I caught a Pokémon

"What an enviable experience..." Daigo sighed, then looked at Xia You, "You came to Hoenn this time, presumably for the Hoenn Tournament, right?"

“Of course,” Xia You said with a smile. “Catching Pokémon in the Hoenn region and challenging various gyms and the Hoenn Tournament are all my goals.”

"Then you'd better be careful." A glint flashed in Daigo's eyes. "The trainers in the Hoenn region are all very strong, and the Hoenn Tournament is more intense than the Silver and Indigo Tournaments you challenged before. Winning the championship here won't be an easy task. By the way, I was the champion of the last Hoenn Tournament. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime!"

This guy...

Xia You couldn't help but find it amusing.

The excuse that he should be careful of the Caiyou Tournament was just a nice way of putting it; the real purpose was to show off that he was the champion of the previous tournament!

……

After exchanging training methods with Daigo, Xia You and Rika waved goodbye and left Devon Corporation, with Daigo seeing them off.

Daigo originally wanted to spar with Xia You to see who was stronger, but Xia You politely declined.

After all, most of his main Pokémon are not around. If he were to challenge him with a lineup of Dragonite and Tyranitar, the outcome would be hard to predict.

Speaking of which, after winning the Silver Tournament, he also had the opportunity to challenge the Four Heavenly Kings, but he refused.

It wasn't that he lacked confidence in himself, but rather that he wanted to save this opportunity for last, and after he had challenged all the major tournaments, he would then go and challenge them one by one!

After leaving the street where Devon Corporation is located, the two were about to challenge the Kanaz Gym, but Rika received a video call from another region at that moment.

The person who initiated the video was a staff member of Yuhong Dojo. Xia You had seen her before at Lijia's perfume shop. She was a very good friend of Lijia.

"Rika, our gym has been repaired. The Pokémon League just sent people to ask about your whereabouts. After learning that you were traveling in Hoenn, they asked us to contact you immediately so that you can come back and take charge of the gym!"

Upon hearing this news, both Xia You and Li Jia frowned.

When Rika left the Rainbow Gym, she made it clear to Xia You that the gym had been destroyed by fire and had to be closed for a period of time to allow time for the Pokémon League to rebuild.

It was during this time that Lijia was able to stay by Xia You's side and travel with him.

Now that so much time has passed, even though the two had made preparations long ago, hearing such news still stirred up a storm in their hearts.

Sigh, what was bound to happen has finally happened...

Chapter 599 Lijia leaves the team, Xiaoxia joins.

This unexpected video call instantly changed Xia You and Li Jia's originally relaxed and happy mood, and they looked at each other with heavy hearts.

But this is something they can't change. Unless Rika resigns from her gym position, she has to follow the Pokémon League's arrangements. But resigning and giving up her job to travel around with Xia You is obviously unrealistic.

Ugh……

Although he had already experienced something similar when he parted ways with Naz, Xia You was not used to it; instead, he felt even more sad.

Seeing Lijia's sad expression and silence, Xia You took a deep breath, mustered his manly strength, and hugged her in his arms, gently comforting her.

"Alright, let's go back then. You've indeed been gone for too long. Both the perfume shop and the dojo are waiting for you to take charge. There are far more people who need you than I do."

Lijia buried her head in Xia You's arms, her hands tightly wrapped around his waist, and remained silent.

This was the first time Xia You had clearly felt Li Jia's feminine side. Usually, Li Jia was a gentle and intellectual woman, like a Yamato Nadeshiko, and rarely showed such sentimentality.

This also shows just how reluctant Rika was to part with him.

Suppressing her sadness, Xia You comforted Li Jia with kind words, which finally calmed her down a bit.

However, this meant that the gym battle was definitely out of the question, and Xia You was naturally not in the mood for it. Moreover, since there was no international airport in Kanagawa City, Rika couldn't return directly to Kanto. The two of them had no choice but to leave Kanagawa, pass through Petalburg City, return to Littleroot Town, buy a ferry ticket, and then take a passenger ship back to Kanto.

In this atmosphere, the two continued their journey in silence.

Xia You naturally couldn't go back with her, since he also had his own journey to continue, but at least he had to see her off to the port to feel a little more at ease.

The two traversed the Orange Blossom Forest, passed through Orange Blossom City, and finally arrived at Littlewhite Town on the evening of the second day.

Returning to this starting town, the scene before them remained the same, but their feelings were completely different from the high spirits and ambitions they had when they first stepped in.

The more anticipation you have when you leave, the more sorrow you will feel when you return.

Since they had already missed the departure time for the day, the two could only find a hotel to stay in, rest for the night, and then head to the pier early the next morning.

That night, Xia You also experienced Li Jia's crazy side.

