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

The Motor Lizard is much more useful than a motorcycle. Not only can it be ridden on relatively rugged and steep roads, but riders can also interact with it to relieve boredom.

Of course, it's not all good. The biggest drawback of the Moto Lizard is its high fuel consumption. It needs to consume almost half a box of energy cubes to travel 100 kilometers, so it's really not affordable for non-trainers.

…………

The southeastern coastal region of the Padiyah area is mostly flat and hilly, with smooth roads.

So even without rushing, but rather traveling at a leisurely pace, Xia Chen and Ming Yi still managed to "leave Zhuotai City in the morning and arrive at the City That Never Sleeps in the evening."

There's something very strange about the Elf World: one moment you're walking through a desolate wilderness teeming with elves, and the next you're in a bustling city full of skyscrapers.

This contrast is particularly strong in Niangguang City.

In early spring, night falls early in Padiya. Before five o'clock, the sky is already dark, but the direction of Niangguang City is completely opposite.

With blue and white as the main colors, interspersed with neon colors, the light shines on the horizon, creating a futuristic scene full of technological style before the sky has completely darkened.

This is Niangguang, the richest and most technologically advanced city in the Padiya region.

Walking through the streets of Niangguang City, Xia Chen could clearly see the difference between this city and Miarei City, which had a similar urban style. The city here had a stronger cultural atmosphere.

It's strange, though. This characteristic should be something that Miare, the capital of Carlos, should have, but it's actually Nimura that feels more welcoming.

The observant Xia Chen quickly discovered the reason: city promotional posters and videos were everywhere, on the streets, alleys, and even on the LED screens of high-rise buildings.

The content is very simple; the whole thing is about a cute girl acting adorable.

Are you all ready?

On a large screen at the bustling street corner, a cute girl with loose-fitting clothes, light blue hair, and two small magnets on her head that look like hair accessories suddenly appeared.

"The eye-catching electric grid captures your gaze; who is telling the story? It is I who tell the story!"

Good morning, good afternoon, good night, hello Ciao~

As the girl moved, the little magnet on her head also bounced, and the bangs tied into a bow on her forehead swayed lively, making her look extremely cute.

The video continues with the adorable Ms. Kiju introducing things related to Koukou City.

The dry content became easily absorbed thanks to her energetic voice and cute yet natural-sounding gestures.

After watching the video once, Xia Chen, who had stopped to watch, roughly understood the characteristics of Niangguang City and the attractions available for tourists.

…………

"Miss Qishu is so cute. No wonder Niangguang City hired her as its city ambassador. Her lively and cute style matches the city perfectly."

Mingyi, who watched the video with him, remarked with these thoughts.

"So-so, I feel it's not as cute as you."

Xia Chen gave a nonchalant comment, then turned and continued walking forward, seemingly without the slightest hint of lingering attachment.

"Hey, really?"

Mingyi followed closely behind, though she said that, her eyes were full of smiles.

Girls often don't care whether what they say is true or false; what they want is just an attitude.

Xia Chen, who understood this principle well, affirmed, "Of course, Qi Shu is not my type."

However, as he said this, he was mentally rewatching the video of Qishu.

Qishu is so cute, especially her shark teeth, hehehehe

It's decided, I'm going to challenge the Brewmaster Dojo!

Despite this thought, Xia Chen was certainly not in a hurry to challenge the dojo as a newcomer.

Strolling through the unique and dazzling night view of Brewlight City, Xia Chen and Ming Yi followed the guidance of Rotom on their mobile phones to a highly-rated local elf restaurant for dinner.

Travel is really just about the same things: scenery, food, and unexpected encounters.

The Elf Restaurant is not a restaurant that uses elves as ingredients, but rather a restaurant that specializes in food customized for elves to meet their physical needs.

Most of them are customized according to the Pokémon's attributes, and some high-end Pokémon restaurants even specify the individual Pokémon.

Xia Chen's elves were quite special, so he ordered food according to their respective attributes.

This restaurant has a great location, situated on the upper floors of the Niang Kwang Tower, the tallest building in Niang Kwang City.

Through the glass curtain wall beside you, you can easily enjoy a panoramic view of Niangguang City.

The food was delicious and the scenery was beautiful, so everyone was very satisfied with their first meal in Nyang Quang City.

Xia Chen also enjoyed this dinner simply as a diner, rather than as a chef.

However, the good mood didn't last long. Halfway through the meal, a commotion from nearby caught the attention of the other people in the restaurant.

With his keen hearing, Xia Chen was able to discern the entire content of the commotion.

…………

"Sir, the amount you paid for the meal is indeed insufficient. As you can see, the total amount you and your Mastiff Godfather spent was 2,386 Elf Coins, but we only received 2,000 in banknotes."

The man, dressed like a restaurant manager, spoke politely.

The person he was arguing with was a tall young man with a hiking backpack and medium-length, light gray hair.

Perhaps he harbored resentment, which made him quite agitated.

