I caught a Pokémon

The two little boys watching from the sidelines stared wide-eyed at the graceful, almost performative dance moves, completely captivated.

After all, they had only ever seen such dazzling moves on television before; when had they ever witnessed them in person at such close range?

Not to mention a Pokémon belonging to a beautiful female idol!

Now that I've seen it, I have a clearer understanding of what it means to be a sensation and feel beauty that an idol-level performance brings!

However, for Xia You, such complicated and gorgeous moves, while visually appealing, also gave him ample time to react.

The soothing, melodious, and beautiful music made Milotic drowsy, but Xia You's simple command to 'go into the water' broke through the Altaria's attack.

Milotic dove into the water, and the icy pool water instantly enveloped its entire body, washing away any lingering sleepiness.

Even when it resurfaced, the Tanabata's dance was still going on!

It's so slow...

Seeing this result, Rukia didn't care at all. In fact, what she had just done was merely a probing attack. What was coming next was the real main event!

She spun around in place like a cheerful elf, made a cute hand gesture, and laughed, "Then, the blue moves and the grand performance will begin in a magnificent display!"

……

Pfft!

As the soaking wet Altaria plummeted into the water like a boulder, and failed to resurface after a long wait, it signified that the street battle in the park had ended in Milotic's victory.

Although it won, Milotic also suffered relatively serious injuries in the battle. Its once beautiful scales were now covered with wounds, and its strength was running out. It was panting heavily and clearly unable to fight any longer.

It must be said that although Rukia is a Coordinator and her battle style is overly complicated, her Altaria is still quite powerful.

If we compare them, they are similar to Xiao Shun, whom they met not long ago; both are far beyond their peers.

In the battle that just now, as the intensity increased, the two Pokémon were evenly matched, fighting fiercely and neither could gain the upper hand.

Just as Xia You's advantage lies in his keen command and ability to accurately seize opportunities for offense and defense, Ryukia also has her own advantages.

Altaria's own experience speaks for itself. This gradual growth allows it to assess the situation on the field faster and more accurately than Milotic in battle, without needing commands, thus enabling it to dodge or choose to retaliate.

This is a much faster instinctive reaction than the series of steps a trainer takes: seeing, thinking, and then giving commands!

This is the fundamental reason why both sides fight at their own pace, each maintaining their own rhythm until the very last moment.

However, just as Xia You had initially thought, as the Altaria was hit by more and more water-attribute moves, its feathers became soaked, making it heavier and heavier. This eventually severely hampered its flight ability, causing it to lose its aerial advantage. This gave Xia You the opportunity to seize the opportunity and end the match with a water gun.

It can only be said that its cloud-like feathers are its defining characteristic, which, while providing it with certain conveniences, also become a hindrance at this time.

"This is impossible, Rukia actually lost..."

Upon seeing this result, before the two participating trainers could say anything, Kinta, who was standing to the side, was already unable to accept it.

He shamelessly brought Rukia here, hoping to avenge himself. You could say he had high hopes for her and never imagined that Rukia would also lose to this man!

Who is Ryukia?

She's an idol of the Grand Contest and a very strong Coordinator!

Don't even mention that you've battled her so many times and never been able to defeat her. Even some adults or Pokémon trainers on Sootopolis Island are no match for her, let alone facing her little Qingqing.

It's Rukia's strongest Pokémon!

Is this man really that strong?

Some are happy, some are sad.

Compared to them, although Milotic looked quite miserable after winning this battle, Xia You was already very satisfied with its achievement.

Even if it's a Pyrrhic victory, a win is a win!

After all, his Milotic had only recently evolved and didn't know many moves yet. To defeat such an opponent, even though it was under his command and he had used 150% of his strength, was still a huge improvement for it!

Coming to his senses, Xia You saw Ryukia walking quickly to the edge of the pool and looking into it. He quickly signaled his Milotic to dive into the water and lift Altaria out.

The Altaria was brought to the shore by Milotic.

At this moment, the Tanabata looked equally miserable. Apart from the wounds on its body, its fluffy, round feathers had completely drooped down because of the water, and it was soaking wet, looking like a drowned rat. It was a far cry from its beautiful appearance before the battle!

"Little Qingqing..." Liuqia hurriedly stepped forward to check on the condition of the Altaria. Seeing that it was unharmed and had not fallen into a coma, she breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Xia You, and said admiringly, "You are really amazing. I lost this battle!"

