Pokémon: Master System.

Looking at Xia Luo's forced smile, Xia Yu felt a lump in her throat. No matter how much pain she was in, Xia Luo always showed her best side to her family.

"Brother. This time, the Pokémon Association will compensate you by letting you choose a Pokémon. I want to go with you," Xia Yu said earnestly to Xia Luo.

"We'll see. We can go together then," Charlotte said nonchalantly, his mind not on this matter.

"Brother." Xia Yu looked at Xia Luo with a serious expression, his tone sincere and his expression unusually solemn: "This time you must choose an Electric-type Pokémon. This is a treasure I found in the underground black market last night. I'm giving it to you. I hope you can cheer up, brother."

Looking at the box Xia Yu handed over and hearing what Xia Yu said, even though he didn't know what was inside, Xia Luo was slightly moved and couldn't help but rub Xia Yu's head: "Xiao Yu, I'm fine, I just need some time to recover. Besides, I'm very rich. Since you found this treasure, you can keep it yourself. You don't need to give it to me."

"Brother, open it and take a look first." Xia Yu said mysteriously, "This is a good thing, I'm reluctantly parting with it this time."

"What is this? Why is it so mysterious?" Xia Luo was curious about the prop Xia Yu mentioned and couldn't help but open the box.

The box slowly opened, revealing the S-rank item, the Thunder Stone.

"A Thunder Stone?" Charlotte examined the Thunder Stone closely. The quality of this Thunder Stone was excellent, at least Grade B or higher. The exact grade would only be known after further appraisal. "The quality is good, at least Grade B or higher. Thank you for your kindness, brother."

A Thunder Stone of this quality isn't cheap; it seems Xia Yu has really found a great treasure.

"Brother!" Xia Yu was speechless, looking at Xia Luo with a wry smile: "This Thunder Stone is an S-rank item."

"S-rank?!" Xia Luo, who was originally in low spirits, immediately tensed up when he heard Xia Yu's words. If this Thunder Stone was really an S-rank item, then it was a treasure that was hard to come by.

Because S-rank Thunder Stones have a certain probability of improving the aptitude of Electric-type Pokémon!

"Really?"

"real."

Chapter 19 Everyday Matters

"Brother, pull yourself together. You're not someone who can be easily defeated. We still need to get revenge on Xu Xiu." After comforting Xia Luo, Xia Yu returned to his room.

After hesitating for a long time, he picked up the phone and dialed his sister-in-law's number.

"Hello." A cheerful female voice came from the other end of the phone: "Xiaoyu, what can I do for you?"

"Sister-in-law..." Xia Yu lowered his voice and quietly told his sister-in-law Yu Mengyu about Xia Luo's experience in the secret realm.

“Sister-in-law, this is what happened today. My brother is in a very bad state right now. The only thing I can think of is that you might be able to help him,” Xia Yu said.

"I'm coming right away." Yu Mengyu was her older brother's childhood sweetheart. Although Yu Mengyu was just an ordinary breeder and her parents were just ordinary people, it didn't affect their relationship at all. As soon as Yu Mengyu heard about Xia Luo's ordeal, she immediately said she would come over: "You should try to persuade your brother first, don't let him do anything foolish."

"Okay. Come quickly. When you get there, don't knock on the door, sister-in-law. Call me and I'll secretly open the door for you."

"it is good."

…………

Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang, and Xia Yu immediately opened the door for his sister-in-law, Yu Mengyu.

Even though she arrived in a hurry, Yu Mengyu still wore light makeup and carried many boxes: "Xiaoyu, these are Dragon and Flying type energy cubes. Your brother told me you caught a Nova Bat, so I brought them especially for you. This is honey and Moo Moo milk for Auntie, for skincare and beauty. This is a gift for Uncle..."

Even though she came in a hurry, Yu Mengyu still brought gifts for her family. She was impeccable in terms of etiquette, which made Xia Yu sigh that his brother was truly blessed to have found such a good wife as Yu Mengyu.

"Sister-in-law, we're all family, why are you being so polite? Go and see your brother."

"Okay." Yu Mengyu was also very anxious: "I'll put the things on the table, and you can tell your uncle and aunt later."

"Okay. Go quickly."

Yu Mengyu knocked on Xia Luo's door, and Xia Luo's voice came from inside: "Xiaoyu, what's wrong now?"

The door opened immediately, and Xia Luo looked at Yu Mengyu standing in the doorway. His fatigue vanished, replaced by a look of surprise and delight: "Why are you here?"

"Such a big thing happened and you didn't tell me. Xiaoyu had to call and tell me," Yu Mengyu said, her complaining tone instantly putting her older brother in her shoes.

“I was just afraid you’d worry,” Charlotte said.

"Do you want me to stand at the door and let Xiaoyu laugh at us?" Yu Mengyu said.

"Mine, mine, come in quickly."

Xia Yu naturally couldn't hear their conversation after that. He didn't have the habit of eavesdropping on couples' whispers, so he quietly returned to his room.

