To be honest, he did not have much confidence. If this dragged on too long, the entire cave would be buried beneath rubble. This battle had to be decided quickly if he wanted to secure the final victory.
"If that guy hadn't been there, I wouldn't have gotten this key either... As expected of an Elite Four member. I'm still not strong enough..."
Qiao Ran came to his final conclusion and rested his arm behind his head. As he recalled everything that had happened today, he gradually began to feel tired as well.
"Yawn."
Especially when he thought of Yi Ruoyun's lazy face, his drowsiness became overwhelming. There was no stronger hypnosis than that.
However, for some unknown reason, as Qiao Ran gradually drifted off to sleep, he felt more and more crowded around him. In the end, he woke up outright.
"...Holy crap!"
Qiao Ran sat upright and looked at the pile of Pokémon sprawled around him in every direction. He practically wanted to cry.
The humanoid Vulpix was wriggling atop his chest, Dianxi lay beside him, and the blue water wolf was sleeping at his side.
My tent... My little tent is about to burst!!
"Vulpix, Dianxi, you... Wait, why did even you come out, Suicune?!"
"Aw."
Suicune blinked her innocent eyes, indicating that she had simply opened her Poké Ball and come out. Back in Pokémon Pioneer Land, it was actually possible to connect to this world through a Poké Ball—as long as Qiao Ran had not explicitly forbidden it.
"You've all gone bad. Even Suicune has gone bad."
Qiao Ran let out a deep sigh, his face full of exasperation.
Originally, only Vulpix and Dianxi liked sneaking into his tent at night. Now Suicune had joined them too...
Did he really need to get a bigger tent???
"Phew, my head hurts from being squeezed."
After a night of crowded sleep, Qiao Ran woke the next day with his entire head feeling groggy and swollen. Even he had no idea what exactly had been pressing against it.
And these girls really had terrible sleeping habits, especially Vulpix. He absolutely had to criticize her by name. It was utterly ridiculous that tails would pop out from her butt while she slept.
With no other choice, Qiao Ran got up early and did some morning exercises by the river. Only then did he gradually recover.
"Master, if we keep following the river, we should reach the next town by today. Shall we take a ship from there directly to Jinling?"
"Mm. We should be close to completing the hundred-Pokémon target. We can finish off the last few Water-type Pokémon on the ship."
While drinking the nutritious breakfast porridge Suicune had cooked, Qiao Ran comfortably inhaled the morning air. After day after day of practice, Suicune's cooking had become better and better. Before long, she might even be able to make glowing dishes.
Besides, Qiao Ran had not forgotten why they had taken a detour into the forest this time. Their goal had been to collect Flying-type and Water-type Pokémon. They had already gathered more than eighty, so it was about time to pick up the pace.
Moreover, they could encounter Water-type and Flying-type Pokémon on a ship as well. Taking the water route was indeed a pretty good option.
After breakfast, Qiao Ran and his group headed onward along the riverbank. Just as Rotom had said, they did not spend much time before arriving at the next town.
"Zhenhui Town... Why does that name sound so strange? And why are all the buildings here so empty? Did everyone run away... But the weirdest thing is definitely the name. It's way too weird, isn't it?"
Qiao Ran held the Rotom Phone disguised as an ordinary phone and browsed the map, but no matter how he looked at it, the town's name felt strange.
However, just as Qiao Ran was muttering complaints to himself, a girl's voice suddenly came from beside him.
"You're the weird one. You look weird."
"...?" Qiao Ran blinked in confusion.
What... the hell?
But when Qiao Ran turned his head to see what was going on, he saw a girl with twin ponytails suddenly run past him. Before he could clearly see her face, she had already dashed into an alley and disappeared.
Qiao Ran was utterly baffled. "????"
This... He had been muttering to himself on the street, and someone had actually answered him??
What was wrong with this town? Were they all straight-men who had become spirits or something?
Qiao Ran helplessly pursed his lips. Despite experiencing something strange, he still could not figure out where the name "Zhenhui Town" had come from.
It was not until he entered the Pokémon Center and began checking in that he finally understood the origin of the name.
