Visiting

One day later.

Although the Secret Realm had been promptly sealed off by the Trainer Association, quite a few Pokémon had still made it outside through the Other Dimension Channel...

Worried about Fang Yuan's grandparents continuing to live in Nanwu Town, Father Fang and Mother Fang brought them to Flat City.

Fang Yuan and Eevee naturally returned as well.

After returning, word of what had happened to him somehow spread around, and the entire school found out. Even the School Leaders personally came to his home to check on him.

In the class group chat.

Fang Yuan scrolled through the chat history for a long time and discovered that it had first spread from here. He couldn't help but @ the culprit.

Fang Yuan: @Lin Jing

A while later...

Lin Jing: Sorry, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. (??_?)

Lin Jing: I heard from my dad that the people in danger this time were students from Flat City. I never expected it to be you. Are you okay?

Lin Jing: Everyone admires you now. Hurry up and tell us what you went through in the Secret Realm.

Zhang Jiale: Fang Yuan has risen from the dead!

Li Mu: Fang Yuan has risen from the dead!

Repeated message x11.

Fang Yuan: ...Something came up. I'm off.

Fang Yuan immediately closed the group chat. In just a few seconds, several more spam messages popped up. He couldn't handle it.

His phone had only just been repaired, and he really didn't want to face an information bombardment right now.

Come to think of it, Lin Jing's father also seemed to be a Professional Trainer. He just didn't know whether the man had gone to Nanwu Town this time.

"Eevee!"

"Keep your voice down. I need to do my homework."

Relaxing into his desk chair, Fang Yuan took a deep breath and called out toward the living room.

Eevee, who was watching TV in the living room, reluctantly turned down the volume. (???)

"Next, I'll take a short break for a day. Consider it a holiday for Eevee and me. Should I do this math workbook, or this Chinese workbook?"

Fang Yuan looked at the two exercise books on his desk.

In the end, he turned on his computer.

I'd better make Eevee's special training plan for tomorrow!

For some reason, Eevee in the living room suddenly sneezed...

As evening approached, accompanied by a Knock! Knock! Knock!, Eevee, tears streaming down its face, pressed pause on the remote. Who knew what it had been watching.

"Eevee?"

Fang Yuan also came out of his bedroom, somewhat puzzled. Who could it be at this hour?

"Coming."

After calling out, Fang Yuan hurried over and opened the door.

The man outside was of average height, with a well-proportioned waist, strong limbs, broad rounded shoulders, and a high, sturdy chest. He looked exceptionally solid. Most importantly, his expression was terrible, as though Fang Yuan owed him a great deal of money.

Seeing this, Fang Yuan grinned awkwardly, completely bewildered. Why had he never noticed that this guy looked so fierce before?

"Brother Yang, why are you here?"

The ill-tempered-looking uncle before him was Yang Han, the Professional Trainer who had ridden a Charizard into the Secret Realm and rescued him and Eevee.

"Looks like you've recovered well." Yang Han sized up Fang Yuan and Eevee, who had run over.

Compared to before, they both looked much more spirited now.

"Brother Yang, come in and have a seat," Fang Yuan said hurriedly. He called him "brother" a few more times against his conscience. Old Yang was nearly as old as his dad and still liked pretending to be young. He had to be single!

Inside, Fang Yuan searched everywhere but couldn't find anything to serve his guest. He could only boil a pot of water. However, Yang Han clearly hadn't come merely to visit Fang Yuan and didn't care about such things.

Sitting on the sofa, Yang Han met Fang Yuan's gaze and said, "The type of fruit pit has been identified. It was a Sand Scale Fruit. The tree Pidgeot was guarding was also a Sand Scale Fruit tree."

"So fast?!" Fang Yuan froze. Only one day had passed—well, actually, that wasn't all that fast.

"Since the fruit tree was fully protected by the Trainer Association, the fruit pits themselves aren't worth much. But even so, as the discoverer of the Sand Scale Fruit tree, I received a decent amount of Merit Points. They'll be very helpful for my promotion." Yang Han finally smiled.

"As long as they're useful. By the way, was that Pidgeot dealt with?" Fang Yuan asked.

"Don't worry. There's nothing dangerous left in that Secret Realm now. It wasn't a difficult Secret Realm to deal with in the first place. The strongest Pokémon inside was only that Pidgeot."

As he spoke, Yang Han stared at Fang Yuan. "Eevee ate the Sand Scale Fruit, didn't it?"

Fang Yuan nodded.

"I heard from Lao He that you and Eevee are planning to participate in Magic City's Little Phoenix King Cup, so you've been doing special training in that forest?"

"That's right."

Yang Han pondered for a while before saying, "Those fruit pits really are useful to me. Consider it a favor I owe you. I keep my word, and don't be in a hurry to refuse. I don't like beating around the bush. But before that, let me ask you a question."

"How did you and Eevee get through those few hours in the Secret Realm?"

Fang Yuan and Eevee both froze. Why was he asking that...

Fang Yuan thought back and briefly described their experiences fighting and fleeing.

"Eevee~"

His description was vivid enough that Little Eevee seemed to be back in that situation again, and it suddenly shuddered.

"The truth?"

"The truth."

"Good. I'll give you two choices," Yang Han said. "In a few days, your Mental Damage Compensation will come through. The first choice is for me to help you secure as much compensation as possible. That money should be a great help in raising Eevee."

Yang Han had heard most of Fang Yuan's situation from Doctor He. For a Rookie Trainer who couldn't even bear to use Nutritional Products, a large compensation payment would indeed be quite useful.

"What's the second choice?" Fang Yuan asked.

"Until the Little Phoenix King Cup begins, I'll find someone to give you and Eevee targeted special training. I'll also give you a way to make money, so you can buy Eevee some Nutritional Products or training equipment. Honestly, at your and Eevee's current level, you won't make it to the end of the Little Phoenix King Cup."

"The situation in Magic City is different from Flat City."

After Yang Han finished speaking, he waited for Fang Yuan's answer.

"Then I choose the second one," Fang Yuan said immediately.

"But Eevee and I still need to train. We don't have much time to work..."

"Who said you can't train and make money at the same time?" Yang Han said. "There are quite a few Rookie Trainers who started out just like you. Some of them, in order to earn money, often wait at Public Battle Arenas to challenge Rookie Trainers from well-off families, using money as stakes in battles. But I wouldn't recommend that method unless you have the strength. Its efficiency is extremely low. The money you win might not even cover treatment costs and recovery expenses. At most, you'll gain some practical battle experience, which means you won't lose out."

"Betting money on battles..." Fang Yuan's eyes lit up. Why hadn't he thought of that? After training for so long, he was extremely confident in Eevee's strength. It shouldn't have any problem dealing with other Rookie Trainers.

"Don't even think about it. That method wastes too much time. You could wait two or three days and still not find a suitable 'job.' I'll introduce you to a more suitable job instead," Yang Han said.

"Take this." Yang Han handed Fang Yuan a silver card.

The words "Star Glory Battle Club" were written across it.

Star Glory Battle Club...

Fang Yuan was stunned. This was one of the most famous large Battle Clubs in the country. It had branches in many cities, including Flat City.

"A Battle Club. Interested in being a battle sparring partner?"

"Over there, I can also arrange for an experienced coach to help you and Eevee make up for your shortcomings. What do you say?"