Xia Yu also checked if there were any new replies to his post asking to buy various stones. The Evolution Key Stone he bought was still being delivered. Given the current situation in Starlight City, external couriers couldn't deliver for the time being, and he would have to wait a few days.

After browsing through his private messages, he found they were all random and useless messages. Some were scams involving fake stones, while others were illegal advertisements or local dating services. Xia Luo naturally didn't believe any of this; with his good looks, he had no need for such services and simply closed the post.

Charlotte, who had barely rested the previous night, was feeling quite tired. She lay down on the bed to catch up on her sleep and didn't wake up until dinner time.

"Xiaoyu, dinner's ready."

"coming."

My sister-in-law Yu Mengyu's voice came from inside. At that moment, she was wearing an apron and cooking with my mother. The two women were chatting and laughing, discussing which skincare products were good and which clothing stores had sales.

The table full of delicious dishes made Xia Yu, who was already starving, drool.

After being comforted by Yu Mengyu, Xia Luo, though still somewhat haggard, was clearly in much better spirits.

The old man also opened a bottle of baijiu and poured a glass for Xia Luo and Xia Yong: "So many things have happened today, let's all have a drink."

"Old Lin, please take good care of Xiao Yu. If you want juice or red wine, help yourselves," said Xia Yong, the old man.

"Have some juice, take a rest day. You have to work tomorrow," Lin Xuemei said with a smile. "Xiaoyu is still studying, so let him drink less."

“Okay, I’ll drink the juice. I’ll do whatever Aunt Lin says.” Yu Mengyu nodded and immediately stood up: “I’ll go get it. Aunt Lin, you can just sit here.”

"Have a meal."

Yu Mengyu and her mother were quite good cooks. Xia Yu basically ate the whole meal, occasionally chatting with the family. After drinking a small glass of wine, her mother wouldn't let Xia Yu drink any more.

"Dad, Mom, I want to tell you something." When everyone had almost finished drinking, Xia Luo suddenly picked up his wine glass, took Yu Mengyu's hand, and stood up: "Mengyu and I have been dating for twelve years, and now I want to marry Mengyu."

"Great news, this is great news!" Mom's face lit up with a bright smile. Her eldest son was already twenty-eight years old, and it was time for him to get married.

Xia Yong was quite satisfied with Xiao Yu as his daughter-in-law; aside from her slightly poor family background, she was almost flawless. However, with the Xia family's strength waning, he actually hoped to arrange a marriage between Xia Luo and a girl from a better family to help the Xia family through this most difficult time.

However, Xia Yong wasn't the kind of person who was materialistic. He just had to consider his family. But when it came to making a decision, he still wanted Xia Luo to have the best of luck. He also wanted his child to be happy. And as the saying goes, a good wife is a virtuous one. Yu Mengyu, a woman who knew him well and was smart and virtuous, was very suitable to be Xia Luo's wife. Xia Yong smiled and looked at Xia Luo, saying, "Once you've made a decision, go and propose marriage as soon as possible. Find some time to have a meal with Yu Mengyu's family and settle things as soon as possible."

Thank you, Dad, Mom.

"We're family, why say thank you? If you want to thank someone, thank Xiao Yu for liking you."

…………

The family, which had been feeling down, became cheerful again because of Charlotte's sudden marriage.

Three days later, the Secret Realm was basically stable, with the entrance fixed in the eastern part of Starlight City. The Pokémon Association sent people to guard it 24 hours a day. At the same time, a large-scale construction project began around the entrance of the Secret Realm. A large number of Grass-type and Bug-type Pokémon were transported to the Secret Realm, with the aim of turning it into a Grass and Bug wild area and building a breeding base. The Grass and Bug-type energy in the Secret Realm was rich, which greatly improved the Pokémon of these two types. Every year, they could make a lot of money just from breeding Pokémon.

The appearance of the secret realm is good news for the development of Starlight City, as it can significantly boost tax revenue. Meanwhile, the Pokémon Association will send an Elite Four-level trainer to guard the realm. Xia Yong's outstanding contributions have exempted him from this year's Gym Leader Ranking Tournament, which is bad news for Bug-type trainers in Xishu Province. They will have to wait another three years to become Gym Leaders. During these three years, Xia Yong will continue to serve as the Bug-type Gym Leader of Starlight City.

As for Charlotte, she was relieved of her position as the Gym Leader of Cinnabar City due to her insufficient strength, but she was rewarded with two chances to choose a Pokémon from any Secret Realm Breeding House in the Western Shu Province, excluding pseudo-legendary Pokémon, for her outstanding contributions.

Finally, the Pokémon Association estimated the approximate value of the Secret Realm. The Xia family could have priority to invest in purchasing 20% ​​of the Secret Realm's shares, enjoy dividends after its completion, and for the first two years, they would have the first choice to select one Pokémon from the Secret Realm. Starting from the third year, there would be one slot per year for catching Pokémon from the Secret Realm, and these slots could be sold and transferred.

Meanwhile, express delivery services in Starlight City returned to normal, and Xia Yu received the seller's shipment: a genuine Evolution Keystone.

