Chapter 194
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After Nian Hongyu and the others left, Qiao Ran's life returned to normal. Although he had received an invitation from the Gym Leader, he was not in a hurry to leave, after all, he had slept so badly last night and had just finished a Competition this morning.
"Well... we're going to train over there, aren't you guys coming?"
After finishing lunch, Lillie and Mei rested for a while before continuing their training, while Sabrina and Qiao Ran both shook their heads, indicating that they wanted to continue training for a while longer.
The battle that morning had left them all a bit reeling. Although Mega Evolution Pokémon very strong, each burst of energy they unleash represents the Trainer's stamina. Even someone as resilient as Qiao Ran needed a while to recover.
Sabrina lay on the sofa, scrolling through her phone. Even Qiao Ran hadn't expected her to be so "homely." This demeanor was quite different from the image she had always projected.
"Not bad... the video of our previous battle has already been uploaded to Video-Sharing Website."
Suddenly, Sabrina held up her phone and showed it to Qiao Ran, a smile involuntarily spreading across her face.
"Ranked number one on the real-time popularity chart, it looks like it won't be long before it makes it onto the regional or even the overall rankings."
"Someone uploaded it?" Qiao Ran was a little surprised. After all, there were rules against filming in Training Ground like this. He thought that these trainers would at most record videos secretly and then pass them on secretly. He didn't expect that they would blatantly upload them to the Internet.
He moved closer to Sabrina and glanced at her phone. Sure enough, just as she had said, a video titled "Battle in the Magic City Gym Residential Area!" uploaded by a secondary account had already topped the charts with extremely high popularity. The video was filled with comments such as "Holy nest" and "????"
Many popular Uploader with video accounts left comments below, including many Pokémon community, but none of them revealed the truth behind the battle in the video.
Dr. Dr. Lilia, the Ruins: This method of evolution... I'm not sure about the process. Although I recently discovered some images of Pokémon that are different from our current Pokémon while studying the Murals the Ruins, those should be prehistoric Pokémon images, rather than some kind of special evolution, right?
Jinling Iron Sister: Awesome!
"They also have accounts to record videos?"
As he scrolled through the videos, Qiao Ran saw some familiar names. To his surprise, they actually had quite a few fans on these Video-Sharing Website. They would record videos of their daily lives from time to time, and he had no idea about them.
Is this another world he never knew about?
However, as he scrolled through, Qiao Ran also discovered something else interesting. He noticed that the profile picture used by Sabrina's account was an Abra.
Seeing the adorable anime character, I couldn't help but make a joke.
"I never expected you to use such a picture as your profile picture."
"What are you looking at?" Sabrina's expression froze, and she snatched the phone back.
What pictures I use on my personal account is none of your business.
She looked at Qiao Ran warily, her eyes turning unfriendly.
"No... it's nothing, I was just saying, after all, everyone has their own interests, right?"
Qiao Ran quickly explained that he already knew that Lillie and Mei had secretly told him this morning that Sabrina's room had a whole bunch of Pokémon.
Sabrina probably doesn't know that her little secrets have already been completely exposed by her "best friend".
"You'd better not overthink it, otherwise, I'll have no choice but to deal with your memories."
Sabrina snorted. As a Gym Leader and a superstar, she was very sensitive to these private matters. If it were any other ordinary person who knew these things, she wouldn't be so polite and would have started brainwashing them directly.
"I know, I know... By the way, if that video makes it to the top of the charts, doesn't that mean we'll get a lot of attention? Do you have any thoughts on that?"
Qiao Ran quickly changed the subject, and at the same time raised another question that she was also concerned about.
Making it to the top of the list won't cause any immediate problems, but the chain reaction it triggers can be significant, just like what happened with Nian Hongyu who came to him before. Moreover, Qiao Ran can't guarantee that everyone who comes to him will be as friendly as Nian Hongyu.
"Hmm, is there a problem?"
Sabrina raised an eyebrow slightly as she looked at Qiao Ran.
She continued, "Does that mean you regret it?"
Last night, Sabrina and Mei talked about many things, including some of Qiao Ran's thoughts, so she understood what Qiao Ran was thinking.
But in fact, that's not the case.
"I..." Qiao Ran's eyes flickered.
"Oh."
Seeing Qiao Ran's expression, Sabrina couldn't help but laugh.
"What do you want to say?" Qiao Ran frowned.
"No." Sabrina shook her head, not answering Qiao Ran's question, but suddenly started talking to herself.