Perhaps she turned her reluctance into passion, because Lijia demanded more and more that night, until Xia You filled her completely, and then she fell into a deep sleep in his arms with faint tear stains on her face.

However, although she was asleep, Xia You couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

The strength he displayed during the day was now stripped away, revealing the same vulnerability. Rika was so reluctant to part with him, and so was he.

But a man's arms must provide warmth and support to a woman when she needs them, so he always showed maturity and composure, without causing Rika any additional pain.

Now that Rika is sleeping beside him, he can finally reveal his true emotions.

His eyes were moist, with a hint of tears in them. He stared at the moonlight outside the window, his eyes unblinking. Just then, a pair of soft hands gently brushed past the corners of his eyes, taking away the moisture.

Looking down, he saw Lijia looking at him with extremely tender eyes.

It turns out she hadn't slept at all; what she was doing just now was a facade to avoid upsetting Xia You...

Their eyes met, they both smiled, and then they kissed again...

……

The next morning, after the two had breakfast, Xia You took Li Jia to the port.

The two embraced one last time, and Xia You whispered in her ear, "You can rest assured and wait for me in Yuhong. I will contact you every day. And don't worry, my trip won't be too long. After I rest, I will definitely come to find you!"

“I know, I will always wait for you.” Lijia gently kissed his cheek, then took a few steps back, placed her hands on her chest, and bowed deeply to him. “I also wish you good luck in your martial arts endeavors, that your efforts will not be in vain, and that you will win all the competitions!”

Lijia boarded the ship and left. Although she looked back every few steps, the cruise ship, which departed on time, still took her to the end of her sight.

Xia You stood on the dock, motionless for a long time. Li Jia's departure seemed to have taken away most of his soul. His mind was filled with memories of Li Jia, and a warm feeling seemed to surround him.

After calming down, Xia You sighed and was about to turn and leave when he suddenly heard someone calling him from afar!

The voice was so familiar that he didn't even need to turn around to recognize who it belonged to.

"Brother Xia You!!" A pretty and energetic little girl with a side ponytail, carrying a small backpack, ran up to Xia You breathlessly and asked in a sweet voice, "What are you doing here? Did you come to pick me up!?"

Needless to say, this person is naturally Xiaoxia!

Unlike before, Xiaoxia was alone this time, without Xiaozhi and Xiaogang, who were always by her side.

As agreed by the two, after returning to the Clarin Dojo for a short rest, Xiaoxia traveled across the ocean to meet Xia You here!

Before Xia You could speak, Xiaoxia frowned and looked around in surprise, asking, "Huh? Where's Sister Lijia?"

Looking at the little girl, Xia You's sadness seemed to dissipate by a large part with her smile. She shook her head and told her about Li Jia receiving a phone call and having to rush back to Kanto.

"Huh!?" Xiaoxia's eyes widened in surprise. "Just now? Then I really missed saying goodbye!"

Xiaoxia also arrived in Hoenn by cruise ship, and coincidentally, Xiaoxia's ship docked at the port just as Rika's ship left.

The two ships briefly brushed past each other, seemingly signifying the different fates of the two men.

"I didn't expect to run into you here either. When I heard your voice just now, I thought I was hallucinating." Xia You reached out and ruffled Xiaoxia's hair. "Why didn't you say you were coming?"

"Hehe." Looking up at the face she liked, Xiaoxia's heart pounded. "I wanted to give you a surprise, so I was planning to contact you after we got to Hoenn. I didn't expect to run into you here!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiaoxia suddenly realized that Lijia had just left, which meant that she would be traveling alone with Xia You without any outside interference!

Neither Rika, nor Satoshi, nor Brock were around; he was indeed alone with Xia You!

Oh my god, am I dreaming?

She was momentarily dazed, overwhelmed by such surprise, and felt that everything was so dreamlike!

Great!

Xiaoxia's joy was evident on her face, and she almost blurted it out!

This is wonderful! I never thought even God was on my side!!

Chapter 600 The Strongest Pokémon in the World

After leaving Little White Town, the two headed towards Orange Blossom City once again.

In just a few days, he had walked this road back and forth several times. It can be said that he was more familiar with the environment here than many local trainers in the Hoenn region!

The two walked across the plains. Xia, like Xia You when she first arrived on this continent, looked around and found everything new and exciting.

However, after looking around for a while, she realized that apart from the slight differences in Pokémon, this place was basically no different from Johto or even Kanto.

Mountains are all the same, and trees are all the same.

After her initial excitement subsided, Xiaoxia calmed down and focused her attention on Xia You, talking to him as they walked.

When Xia You asked about Xiao Zhi's whereabouts, Xiao Xia thought for a moment and said, "When I left, I heard that he was also preparing to set off. He should arrive in Hoenn tomorrow or the day after. However, I heard that this time he left all his Pokémon at Professor Oak's lab and will only be traveling alone with Pikachu."

