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

Viewers who saw these unexpected Pokémon started typing question marks in the comments, because it was obvious to everyone that they were Pokémon other than Xia Chen's own.

Garchomp, Glaceon, Lucario, and Gastrodon—aren't these Cynthia's Pokémon?

Thus, a conclusion naturally emerged.

"Xirona is at Xia Chen's house now?!"

There were simply too many paid comments on this issue, and Xia Chen couldn't possibly ignore or brush it off, especially since he hadn't originally intended to brush it off anyway.

Cynthia will definitely be on camera during dinner, so it's better to just say it openly now.

"Well, Sister Zhulan happened to be traveling in Donghuang. I thought it was quite dangerous for a girl to be out there alone, so I volunteered to be her tour guide. That's about it."

…………

The moment those shameless words were uttered, the live chat exploded.

"Hmm, Cynthia. How could you say something like 'dangerous'? You shameless old scoundrel!"

Garchomp: Ah yes, yes, yes!

"You've taken your travels to your own home, haven't you? Master Pigeon, you're utterly wicked!"

"This is so inspiring, guys! This time last year, Pigeon Master was still commentating on Cynthia's Masters 8 tournament on his live stream, and today Cynthia is celebrating the New Year at his house!"

"Holy crap, it really is true. I remember Cynthia gave Pigeon Master a lot of gifts back then. Now she's got both money and beauty."

"So that's what the 'champion' in the live stream title '[Champion Celebrates the New Year with You]' means? Wow, a world champion, that's impressive!"

Where is Cynthia? Where is she?

The relationship between Xia Chen and Cynthia had been foreshadowed, so while most fans would still go crazy over Cynthia coming to Xia Chen's house for the Lunar New Year, there wasn't as much surprise in their comments.

While washing and chopping vegetables to prepare, Xia Chen chatted with the viewers in the live chat.

"Thanks to [Mili Dragon Who Wants to Be a Pigeon Master] for the 100 Ultra Balls. Where did Cynthia go?"

"Uh, just a heads-up, guys, don't come up with anything too ridiculous. I may not have been to the Parthian region, but I do know about Milion."

"Then Sister Zhulan swims upstairs and will come down when it's time to eat."

"Thank you [Kanto's Number One Affection] for the ten beautiful scales! Could you show us around your house, preferably with a swimming pool? No way! Don't even think about it!"

"Thank you [Mingyi] for the ten Cold Rocks. How was your mood for the New Year this year? Uh, not bad, not bad, but it feels a little empty because someone is missing."

"Thank you [Aroma Girl] for the 100 Flame Orbs. Why can the third-ranked person go to the streamer's house for a meal but the first-ranked person can't? Uh, you're welcome anytime."

"Thank you [I will always love Sylveon] for the 100 valuable balls. Dove Master, do you have any travel plans for next year? Will you come to the Alola region? Yes, I will travel to the Padilla region next year. As for Alola, I will definitely go, but not in the near future."

…………

For some reason, Xia Chen's palms were sweating and his limbs were ice cold while he was eating this meal.

The perceptive Gardevoir noticed that something was wrong with the trainer, so she walked up behind Xia Chen, leaned against his back, and gently massaged his temples to relieve his mental distress.

Gardevoir is already tall, and this movement makes it look like Xia Chen is nestled in her arms like a little bird.

If there were no outsiders, Xia Chen might have enjoyed it quite a bit, but there was a camera right in front of him, filming his face, and behind the camera was a live stream watched by hundreds of thousands or even millions of people.

Even with Xia Chen's thick skin, he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.

With a struggle in his heart, Xia Chen pulled away from Gardevoir's embrace and changed the subject, saying, "Alright, the dishes are almost ready, let's start cooking!"

"I won't chat too much while I'm cooking, and you can stop posting paid comments now. Don't waste your money. Just watch and learn. This is cooking skill that can conquer world champions."

Xia Chen has indeed started to focus on cooking, but the fans are not listening to the streamer and keep sending SC (fans' comments) and tips.

