The Legendary Meteor Falls

After Cynthia's father left, Xu Mu looked at her shy face and felt a surge of desire.

She's my fiancée. One kiss shouldn't be a problem, right?

Kyle's warning had no effect on an old lecher like Xu Mu.

Still, to show the old man some respect, Xu Mu hesitated, then suppressed his excitement.

He returned to his room with a straight face and began looking up information on Meteor Falls.

As the system's ever-reliable helper, Kyle wanted Xu Mu to visit Meteor Falls first and see whether any suitable Pokémon lived there.

Then he could challenge the Gyms and enter the Elite Four Challenge.

Finally, he would enter the World Elite Four Tournament, earn a title, and become an official Venerable!

As for what came after that, Xu Mu figured the system might send another helper his way.

"Greninja's mission is to fight Lugia. That's how he'll get the Kunpeng bloodline."

"Does that mean Lugia's in Meteor Falls?"

"What nonsense. Entei in Viridian Forest, I can understand, but what's Lugia doing in Meteor Falls?"

As he muttered, Xu Mu found the official information on Meteor Falls.

Meteor Falls was a Secret Realm that opened once every ten years.

That was the agreement humanity's strongest trainers had reached with the Dragonite clan inside. Humans could enter once a decade, but each time, at least three Dragonite hatchlings had to choose suitable trainers and leave with them.

Dragonite lived long lives, and their strength grew relatively slowly.

So, in the clan's eyes, letting their young travel and gain experience with humans was no bad thing.

The arrangement benefited both sides. If Dragonite reproduced faster, the Secret Realm might even open every three years.

Besides the Dragonite clan, Meteor Falls was home to many other Pokémon.

Solrock and Lunatone, Pokémon said to come from outer space.

Slowpoke, Slowbro, Salamence, Milotic, Absol, and plenty more...

After reading for a while, Xu Mu had a general idea of what Meteor Falls was like.

Every trainer who entered hoped to get a Dratini, but only a handful ever won the Dragonite clan's approval and caught one.

The greater draw of Meteor Falls was its other rare Pokémon.

For one thing, Milotic was a huge name in this world!

No one had discovered how Feebas evolved yet, so very few trainers owned a Milotic. Almost every known Milotic had evolved on its own in the wild.

None had been raised to that stage by a trainer.

So even without a Dratini, Meteor Falls remained a treasure trove that countless trainers longed to visit!

"Damn. Other people can't get an opportunity like this no matter how hard they try, and I just get it for free?"

Xu Mu pursed his lips. Honestly, being born into his family was pretty great!

If he wanted to be a trainer, the advantages he had were practically those of a crown prince!

After the housekeeper finished cooking, Cynthia went to Xu Mu's door.

"Xu Mu, dinner's ready."

"Coming!"

Xu Mu shut down his computer and answered without thinking.

He took a seat at the table, then looked at Cynthia.

Awkward...

He had been so absorbed in Meteor Falls that he had forgotten about their engagement!

He had left Cynthia alone out there for ages. Would she think he was angry?

"Hey, Greninja, go get Arceus something to eat. You can't expect me to do everything!"

"Charizard, what are you looking at? Go help him!"

Xu Mu sent both Pokémon away, then turned his attention back to Cynthia.

Cynthia took the hint.

"Lucario, go prepare something for Gible to eat."

Lucario looked utterly confused!

Greninja saw that he wasn't taking the hint and gave him a sharp chop.

[Get over here!]

Lucario gave Xu Mu an aggrieved look.

Then he obediently followed Greninja.

There was nothing he could do. He couldn't win that fight, so he backed down.

With everyone else gone, only Xu Mu and Cynthia remained.

"About the engagement... I didn't know about it at first."

Xu Mu broke the silence.

Cynthia's cheeks reddened. "Neither did I..."

Yep. She really is that innocent.

Xu Mu looked up with a doting smile. "So we were meant to meet, right?"

"Mm."

Cynthia nodded along, agreeing with him.

"And you don't dislike me, do you?"

"No. Why would I?"

Pleased, Xu Mu pressed on.

"Great. Then it's settled. You'll be my fiancée from now on, okay?"

He didn't want to risk things changing, so he meant to lock in their relationship while Cynthia was still being so trusting.

But...

Cynthia caught on at once.

"But Father said he'd only agree if you beat him."

Xu Mu froze, puzzled. Was this girl genuinely clueless or just pretending?

She usually seemed so innocent. How had she caught on now?

"Ahem. Then we'll talk after I beat him. Let's eat..."

He coughed. Cynthia had seen right through his attempt to win her over, and he was embarrassed.

Cynthia didn't seem embarrassed at all. She studied Xu Mu with her usual bewildered gaze, made sure he was all right, and only then began eating.

"When are we going to Meteor Falls?"

Once she had eaten her fill, Xu Mu took a tub of ice cream from the fridge and set it in front of Cynthia.

She hadn't had any ice cream today, which had surprised him.

Cynthia opened the lid, remembered Meteor Falls, and asked the question.

Xu Mu thought for a moment before answering.

"Tomorrow. We'll get there just as the Secret Realm opens."

Cynthia agreed. She had heard about Meteor Falls long ago, but she had been too young to go the last time it opened.

"Okay!"

The ice cream was delicious, Xu Mu had already planned the trip, and Kyle's visit hadn't upset him.

Cynthia was in a wonderful mood!

Looking at the ice cream in front of her, Cynthia had a feeling: I could eat two tubs!

"I'm going to train with Gible in a bit. Want to join us?"

Only then did Cynthia realize she had hardly ever seen Xu Mu train his Pokémon since they met!

Even with Arceus, he had only offered a few casual pointers, as if they were playing around.

How could his Pokémon be so strong without training?

That was impossible!

Her father had said strength came from one percent talent and ninety-nine percent sweat!

No one could get something for nothing!

And yet...

"Training? No thanks. I'm not interested."

"You go train with Gible. Take Arceus along too. I'm going back to catch up on sleep."