Elf: I have a secret realm of emerald green.

[Hmm, it's about ten thousand Kirlia away from Gardevoir.] Uxie's voice sounded somewhat weak.

[Yukishi is tired and might need to sleep for a while. She'll look for you when she wakes up.]

It seems that if it weren't for Yukshi, I might really have ended up meeting Arceus this time.

……

Ignoring Uxie's deliberate teasing, Xia Shen roughly estimated that Ralts would evolve into Kirlia at level 20, and then into Gardevoir at level 30.

If judged by energy level, I'd be around level 20, which barely qualifies me as having some combat power... right?

Okay, actually he's still a weakling who can't even beat his own Pokémon.

But there's no rush; the so-called dark forces haven't even shown a hint of themselves yet.

If I let Tibrimon replenish my mana once a month, I should be able to protect myself soon.

The pain in her body was still there, but it wasn't unbearable. Gently putting down Tibulim, Xia Shen took out some water and clothes from her space to treat herself.

If I go out in this state, the Dragon Dance Training Center might get reported.

He gently picked up Tibrim again and walked unsteadily back into the tent.

Xia Shen glanced at her phone; it was already 2 a.m. Dazed, she leaned against the soft belly of the teddy bear and fell asleep.

------

Xia Shen felt very strange when he woke up. His body ached, but his mind was clearer than ever before.

Despite the minor incident, overall, I slept well last night.

It's been a long time since I slept in until I naturally woke up.

Wait a minute, I woke up naturally?

Xia Shen reached for her phone to check the time.

Twelve o'clock!

Today seems to be the first day of final exams... Didn't my alarm clock wake me up?

Turning around, he saw that the other elves were no longer in the tent. Tibrim was still asleep, and a bear was looking at him with a resentful expression.

"What about them?" Xia Shen was naturally referring to the other elves.

Circle Bear pointed outside the tent.

Xia Shen understood; he was probably either training or playing outside. "Then why didn't you go out?"

Circle Bear pointed at Xia Shen, with an expression that said, "How dare you ask me that?"

Xia Shen then remembered that he seemed to have slept leaning against her all night.

Xia Shen coughed lightly to change the subject, "Alright, I'll take you guys to eat something delicious."

Skipping half a day of class is the same as skipping a whole day of class.

Open for business!

After packing up the tent and calling back Garchomp and the others, Xia Shen carried the still-sleeping Teebrim out of the training hall.

## Chapter Ninety-Five: Could it be another den of dragons and tigers?

For a top student like Xia Shen, who is even closely watched by the principal, skipping a regular final exam by one day is not a big problem, as long as he doesn't miss the college entrance exam.

On the contrary, the fact that my parents had changed their clothes when they saw me come back was a bigger problem...

It was the dead of winter, and I changed all my clothes when I got back. I don't even dare to think about what I did last night.

Since no matter how she explained it, it wouldn't make sense, Xia Shen simply went all the way and faced their meaningful gazes with composure.

……

Although Xia Shen missed the two written exams on the first day, he unsurprisingly came in first place in the subsequent Pokémon battle practical exam and the wild assessment.

Surprisingly, his final exam ranking was quite good, only behind Jiang Chuan and Yan Yan.

After all, in the Pokémon battle course, the actual test score accounts for a larger proportion of the score.

After the final exams that students dread, comes the much-anticipated winter break.

However, Xia Shen couldn't stay idle during her first winter break in this world.

The qualifying rounds for the Jiangnan region are about to begin in Nandu, the capital of Jiangnan Province.

Xia Shen originally planned to take advantage of the four or five days between the final exams and the qualifying rounds to rest and recuperate.

But a sudden message from Yan Yan disrupted his plan to slack off—

Are you free tomorrow? My dad says he'd like to meet you.

……

When Xia Shen saw the message Yan Yan sent, he felt a mix of emotions.

I don't think I've done anything wrong, have I?

It was one thing to be suspected by her own parents, but Xia Shen didn't explain the misunderstanding that she was being kept by a rich woman.