He loudly repeated, "I clearly gave you two thousand four hundred, two thousand in paper money and four hundred in coins, which I put in your automatic payment machine!"

Perhaps to showcase the advanced technology of Nimura City, this restaurant does not use the common manual or elf-assisted payment methods, but instead has a dedicated robot responsible for taking orders, serving food, and processing payments.

Xia Chen, who was eavesdropping on the gossip, shook his head inwardly. Wouldn't it have been much simpler to just implement online payment?

Hey, this seems like a good business idea. Let's steal that treasure from our past life and name it Meow Meow Payment.

That won't work either. This kind of software requires a huge user base and relationships with banks and alliances, which is troublesome and difficult to manage. Let's forget about it.

Xia Chen was lost in thought when the argument on the other end continued.

The manager said softly, "We've checked that machine; it's not damaged, so it's unlikely to exist."

The man with the backpack interrupted loudly, "So you think I skipped out on the bill, right? I don't need those four hundred elf coins. I can easily pull out forty thousand or four hundred thousand right now. I just want justice!"

Xia Chen secretly complained, "Good heavens, this scene is almost like Liu Zi eating cold noodles."

"But the truth is, we really didn't receive those four hundred coins."

The manager's words startled Xia Chen, and he suddenly realized something.

The missing coin. A money-grubbing ghost?

After a moment's thought, Xia Chen said to Mingyi, who was feeding the Earth King, "Mingyi, Sylveon, you two keep eating. I'm going over there. Gardevoir and Zoroark, come with me."

Although she didn't know why Xia Chen wanted to go, Mingyi nodded and said, "I understand, you can go."

"Sana~"

"Suo"

Gardevoir and Zoroark stood up and followed Xia Chen toward the noisy area.

…………

"Sir, it's not that our restaurant is short of four hundred yuan; we just need your cooperation."

"I told you, I have an urgent matter to attend to later, and I don't have time for you to investigate baseless rumors!"

Both men are civilized and haven't reached the point of fighting yet, but anyone could sense that the tension in the air was growing stronger.

At this crucial moment, a third person got involved.

"Excuse me, I'm someone who's eating over there."

Xia Chen pointed to his table and introduced himself.

The manager looked apologetic and immediately said, "Sir, I'm so sorry to have disturbed your and your elf's meal. We promise to resolve this issue as soon as possible."

Xia Chen shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I'm just interested in these strange things. If you don't mind, how about I help you out?"

He pointed to Gardevoir and Zoroark behind him, "As you can see, I am a trainer with decent skills, and the power of Pokémon might be of some help."

This isn't boasting; being an elite-level trainer is a level of skill that most ordinary people can never reach in their entire lives.

Because simply accumulating resources is an extremely costly endeavor.

The manager nodded and said, "You must have heard what happened over there. According to this gentleman, the four hundred yuan coins suddenly disappeared. However, he was facing away from the security camera when he made the payment, and now we are at an impasse."

Xia Chen nodded in understanding and added, "And your store has never had anything like this before, and you've also confirmed that the restaurant robot isn't malfunctioning?"

The manager nodded reluctantly, indicating his agreement.

"Is it possible that the customer paid, and the machine did indeed only receive two thousand in banknotes, but the four coins were stolen during the transaction?"

The manager frowned, puzzled, and said, "But the transaction time is very short. Who has the ability to succeed without anyone noticing?"

Xia Chen smiled slightly: "Elves, it's easy to deceive a human and a robot with just simple hypnosis or energy illusions, right?"

The backpacker calmed down and joined the discussion, saying, "I did feel a bit dazed at the time, but during that period, I didn't see a single elf, except for my Mastiff Godfather."

"As long as it's small enough to hide its body, and the Pokémon also needs to be interested in coins."

Meeting the two's approving gazes, Xia Chen paused slightly before finally stating his final conclusion, "For example, a money-grabbing spirit."

Seeing the thoughtful expressions on their faces, Xia Chen understood that they probably believed his deduction to be almost entirely true.

"As you should know, the Money-Stealing Spirit likes to steal coins and is extremely agile. If it stays here, your business will probably suffer. Perfect timing, I'm thinking of taming a Money-Stealing Spirit. How about we cooperate?"

Without much thought, the manager nodded in agreement with Xia Chen's proposal.

…………

Since the restaurant manager believed Xia Chen's deduction, the backpacker was naturally cleared of suspicion.

After all, it's unrealistic for someone who can afford to dine at such a high-end restaurant to skip out on a bill of 400 yuan.

In comparison, the possibility that the money-stealing spirit stole the four coins is clearly more plausible and more likely.

Because he had urgent business to attend to, he did not participate in the capture of the money-grabbing spirit and left in advance.

"Thank you for getting me out of that situation. My name is Piper, and I'm a student at Orange Academy. How about we exchange contact information? We can get in touch later."

"That's what the backpacker, or rather Pipa, said before he left."

Xia Chen did not refuse his kindness and left his Pogaman behind.