"Let's call it a draw," Xia You said with a shake of her head and a laugh. "Actually, I know you're still holding back and haven't gone all out. Otherwise, if you had used that thing, my Milotic would definitely have lost!"

Xia You nodded at the keystone above Ryukia's head, the meaning of which was self-evident. At that moment, Xiaoxia, Jintai, and the other two children followed his gaze and belatedly noticed the keystone above Ryukia's head.

"You actually knew about it!" Lucia's eyes lit up. "Have you been to Carlos or other regions before? Or do you have one, like me?"

The conversation between the two was somewhat inexplicable; among the few people present, only Xiaoxia, besides them, could understand it.

Even Jintai was scratching his head, completely baffled.

What's wrong with that thing on Rukia's head?

Isn't it just an ordinary decoration?

"Of course I have it," Xia You said with a smile. "And I've already used it, and it feels great."

Just as Rukia was about to say something, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps in the distance. Turning her head, she saw a woman in her twenties rushing toward her.

"Oh, it's my manager!" She stuck out her tongue at Xia You and the others, and said apologetically, "It seems that my sneaking away has been discovered. Well, there's no way around it, I have to rush back immediately, and I also need to treat Xiao Qingqing while I'm at it."

After saying goodbye to the group, Ryukia recalled her Altaria and went to greet the woman.

Once she left, there was naturally no need for the remaining people to continue their conversation.

These defeated opponents, seeing that even their own allies had lost, how could they possibly stay here any longer?

They didn't admit defeat, exchanged a glance, and then slunk away in the direction Ryukia had gone.

After everyone had left, before Xia You could even look away, she heard Xiaoxia say in a sour tone, "Still looking? That girl is already gone!"

"What are you thinking about?" Xia You gave her a sharp rap on the head.

"Did I say something wrong?" Xiaoxia pouted. "She's beautiful, has fair skin, and is an idol. No matter how you look at it, she's very popular, right? Didn't you see how Jintai and his two companions acted? They practically wanted to hold her in their hands!"

"Hey, hey..." Xia Youjin ruffled her hair. "You don't actually think I'm interested in her, do you? Please, she looks about your age. How could I possibly like a little girl like you who has nothing!"

These words caused Xiaoxia a great deal of harm!

She snorted angrily, subconsciously puffed out her chest, then looked down and deflated helplessly.

hateful!

I'll grow up eventually!!!

Since Milotic was also injured, it was no longer possible for it to continue fighting other opponents.

With no other option, Xia You had to take it back to the Pokémon Center to have Nurse Joy treat its injuries. Thus, his training plan had to come to an end.

Although it only played five matches and did not reach Xia You's planned goal, Milotic still grew greatly due to the increasing difficulty and gradually caught up with Xia You's other Pokémon.

……

The Sooto City Gym is located in the northern part of Sooto City, at the foot of an extinct volcano. It is arguably the best location in the entire Sooto City, as its height allows for a panoramic view of almost the entire city.

As the official gym of Sootopolis City, the Sootopolis Gym Leader is Adam, who is skilled in using Water-type Pokémon. Defeating him will earn you the Raindrop Badge.

After resting overnight, Xia You arrived here the next morning, hoping to encounter Adam.

As mentioned before, Adam is a very busy man now. With the festival getting closer, he spends most of his time away from the gym and is not easy to see. If you want to meet him, you can only make an appointment in advance or try your luck.

The Ruri Dojo is like a grand manor, with a beautiful building surrounded by a neatly manicured garden. It doesn't look like a dojo, but rather like the home of a nobleman.

It's worth mentioning that before entering the dojo, we saw some middle-aged women lingering outside the gate, and we don't know what their purpose was.

Could it be that this curator named Adam really has such great charm that he can easily win over women of this age?

With this curiosity in mind, Xia You and Xiao Xia also entered the dojo.

The interior of the Ruri Dojo is equally elegant, with statues, decorative paintings, exquisite chandeliers, and smooth marble floors. From any angle, one can sense the owner's superior aesthetic sense.

However, the dojo was empty at this time. When they arrived at the hall and looked around, apart from the sound of the two people's footsteps, there was not a sound, let alone any staff or people!