Xia Luo went to the Yu family to propose marriage these past few days. The two families met and agreed on the wedding date, which was set for October 1st, two months from now.

Chapter 20 The Secret Realm of Flames

In recent days, online news and social media have been extensively publicizing the heroic deeds of the Xia family, portraying Xia Luo, the youngest near-Champion level trainer in Xishu Province, as a hero and role model, calling on everyone to learn from him, and also raising the bounty on Xu Xiu.

Everything in Starlight City gradually returned to normal. However, recently there have been many more cars with license plates from other places on the streets. They have obviously set their sights on the newly discovered secret realm and want to get a piece of the pie, either by speculating on real estate or by taking on some projects. The construction surrounding the secret realm will definitely drive a large number of industries, just like the real estate industry. In recent days, the housing prices in Starlight City have been rising every day.

At this point, the Xia family's 20% priority purchase right to the secret realm was extremely valuable. The secret realm's value was beyond imagination; aside from the huge initial investment, its later profit performance was also beyond expectations, making it almost a guaranteed profit. Normally, the owners of the pavilions in the city where the secret realm was located only had a 10% priority purchase right, but due to the heroic actions of the two Xia family owners, their priority purchase right was specially increased to 20%.

In particular, this secret realm is the only one in the entire Western Shu Province with both grass and insect attributes, and its uniqueness and exclusivity have made everyone see the huge profits behind it.

As of today, three groups of people have come to the Xia family expressing their willingness to pay for the priority purchase rights to the secret realm held by the Xia family. Not only are the prices they offered extremely high, but most importantly, these people who dare to come to the door are all powerful figures with influential backgrounds.

The weakest of them all has at least two near-Elite Four level trainers behind them, while the other two each have an Elite Four level trainer behind them, but they are all untitled Elite Four level trainers who have the strength of an Elite Four level trainer but do not have an official Elite Four title.

Looking across the entire Southwest region, there are only four officially recognized Elite Four level trainers, and they are all the four strongest Elite Four level trainers in the Southwest region, commonly known as the Four Elite Four.

Li Yunyao is a renowned Elite Four level trainer, while Xu Xiu, if he hadn't betrayed the team, would be an unnamed Elite Four level trainer. The difference between the two is enormous. After all, having one Elite Four level Pokémon is enough to be called an Elite Four level trainer, while a renowned Elite Four level trainer like Li Yunyao basically has all of his Pokémon at Elite Four level, and at least one pseudo-legendary level Pokémon.

In a real fight, Xu Xiu was no match for Li Yunyao, which is why he left at the right time.

It was precisely because of the right of first refusal for the shares of the Secret Realm that Xia Yong had been worried these past few days. He was unwilling to give up his shares, but he was also worried that the Xia family's strength was not enough to acquire so many shares. He was so anxious that his hair turned white.

Xia Yu wanted to participate in the purchase of shares in the Secret Realm, but he couldn't; he lacked both the qualifications and the ability. However, he'd been quite busy lately, training his two Pokémon. His Treecko, a diligent trainer, was progressing rapidly, already mastering the move Presence, so Xia Yu didn't need to worry about it. His Noboo, on the other hand, was growing more slowly; the newly hatched Noboo was still thriving, and while it couldn't match Treecko's growth, it was still within the normal range.

"Xiaoyu." Charlotte's voice came from outside the door.

"Hey, bro." Xia Yu opened the door, and Xia Luo was standing outside. After a few days of rest and the engagement, he looked to be in pretty good spirits and had emerged from the shadows of the past few days.

Charlotte held the box containing the Thunder Stone and solemnly handed it to Xia Yu: "Xiao Yu, you should keep this Thunder Stone. I've been thinking about it, and I'm not really good at training Electric-type Pokémon. Besides, I prefer Fire-type Pokémon. I don't need this, so you should keep it."

"Brother, you can have this, but you can keep it." Xia Yu refused. He didn't really have much use for the Thunder Stone, because his mission required him to capture a Dragon-type Pokémon. Unless he captured a Thunder Bird or an Ampharos, the Thunder Stone would be useless.

"Xiaoyu!" Charlotte said seriously, "Listen to me. Your brother is a near-Elite Four level trainer, and I have some savings. This Thunder Stone of yours will only affect my determination to become the Fire-type Elite Four! If you don't accept it, I won't take you with me when I go to choose a Pokémon today."

"elder brother."

…………

In the end, in order to help his older brother choose a Pokémon with good potential, Xia Yu compromised and took back the S-rank Thunder Stone. After all the twists and turns, the Thunder Stone eventually returned to Xia Yu's hands.

The two boarded a Flying-type Pokémon and headed to the Flame Realm in Xishu Province. This was Xishu Province's signature realm and also its largest. It was home to a large number of rare Fire-type Pokémon, including almost all of the three Fire-type starter Pokémon from across China.

The Flame Secret Realm is located in Tiandu City, the capital of Xishu Province. As soon as the two approached the Flame Secret Realm, a trainer rode up in a Flying-type Pokémon to indicate that they had entered the no-fly zone of the Flame Secret Realm and should land immediately.