This was not surprising, since Ash maintained this pattern throughout his subsequent travels, traveling light with only Pikachu, whether in Sinnoh, Kalos, or other places.

In fact, even Xia You entrusted her Celebi to Rika when she returned to Kanto, asking her to take it back to the Rainbow Gym for temporary safekeeping.

Just like placing the three sacred birds with Natsumi, this was both a way for him to express his feelings for Rikka and to provide Silavi with a more comfortable environment.

After all, staying by Rika's side means she can take good care of it, eat lots of delicious food, and be in the greenhouse of the Yuhong Gym, where it will have a familiar natural environment that will make it feel more relaxed and happy.

Although it's not by her side, Xia You can teleport it back whenever needed. As for showing it around, that can only be done when there's an opportunity later.

After the two passed through Old Rose Town, guessing that the Petalburg Gym Leader Senri might not have returned to the gym yet, Xia You chose another route to head to Kanaz City.

Although this road was longer and more remote than the previous one, it offered entirely new scenery, preventing Xia You from experiencing aesthetic fatigue.

After passing through an unnamed village, at a Y-shaped intersection, the two suddenly saw a huge sign.

The sign was extremely eye-catching and enormous, standing on the grass nearby, attracting the attention of anyone who walked by.

The two stopped, and Xia You looked up at the words on the sign and read, "The gym with the world's strongest Pokémon is just ahead!"

"A gym with the world's strongest Pokémon!?" Misty's eyebrows shot up in anger. As someone whose family also runs a gym, she was naturally indignant that someone would boast about their gym and Pokémon with such arrogance. "This gym leader is really something else! I'd like to see what kind of Pokémon dares to call itself the strongest!"

Moreover, Xia You has won two tournament championships and has legendary Pokémon like the three legendary birds and Suicune, yet he still doesn't dare to call his Pokémon the strongest. Where does this unknown gym in a remote village get its confidence from?

Seeing her looking so agitated, Xia You found it amusing.

However, he also wanted to see what kind of Pokémon could be worthy of the title of the strongest in such a gym!

Since they agreed, the two left the main road and followed the side road to the other side of the village.

Upon arriving at the outside of a tall courtyard wall, before even reaching the gate, a boy of about ten years old was seen hugging his Pokémon and crying as he left.

This scene also surprised Xia You and Xiao Xia.

what's the situation?

Could there really be some incredibly powerful Pokémon inside that made the challenger cry?

The two entered the courtyard and immediately saw a small building. In front of the building was an open-air battlefield.

Meanwhile, in the trainer command area on one side of the battlefield, a Pelipper and a middle-aged man wearing a gold belt, with a buzz cut, who looked to be about 35 or 6 years old, were slowly walking towards the small building behind them.

Hearing Xia You and Xiao Xia's footsteps, he turned around and saw them at a glance.

"Oh?" The man looked them up and down, his expression relaxed. "Two more challengers have arrived? This is quite a lively day!"

Xiaoxia, hands on her hips, asked loudly, "Is this the gym that claims to have the strongest Pokémon in the world?!"

“That’s right.” The middle-aged man nodded and introduced himself, “My name is Anthony, and I’m the Gym Leader of this Gym. And this Pelipper next to me is undoubtedly the strongest Pokémon in the world!!”

Xia You and Xiaoxia's gazes instantly fell on the big-billed gull next to Anthony.

As a Water/Flying type Pokémon, Xia You had recently battled Dew's Pelipper at Devon Corporation, so she had some understanding of it. But no matter how you looked at it, this Pelipper was basically no different from an ordinary Pelipper.

Beside her, Xiaoxia also looked at the big-billed gull with a suspicious gaze.

Having seen many legendary Pokémon and having Xia You, a two-time Pokémon Tournament champion, by her side, it's safe to say that her perspective is quite discerning. No matter how you look at it, this ordinary Pokémon doesn't seem to be related to the strongest at all!

Moreover, this dojo doesn't seem to be a formal dojo; it's more like a private dojo.

Despite having questions about these things, Xiaoxia still said, "That's perfect, you're exactly the one we've been looking for. Would you like to accept the challenge?"

It has to be said that with Xiaoxia by their side, Xia You and the others have changed their way of doing things.

This lively girl, who is known as the "world's most beautiful girl," has a cheerful personality and acts somewhat willful and capriciously. Apart from being afraid of Bug-type Pokémon, she is never shy in any situation.

“Of course I accept!” Anthony laughed. “Although I just played a game, I haven’t expended any energy at all, so my stamina is perfectly fine! So, which of you two wants to go first?”

With such a tone, and having just made another challenger cry, this person must have a lot of confidence!

Xiaoxia and Xiayou exchanged a glance and stepped forward first.