Seriously? Did we come all this way for nothing?

Just as I was thinking this, a man's voice suddenly came from the second floor of the hall.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

Looking up in the direction of the sound, they saw a man with bluish-green hair, wearing a white round hat, a white jumpsuit, and two green sashes, leaning against the railing and looking down at them in the U-shaped corridor on the second floor.

Xia You recognized him at a glance from his familiar attire and appearance. He was none other than Wallace, the former champion of the Hoenn region, the former gym leader of the Sootopolis Gym, a Sootopolis native, a Pokémon trainer, a top Pokémon Coordinator, and a noble man also known as the Water Prince!

This is truly an unexpected delight!

Unexpectedly, upon arriving at the Glass Dojo, instead of encountering the current gym leader Adam, I met his even more outstanding apprentice!

"Sorry to bother you..." Xia You smiled and said, "I'm here to challenge the Glass Dojo. Is the gym leader here now?"

Just as Mikkel was about to speak, he suddenly heard a series of light footsteps, and then a familiar girl walked up to his side.

Following Mikoli's gaze, the girl looked into the hall and immediately spotted Xia You. She pointed at him and exclaimed in surprise, "Ah! It's you!"

Chapter 689 Adam, so this is what you're like!

The speaker was none other than the idol girl who had just fought against Xia You yesterday—Rukia!

I never expected her to be here too!

As Jintai once mentioned, Ryukia is Michael's niece. Now that we see them, their hair color is indeed exactly the same, and even their appearances are somewhat similar. It seems that they both inherited genes from her mother's family.

Xia You smiled and waved to Liu Qiya as a greeting.

Xiaoxia simply pouted and shifted her gaze away from Rukia, looking elsewhere.

Hmph, why is this girl always haunting me?

Upon seeing that Rukia knew Xia You, Mikuri was clearly surprised and looked at her niece with a puzzled expression: "What? You two know each other?"

"Of course!"

Rukia vividly recounted what had happened yesterday.

After hearing her description, Mikoli couldn't help but laugh and ask, "You said you fought him to a draw yesterday?"

“That’s right!” Rukia nodded. “Although I lost, he himself said that the match was a draw!”

"You're really amazing!" Mikeley laughed. "To be able to fight to a draw with a man who has won two regional championships is something not just anyone can do!"

"Huh?" Hearing this, Rukia was taken aback and looked at Mikuri with surprise. "What do you mean by that?"

"Don't you understand?" Miko pointed at Xia You with an exaggerated gesture and laughed loudly, "The man you're fighting is the one who was all the rage recently, winning the Silver Tournament after winning the Quartz Tournament!"

"What!?"

Rukia looked at Xia You in shock, never expecting that the man in front of her was actually the two-region champion!

Moreover, after Mikoli reminded her, she suddenly realized why the man looked so familiar when she first met him. Now she remembered that she had seen his battle videos and promotional posters before!

"Well, you've kept this from me for so long!"

"Hidden?" Xia You looked at her with a smile. "I'm right. Yesterday was indeed the first time we met. It's just your opinion that you think I look familiar. Besides, you didn't even ask my name. How can that be considered hiding something?"

Ryukia was about to refute, but upon closer reflection, it was indeed as Xia You said. Even after yesterday's battle, not only did Jin Tai not mention it, but she herself had not asked for his name either, so it was not exactly a cover-up.

Even so, she still felt like she had been deceived!

Thinking of this, her face immediately puffed up with anger.

Seeing her like this, Xia You couldn't help but find it amusing. She shook her head and said seriously, "Alright, now allow me to introduce myself. I am Xia You, a trainer. I have come to challenge Mr. Adam, the gym leader of the Sootopolis Gym."

“That’s more like it.” Ryukia smiled, her little bit of resentment instantly vanishing, and she said with a bright smile, “But my master isn’t here right now. He’s been very busy lately and hasn’t been able to preside over the dojo’s work for several days.”

Master?

So, just like her uncle Michael, Rukia also became Adam's disciple?

That's really interesting.

It's quite rare for two people who are related by blood to be disciples of the same master!

Moreover, they are all outstanding in their respective fields. This is certainly because Mikuri and Ryukia are excellent themselves, but it also shows that Adam is indeed a good mentor!

only……

Adam really isn't at the gym?

Doesn't that mean I came all this way for nothing?