I caught a Pokémon

"Thank you so much!!"

After the magic show ended, the beautiful magician made a point of keeping Xia You there to express her gratitude in person.

Actually, she didn't need to explain anything. Xiao Yao and Ya Mi, who had just walked up to Xia You, already understood what was going on.

It was simply because Xia You helped.

Unexpectedly, during a street performance, this seemingly professional female magician experienced so many mishaps!

This is just too much...

"It's nothing," Xia You shook her head and said softly, "Don't worry about it, it was just a small favor."

"Although it's a small thing for you, it's something that saved me from making a mistake." Despite Xia You's words, the beautiful magician was not the kind of person who didn't know how to be grateful, and she bowed again. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Jinghui, and I am a Pokémon magician."

Magicians and the others had heard of it.

But this was the first time they had ever heard of a Pokémon Magician.

However, it's obvious that this so-called Pokémon magician is just someone who connects Pokémon with magic; it's nothing special.

Out of politeness, Xiaoyao and Yami introduced themselves, and when Jinghui looked at her again, Xia You could only nod to her: "I am Xia You."

It was just a chance encounter; I thought we would part ways there, but unexpectedly our paths crossed again.

All I can say is that the journey was full of unexpected events!

At Jinghui's insistence, the group went to a nearby coffee shop, where Jinghui treated them to coffee and desserts.

In the course of their casual conversation, they gained a better understanding of each other.

It turns out that this woman named Shizue has only recently become a magician and is currently traveling around honing her skills. This can be seen from the fact that her Pokémon is not very obedient and that her contraptions are malfunctioning.

Actually, during the performance just now, there was a remote control mechanism in the hat that was given to Xia You. As long as Jing Hui pressed the controller on the short stick, the mechanism in the hat would open the Poké Ball hidden inside, thus releasing a Pidgey.

However, it was clear that there was a malfunction in the connection between the remote control and the mechanism, which forced Xia You to take matters into her own hands.

As for the bell that ran away first, not to mention it, ever since Jinghui subdued it, it has hardly ever been obedient!

When Jinghui talks about it, she sighs deeply.

But speaking of Pokémon...

Shizue glanced at Gengar, who was licking an ice cream cone to the side.

"Mr. Xia You, why did your Gengar emerge from the shadows? And it clearly didn't receive any orders from you, so how did it know to cooperate with your performance?"

This was also a question that Jinghui had always kept in her heart.

"What's so strange about that? It's just the tacit understanding between the Pokémon and its trainer!" The answer wasn't from Xia You, but from Gengar itself. It grinned and chuckled at Jinghui, "I always stay in the shadows, so I don't need any Poké Balls at all. I can come out whenever I want!"

"You...you can talk!?"

Shizue was extremely surprised to see that the Gengar in front of her could speak human language.

It seems that she has never encountered a Pokémon that can speak human language during her travels!

"Sigh, you're still young, aren't you? You're shocked by a talking Pokémon? How naive!" Gengar scoffed, but then it seemed to remember something and added, "Hehe, your performance was pretty good, wasn't it? Much better than a Pidgey flying out of your hat! If you want to cause more gasps like that, why don't you go find a Ghost-type Pokémon!"

To be honest, this suggestion really appealed to Shizue.

Compared to common magic shows, some novel performance methods can break people's conventional impressions and are sure to be more popular!

"Ghost Pokémon..." She thought for a moment, then, knowing that the others were trainers, she asked, "Where should I look for them?"

"Where should we look?" Xiaoyao asked without hesitation. "Of course, in cemeteries, haunted houses, or dark forests."

"This……"

Shizue hesitated. After all, she was just a magician, not a Pokémon trainer, and she wasn't particularly brave. Going to such a dangerous place...

At this moment, Yami seemed to see her concerns and suggested, "Since you have the idea of ​​catching Ghost Pokémon, why don't you go and take a look at Random Town?"

"Random Town?" Shizue turned to look at her. "Are there haunted houses there too?"

"It's not exactly a haunted house," Yami smiled. "There's a Lost Tower in Random Town, where countless Pokémon are buried, which is why it's a popular gathering place for Ghost-type Pokémon. If you get there and search carefully, you're sure to find something!"

Jinghui's gaze shifted slightly.