But why does Yan Yan's father want to see me?

I've only been to his house a few times, invited his daughter to my house a few times, and we've trained together every weekend...

However, since we're going to visit a classmate's house, we should prepare some gifts.

Although he didn't know much about Uncle Yan, whom he had never met before, Xia Shen had the contact information for his wife and two daughters, so he quickly asked for help.

The bad news is that his two daughters are both heartless and wicked, and he can't get any answers from them.

The good news is that Yan Yan's mother is indeed a gentle and virtuous wife, and she told Xia Shen a lot about her husband's preferences.

Unsurprisingly, these were the favorite pastimes of middle-aged people: drinking tea and fishing.

Xia Shen, catering to his tastes, bought him some of the top-grade tea he often drank—not much, just a token of his appreciation.

My family's financial situation is what it is; there's no need to pretend to be rich when I'm not.

Xia Shen believed that the person who could educate the Yan sisters, Yan Yu and Yan Yan, would not be someone who despises the poor and loves the rich.

If that's true, then there's nothing we can do.

With their potential, they have the confidence to say "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river" and then turn around and leave.

In short, having anticipated all the consequences, Xia Shen calmly got into the car that Yan Yan's family had sent to pick her up.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The Yan family manor had undergone some subtle changes since my previous visits.

As the car drove in, Xia Shen saw several elves he had never seen before.

For example, the giant red Gyarados in the artificial lake...

A fossil pterosaur, racing against a Pidgeot, soars through the sky...

There was also an Aluminos lying on the rocky ground, dozing off with Tyranitar.

These must all be Yan Yan's father's spirits. Could it be that he specializes in dragons?

No, that's not right. Of these three Pokémon, only Duraludon is a pure Dragon type.

However, the other two can use Dragon Dance, and their names also contain the character for dragon, so they can be considered dragon-type Pokémon in a broader sense.

……

The car slowly came to a stop. Xia Shen snapped out of her thoughts and stepped out of the car.

Xia Shen wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt a strange tremor in his heart about the house he had visited several times before.

Following the butler who greeted him, Xia Shen did not see the family in the reception room on the first floor.

The butler noticed Xia Shen's confusion and explained with a smile, "The master, madam, and the two young ladies are in the battleground on the top floor. I'll take you there."

Xia Shen nodded and followed, but in his heart he was thinking, the battlefield... it must be an elf battle.

Knowing that guests were coming, but not making a special effort to greet them—is this a sign of not treating them as outsiders? Or is it a prelude to putting them in a bad light?

Xia Shen couldn't guess, but he'd find out when he went upstairs.

……

On the rooftop battlefield.

The two combatants were Yan Yan and a handsome, distinguished middle-aged man.

It's no surprise that this must be the owner of the manor, Yan Yan's father.

Yan Yan was focused on the situation on the field and didn't notice Xia Shen who had just come on.

The other three all saw the guest, and their initial reactions were all different.

Yan Yu's lips curled up, her eyes were teasing, and her face was full of schadenfreude.

Mother Yan smiled gently and waved to herself affectionately.

Yan Yan's father... Xia Shen really couldn't understand the look in his eyes when he looked at her.

Anyway, it was a bit milder than Xia Shen had expected.

That's normal. It would be strange if someone could see through you, a true master like that.

Amidst the various gazes of the crowd, Xia Shen calmly walked to Yan's mother's side and placed the gift he had brought on the table.

Then, together with them, we enjoyed the intense battle that had reached its climax.

……

The Pokémon Yan Yan sent out was her recently evolved Garchomp.

The spirit used by Yan's father was a large, earth-yellow dog, a twilight form of a mane rock wolf.

This was clearly a teaching exercise; Lycanroc's acting was almost on par with Ash's Pikachu.

Xia Shen noticed more than once that when faced with the approaching dragon breath, the mane rock werewolf's subconscious instantaneous reaction was to try to avoid it, but it would pretend to be unable to dodge in time and end up swallowing it whole.

Despite having many good opportunities to strike, he managed to suppress his instinctive urge to attack.