Chapter 156

"N-no... I don't know. She's probably Coordinator, or perhaps a local young lady?"

The Youngster said that if there were such a beautiful Trainer, he would have heard about her long ago. Besides, the fact that she could dress herself up so nicely was probably related to the Trainer's coordination.

The Pokémon Contest is a stage to showcase beauty.

"Are they also here to see Elite Four Yi?"

"I... I don't know."

In the hall, most eyes were initially focused on Yi Ruoyun, but the appearance of this group of beautiful girls immediately drew the attention of the vast majority. Each of these girls was dazzling on her own, but who would have thought they would gather together like this?

"Wait, are they standing together like that, waiting for someone?"

Suddenly, the Youngster frowned, a strange thought forming in his mind. However, this thought didn't last long before it came true.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I ran into an acquaintance on my way back from the restroom, and I was delayed at the door for a moment."

--A handsome, dark-haired boy jogged over from a distance, seemingly wanting to greet the group of girls.

'What kind of pickup line is that? It's so old-fashioned!'

The onlookers couldn't help but mutter to themselves that this boy, as the first Hero to approach and strike up a conversation, was someone they were all prepared to see fail.

--At the same time, you can observe these girls' preferences, which might make it easier to make your move later.

However--

"It's okay, we're not leaving anyway."

"Okay."

"Yeah yeah."

"... Huh? Who did we run into?"

"Master... Qiao Ran, where do we go next?"

The group of girls gathered around the boy very affectionately, chattering excitedly as if they had ignored everything around them.

Their eyes were all on the boy.

The onlookers were stunned.

Wait... wait, what on earth happened???

What happened to being there to laugh at the joke??

All the men in the room, along with some of the women, turned to look at the man surrounded in the center, their eyes blazing with fury.

Good grief, this guy really came prepared!

A dozen minutes earlier, Qiao Ran had indeed run into an acquaintance at the door.

Moreover, since he was the only one allowed to use the men's restroom, he became completely separated from the rest of the group.

Oh, it's been a long time.

As soon as Qiao Ran entered the hall, he was hit with a Fake Out on the back. If he hadn't recovered relatively quickly these past few days, he would probably be lying on the ground waiting for artificial respiration right now.

Sneak attack!

"You're in pretty good shape; looks like you've been keeping up with your exercise routine."

The figure behind her slowly emerged; it was none other than Iron Maiden, the Steel-type Gym Leader of Jinling, with long Silver White hair.

"... Even the best can't withstand you like this." Qiao Ran rubbed his back. Although he felt that his physique was not bad now, compared to a humanoid Pokémon like Iron Maiden who Pokémon tear iron doors apart... well, forget it.

With this kind of physique, he could probably go toe-to-toe with Super Palletian.

"You still brought a shovel? This is clearly a victory celebration."

Qiao Ran stared at the steel shovel in Iron Maiden's hand, his eye twitching involuntarily. Had this thing, like the green onion in Farfetch'd's hand, become a part of her body?

"It's fine to carry it around, and it's a good way to get some exercise when I have free time."

Iron Maiden laughed and hoisted the steel shovel onto her shoulder. Despite her seemingly thin arms and legs, heaven knows where she got such Machamp.

No wonder he's a true Jinling native with Pokémon blood.

Long time no see~

On the other side, the blonde girl next to Iron Maiden also greeted Qiao Ran.

"You are..." Qiao Ran looked puzzled, then slammed his fist on his hand.

"I know, it's Lilia, isn't it?"

"It's Eve! Dr. Lilia is my sister! We've met so many times before!"

Eve's eyes widened, but after noticing Qiao Ran's ambiguous smile, she angrily turned her head away.

This guy, he must have done it on purpose, right?

Section 300, Chapter 296 [Victory Celebration]

At the celebration party that evening, Qiao Ran encountered many familiar faces, but he was still a little disappointed that the Elite Four from Zhenze Lake was not there.

Judging from her personality, she probably doesn't like these kinds of occasions.

There was plenty of food at the dinner party. Qiao Ran and Lillie couldn't eat much, but for the Pokémon Daughter, it was a great opportunity to fill their stomachs.

"Qiao... Qiao Ran, your sister... she can eat so much."

Eve, who was passing by, was stunned, her hand holding the bowl trembling slightly.

"It's alright, just average."

Qiao Ran wasn't surprised at all. Pokémon and such have four-dimensional stomachs; heaven knows where the food went.

Fortunately Yveltal is not yet able to take on Humanoid Transformation, otherwise she would definitely have to eat even more.

"By the way, are you still participating in Pokémon Performance Competition lately?"

Qiao Ran looked at Eve, and he couldn't help but think of the first time they met.

At that time, he was a novice Trainer who casually participated in a Pokémon Performance Competition while passing through a town. It was during that Competition that he met Eve.

"Hmm? Of course!" Eve answered without hesitation.

