Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

Less than half an hour later, he rode into the Yan family's large iron gate with practiced ease.

The last time I visited Yan Yan's home, it was early spring. The manor was lush and green, with only a few scattered flower bushes as decorations.

Nearly two months have passed, and the manor is now a riot of colorful flowers, breathtakingly beautiful.

Of course, what moved Xia Shen even more was the girl in the garden, surrounded by lily root dolls and shy buds, wearing a light pink floral dress, more radiant and beautiful than the flowers themselves.

At this moment, Yan Yan, along with several Miss Skirts and Roseradore, was feeding the Pokémon.

Although there is enough food in the garden for the lily root dolls to eat their fill, energy cubes are more nutritious and are indispensable as an occasional food supplement.

…………

"Good morning, Xiao Yan." Xia Shen casually parked her bicycle by a tree, greeted Yan Yan, and walked over.

"Good morning... Why are you suddenly calling me that?" Yan Yan seemed a little uncomfortable with Xia Shen's new way of addressing her, and her tone was strange.

Xia Shen replied with a smile, "I just feel that calling you Yan Yan is a bit too formal now. If you're not used to it, how about calling me Bao..."

"Hmm, let's call her Xiao Yan, it's a good name." Yan Yan caught the key word and immediately interrupted Xia Shen.

Xia Shen looked at the girl's slightly flushed face and chuckled to himself.

The lily root dolls recognized the benefactor who had saved them from the mouth of the poisonous skull frog and brought them to this paradise. They hopped around and surrounded Xia Shen.

"Lili~" The two girls in skirts ran over and hugged him, as if they were greeting Xia Shen with a good morning.

Seeing that the flowers on Miss Skirt's head seemed to be blooming even more beautifully than when he first saw them at Xi Cui, Xia Shen finally felt relieved.

It seems they can integrate into the ecosystems of other worlds even after leaving Xicui, and so far, they seem to be doing quite well.

…………

"Oh, right, my dad and sister aren't home today," Yan Yan said, assuming Xia Shen had come to see them about something.

"I didn't originally intend to look for them. I just came to visit you and check out the Lily Root Dolls." Xia Shen said matter-of-factly as he helped feed the Lily Root Dolls with some energy cubes.

"Ah...oh, then...how about a battle? We made a promise to fight when we talked about Altaria evolving." Yan Yan thought for a long time, and it seemed that the only thing she could think of was that Xia Shen came to see her because of this.

Xia Shen rolled her eyes. What kind of straight woman is this? Her boyfriend comes over and she's already thinking about fighting.

A female version of Ash Ketchum, right?

"No, the Pokémon have been fighting for a month straight, they're all tired." Xia Shen refused impatiently, then took out a Poké Ball and released his friends.

Aside from Zoroark, the other Pokémon, including Umbreon, were familiar faces from the Lilyroot Pokémon group, especially Goohoo. So, the Pokémon, who hadn't seen each other for a long time, quickly started making a ruckus.

Only Zoroark was so different from the previous Zoroark that none of the Lilyroot dolls recognized it.

It didn't matter to Zoroark; since her last return, she was no longer as spoiled and playful as before.

Only his dependence on Xia Shen remained largely unchanged.

However, she used to like being held in Xia Shen's arms, but now she prefers to hold Xia Shen in her arms.

Just as she was about to sneak up on Xia Shen from behind and hug him after releasing the Poké Ball, she saw Yan Yan not far away and stopped herself in her tracks.

Yan Yan didn't notice Zoroark's actions and walked up to take a closer look at her. "So he's taller than you? Zoroark is even more handsome than he appears on TV!"

In the week since he returned, Xia Shen hadn't let Zoroark out of the school, so this was the first time Yan Yan had seen the evolved Zoroark.

Xia Shen looked at Yan Yan, who was curiously interacting with Zoroark, and couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle.

Yes, he's much more enthusiastic towards Pokémon than towards humans, another characteristic of Ash.

In addition, Yan Yan has never won a championship.

Oh no, is the female version of Ash about to pass the test?

Oh wait, Ash actually has a few championships.

…………

As Xia Shen was lost in thought, Yan's mother walked over from not far away, carrying a tray of tea, snacks, and drinks.

"Xiao Shen, it's been a long time! Congratulations on winning the National High School Championship! Xiao Yan and I watched the whole thing. You don't know, when you stood on the podium at the end, Yan Yan was..."

"Alright, Mom, stop talking. You haven't gone to feed the Ice Dragon yet, go quickly..." Yan Yan's pretty face flushed slightly as she used her interrupt skill for the second time.

Knowing her daughter was shy, Yan's mother stopped teasing her and said with a smile, "Then I'll be going now. Yan Yan, take good care of Xiao Shen."

After saying this, she placed the tea and snacks she was holding on the table in the garden, and then turned and left.

Xia Shen really wanted to know what Yan Yan thought when he saw him win the championship, but he figured he'd only get a glare if he asked, so he decided not to bother asking.

After distributing the energy cubes to the elves, Xia Shen and Yan Yan sat at the table to have morning tea.

Watching the elves frolicking and playing in the garden, Xia Shen pondered whether it was time to move to a new house again.

I hadn't realized it before, but now that I look at it, the little garden and basement at home are really not enough for the elves who are growing bigger and bigger.

When Usagi and Garchomp train at home, they seem restricted and uncomfortable to watch.

However, I'm about to go to university in Chongqing, and given my parents' personalities, they definitely wouldn't want me to live in a house with such a huge footprint.

