the north, which was a rare thing in the south.

Soon, in mid-November, the highly anticipated Donghuang Tournament selection competition will begin.

The registration rules for the selection tournament are very simple: you just need to collect all eight gym badges. This means that a large number of trainers will participate.

Even though elite trainers in the Eastern Empire only account for 3% of the total number of trainers, the sheer number of tens of millions means that there are quite a few trainers qualified to participate in the Eastern Empire Tournament.

This year has garnered even more attention, attracting more trainers to join in the fun. As of now, the official number of registered participants has reached over six thousand, the highest ever.

The purpose of the selection competition is to select 64 people from these 6,000-plus people to enter the main competition, which can be described as a true selection of the best of the best, one in a hundred.

The tournament uses a double-elimination format with random draws. Simply put, each trainer has "two lives." If they lose two matches, they have to leave the arena.

Generally speaking, truly skilled individuals are unlikely to be eliminated by this competition format, because even if they encounter a favorite to win the championship and lose the first match, their "second life" will only face opponents who have already lost one match. Truly skilled trainers will not lose the second match.

The qualifying matches were held at Kyoto University because it has enough space to accommodate thousands of matches simultaneously.

Xia Chen was assigned to the Yan Emperor Arena in the East Campus, where he will compete with more than 800 trainers for eight spots in the main tournament.

Before coming, he specifically asked those guys, and unfortunately, none of them were assigned to the same group as him.

It's not so bad, really, since there were eight breakout venues in total.

From over 800 people to just eight, theoretically, it would take at least seven consecutive wins to secure a place in the next round, which means the tournament will be quite lengthy.

To streamline the selection process as much as possible, the first four rounds will be played in a 1v1 format.

Since it's a selection process, both sides are sending out their best Pokémon, so it's completely fair.

Due to the sheer number of matches, the entire qualifying round will not be broadcast live.

…………

Xia Chen's first four rounds of the competition went smoothly. Without encountering any top-tier opponents, he sent out several Pokémon with insufficient combat experience, such as Diancie, Volcarona, and Azure Blade Ghost.

Victory was achieved without much difficulty.

Xia Chen didn't encounter any unpleasant things like being mocked or slapped in the face. On the contrary, his opponents would pull him aside for photos after the match whenever they met him.

The first day of the competition has now come to an end.

Xia Chen didn't bother asking about the other people's results. This kind of qualifying tournament was extremely easy for them, and asking that question would seem like looking down on them.