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

He had assumed Ruby would be very unhappy after leaving home.

Of course, he didn't want the independent path to be worse than the one he was going through; he just felt a sense of frustration that "his son no longer needed him."

The video was short, less than two minutes, and the three people, each with their own thoughts, watched the teaser video.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, a familiar voice that he hadn't heard in a long time called out to Xia Chen.

"Long time no see, Master Xia Chen, Master Qianli."

Her voice was as melodious as a nightingale's, so enchanting that it seemed to attract colorful butterflies to dance among the flowers.

This was Xia Chen's first impression when the two first met. More than a year later, it seemed that nothing had changed except for the passage of time.

Xia Chen turned around and saw an old acquaintance dressed in gorgeous, butterfly-like attire.

"Long time no see, Miss Ma Xiu."

…………

In a tea room with a distinct Kanto style, Ma Xiu is brewing tea for Xia Chen.

She has graceful posture and an elegant temperament.

As for why Xia Chen was alone, it's because Qianli used the excuse of going to the Liuli Dojo to catch up with Adam to escape from here.

Serena cleverly led Xiao Xi on a leisurely stroll through the ancient city of Liuli, leaving Xia Chen alone to catch up with his old acquaintance.

"Oh, why are you staying in the new district? I prepared a room for you a long time ago. It's been so long since we last met, and Master Xia Chen hasn't contacted me at all. We've grown distant, haven't we?"

After listening to Xia Chen's brief explanation, Ma Xiu said with a hint of reproach.

Xia Chen explained, "I was thinking that with the grand celebration just around the corner, you'll probably be very busy. Besides, it doesn't really matter where you stay; it's all in Liuli City, so it's very convenient."

"That's different. In the old town, you can see a different kind of scenery. If the weather is clear, the starry sky here is so close that it seems like you can reach out and touch it. It's extremely beautiful."

Ma Xiu placed the teacup in front of Xia Chen, shared her observations, and then invited, "How about moving in?"

Xia Chen smiled wryly, "Let's forget it. There are more humans and elves here."

"Oh, so you live with these two younger sisters. No wonder you look down on my place. I was the one who didn't know how to appreciate it."

Ma Xiu sighed and shook her head, no longer trying to persuade her.

Xia Chen: "."

I should have gone to visit the Ruri Dojo with Qianli earlier.

However, Xia Chen had a clear conscience, and Ma Xiu was a smart woman; she made a joke and then didn't bring it up again.

Instead, they shifted the topic to the upcoming grand celebration, asking, "So, how's the celebration going?"

Xia Chen frankly said, "It's great. It's very large in scale, the system is very standardized, and the venue was well chosen. Compared to this one, our first one was more like a rural beauty pageant."

These are all true statements, not exaggerations. Although the competition has not yet started, the hype online and Xia Chen's observations after arriving in Hoenn show that the Grand Festival will definitely be the focus of the world's attention for some time to come.

Ma Xiu covered her mouth and chuckled, "Then thank you very much for your recognition, [country beauty pageant champion]!"

Xia Chen shook his head and smiled helplessly, then asked, "By the way, what's the purpose of having me here as a special guest?"

Ma Xiu didn't mention in her letter that Xia Chen came directly because he trusted her completely.

Ma Xiu understood this as well, and she replied with a smile, "We've decided to officially use the [Glamour Battle] format that you proposed back then in this tournament. We need two sufficiently heavyweight Coordinators to showcase it to the world, and naturally, you were the first person I thought of."

A spectacular battle?

Xia Chen pondered for a moment and unearthed this thing from his distant memories.

…………

As a crucial part of the Grand Contests in games and anime, Grand Contests have appeared quite frequently in the anime series Advanced Generation and Diamond & Pearl.

After all, both May and Dawn, the two generations of Ash Girls, aimed to become top Coordinators and traveled with Ash.

When Xia Chen designed the Grand Contest, he didn't intend to launch this format so quickly. He wanted the audience to get used to the idea that "the Grand Contest is not a competition judged by strength."

Now, this concept has basically taken shape, and launching the glamorous battle at the second glamorous celebration was indeed a good idea.

Simply put, a dazzling battle is a competition format that combines performance with combat.

The most basic rule that Xia Chen designed at the time was that within five minutes, you had to attack your opponent with flashy moves or break through your opponent's attacks.

Before the match begins, both players will have the same fixed number of flashy moves. The more flashy your attack is, the more points your opponent will lose; conversely, if your attack is countered by your opponent in a flashy way, you will lose points.

Of course, the universal rule for all matches—[the match ends when one side falls]—still applies.

If no Pokémon falls before the countdown ends, the remaining points for both sides will determine the winner, and if the score is tied, time will be added to continue the match.

It's that simple.

But as we all know, the simpler the rules, the more enduring they are. The rules of Pokémon battles are even simpler, yet they have remained popular for thousands of years.

Xia Chen believes that compared to purely performative glamorous shows, glamorous battles, which involve conflict and confrontation but do not lose their glamorous essence, can elevate the glamorous competition to a higher level.