It sounds like the Lost Tower is a pretty good alternative to a cemetery or a haunted house!

It seems... I need to change my destination a little.

……

Meeting the magician Jinghui was just a minor incident for Xia You and his companions.

Although they only had a short time with her, they must say that this beautiful magician left a deep impression on them.

After saying goodbye to her, the three of them continued south and soon left the small town.

After traveling for another whole day, just after breakfast the next day, they saw a beautiful lake in the distance.

This is an extremely vast lake!

It wasn't actually on their usual route; they just happened to come down from the hillside and saw the mirror-like surface of the water in the distance. Under the sunlight, the water rippled gently, and they unconsciously decided to stop by the lake.

After all, being able to enjoy the lake view up close and play in the water during a trip can be a good way to lift your spirits.

Looking at the map, they realized that they had unknowingly arrived at Lizhi Lake!

People in the Sinnoh region may not have been to Lake Ritsushi, but they have definitely heard of it.

As is widely known, one of the three lake gods, Arknom, dwells in this lake!

Just a few days ago, Xia You and the others saw one corner of that triangle at the Shenhe Town Museum!

Of course, legends are just legends.

For so long, trainers have been coming here every day in an endless stream in search of this legendary Pokémon. Everyone thinks they are the chosen ones and want to try their luck. But unfortunately, the legend remains just a legend, and no one has ever seen a shadow of Azelf.

This place is so big!

Furthermore, the lake is quite deep, and the surrounding terrain is complex, making it virtually impossible to find a Pokémon here.

There are even rumors that Arknom actually left long ago.

But no matter what, even after so many years, it still can't change the fact that Lizhi Lake is one of the three major lakes in people's hearts!

When the three of them got closer, they thought it was just a simple, wild lake, but they were surprised to find modern buildings there!

Looking around, one sees many white buildings standing on a peninsula by the lake. These hundreds of houses are clustered together, resembling a small city, or perhaps it would be more accurate to describe them as a resort.

Xiaoyao rubbed her eyes: "How come there are so many buildings in this remote place...?"

"It should be various tourist resort hotels."

Xia You wasn't too surprised and answered her casually. After all, with such a big gimmick as Lizhi Lake and such beautiful scenery, how could those investors remain indifferent?

It goes without saying that they didn't miss out on such a huge opportunity; they saw the massive foot traffic, which is why the development is what it is today.

There was even a small dock on the riverbank, where a passenger ship was quietly moored!

If this were any other inland lake, would it receive such treatment?

As Xia You walked toward the small city, her attention turned to a large stadium by the water.

Judging from its appearance alone, it's easy to tell that this is a large venue for some kind of event. As for why it was built here...

In a daze, he suddenly remembered something.

So it's gotten to this point already...

Just as he expected, when they entered the resort and saw so many trainers on the street, May and Mimi were surprised once again.

"Are all these people... here to find Arknom?"

"Of course not."

Xia You raised his hand and pointed to the billboard next to him. When Xiao Yao and Ya Mi looked in the direction he pointed, they finally understood the reason.

"The Mikkuri Cup!?" Upon seeing the words and images on it, Haruka's eyes widened in surprise. "This is... a Grand Contest!?"

Actually, Haruka has participated in many Grand Contests, so ordinary Grand Contests wouldn't surprise her this much. But this Mikkuri Cup... why does it sound so familiar?

She hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Xia You, is this Mikey the gym leader and champion of Hoenn?"

“That’s right, it’s him.” Xia You nodded, and seeing that Yami was puzzled, he explained, “Mikeli was originally the Gym Leader of the Sootopolis Gym in the Hoenn region. He was also a top Coordinator and a Pokémon Champion. It can be said that he has extremely high talent and achievements in both battle and performance. He was even called the Water Prince by fans.”

"Wow, that's amazing!" Yami exclaimed in surprise. "This is the first time I've heard of someone who can stand at the top in both tracks! So, the Mikel Cup is named after him?"

“No.” Xia You smiled. “It should be said that he was the one who organized the Mikkelsen Cup!”

"He organized this?" Xiaoyao and Yami were both surprised. "In a place like this?"

