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

With Mount Kawa below her feet, the Enchanted Forest at its foot, and the City of Reflection at its edge, there were too many places to warn her about. She didn't know if she could make it in time at her current speed.

Feeling his aging body, Absol took a deep breath.

Hopefully, it's not too late.

With a light thud, the snow-white Absol leaped and landed several times, disappearing into the vast white snow like the wind.

…………

"Cuckoo-"

The morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the trees, and the nightjars, having stayed up all night, let out a sound that was hard to tell whether it was a yawn or a crowing, or perhaps both.

Although there was a Pumpkin Monster on watch last night after Karuni arrived, the Night Hawk, who always sees things through, still persevered until the very end.

After all, Xia Chen still had the final payment to make.

As a high-quality client, the first thing Xia Chen did after washing up was to throw the three boxes of energy cubes to the Night Hawk.

He also carefully tied them together with a rope and made a knot so that the nightjar could carry them.

"Goo~"

Having obtained the fruits of his labor throughout the night, the night owl happily flapped its wings at Xia Chen, then grabbed its reward and flew away.

Xia Chen stretched and began preparing breakfast.

Because of Karuni's presence, there's a lot more to make for breakfast today.

The Ice Dragon, the Monster Jaw Dragon, and the Gooey Dragon all look like they can eat a lot.

Well, I didn't realize it until I thought about it. Now that I think about it, Karuno could probably be considered a "Dragon Tamer" too?

At least, the number of two Dragon-type Pokémon should be no less than that of a certain Dragon-type champion, right?

Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Charizard, and Steelix—what the hell is all this?

"Good morning, Xia Chen. Mmm, it smells delicious."

Just as she was secretly criticizing a champion who didn't deserve the title, Karuni's voice came from behind her.

Looking back, Carlos, the actress, was stretching as she walked out of another tent.

Perhaps because she had just woken up, Karuni was not as elegant and refined as usual. Her eyes were still blurry with sleep, and her steps were unsteady, as if she had not yet recovered from her dream.

That's normal. No matter what her status is, whether she's a future champion or a big star, she's still a normal person at heart.

…………

"Hmm, you're traveling in the wilderness, so your breakfast is made fresh too?"

Following the scent, Karuni approached Xia Chen, her face filled with amazement.

Xia Chen retorted matter-of-factly, "Otherwise what? Feed the elves energy cubes and canned food?"

Karuni blushed slightly, then coughed twice to change the subject, "How far are we from where Xerneas woke up?"

Xia Chen shook his head, then pointed to Sylveon, who was jogging in the snow with Ralts and Zoroah, and said, "I don't know either, Sylveon has been leading the way."

Karuni was surprised. "Xianbu is leading the way. You trust her that much?"

She had always believed that this little-known route map was provided by Dr. Blatano.

Xia Chen smiled slightly, "Sometimes I trust her judgment more than I trust myself."

Karuni took a deep look at the incredibly cute elf on the snow, then shrugged at Xia Chen.

"Alright, I'll go with the flow. You lead the way this time. Even if we don't find our way, we can just consider it an extended trip."

Xia Chen nodded and gave a brief response, his attention focused on the pot in his hands.

With a deft flick of the spatula, a dozen or so fried eggs from the oversized frying pan slid smoothly into the plate beside it.

A simple and nutritious fried egg dish is freshly made.

Karuni was immediately impressed by the boy's graceful and controlled movements. Such professional moves meant he was quite the cook!

However, Xia Chen's next words made her vision go black.

"Miss Karuni, would you like your Moo Moo milk at room temperature or hot?"

Karuni looked completely bewildered, her shock seemingly no less than when she first saw Senbu yesterday. "Can you still drink milk after heating it up?"

Xia Chen's eyes sharpened, as if something had been provoked.

He accepted the sudden challenge and retorted, "Can you drink milk without heating it up on such a cold day?"

"Please, have some common sense! Heating will denature proteins and cause nutrient loss!"

"Huh? You're the one who lacks common sense! As long as the temperature is kept below 60 degrees Celsius, heated milk can not only be better absorbed by the body, but also improve muscle strength!"

"What kind of pseudoscience is this?"

"."

Mouth

I'm feeling a bit better.

I expect to be able to become a prolific writer of 8,000 words a day again in a few days.

Chapter 157 Absol's Warning

Snowdrift City, at Team Flare's base.

This newly built secret base, located beneath the Vladari Department Store, is where the Flare Team and the Vladari Institute have amassed a significant amount of funds and technology.

Besides their headquarters in Stone Town and their branch in Lucerne City, this is Team Flare's third largest base in the Carlos region.

The reason why Vladali poured so many resources into the unremarkable little city of Eyjafjalla was naturally because it was the closest city to the place where Xerneas awoke.

