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

"No, that's what my mom wanted me to do!"

Serena blushed and denied it, then looked sincerely at Xia Chen, "But... thank you for remembering!"

Xia Chen smiled. He had only done a few live streams, and this was Serena's comment, so it naturally left a deep impression.

It wasn't good to make a girl stand for so long, so after they got to know each other, Xia Chen took the opportunity to invite her to sit down and rest, and Serena readily agreed.

Some were happy while others were sad. The sweeter Serena's smile was, the uglier the little girl's face looked.

This has nothing to do with romantic love; it's just that, having just arrived in this unfamiliar outside world, Xia Chen is Xijiana's only support.

Serena's appearance made her vaguely feel that this girl might share, or even steal, this dependence.

The purple Buzzbat with its two exaggeratedly large ears sensed its trainer's bad mood and rubbed against her, confused and worried.

Xia Chen patted the little girl's head to comfort her, then turned to Serena and introduced her: "This is my sister, Higana, and this is Mr. Senri, the gym leader of the Petalburg Gym. We are currently traveling together."

Qianli nodded calmly in greeting, and Xijiana, feeling somewhat comforted, also pouted and greeted Serena.

Although she had already introduced herself to Xia Chen during their previous conversation, the girl still said it again in a very generous manner when she formally met Qianli and Xijiana, "Hello, I am Serena."

At this point, the group had officially become acquainted.

…………

Serena sat down next to Xia Chen, while Sylveon, who had formed this strange bond, looked timidly at Xia Chen's Sylveon, with a conflicted feeling of wanting to get closer to an idol but not daring to.

However, as the eldest of all the Sylveon sisters, Sylveon was very friendly and reached out her ribbon to her new friend.

Sylveon's silk ribbons not only serve as versatile tools, but also allow her to convey her emotions.

Sensing his idol's friendliness, Serb's expression changed from apprehension to joy, and he slowly moved closer.

Xianbu then wrapped her arms around the little one with a silk ribbon, grinned mischievously, raised her little paws, and began to pet the little junior, revealing her tiny tiger teeth.

After being touched by Xia Chen every day, I finally got a chance to rub Xianbu today and experience what Xia Chen usually feels like.

Open!

Ignoring the two fairies, one big and one small, playing around on the table, Xia Chen handed over a glass of chilled peach juice and asked, guessingly, "So, Miss Serena is also going to Liuli City to participate in the Grand Contest?"

"Thank you. You can just call me Serena, senior~"

Serena took the juice, which already had a straw inserted, and very ladylike took a small sip.

Mmm, so sweet!

As the refreshing, icy juice slid down her throat, Serena said, "Yes, I've been a Coordinator for a full year now, and last month I also got my fifth Magnificent Ribbon in Lavender City, barely qualifying for the Magnificent Festival."

The official name of the second World Grand Prix is ​​Grand Celebration. To participate, one must win in grand prix events held in different cities and obtain five ribbons.

The eligibility criteria for the regular Grand Contest are the same as those for the first Grand Contest, which are the same as those for the [Senior Level].

In other words, Serena not only grew into a veteran trainer within a year, but also won the Grand Tournament in five different cities.

"What an amazing achievement!"

Xia Chen praised him sincerely.

Serena didn't feign modesty and readily accepted Xia Chen's praise, "Yes, for this, Sylveon, Fiery Fox, Meowth, and I put in a lot of effort!"

The speaker has no intention, the listener has the heart.

Qianli, who was standing to the side, vaguely thought of her son Ruby, who seemed to have been working particularly hard since last year and was growing up very fast.

At first, he thought his son had finally inherited his will and started pursuing power.

It wasn't until two months ago, when he accidentally discovered the four glittering, gorgeous ribbons Ruby had hidden and found information about the Grand Prix online, that he understood the truth.

The two confronted each other, with Qianli believing it was a waste of time and energy, while Ruby insisted it was his dream.

All the accumulated conflicts finally erupted at once, and the two, whose views clashed fiercely, had a big fight, which led to Ruby running away from home.

After calming down for more than two months, Qianli finally softened. After finding out that Ruby had qualified for the Grand Celebration, he decided to go see his son quietly.

Then, naturally, they met Xia Chen and Xi Jiana in the Orange Blossom Forest.

…………

Back to the present, the girl who shared the same dream as Ruby was thanking Xia Chen.

"Back then, if it weren't for the encouragement from my seniors during the live stream, I don't think I would have dared to tell my mother about my dreams, and I wouldn't be where I am today."

Qianli remained silent. This situation was so similar to his own family's. Unfortunately, Ruby had no intention of talking to him properly, and he himself seemed to have no intention of listening to Ruby's thoughts.

Am I wrong?

This man, who had spent his entire life pursuing ultimate power, began to doubt himself.

However, the more persistent a person is, the more stubborn they become. This is not the first time Qianli has doubted himself, but he still believes that his idea is correct, at least so far.

Perhaps, as Xia Chen said, he will only find his own answer after witnessing this magnificent celebration?

"Oh right, I almost forgot to introduce my partner."

After finishing a glass of peach juice, Serena remembered that her other Pokémon were still in their Poké Balls. She took out three Poké Balls from her bag and opened them one by one.

