I caught a Pokémon

Xia You solemnly promised, "Doctor, please rest assured, I promise I will take good care of Xiao Chun!"

Looking at Koharu, who was all ready to go, Dr. Sakuragi couldn't help but sigh.

A father is bound to be reluctant to see his daughter leave home. Seeing that both of them were ready, he called Xiaochun aside before she left and couldn't help but give her a few more words of advice.

Because she didn't lower her voice intentionally, Xia You could still vaguely hear some of the conversation.

But in the end, it's all just trivial things like remembering to eat on time and not being afraid of getting tired.

Just as the father and daughter were talking, Kikuna and Renji simultaneously reached out their hands to Natsuyu.

The two exchanged a glance, and then Kikuna spoke first: "Although I know nothing about Pokémon battles, I still wish you all the best and a successful start!"

Renji glanced at Professor Sakuragi secretly, then whispered, "You must get a good result! No matter how busy I am with work, I'll secretly turn on the live stream to cheer you on!"

Xia You shook hands with the two of them one by one.

"Thanks! You all should take good care of yourselves, get plenty of rest, and avoid overworking yourselves!"

To be honest, after spending so much time here, he had developed feelings for this place, and for a moment, he was really reluctant to leave.

When Professor Sakuragi and Haru returned, just as everyone was saying goodbye, a dog suddenly appeared amidst barking.

Perhaps sensing that Xiaochun was about to go on a long trip, Lai Dian Wang stayed around her feet, refusing to leave.

"Oh, right." Professor Sakuragi bent down and patted Yamper's forehead, then smiled at Haru, "Since you're going on a trip, how can you go without a Pokémon? Since it's so reluctant to part with you, why don't you let Yamper come with you?"

"Huh? You brought it with you?"

Xiao Chun frowned in distress, then looked at Xia You. Seeing him nod slightly, she thought for a moment and agreed.

"OK then."

At its feet, hearing that it would be taken along, the dog barked a few times with great intelligence, and its tail wagged rapidly, looking just like a small electric fan!

When everything was ready, Dr. Sakuragi waved as he watched Xiaochun slowly walk to Xiayou's side.

"From now on, I'm counting on you for Xiaochun!"

Xia You nodded emphatically, and then she and Xiaochun bowed slightly to Professor Sakuragi and the others: "Well then, let's set off!"

……

After leaving Sakuragi Research Institute, Xia You and Xiao Chun left Kuroba City and headed north, arriving at Golden City before nightfall.

After resting for a night, they turned west again and continued their journey toward Yuhong City.

This was Xiaochun's first time leaving home for a trip. As a child who grew up in a big city, she was overjoyed the whole way, finding everything she saw very new and exciting.

With another person by her side, and such a lovely and beautiful girl at that, even Xia You's mood changed.

Amidst the laughter and conversation, even the road beneath their feet seemed less tedious.

This also made Xia You realize that traveling with companions is indeed more fun than traveling alone.

Chapter 127 Reencounter with Rika

While enjoying the scenery along the way, Xia You shared with Xiao Chun the knowledge about the various Pokémon they encountered.

Although Xiaochun had little contact with Pokémon before, she was very smart and could remember things that Xia You mentioned casually.

As a result, she went from being completely ignorant to having only a superficial understanding.

And so, the two of them leisurely walked to the outskirts of Yuhong City. They originally planned to bypass the city and continue westward, but when they reached the fields outside the city, they unexpectedly encountered an acquaintance.

This is a beautiful girl of eighteen or nineteen years old with short black hair and elegant clothes.

Just by looking at her back, her clothes, and her gentle demeanor, Xia You recognized her identity.

It was none other than Li Jia, the headmaster of Yu Hong Dojo!

At this moment, Rika was squatting by a flower bush with an Eevee by her side and a basket next to her, holding scissors and a shovel, seemingly pruning something.

As they approached, the Eevee saw Xia You and Xiao Chun and barked warily at them a few times.

When Lijia heard the voice, she turned around and was very surprised to see that it was Xia You.

Before she could speak, Xia You exclaimed in surprise, "Eh? Lijia? What a coincidence, what are you doing here?"

Lijia stood up, looking at him with bright eyes, her tone as gentle as ever.

"I've come here to collect some flowers to take back to the dojo for cultivation. Where are you headed?"

Picking flowers?