Xia You shrugged, her tone somewhat meaningful: "Actually, once you reach his level, some things are easy to do if you want to, and that's not all. Don't underestimate the Mikkuri Cup. It's not just fixed here; it travels all over the world, and the resulting water column medals are recognized by the Magnificent Celebration Council. They can even be used in any large-scale magnum opus in any region, replacing other medals. You could say they're extremely valuable!"

"Is it that amazing?" Xiao Yao was a little surprised, then remembered something and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Xia You, if you stop traveling in the future, with all your achievements, can you still do this?"

"Who knows?" Xia You shook her head. "That's all in the future."

Now that she's encountered the Mikeli Cup, Xiaoyao obviously won't miss it, no matter what the reason.

However, after some investigation, they learned that although the Mikkelsen Cup was about to start, it would not be held until the morning of five days later.

"Five days..."

The three of them huddled together again, took out the map, and discussed it.

Xia You gestured the route: "According to the map, it takes less than four days to travel from here to Binhai City. If we don't delay, we can come back to participate in the Mikkuri Cup after we have challenged the Binhai Gym."

"Isn't this time a bit tight?" Yami asked worriedly. "What if something happens and we miss the conference?"

At this point, she turned to look at Xiaoyao and suggested, "How about this, why don't you stay here? That way, no matter what happens, you can participate on time. Besides, for such an important competition, don't you need to prepare?"

“It’s alright.” Xiaoyao shook her head after hearing her suggestion. “I’m fine. After all, it’s really too long for me to wait here by myself for five days. So let me set off with you.”

"Then let's go together." Seeing that Xiaoyao insisted, Xia You didn't say anything and said indifferently, "I'll have Gardevoir mark this place first. If anything happens in the middle, we'll just use Teleport to get here!"

It has to be said that this is the sense of security that a powerful Psychic-type Pokémon brings to them.

For Gardevoir, using Teleport to take a few people from one city to another not-too-distant city is not a difficult task.

After discussing and agreeing on the plan, the group didn't delay and headed straight to the venue. They registered Xiaoyao in advance to avoid any trouble later. Then, they headed east, leaving the resort and heading straight for Binhai City.

However, since there was still plenty of time, although they were on their way, they were not in a hurry. Instead, they followed their usual pace, stopping and starting as they pleased, without disrupting their previous rhythm because of the Mikkelsen Cup.

Even when they reached a forest, Xia You took a moment to easily defeat a confident novice trainer with her Chimchar in just three minutes!

"Damn it!!"

The defeated little boy ran away with tears in his eyes.

Seeing that Xia You treated a newcomer with no mercy and even ruthlessly 'killed' her, Xiao Yao and Ya Mi shook their heads with great amusement.

"Xia You, don't you know how to go easy on him?" Xiao Yao chuckled. "Didn't you see how you just beat that trainer so badly he's traumatized? He's probably never lost so decisively before!"

Xia You recalled the little fire monkey and shrugged: "This is not my fault. He challenged me. Since he initiated the battle, he should be prepared to lose. I'm helping him understand this world. Not everyone revolves around newcomers."

"Huh?" Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow. "I have a feeling you're alluding to someone?"

"You're overthinking it." Xia You chuckled. "I wasn't talking about Xiao Zhi."

"You admit it!!"

Just as the group was chatting and laughing, a rustling sound suddenly came from the nearby woods.

At first, they thought it was some wild Pokémon, but the next second, a boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old jumped out from behind the bushes.

The boy was very strong, with a confident look in his eyes; he was clearly the kind of person who spent most of his time outdoors.

He was wearing a familiar red cropped jacket over a black shirt and black shorts, and on his right arm was a hunting dart!

Not only Xia You noticed it, but even Xiao Yao was somewhat surprised.

"That outfit... is it a Pokémon Ranger?"

"Oh?" The boy looked at Xiaoyao. "You know us?"

Just as Xiaoyao was about to speak, she saw the bushes behind the boy shake again, and then a girl with blue hair dressed in the same style jumped out from there.

"Miss Hinata!?"

Hearing someone call her name, the girl looked up and saw Xiao Yao and Xia You, which surprised her greatly.

"Miss Xiaoyao? Mr. Xia You? What are you doing here!?"

That's right, the person who appeared in front of Xia You and Xiao Yao was none other than Hyuga, the patrolman they had dealt with before in Kanto!