Xu Mu's Rivals

Xu Mu handed Arceus over to Cynthia and swaggered back to his room.

Training?

You had to be kidding!

He had no intention of becoming a Trainer. He was never going to train a day in his life!

Cynthia's wide eyes were full of confusion.

How had Xu Mu gotten so strong?

Had he been feeding his Pokémon performance-enhancing drugs?

She turned to look at Greninja and Charizard, who were cooking for Arceus, and genuinely couldn't make sense of it.

The next day, Xu Mu and Cynthia, two privileged heirs, boarded a helicopter bound for the Secret Realm.

A thousand meters up, Xu Mu had a sudden idea and pulled Cynthia into taking several sets of photos with him.

"Looking good!"

Admiring the photos of himself and Cynthia, Xu Mu sent them to his mother.

[I've been doing pretty well lately. Here's your future daughter-in-law. What do you think?]

His mother had only recently woken up. When she saw his message, she laughed in delight.

[She's beautiful. You have my blessing!]

Mother and son joked around, and Xu Mu didn't think much of it.

Always quick with a flirtatious remark, how could he have guessed how much thought his mother put into his future?

He just felt it had been too long since he'd contacted her, so he took the chance to show her the "girl he loved."

But the photos woke his mother right up.

After replying to Xu Mu, she made a call and forwarded the photos.

Before long, she would have complete files on Cynthia and the Kyle Family in her hands.

"Hmm, this is quite good. Her engagement to my son was arranged by his father? Then I can rest easy..."

When they arrived at Meteor Falls, Xu Mu realized he wasn't the biggest show-off there!

Arriving by helicopter with a beautiful blonde girl was nothing compared to the real kings of showing off!

"Young Master Xu, the one driving the tractor is the young master of the Shi Family. They're a prominent family specializing in Rock-type and Ground-type Pokémon."

This time, Tatu didn't leave after dropping them off. He stayed to introduce Xu Mu to the real identities of these show-offs.

Tatu still remembered what had happened in the Viridian Wilds.

Fortunately, Xu Mu's father had shown up in person that time. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Tatu was worried something might happen again, so he briefed Xu Mu on these people in advance.

All the while, he silently prayed that none of them would be foolish enough to provoke Xu Mu.

"What about the guy flying the saucer?"

Xu Mu had no idea what Tatu was thinking. He simply found these privileged kids entertaining and kept asking questions.

At that, Cynthia looked up at the flying saucer too.

She had to admit, that saucer had style. It beat a tractor any day!

"That's the young master of the Zhao Family. Now, there's a lot to say about them."

Tatu looked ready to launch into a story.

But Xu Mu noticed that the spiky-haired Zhao heir had a Charmander following him, with a faint mark on its face.

He immediately knew the young man was Mr. Zhao's son.

Mr. Zhao was the man who had bought the Pokémon Egg from him.

"I know. He's that wealthy businessman Mr. Zhao's son."

Tatu hurried to warn him. "Young master, don't underestimate Mr. Zhao!"

"He may look like a harmless businessman, but he's actually a tycoon who controls half the Eastern Lands' economy!"

"You can't judge how dangerous a man like that is by his battle strength alone!"

"What's more, they say no one knows how strong Mr. Zhao really is!"

Tatu's grave expression made Xu Mu think of what Mr. Zhao had said back then: We'll meet again.

A man that important had taken an interest in him from the start. Looking back, that might not be a good thing!

"Forget it. Important or not, he's got little to do with me."

Xu Mu set the matter of Mr. Zhao aside. Then he spotted someone arriving on a Tauros, which caught his interest.

Before Xu Mu could ask, Tatu volunteered the answer.

"That's Yelu Qi from the grasslands faction. He's one of the more influential figures of his generation."

Xu Mu wasn't quite sure what the grasslands faction was.

Was it like the nomads from his previous life?

People who roamed without a fixed home?

Or did they live in yurts?

"The grasslands faction is a power between the Eastern Lands and Western Europe. They aren't independent of the Pokémon League and still belong to the Eastern Lands in name. They just don't much like being tied down."

Tatu explained it diligently.

He had to!

The Saintess was with Xu Mu now. If Xu Mu acted as recklessly as he had before and offended a whole crowd of people, Kale would absolutely come after Tatu!

"Now this is getting interesting."

After Tatu had introduced almost everyone, Xu Mu grinned.

First, he had won a championship in the starter village. Then he'd tackled a higher-level starter village and handed Cynthia a championship.

And now he still hadn't made it out of the starter village. Instead, a whole crowd of top-tier newbies had appeared.

If I beat them too, do I finally get to leave the village?

Xu Mu's muttering left Cynthia utterly baffled. Beat them? Leave the village? What was he talking about?

"Young master, if you intend to compete with them for Dratini, please try not to go too far."

There was a faintly sinister edge to Xu Mu's smile. Tatu feared his hint hadn't gotten through, so he hurried to make himself clear.

They were here to catch Dratini, not to pick fights and bully people!

Seeing how serious Tatu looked, Xu Mu sighed and nodded.

"Uncle Tatu, do I look like someone who'd go too far?"

That question left Tatu speechless.

Maybe you aren't, but your father is. If someone really sets him off, even the Chief will have a hard time!

Cynthia, thankfully, knew how to defuse the moment.

"Xu Mu isn't some brainless brute. He's clever!"

Tatu didn't dare contradict her earnest praise.

"Yes. The Saintess is right."

Going along with Cynthia, Tatu quickly added, "Saintess, Young Master Xu, the Secret Realm is open. Let's head in!"

There were only so many Dratini. First come, first served.

Xu Mu wasn't particularly interested in Dratini, but Cynthia was!

Taking his hand, Cynthia urged him to summon Charizard and get into the Secret Realm as quickly as possible.

Xu Mu watched the show-off boys swarm toward the Teleportation Passage the instant the Secret Realm opened. He'd planned to wait until everyone else had gone in and enter at his leisure. But seeing Cynthia so excited, he decided not to spoil her fun.

He called out Charizard, and they sped straight toward Meteor Falls.

"Yahoo! I'm gonna catch a Dratini! I'm gonna be the very best!"

Just as Charizard entered the Teleportation Gate, a raspy voice rang out beside Xu Mu.