Xia You was taken aback at first, then remembered that in addition to being the head of the dojo and the owner of the perfume shop, she was also a florist.

"At this time, we should naturally go to Indigo Plateau to participate in the Pokémon League Conference." Looking at the beautiful flower bush in front of her, Xia You smiled and said, "I thought the flowers you saw in class were all cultivated by yourselves. I didn't expect that there were wildflowers like these that were picked in the wild."

"Indigo League? Is it this time again? I thought you would just take a boat directly from Vermilion City."

Looking down at the bouquet of flowers in her hand, Lijia chuckled softly, "Speaking of flowers, although the flowers cultivated in greenhouses are more vibrant and beautiful in color and appearance, I still prefer these wildflowers that grow vigorously in nature. Moreover, through natural selection, they have a unique fragrance compared to those artificially cultivated ones."

After saying that, Lijia turned her gaze to Xiaochun.

"Who is this lovely girl...?"

"Let me introduce you." Xia You stepped back and let Xiaochun step in front of her. "This is Xiaochun, the daughter of the famous Professor Sakuragi from the Kanto region. She is currently still in school. Xiaochun, this is Rika. Don't let her young age fool you, she is the gym leader of the Celadon City Gym."

"Hello, I'm Lijia."

Lijia gave a slight bow, and Xiaochun, seeing this, quickly followed suit and returned the bow in a similar manner.

"Hello, Miss Lijia, my name is Xiaochun."

Seeing how well-behaved the two of them were, Xia You couldn't help but rub her hair.

It is indeed a bit strange to still see such traditional etiquette in this day and age.

Upon closer inspection, the two women share a similar temperament, and while they may not be stunning beauties at first glance, their features are delicate and pleasing to the eye.

Just as the two girls were greeting each other, Xiaochun's electric dog also very enthusiastically clung to Eevee. Fortunately, the Eevee was not afraid of strangers. Seeing that its owner seemed to be familiar with the two humans, it played with the electric dog without worry.

Xia You glanced at Eevee and asked, "I've never seen this Eevee before. Did you just catch it?"

Rika nodded: "Ever since I saw your Eevee, I've also fallen in love with Pokémon. And this Eevee was one I searched for a long time before I finally found it."

Just then, Rika looked up at the sky and said, "By the way, it's already noon. Would you like to try my bento?"

"A bento box? Did you make it yourself?" Hearing the word "bento box," Xia You's eyes lit up, and she immediately became interested. "Such a rare opportunity, of course I have to try it!"

Since he transmigrated to this world, besides catching Pokémon and battling, his greatest hobby has been food. Unfortunately, his cooking skills are not good, and even after traveling all this time, the food he makes can only be described as passable.

Lijia took a sheet from the basket and spread it on the grass, then took out a bento box and some refreshments and placed them on top.

Although there are many kinds of food, the quantity is small, with only one or two pieces of each kind, but the presentation is very exquisite.

Looking at her movements, they were gentle yet orderly, and even her plating was quite meticulous, clearly demonstrating her excellent manners.

Seeing this, Xiaochun couldn't help but ask, "Miss Lijia, you really seem like a young lady from a prestigious family."

Smiling, Lijia glanced at her and said, "You don't need to call me Miss. Since you're Xia You's companion, you can just call me by my name or call me Sister."

As Lijia spoke, she took out another thermos and looked at Xia You.

Would you like some tea?

Seeing Xia You nod, she unscrewed the lid of the kettle, about to pour some out, but then smiled shyly.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I really didn't expect to meet you, so I didn't prepare your cups."

"It's okay, we brought our own water bottles, just share some with us."

Xia You and Xiao Chun took out water cups, filled them with tea using the lids, and then sat down with Li Jia in different corners, drinking tea and enjoying the food Li Jia had brought.

Xia You first took a sip of tea.

The tea was warm, and it tasted delicious as soon as I swallowed it. Even after the tea entered my stomach, a lingering fragrance remained in my mouth.

However, he didn't know much about tea. He only knew that this should be a type of green tea, but he couldn't explain it in any other way.

After putting down his water glass, Xia You tried another piece of tea snack. To his surprise, it was soft and chewy, completely satisfying his taste buds.

"It's so delicious! Where did you buy it?" Xia You couldn't help but swallow it in one gulp, and said indistinctly, "Next time I pass by Yuhong, I'll definitely buy some more!"