"That's because a very, very long time ago, an important official came here. When he saw how barren the land was, he remarked, 'This place is really gray.' From then on, this place was called Zhenhui."
While handling Qiao Ran's check-in, the Pokémon Center nurse introduced him to the local customs.
"That's really... incredibly casual."
Qiao Ran's mouth twitched. What if that official had said it was really yellow, really white, or really new? Would they really have used those weird names too?
"All right, your check-in has been completed."
The nurse smiled and handed Qiao Ran's ID card back to him, but then she brought up something else.
"Oh, right. There'll be a Pokémon Performance Competition in town tonight. Are you interested in participating? Adventurers should be somewhat interested in that sort of thing, right?"
"A Pokémon Performance Competition?"
Qiao Ran rubbed his chin. Since coming to this world, he had heard of this kind of competition before. Although the name was unusual, it was essentially a localized Pokémon Contest. These competitions did not judge Pokémon on strength or battle power, but on their beauty and their ability to create beauty.
Simply put, it was a Pokémon beauty pageant.
Although Pokémon battles were absolutely mainstream in this world, beauty competitions outside of battle were timeless classics as well. Many Trainers who lacked talent in battle had achieved considerable success after becoming Performers. Some top-tier Performers could even carve out a place for themselves within the League.
Of course, those people still could not compare with orthodox Trainers, and they could not really take the stage at more formal occasions.
"Sorry, I'm already exhausted from traveling. I'm probably not interested in this kind of competition."
After thinking for a while, Qiao Ran still chose to refuse. He had been traveling through the forest for so long and really needed some rest. He would rest tonight, book a ship ticket, and continue on his journey tomorrow.
Besides, how could an upright, iron-boned man like him participate in that kind of competition? Even if Dratini smashed him to death in a Gym, he still would not go.
"I see..." The nurse revealed a regretful expression. There were not many outsiders in their town, and personally, she had hoped that visiting adventurers could bring some new aesthetic sense to the area.
"The winner of this competition will receive thirty thousand yuan in cash... I wonder who will win in the end."
The nurse shook her head and returned to her work. However, she did not see the strange light that instantly lit up in the eyes of the boy standing before her after she finished speaking.
"Wait, the competition is tonight, right?"
"Huh...? Y-Yes."
Seeing Qiao Ran throw his whole body over the counter, the nurse was nearly frightened out of her wits.
"Where is it being held?"
"Right in front of the Pokémon Center... at the park plaza."
The nurse answered him. Looking at Qiao Ran's aggressive gaze, even her voice trembled as she spoke.
Still, she was completely puzzled. Hadn't he just refused? Why was he suddenly so excited??
"Thank you, Miss Nurse."
After hearing her answer, Qiao Ran tossed out those words, grabbed his key card and ID card under the nurse's puzzled gaze, then jogged straight back to his room.
The moment he entered, he opened his Poké Balls and called out several of his Pokémon.
"Hehe, who wants to come make a fortune with me tonight?"
Zhenhui Town was not a large town, so the Pokémon Performance Competitions held here generally were not strict official events. Still, as one of the few local forms of entertainment, tonight's competition had drawn quite a few spectators.
Before the competition had even begun, a large crowd had already gathered in the plaza, waiting nearby in quiet anticipation.
"How is it, Dianxi? How are you feeling?"
Qiao Ran had already submitted his registration materials to the organizers and successfully entered the backstage area. This time, he had chosen Dianxi as his partner—or rather, Dianxi's enthusiasm for joining the competition had moved him. The moment she heard it was a beauty contest, Dianxi had excitedly jumped up. Her passion for this kind of competition was indeed the strongest.
"Dian, dian."
Hearing Qiao Ran's question, Dianxi happily spun around, indicating that she had no problems at all. She was extremely confident in herself and believed she would definitely win.
"Good. Once we get on stage, we'll do this, this, this, and then this."
After discussing their move combination for the stage with Dianxi in the lounge for a while, Qiao Ran recalled her and left the backstage area. Rather than wait around in such a stuffy place, he might as well take a walk outside. As for Dianxi, Qiao Ran first sent her back to Pokémon Pioneer Land to rehearse her moves with Suicune and the others.