"However, it won't be so easy for you to Defeat me now. My moves are more than just for show."

Eve remembered that the two had another battle after the Pokémon Performance Competition, in which Qiao Ran Defeat her Smoochum by taking advantage of her weakness of focusing too much on the performance.

After that, she quickly adjusted, and at least the practicality of the moves became a consideration for her. Since then, she has made great progress.

"Ah, um."

Qiao Ran chuckled, "How about we have another one after the banquet?"

"I'll still use the Vulpix, as for you..."

"Of course I'm Smoochum!" Eve answered quickly. On her shoulder, a Pokémon with the same golden hair as her looked at Qiao Ran, its eyes filled with fighting spirit.

On the other side, the purple-haired little girl and the blue-and-white-haired little girl were also watching what was happening.

"... Looks like you'll have to fight again later." Dianxi smiled and looked at the Vulpix beside her.

"I know." Vulpix nodded, a flame burning within her as well.

The battles in the Pokémon World made her feel powerless, so she wanted to prove herself through battle.

--Since she won once before, then

She can still win now.

"..." Looking at the Vulpix sister full of fighting spirit, Dianxi slowly withdrew her gaze, silently mourning for the Smoochum in her heart.

Dianxi, being the Pokémon most familiar with Vulpix, knows Vulpix strength.

Although it is somewhat inferior to Legendary Pokémon, Vulpix is still considered quite strong among ordinary Pokémon.

Furthermore, being able to learn moves and techniques from various Pokémon in the Wild Area, Vulpix's progress is actually quite fast.

... Hopefully, that Smoochum will make Vulpix a little happier.

"Under the leadership of Yi Ruoyun — Elite Four Yi— we withstood a catastrophe and successfully reduced civilian casualties..."

The Pokémon League leader's speech was soporific, mostly empty platitudes devoid of any substance. Moreover, Qiao Ran couldn't understand why Yi Ruoyun had been chosen as a role model. Seeing the other party standing on the stage looking embarrassed, Qiao Ran gradually understood everything.

He had previously asked Yi Ruoyun if the Pokémon League had figured out "the light that night," and Yi Ruoyun replied that the Pokémon League had no idea at all, but this kind of news definitely couldn't be spread.

--An Pokémon League that doesn't understand anything and is inexplicably rescued in the end cannot win the trust of the people.

The Pokémon League can only pretend that it has figured everything out and establish a role model who can win people's hearts in order to stabilize morale.

Yi Ruoyun was the best choice among everyone present.

However, judging from her appearance, Yi Ruoyun herself was not too willing. She probably understood that once she became this role model, she would have to endure a lot for a period of time.

"I'm so sleepy, when will this chat end?"

Qiao Ran Yawn. Listening to leaders speak is always an extremely boring thing, no matter when. What can be said in a few words is stretched out to more than ten minutes. It's like a super water monster.

Qiao Ran stood still and started a mental conversation with his Pokémon, which helped him get through this period of time.

Finally.

"... To express our gratitude for everything everyone has done for Hangcheng."

"It's reward time now!"

The most important moment of the entire celebration party has arrived.

According to the list compiled by the Pokémon League, most Trainer will receive a decent reward.

Trainers whose names are called will go on stage, say a few words, and then receive Present prepared by the Pokémon League.

Yi Ruoyun was the one who presented the awards to these Trainer, and some Trainer took the opportunity to ask for a photo with her.

"Toxic Orb, Razor Fang, and things like that? Looks like the Pokémon League really went all out."

"However, there may also be plans to enhance Trainer' capabilities to prepare for a recurrence of this situation."

Watching the Trainer happily leaving the arena with their props, Qiao Ran stroked his chin.

These items that Pokémon can use not only enhance Pokémon abilities in battle, but also play a significant role in regular training.

As for its value...

Qiao Ran quietly opened the Rotom Dex and checked the market price on the trading software.

"Holy crap, each one costs over two hundred thousand?"

"Hmm...? So props have different qualities? Even the cheapest ones cost tens of thousands?"

Qiao Ran poked Rotom with a curious look on his face. He hadn't paid much attention to these items before, mainly because most of the Legendary Pokémon he used didn't need them.

However, to his surprise, this thing was actually quite valuable, and there were so many intricacies involved.

However, just as he was engrossed in online shopping, Yi Ruoyun's voice suddenly rang out.

"Trainer Qiao Ran, please come up to the stage to receive your award."

"Huh?"

Qiao Ran looked up and met Yi Ruoyun's eyes on the stage.

The other person shrugged and looked away.

"Prize: Ten Pecha Berry!"

Qiao Ran: "????"

No, isn't something wrong?

Why do everyone else get props, but I get Berry?

Should I take it back and plant a peach orchard?

Section 301, page 297 [Prize]

"..."

Qiao Ran froze, and after a few seconds of thought, decided whether she should go on stage to accept the award.