They either deliberately ask silly questions to stir things up, or they tease Xia Chen about his love life, their main point being to be rebellious.

Xia Chen got annoyed by what he heard, so he simply told Gardevoir to take the camera and leave the kitchen to film the Pokémon playing Pokémon Kill, so he wouldn't be bothered by what he heard.

Little did he know that this move played right into the hands of the viewers in the live stream.

In the living room, a tense and exciting 4v4 battle of Pokémon Kill is underway.

Elf Slayer is the world's most popular competitive board game, widely praised and thriving due to its ease of learning, high replayability, and strong entertainment value.

The rules of the game are simple: each player chooses an identity card with different spirit skills as their main character, and then equips themselves by drawing basic cards, item cards, skill cards, enhancement cards, and other cards to defeat enemies and win.

In the 4v4 mode, each side has a leader Pokémon leading three regular Pokémon in a battle. The side whose leader Pokémon is defeated first loses.

Although the elves could easily be divided into teams based on Xia Chen and Cynthia's factions, for the sake of fun, they were divided into two entirely new teams by playing rock-paper-scissors.

One side consists of a lineup led by Sylveon, Zoroark, Milotic (mother), and Glaceon.

On the other side is a lineup led by Garchomp, including Dragapult, Milotic (male), and Gastrodon.

When Gardevoir came out with the camera, the card table was already occupied by Sylveon and Glaceon, facing off against Garchomp and Dragapult in a 2v2 endgame.

…………

The petite Draco Messia lay on the cards, deep in thought, like the guardian spirit of the Draco Balto Spirit card she used.

He stared at his pair of bright yellow, light bulb-like eyes, observing the four cards in his hand that were neatly suspended in front of him, manipulated by the power of the ghost, as if he were performing some kind of mysterious ritual.

There's no time limit for face-to-face games, so everyone's main focus is on having fun.

Finally, after the four cards circled around Little Dragon several times, they suddenly stopped, and then Little Dragon Messiah shouted loudly, "Messi! (My turn, draw a card!)"

Two cards flew off the top of the deck and were added to Dorgonmesia's hand.

Looking at the six cards in his hand, Dorgonmesia's eyes widened, revealing a glint of wisdom, and then he began to play.

"Messi! (My turn, I use the item cards [Spirit Cloth] and [Curse Symbol] to create the field card [Spirit Realm], overwriting the original [Fairy Aura]! From this moment on, all Ghost-type skill cards on the field have their damage increased by 100%!)"

A sinister, ghostly aura rose from the bottom of the card and permeated the entire card table.

It's not that this board game is actually that advanced, but rather that Little Dragon released Ghost-type energy while immersing himself in the game of Pokémon Kill.

Seeing this unique way of playing Pokémon Kill, the viewers in the live stream were stunned, and the screen was filled with "6"s.

Little Dragon continues to show off his skills.

"Messi! (Activates skill card [Thief], attacks Ice Nine-Tailed Fox, and since the field is now [Spirit Realm], [Thief] can steal item cards from her graveyard. I choose to steal item card [Metronome]!)"

Icefair was anxious and silently watched as Little Dragon picked up [Metronome] from his graveyard. [Metronome] is an item that allows you to use two normal move cards consecutively this turn, ignoring energy limits.

"Messi! (Next, I will activate the move [Swords Dance], increasing my attack power by 200%! Then I will combine the moves [Shadow Sneak] and [Shadow Claw] into the move [Sneak Attack], and issue the command to attack Gardevoir!)"

…………

Snapped!

The stealth attack shattered Gardevoir's Focus Sash, leaving Gardevoir with only a sliver of health.

Sylveon, who was controlling Gardevoir, was in a hurry. With a wave of her ribbon, she signaled to Dragapult to continue his performance.

The leader spirit had only a sliver of health left, and victory was within reach. The little dragon excitedly chased its tail and spun around once.

