Willing to Brave Any Danger for the Xu Family

Xu Mu's mother pressed her lips together and slowly exhaled through her nose.

"All right. My son is the best. Sit here while Mom gets you some food."

As she turned away, she raised a hand and discreetly wiped her eyes.

My son seems to have grown up all of a sudden...

Early the next morning, Xu Mu packed his luggage.

There wasn't much to pack, really. Just two changes of clothes.

"I've transferred the money to your card. Don't scrimp too much while you're away, and take care of yourself."

His mother gave him these earnest instructions before he left.

"Croak!"

[Rest assured, my lady. I'll take good care of the young master!]

Before Xu Mu could answer, Greninja leaped out of his Poké Ball and thumped his chest, making his promise to Xu Mu's mother.

His antics made the slightly sad farewell feel a little more cheerful.

"All right, I'll leave him in your care, Greninja."

Xu Mu's mother spoke to Greninja, torn between laughter and tears.

"Croak!"

[Don't worry. I would brave any danger for the Xu family, generation after generation!]

Luckily, Xu Mu couldn't understand Pokémon. Otherwise, he would have cracked Greninja's skull open to see what on earth was inside!

His mother gave him a few more reminders before reluctantly watching him leave.

A mother worried whenever her child traveled far from home. That was exactly how she felt.

They traveled to Flame City in the old principal's sedan.

Yu Hailong drove, while Xu Mu and the old principal sat in the back.

"How was Charmander last night? Did he settle in?"

The old principal brought it up to make conversation.

At that, Xu Mu shot the grinning old man an exasperated look.

Do you even need to ask? He came from your backyard. Don't you know what he's like?

"He settled in just fine. He never even came out of his Poké Ball last night. I asked him to come out and sleep beside me, but he refused no matter what."

The old principal laughed at his expense.

Charmander must have been worried that something dangerous might happen if he slept outside his ball.

For someone as excessively cautious as he was, that behavior didn't surprise the old principal at all.

Xu Mu pursed his lips and looked out the window.

"Old man, what do you think will happen if I don't win the championship?"

He was genuinely a little scared now. That damned system was like Pinduoduo—it seemed able to monitor his life at any moment.

If this kept up, the system would eventually rope him into becoming the strongest Trainer.

Then it would saddle him with some impossible, suicidal missions...

The principal chuckled without so much as glancing at Xu Mu.

"With your strength, if you can lose, pigs can climb trees!"

"But what if I do?"

Xu Mu gave a dry laugh as he asked.

The old principal snorted.

"If you lose, I'll cancel your leave and make you attend a whole year of school!"

Hearing that, Xu Mu could only purse his lips helplessly.

I can't live like this.

Are you all NPCs the system sent to push me around?

First you talked me into becoming a new Trainer, then you made me enter a tournament, and now you've given me a Charmander at the early quasi-Elite level.

Come on, Principal. Tell me how much the system's paying you. I'll double it!

Along the way, the old principal occasionally chatted with Xu Mu about Pokémon.

Xu Mu had nothing better to do, so he chatted with him for a while.

Pokéblocks, Pokémon equipment—most of Xu Mu's knowledge was theoretical. He had never seen the real things.

The old principal had seen plenty, and Xu Mu learned a great deal from their conversation.

"Here we are. This is your room."

The three of them entered the hotel, and the old principal handed Xu Mu a key card.

He handed another to Yu Hailong.

"Director Yu, sorry for the trouble, but I need you to accompany Xu Mu during the tournament. Keep the receipts for anything you spend, and we'll see if you can get reimbursed afterward."

Yu Hailong looked at the old principal in confusion.

"Principal, why wouldn't I get reimbursed?"

The old principal smiled smugly.

"You wouldn't get reimbursed if Xu Mu decided he didn't want to be champion and deliberately lost."

As he spoke, he patted Yu Hailong on the shoulder.

"So you have a very important responsibility, Director Yu. Xu Mu is still young. Make sure you guide him in the right direction."

Yu Hailong resigned himself to it. He fell silent and watched the old principal leave alongside Xu Mu.

Once the old principal was some distance away, Xu Mu said, "Director Yu, I think the principal drove off with the car."

Yu Hailong smiled calmly.

"That's normal. He's worried you'll run away."

Xu Mu was puzzled. If I wanted to run, could you stop me?

Forget it. There's no figuring out what that old man is thinking.

"I'll take care of your meals and everything else while we're here. Just focus on the tournament. Tell me what you want to eat, and I'll order delivery."

Yu Hailong spoke as he led Xu Mu back down the hall.

"There's a large plaza behind the hotel. Lots of Trainers hang around there."

"There's also a training facility to the south. If you need specialized training, go there. Just remember to get a receipt for anything you spend."

By the time he finished, Yu Hailong had reached his room.

"Get some rest. Call me if you're hungry. Otherwise, we'll go to dinner together at six."

With a bang, Yu Hailong shut his door.

Xu Mu returned to his room, put down his backpack, and let Greninja and Charmander out.

"Croak!"

[Where are we?]

Greninja was fine. After coming out of his Poké Ball, he simply looked around without doing anything out of the ordinary.

Charmander, on the other hand, immediately hid behind Greninja!

He cautiously surveyed his surroundings. Once he confirmed they were in an enclosed room, he got to work.

First, he searched everywhere for surveillance devices or traces of Psychic-type power. Then he sniffed every inch of the room for an ambush.

Only after he was sure it was safe did he relax and stand in front of Xu Mu.

"Chirp!"

[Safe!]

Xu Mu stared at his Charmander, his face darkening. He opened his mouth, then found he had no idea what to say.

Forget it. Let him be.

"We'll be staying here for a while. The day after tomorrow, we're entering a tournament."

At the mention of a tournament, Greninja immediately thumped his chest, putting on a show of strength.

"Croak!"

[Are we going to fight? Leave it to me!]

[I, Greninja, would brave any danger for the Xu family, generation after...]

"Stop!"

Xu Mu couldn't understand him, but he could roughly guess what Greninja was about to say.

He raised a hand to stop Greninja from getting carried away and said helplessly, "I only have one request. When you fight, try not to hit too hard."

Charmander objected loudly!

"Chirp!"

[Hold back? Impossible! Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. I won't give my opponents any chance to turn things around!]