Although Dianxi was full of confidence, they still needed a little preparation to secure the championship.
However, when Qiao Ran opened the lounge door and stepped into the backstage corridor, he saw a familiar figure.
Calling her familiar might not be quite right. It would be more accurate to say that he had seen her earlier today.
That petite body that looked like an elementary school student's, those distinctive black twin ponytails—no matter how Qiao Ran looked at her, she seemed incredibly familiar. Wasn't she the brat who had mocked him on the street earlier, then run away?
Although Qiao Ran had not seen her face clearly at the time, judging from her build and hairstyle, he was certain he had not mistaken her. Unexpectedly... she looked pretty cute on the outside.
However, unlike her casual outfit from before, she was now wearing an extremely gorgeous black-and-white Lolita dress. If this had not been the venue for some kind of beauty pageant, Qiao Ran would definitely have thought she was doing cosplay.
"You're a contestant too? By the way, can elementary school students join this competition?"
Qiao Ran wanted to strike up a conversation with her. At the very least, he could try to get some information about the competition. Yet when the girl saw Qiao Ran, she merely gave a cold snort.
"...Hmph."
After snorting, she angrily left without even wanting to say another word to him.
Qiao Ran's expression froze. Why was this girl just like Long Jiangxue? Had he said something wrong again?
That shouldn't be possible, right?
Qiao Ran touched his head and searched his conscience. Everything he, Qiao, said was beyond reproach, and everything he did was righteous and upright. How could he possibly have gotten anything wrong?
"Can't figure it out."
Qiao Ran shook his head and walked out through the backstage entrance. The atmosphere here was unbearably stifling. It was better to get some fresh air.
The night deepened, and the bright moon gradually shone clearer. The plaza was brilliantly lit, all for tonight's competition.
"Welcome! Welcome, everyone, to Zhenhui Town's monthly Pokémon Performance Competition!"
A formally dressed female host stood on the stage and announced the start of the competition. Although it was merely a small-town event, the ceremony was still fairly grand.
"Because a special guest has arrived tonight and personally sponsored our competition, tonight's first prize has risen to an unprecedented thirty thousand yuan! Who will win the favor of the entire audience and claim this astonishing first place? Let us wait and see!"
"First, please welcome our contestants to the stage!"
The competition began with the contestant introduction segment. During this segment, contestants did not reveal their Pokémon, allowing them to preserve a degree of mystery for the later performances. All the contestants needed to do here was show their faces and make an impression.
Qiao Ran stood among them as well. However, looking at the neatly dressed, adorable young women around him, he felt somewhat uncomfortable. Normally, it was already quite good if three out of ten contestants in this kind of competition were male.
What was more, he was still wearing an athletic outfit for wilderness adventures. Standing among all those little dresses, he looked completely out of place, as though he had just run out of the forest and casually decided to enter a competition.
"Hello, everyone. Hello."
Still, in order to make a good impression, Qiao Ran copied the girls beside him and smiled as he greeted the audience.
The audience cheered as well, but Qiao Ran could clearly feel that they deliberately avoided looking at him directly. Or rather, whenever their gazes landed on him, they automatically skipped right over him.
Qiao Ran could only wave while mentally cursing. What was wrong with wearing sportswear to a beauty pageant? This was what healthy looked like!
After the contestant introduction segment ended, the host took the stage once more.
"Finally, let us welcome our judges to the stage! They are—the mayor of Zhenhui Town! The president of the Zhenhui Town Pokémon Enthusiasts Association! The nurse from the Zhenhui Town Pokémon Center! And—"
The host shouted loudly, while the audience below erupted into unprecedented, nearly deafening cheers.
Was some huge celebrity about to appear?
"Let us welcome tonight's most important guest and competition sponsor! She is—the four-time Golden Crown Competition champion, third-place winner of the National Master Performer Competition, the Black Swan of the stage, the pride of our Zhenhui Town—"
"Miss Shi Yiyi!"
"Woooooo!!!"
The audience's cheers drowned out the entire plaza, and the stage lights shone upon the judges making their final entrance.
Before you continue