Hearing Xia You's praise, Xiao Chun was a little embarrassed, but she still picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.

"Wow, this is really delicious!"

Lijia covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes curving into crescents: "I'm afraid you won't be able to buy them. I made all of these myself."

"You made this yourself?" Xiaochun asked in surprise. "It's so exquisite. I thought you bought it from somewhere. I never expected... Sister Lijia, you are really amazing."

Xiaochun praised her a few times, then couldn't help but sigh, "Sister Lijia's cooking skills are really amazing, and she's so beautiful and virtuous. If she gets married in the future, I think her husband will be very happy!"

Chapter 128 A Gift to Ye Zhishi

The three chatted casually for a while, and seeing that Xiaochun seemed to like Eevee, their conversation ranged from all over the world to Rika's Eevee.

Xia You asked, "Based on your gym's attributes, its evolution path should be Leafeon, right?"

Rika nodded: "Of course, but it needs a Leaf Stone to evolve. However, our gym just held a trainer feedback event a few days ago in accordance with the League's requirements, and we've temporarily run out of Leaf Stones. So this Eevee will have to wait a while longer to evolve."

Leaf Stone?

"What a coincidence!" Xia You rummaged through his backpack and found the evolution stone he had obtained from the four Eevee brothers in Stone Town. Without hesitation, he handed it to Rika. "Here, this Leaf Stone is for you."

Looking at Ye Zhishi, Rika asked in surprise, "Eh? How do you have something like this?"

Xia You shrugged: "It's just a souvenir from my trip. I don't need it anyway, so I might as well give it to your Eevee."

"Oh, thank you so much." Rika didn't stand on ceremony and took the Leaf Stone. "But Eevee's strength is a little lacking right now. I still want to wait until it has accumulated some experience before finding a suitable opportunity to use this Leaf Stone on it."

Xia You waved her hand dismissively and said, "Hey, since I've already given it to you, you can decide when to evolve it yourself!"

As he spoke, he glanced at the time and realized that he had been resting for more than an hour without realizing it. Now that his strength had mostly recovered, it was time for him to leave.

"Alright, it's getting late, and we need to get to Changqing City before dark. Thank you for your hospitality, see you next time!"

He and Xiaochun got up to say goodbye, and seeing this, Lijia also hurriedly got up.

"I'm so sorry," Rika said apologetically. "I've been busy with things at the dojo and the perfume shop, which has prevented me from going to the stadium to cheer you on. But I'll watch the whole match on TV."

"It's okay, you don't need to worry about it."

In fact, during this period of traveling alone, although he made some friends, perhaps due to his personality, even without anyone cheering him on, it did not affect his mindset at all.

Or rather, everyone has their own life, and no one has the right to demand that others change for them.

Lijia placed her hands in front of her chest and bowed to say goodbye.

"Then, I wish you good luck in your martial arts endeavors and that you achieve great results."

Xia You and Xiao Chun smiled and followed her example by bowing.

After the two had walked a short distance, Xiaochun turned around and saw Lijia still standing there, watching their backs. She quickly turned her head back.

Miss Rika is still watching!?

Although Xiaochun could no longer see her expression, she seemed to still feel her gentle gaze.

It seems that Xia You has met many interesting people during his long trip.

After leaving the wilderness, they continued forward and arrived at Sunshine Town.

Heading further west, you can reach the outskirts of Changqing City. Once you enter Changqing City, it means you are not far from the Quartz Plateau.

However, before they could proceed, a wide river blocked their path.

This place is remote and deserted, with no boats on the river and no bridges across it. To cross it, one must rely on the power of Pokémon.

Summoning Gyarados, Xia You, along with the cautious Xiao Chun, rode on their Pokémon and safely crossed the river.

On the opposite bank lies an endless, dense forest, the famous Viridian Forest of the Kanto region.

The sun was already setting in the west. Xia You hadn't originally planned to enter the forest in the dark, but she didn't want to camp out in the wild either, so she had to quicken her pace and try to reach Changqing City as soon as possible.

Just like before, the forest was full of Bug-type Pokémon, and the Caterpie and Weedle that kept peeking out made Xiaochun even more terrified.

"Why are there so many insects in this forest?"

Xiaochun was frightened and involuntarily quickened her pace, grabbing Xia You's sleeve.

Actually, it's not just her; fear of insects is a common problem for most girls. Even Misty can't stand Bug-type Pokémon.