He lightly tapped the last card in his hand with the nose of his airplane, letting out a dragon's roar that was anything but fierce.

"Messi! (Finally, I use [Quick Attack], a move I can use every turn, to finish off Gardevoir.)"

"Wait! I'm about to activate a trap card!"

Little Dragon was in high spirits, and before he could even utter the word "slay," he was suddenly interrupted by Fairy.

Sinbu grinned slyly, revealing two small fangs. "Bu-ee! (Activate the Trap Card [Double Return]!)"

Little Dragon remained calm and laughed wildly: "Messi! (Hehehe! Useless, you think I didn't foresee this? Ghost-type Pokémon are immune to Fighting-type moves!)"

“Bu-i? (Oh? Is that so?)”

As Xianbu flipped over a card in the spare deck with a silk ribbon, Little Dragon's beady eyes suddenly narrowed.

[Detect] is a move card that allows Normal or Fighting-type moves to hit Ghost-type Pokémon!

In this way, Double Payback can hit the Dragon Balto controlled by Little Dragon!

Seeing that all was lost, Little Duolong, with an expression of heroic sacrifice, looked up to the sky and roared: "Messi! (My plan failed, it is fate!!)"

Then, in a very dramatic fashion, he let his body float to the ground, stick out his little tongue, tilt his head, and act out dying on the spot.

Garchomp beside him was speechless, holding the [Resurrection Herb] item in its hand, wondering whether to disturb Draco Messia, who was getting into the act.

Xianbu sighed helplessly. This kid, could it be that he's gone crazy from not having played a match for so long?

Gardevoir, holding a camera with its superpowers, faithfully captured this scene in the live stream, making the viewers laugh hysterically, with paid comments and donations pouring in.

"I've never paid attention to Master Pigeon's little dragon before, it's so cute!"

"Haha, a flurry of actions as fierce as a tiger, but the score is 0-5!"

"Thank you, I'm charmed by Xiao Duolong's cuteness!"

"Sister Xianbu: What's with all this fancy stuff? I'll pay you back double!"

"Hahaha, what's with this immersive Pokémon-killing gameplay? Master Pigeon's Pokémon are all so entertaining!"

"Ahhh, the way Garchomp looks at Dragapult is so doting! I'm shipping them!"

"Holy crap, what the hell? Such a huge size difference, and they can actually ship this?? This is a distorted kind of love!"

"From now on, let's broadcast the elves playing elf killing, it'll be so entertaining. Master Pigeon, you can retire now. Can Xia Chen hear me on YYYY?"

…………

Even during a short game of cards, paid comments kept pouring in, demonstrating the audience's love for this segment.

Xia Chen was unaware of the situation outside. Without the pressure of chatting with fans, and with the tacit cooperation of Roseredo, the New Year's Eve dinner was prepared very quickly.

Before six o'clock, after Xianbu and the others had only played two more rounds of Pokémon Kill outside, a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner had filled the large round table in the living room.

Xia Chen took off his apron and called out, "The food is ready! Who's going to call Cynthia down?"

Xianbu waved the silk ribbon impatiently and said, "Buyi! (At this crucial moment, don't make a fuss, go by yourself!)"

Although he couldn't understand Elvish, Xia Chen could glean their thoughts from their absorbed expressions. He shrugged, outwardly helpless but inwardly excited, preparing to head to the top floor.

Cynthia didn't tell Xia Chen anything like that she wasn't allowed to come up or look while she was swimming. In fact, she had even invited Xia Chen to swim with her a few days ago, but Xia Chen politely declined.

But now it's time for the New Year's Eve dinner, and the elves don't have time to call her down, so going up herself is truly a last resort.

Roserade, who had just come out of the kitchen with the last bowl of soup, silently shut her mouth and went to tidy up the kitchen.

Although he was in his own home, Xia Chen suddenly became nervous as he climbed the stairs, and this feeling intensified the higher he went.

Xia Chen knew perfectly well why his mindset had changed; he was about to unlock the swimsuit version of Cynthia.