At this moment, in the main control room of the base, a woman with short blue hair and blue lipstick sat in the main seat listening to her subordinates' remote work reports.

In the holographic communicator, a person dressed in orange bowed respectfully and said, "Chief Momiji, we have searched the entire western part of the Enchanted Forest, but we still haven't found any trace of Xerneas."

"Okay, you guys come back and replenish your resources first!"

The work report, which was far from good news, made Momiji impatiently shut down the communication. Her fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, and she rubbed her temples with a worried expression.

……

“Momiji, you’ve been in Yingxue City for half a year and haven’t made any progress. Headquarters has approved everything you’ve applied for unconditionally. You’ve spent so many resources and still haven’t gotten anything. The boss is very disappointed in you.”

At a nearby table, a green-haired woman was blowing bubble gum, her crossed legs swaying back and forth, looking quite smug.

"I haven't even asked you to search for Xerneas himself, and you can't even find a trace of him. Tsk tsk."

Momiji glanced at her coldly and said, "Bara, I'm not reporting to you, and are you sure the boss sent you to Yingxue City just to say this?"

As senior researchers at the Fradari Institute and officers of Team Flare, the two were of equal rank, both openly and secretly. She showed no intention of tolerating her colleague's sarcastic remarks.

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush."

After mocking Momiji, Bara suddenly changed the subject, "Are you still following up on Xia Chen's surveillance?"

Momiji frowned and said, "Of course I'm doing the task that the boss emphasized, but I still don't understand what the point of following him is. Our Flame Team of several hundred people has been searching in the Enchanted Forest for half a year without any results. How can he do it all by himself?"

Bara clicked her tongue twice. "That's why I said you don't understand the boss's thoughts. Xia Chen may be useless on his own, but who's standing behind him?"

"Dr. Blatano?"

Momiji was somewhat unconvinced, "I don't think his research on Xerneas is as in-depth as ours."

Bala denied it, saying, "Wrong. It's not just Blatano, it's even the Carlos Alliance. After the perfect cooperation in the Grand Contest, Xia Chen's relationship with the Alliance is very close. No one can be sure whether Xia Chen is currently receiving help from the Alliance."

She spat out her bubble gum and then scoffed, "Besides, isn't pioneering a new path much better than you wasting your time here all day?"

"What do you mean by busywork! You..." Momi stopped mid-sentence, annoyed.

Although I was very unhappy, I couldn't seem to find any reason to refute it.

Momiji said with a hint of frustration, "So we're just going to watch like this?"

Bala chuckled twice. "That's why I came to Yingxue City. I'll be in charge of tracking Xia Chen from here. You stay behind and provide me with location information, so don't hold me back~"

Momiji frowned and asked, "Are you going alone? What if you really encounter Xerneas? How will you subdue him?"

Bara was stunned. "Mommy, are you out of your mind? Capturing a legendary Pokémon? Forget me, even the world's strongest champion, Cynthia, wouldn't be a match for one. If we really meet, the best outcome would be to inject the tracker into Xerneas's body."

She paused, then added, "Even so, it's still a pipe dream."

…………

Although Karuni's arrival greatly increased Xia Chen's workload during lunch and dinner, it also brought many benefits.

Not to mention having someone to chat with and relieve boredom along the way, having someone of such ability as a companion made Xia Chen feel much more relaxed.

In fact, spending these two days together has changed Xia Chen's impression of Karuni quite a bit.

Perhaps it was because he was in the wilderness where no one was watching, or perhaps it was because he hadn't talked to anyone for several months, but this future champion was surprisingly talkative and had no airs of a big star.

My experiences over the past few months, the stories with Pokémon, battle experiences, Ralts training tips, and even some gossip.

The two talked about everything and became friends in a short period of time.

At least that's what Xia Chen thinks.

In any case, this kind of simple "travel buddy" relationship should be much purer than the friendships you make in the world of fame and fortune, right?

"By the way, hasn't your Ralts evolved yet? Judging from the intensity of the energy fluctuations, my Gardevoir had already evolved into Kirlia by then, and it wasn't far from evolving into Gardevoir."

While chatting aimlessly, Karune suddenly became interested in Ralts's evolution. Xia Chen had also thought about this question.

Logically speaking, Ralts and Kirlia's evolution levels in the game are level 20 and level 30 respectively, which are relatively low.

Ralts has been hatched from its egg for half a year, but it still hasn't evolved. Has it reached the rebellious stage where it doesn't want to evolve?

As for why I said "also," it was naturally because Ibrahimovic, the most senior member of the team, started it.

If it weren't for that poaching incident, who knows when she would have been willing to evolve into Sylveon.

Thinking of this, Xia Chen shook his head and replied, "I don't know right now either. Let's ask her after we leave the Enchanted Forest."

…………

"Howling!"