Besides, we've only been living here for six months; if I were to say anything, I'd definitely get a scolding.

Xia Shen was thinking of a reason to persuade her parents to move again when Yan Yan suddenly asked, "By the way, will you still be in Zhijiang in the second half of the year?"

Xia Shen didn't understand what Yan Yan meant at first, but then she realized that Yan Yan wanted to ask her if she would not be going to her senior year of high school again.

"Yes, I've already signed an agreement with Chongqing University, and I'll be going there to report in September." He didn't know why, but he felt a little guilty saying this.

Yan Yan remained silent for a while before speaking, "I want to fight you, three against three. I want to see... just how big the gap is between our strengths."

Xia Shen paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay."

…………

A competition without a name or spectators began quietly by the lake and ended just as quietly.

Xia Shen didn't hold back; a single Umbreon defeated both Garchomp and Altaria.

However, something unexpected happened during the final battle against Riolu...

Riolu evolved while it was struggling!

Perhaps it was sensing Yan Yan's determination to become stronger, or perhaps it was seeing that the bear cub who had grown up alongside her had already far surpassed her.

Under the dazzling white light, the petite blue-black puppy evolved into the majestic Lucario.

Then, a giant wave missile was condensed, which defeated the Moon Bear, who was already on its last legs in the battle of attrition, and turned the tide of the battle.

Lucario, exhausted after unleashing the massive wave missile, collapsed to the ground, unable to continue fighting.

……

"Not bad, this is Lucario's first defeat. You're truly amazing, Lucario!" Xia Shen sincerely praised the blue-black dog, who was somewhat weak after the battle.

Meanwhile, Tibrim used Healing Wave to heal the elves who had just finished their battle.

“Lucario…” Even the usually calm and collected Lucario was a little excited at this moment, whether because of its evolution or because it had defeated Ursaring.

"Roar..." Moon Bear, who had just been healed and awakened by Tibris, was talking to her former best friend, probably saying something to praise her.

Over there, Xia Shen's fanged shark was also talking to its junior, seemingly pointing out where she hadn't done well enough.

The Pokémon that had just finished their sparring chatted amongst themselves, while Xia Shen and Yan Yan casually found a spot by the lake to sit down and chat as well.

"So, is this the full power of me and Moon Bear? What do you think?"

Seeing that the girl was not discouraged after her crushing 1-3 defeat, but instead had a faint smile on her face, Xia Shen put aside the words of comfort he had initially intended to say and jokingly asked her a question.

“Very strong…” Yan Yan admitted frankly.

She suddenly felt a pang of emotion, "We've known each other for almost a year now, you've moved on so fast..."

Xia Shen was about to say something when she interrupted him again.

"Don't stop and wait for me. Next year, I'll bring the National High School Championship trophy to Chongqing to find you!"

The girl turned her head and looked firmly at Xia Shen, who was staring blankly into space, her tone more serious than ever before.

Yan Yan's dark eyes were like the morning stars on the Cangshan Mountains, and the captivating charm within them drew Xia Shen's gaze like a black hole.

Xia Shen suddenly laughed, "How could I possibly stop? But you'd better stay close, or I might turn around and not see you anymore."

The girl nodded gently and smiled.

------

The next day.

The secret realm of Xicui.

In order to find that iron-like element, Xia Shen set off from the pure white frozen soil without stopping, and rode the Pidgeot back to the Red Lotus Wetlands to search for the traces of the Washing Green Sticky Dragon Clan mentioned by Kexi.

Because he had encountered the Sticky Dragon while searching for Sticky Treasure, Xia Shen found those few steel snail shells that looked gleaming in the sunlight without much effort, even though the Red Lotus Wetland was quite large.

That's right, they're just a few snail shells.

This is a unique structure on the tail of Goodra. The Pokédex says that this tail, which looks very metallic, can be both flexible and strong. When Goodra has nothing to do, it will crawl into it to sleep.

At this moment, on this vast sandbar area with abundant water, there are just a few metal snail shells "growing".

Xia Shen resisted the urge to throw the balls directly at the target, one ball at a time, as he remembered that the same description appeared in the illustration.

Despite its seemingly docile appearance, the Goomy Dragon can lash out at its harassers with its thick tentacles and tail if provoked.

Xia Shen didn't want to anger them before even asking a question, so he didn't dare throw balls at them, and he didn't even dare to wake them up. He could only wait patiently for the sticky dragons to wake up.

It's reminiscent of Liu Bei waiting outside Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage for the Sleeping Dragon to wake up, eagerly seeking out talented individuals.

While waiting, Xia Shen released Nian Nian Bao to see how she would react to the scene before her and whether she could recognize that this was her evolved form.

However, the reaction of Sticky Baby when it came out startled him.

Sticky Baby's antennae swayed as if it had sensed something attracting it, and it involuntarily crawled into the interior of this habitat of the Sticky Dragons.

Xia Shen quickly stopped her. Although it was a Gooey Pokémon of the same kind, it was still an outsider. If she barged in like this, she might anger the Gooey Pokémon and the others.

Xia Shen now needs Long's help, but he can't possibly defeat them in a fight. Since he's under someone else's roof, he still has to try his best to avoid such accidents.

…………

"Sticky, is there something inside that's attracting you?" Xia Shen asked Zoroark as a translator, inquiring about the reason for Sticky's impulsive behavior.

"Sticky—" Sticky Baby also looked confused, as if he didn't understand what he was thinking just now.