Three beams of white light flashed in succession, and the Pokémon that emerged from the ball were a Fiery Fox, a Psychic Meowth, and a Mischievous Panda.

Xia Chen subconsciously sensed that the first two, like Serena's Sylveon, were both veteran-level, while Pandaren was only amateur-level, indicating that it had probably been captured recently.

The Red Fox was calm and friendly, and although she was a little surprised to see so many strangers and elves, she still greeted them gracefully.

The Super Meowth acted rather aloof, floating behind Serena as soon as it appeared and watching Xia Chen and the others warily.

Meowth is a Pokémon where males and females have different appearances. Male Meowths are generally indigo blue with white stripes, while females are the opposite.

Serena's kitten is a little white cat with its ears folded down, sealing away terrifying spiritual power. Its rather indifferent and world-weary face is actually quite cute.

"Mega Meowth, don't be so rude."

After Serena's reprimand, the super-powered cat reluctantly flew over and gave a perfunctory greeting.

"I'm sorry, that's just her personality, but she's actually a very nice person."

The girl explained, referring to her own capricious spirit.

The last mischievous panda has a personality completely opposite to that of the super-powered cat; it's practically a social butterfly.

While Meowth was still hiding behind Serena, Mischievous Panda had already hopped and skipped up onto Slacker, who was lazily sleeping in the corner, carrying a bamboo leaf in his mouth.

The fiery red fox sighed, ran over and skillfully lifted the mischievous panda down, while the slacker just scratched his bottom, turned over and continued sleeping, not even bothering to open his eyes to see who had climbed up.

…………

Since they had the same destination, after chatting for a while, Xia Chen invited Serena to travel together.

The girl accepted without hesitation, and Xia Chen's tour group expanded for the third time.

However, the rest of the journey did not include the more traditional travel activities such as traversing the Orange Blossom Forest.

One reason is that the grand celebration is about to begin, and they need to get to Liuli City within a few days.

The second reason is this awful weather. Going out in this weather is no longer a trip; it's torture.

After discussing it, the group decided to rent a car at the Pokémon Center and drive directly to Mauville City, which was over 100 kilometers away.

Riding the elves in this weather wouldn't be pleasant for them either!

Having made up their minds, the four of them and the elves had a simple lunch at the restaurant in the elf center, and then went to the parking lot at the back to rent a car.

Having avoided the hottest part of the day, the group set off at 3 PM, driving towards Zijin City.

The journey of over 100 kilometers is not long, and it only took a little over two hours with some traffic congestion.

Around 5 o'clock, Xia Chen and his group arrived at Mauville City, a city located in the central area of ​​the Hoenn region.

Before the rise of the Devon Group, Kanaz City was once the hub of the Hoenn region, a true, rather than geographically, central city.

Interestingly, every region Xia Chen traveled to had a similar city.

The cities of Luminous City in the Carlos region, the city of Luminous City in the Padilla region, and the city of Violet City, the joyful capital of Hoenn.

A corner tower, modeled after the Prism Tower in Miare, stands in the city’s vast central park, a symbol of the two cities’ friendship.

As the car drove by, Serena, sitting in the back seat, looked out the window and almost thought she was back in her hometown of Miare.

After returning the car to the Pokémon Center in Mauville City, the group checked into a nearby hotel.

When it came time to buy plane tickets, the group was stunned to find that all the tickets from Zijing City to Liuli City were sold out!

Not just for today and tomorrow, but all the way up to the 9th, the opening day of the grand celebration, there are no tickets left.

…………

Is it really that exaggerated?

Xia Chen twitched the corner of his mouth. Even the Spring Festival travel rush in that world couldn't be this bad, right?

Senri analyzed, "It's probably not just because of your lavish celebration. The hot weather is also a major factor. Sooto City is a popular summer resort in the Hoenn region, and this year it's even more extravagant."

Xia Chen nodded helplessly.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the loss of the tickets is now a fait accompli.

Serena was the most anxious of all. She said worriedly, "What should we do? There's only one week left until the opening ceremony."

Xia Chen comforted him, "Don't worry, even if we drive and take a ferry, it will take at least three days to get there, and there are other ways too."

Qianli also said, "It's okay, I'll handle it. I have a good relationship with Uncle Tiexuan, he should be able to help with this."

Iron Spin?

Xia Chen had a strong impression of this curator. In the game's background, Violet City was founded by this always-laughing old rascal, whose wealth was immeasurable.

While this world may not be quite that extreme, it's probably not far off either. I wonder if we could borrow a private jet to come over.

Since there was a way from afar, Xia Chen decided not to call Kuroda. After all, his relationship with the Devon Group wasn't that deep, and it wouldn't be good to keep bothering them.

After discussing the trip to Liuli City, Qianli left to go to the Zijin Dojo to drink with Tiexuan and build rapport.

The true intentions will only be revealed when at least a small section of the map is available; directly asking for help seems a bit odd.

Xia Chen then took Serena and Xijiana for a stroll through Violet City at dusk.

Compared to the fashionable Miare City, the technologically advanced Brewmaster City, and the City of Violet, known as the "City of Joy," also has its own unique characteristics, namely its relaxed and entertaining atmosphere.

When the most famous landmarks of a city are the arcade, the food court, and the central park, followed by the dojo, then it's not hard to imagine the overall style of that city.