"Back when I took over as the Gym Leader, I was only twelve years old and knew nothing."
"I also thought I couldn't manage the Gym, I didn't have enough confidence. But... do you know how I persevered in the end?"
"What... is it?"
Qiao Ran asked aloud.
On the other side, Sabrina didn't hesitate much. She put down her phone and gave her answer directly.
"It's simple, because I'm very strong. Stronger than most people, they can't beat me, whether it's in terms of Psychic or Pokémon."
"Furthermore, as the Gym Leader, I have much greater power. Even important figures in the city won't look down on me just because I'm a child."
"I can even see the future; I can decide the fate of ordinary people with a single sentence."
Sabrina closed her eyes. Perhaps she wasn't always like this, but once you're hooked on something, you can never give it up.
Perhaps this is why she still cares so much about the position of Gym Leader even after she came to this world.
"I don't know why you lack confidence, and I can't give you any more advice, but there's only one thing I can tell you."
Sabrina looked at Qiao Ran, her Red eyes seemingly containing a power that could pierce through people's hearts... and a hint of madness.
"You're already very strong, so it's okay for you to be a little willful and reckless, right?"
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"Yes, you're right."
Qiao Ran took a deep breath, then sighed.
"Perhaps sometimes I am indeed too reserved."
If we only consider the length of time he's been Trainer, Qiao Ran doesn't belong to the kind of veteran Trainer with many years of experience. Although his experience surpasses that of most people, he doesn't really feel the sense of "being strong" or "having control" that Sabrina mentioned.
The time it takes to become Trainer is one aspect, but another aspect is that Qiao Ran's concerns have never lessened from the very beginning.
"But as you know, I've been to the Pokémon World and visited many different regions. Do you know what I've encountered there?"
"..."
"... Sometimes I dream about what I would become if those Pokémon weren't with me anymore, and it feels like it really happened."
"..."
"I don't want to lose even one of them."
Those who face the deepest abyss are often the ones who are most afraid. Even if they are trembling with fear, they still have to keep moving forward.
Because there are some things only he can do, because he is Hero carrying expectations.
Therefore, rather than saying he was "fearful" or "lacking in confidence," it would be more accurate to say that he was actually afraid of something deeper, something that caused his thinking to unconsciously begin to deviate.
Seeing Qiao Ran's expression, Sabrina also fell silent. "..."
This was the first time she had ever seen Qiao Ran with such an expression. She didn't know exactly what Qiao Ran had been through, but it certainly wasn't a pleasant memory.
"... I'm sorry, I no longer have the ability to Future Sight, and I can't answer any questions for you."
"But even your Pokémon wouldn't want you to live in this world under so much pressure, would it?"
Sabrina pursed her lips. With each encounter, the mystery surrounding Qiao Ran became clearer, but along with it, his appearance became more defined.
She could sense that Qiao Ran was absolutely sincere when he said those words. She even believed that this man would risk his life for his Pokémon.
"If you're still not used to it, I'm happy to lend a hand. There are some things I might not know, but I'm quite good at this. You can come to me anytime."
It was rare for Sabrina to express her goodwill, though she probably didn't understand why she did it. She couldn't see the future and didn't know what would happen.
The only thing she knew for sure was that if she did it, she wouldn't have any regrets.
"Thanks."
Qiao Ran thanked him sincerely.
He also knew what Sabrina's promise represented, even though she wasn't currently Gym Leader or International Movie Star in this world—but she would be one sooner or later.
"However, you're right too." Qiao Ran's gaze fell on the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, a smile appearing on his lips.
"Perhaps I should change my mind a little."
Some pressure comes from within, and some from reality. Pressure from reality can be gradually resolved, but pressure from within can only be changed by oneself.
"So... after I win the Gym Battle tomorrow, I'll just win the Performance Competition a few days later."
Performance Competition??
Sabrina: "..."
Good grief, I spent so much time trying to reason with you, and this is how you repay me?
Faced with Qiao Ran's smile, Sabrina remained silent for a moment before finally managing to utter a sentence.
"... You can win the Gym, it has nothing to do with me anyway, but I won't hold back in the Performance Competition."
Me too.
Qiao Ran had no intention of holding back, after all, winning the final Champion had always been his unwavering goal. Moreover, he did intend to take Sabrina's advice and be a little more "reckless".
"Ha, your performances are only up to the rookie level, as if you can compete with me."
Sabrina was quite dismissive of this. She might have let the morning's Competition slide, but when it came to performance, she wouldn't lose to anyone.