At least, trainers like Senri, who simply pursue power, should be more accepting of it.

Therefore, Xia Chen decided to take on the important task of [conducting the world's first spectacular battle].

"So, who is my opponent, Miss Ma Xiu?"

The opponent is also a very important factor.

After all, it's a battle, and the difference in strength is too great. He'll be defeated in one or two moves. How can there be any flair?

Xia Chen's main Pokémon, excluding Gu Leton, are currently around one-star level at the Gym Leader level.

Although she is not quite up to par with the veteran master Ma Xiu, she should still be able to exchange a few blows and have a spectacular battle.

However, Ma Xiu shook her head and said with a smile, "It's not me, it's a more influential guy."

Xia Chen had a vague sense of foreboding, and he asked cautiously, "Who is that?"

Miss Ma Xiu parted her red lips slightly, "Mikoli."

Xia Chen: "."

…………

There are also differences among the owners of the museum.

The weaker ones include the Cerulean Sisters, who wholesale gym badges; the stronger ones include Senri, Raihana, Blaine, and even Giovanni, who are formidable opponents comparable to the Champions.

Without a doubt, Wallace, who took over as Hoenn Champion in Emerald, is one of the tough guys.

Even though the timelines of different worlds are different, in this world, Mikuri is still recognized as one of the strongest gym leaders.

In last year's World Masters Tournament, he broke through the ranks of many strong competitors and made it into the semifinals.

It's important to know that although the World Gym Leader Tournament sounds like just a tournament for gym leaders, in reality, some of the top players among those gym leaders can turn the second half of the tournament into a championship showdown!

Mikoli's ability to reach the semi-finals under such intense competition is a testament to his skill.

"So, isn't the gap in strength between us a bit too big? Even if this is a spectacular match, it's not very interesting."

Once Mikoli uses her main Pokémon, Xia Chen won't be able to hold out for even a minute, let alone five.

Unless he is playing for Guleton.

But if it were Guleton, he wouldn't last a minute before becoming Mikeley.

So Xia Chen suggested, "Either let him fight his master Adam, or let me fight you?"

"What do you mean? Do you think I'm weak?"

Now it was Ma Xiu's turn to be unhappy. She raised her eyebrows and questioned him in feigned anger.

Although she has been busy with the Grand Contest for more than a year and her focus has shifted away from Pokémon battles, she is still a qualified Gym Leader and could not tolerate Xia Chen's humiliation.

Xia Chen quickly found a reasonable explanation, "Uh, what I mean is, I'd be more willing to lose to you."

"Hmph, that's pretty much it."

Although she knew that the scoundrel was lying, Ma Xiu felt much better.

However, she said, "You can talk to Mikoli about the 'Glamour Showdown' match yourself. Anyway, he said he's really looking forward to this match with you."

Xia Chen nodded helplessly, "Alright, I'll visit him tomorrow."

Even if it weren't for this, he was originally going to find Mikoli, the only [Citizen of the Glass] in the game.

He must have far more information about Groudon and Kyogre than the average person.

…………

After finishing their business, the atmosphere in the tea room suddenly became somewhat silent.

Although the two only spent a little over half a month together, Xia Chen was an indispensable person in Yu Maxiu's life.

At that time, the sacred tree was withered and the incense market was in ruins. To exaggerate a bit, it was Xia Chen who guided her in the darkest moment of her life, leading her to a path that saved Incense City.

Now that her career at the Grand Contest is thriving, she feels that she and Xia Chen are growing further and further apart.

Even when he was right in front of me, it was still the same.

Ma Xiu suddenly stood up and walked to the window of the tea room, where she could see a huge, lush ancient tree of life not far away.

"I remember when you traveled through Aroma City last year, that sacred tree looked just like that."

Xia Chen asked warily, "What? The withering of your tree has nothing to do with my past."

Ma Xiu looked at him strangely, "I didn't say it had anything to do with you, why do you seem a little anxious?"

It has to be said that a woman's intuition is quite accurate; Xia Chen was indeed a little uneasy about this issue.

He later learned that the twig that Eevee picked up in Lavender City was the Horn of Xerneas, which meant that the Sacred Tree of Lavender City was probably transformed from that horn.

As for the causal relationship between Ibrahimovic finding Xerneas's Horn and the withering of the Sacred Tree, he didn't know.

This is also why he felt a little guilty.

Even so, he still stubbornly insisted, "Why was I in such a hurry? It was fine to begin with! If you don't believe me, look at this ancient tree of life. It was perfectly fine when I left."

Ma Xiu laughed helplessly, "Fine, fine, that's so childish."

She was suddenly stunned. Upon reflection, Xia Chen was only eighteen years old, a child who had not yet fully grown up.

It's understandable to be a little naive; in fact, I should say I'm too mature.

After all, when two people are not a good match, they will only say that one of them is not good enough, and they will never say that the other one is too good.