Pokémon: The Journey of Ordinary People

Listening to their daughter and son-in-law's story, Bai Shuo and Sen Yu were thoroughly entertained.

Especially Senyu, whose smile never stopped.

"You two have the same style as your father and me back in the day!"

Looking at her mother's confident demeanor, Lili felt somewhat helpless. Sometimes she felt like she was the mother, while her mother seemed like the daughter.

Zhang Yu couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the two elders with such youthful spirits.

However, the important thing now is to discuss the engagement date with my girlfriend.

Thinking this through, he organized his thoughts and then began to speak.

"Uncle and Aunt, we would like to ask you two elders to decide on the date of my engagement with Lili Ai."

When the topic of their daughter's engagement came up, Bai Shuo and Sen Yu stopped being mere spectators and started thinking about it seriously.

"Well... if it's an engagement, you'll need to invite family and friends and hold an engagement banquet."

"Plus, the league has been very busy lately... how about this?"

"We'll send out invitations to everyone next month. Let's go to Fengyuan, your uncle's place, and have our engagement party there!"

Bai Shuo and Sen Yu quickly finalized the schedule.

"We'll follow your and your aunt's arrangements; we have no objections."

Zhang Yu and Lili Ai, the two younger members, naturally agreed. So, the next step was to send invitations to relatives and friends.

"Alright, it's rare for you two to come all this way, and it's lunchtime, so let's have a family feast together~"

Senyu took her daughter's hand. All she hoped for in her daughter's future was a happy life.

Moreover, her son-in-law seemed trustworthy, so she felt quite at ease with him.

The family lunch was a pleasant and harmonious meal, but in the afternoon, Lili's parents had to go and prepare for their ranger assessment.

So let the two of them wander around freely.

With nothing else to do, Zhang Yu released the large group of Pokémon he had brought, led by Vileplume, to wander around, play, sample food, and explore their new environment.

Lillie, on the other hand, invited a few of her childhood friends to catch up.

In the end, Zhang Yu was left alone with nothing to do.

"Hmm... since that's the case, I'm happy to have some peace and quiet, it's a good time to rest~"

Stretching and moving his body, Zhang Yu noticed that the Azure Flame Blade Demon remained where it was, not playing with the Tyrant Flower and the others.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Xiao Cang? Aren't you interested in this place?"

Zhang Yu patted the Azure Flame Blade Demon on the shoulder and asked with concern...

"Whoa!"

Azure Flame Blade Demon shook his head, his eyes sparkling with curiosity, and voiced his thoughts.

"Oh? Want to see how strong the local Pokémon are? When did you become so fond of battling, hahaha?"

Zhang Yu smiled slightly, naturally respecting Cang Yan Ren Gui's thoughts; loving battle wasn't a bad thing.

"That's perfect. You and I can go observe the Pokémon Ranger assessment together, and you'll see the strength of the Pokémon here."

Upon hearing this, Azure Flame Blade Demon immediately nodded excitedly.

"Whoa!"

……

The assessment for rangers is much more rigorous than that for trainers.

Unlike a Poké Ball, the hunting dart is more like a rope made of light.

It serves as a link between the rangers and the Pokémon, allowing them to communicate via a cursor.

This allows Pokémon to understand the Ranger's meaning, and even communicate telepathically without speaking.

Similarly, hunting is very difficult; powerful Pokémon won't readily assist humans, and they will test their prey.

For example, trying to break free from the entanglement of the light rope, or using skills to try to break the cursor.

This is where the ranger's abilities come into play. Good skills are essential, and they also need to know how to use persuasive talk to gain the Pokémon's approval.

Pokémon are intelligent, they have social groups, and they have close contact with human society.

It's a good thing to allow Pokémon from their respective brethren to partner with humans, explore the world, and hone their skills. That's why many of the Pokémon used by Rangers for assessments are sent by their respective Pokémon brethren.

When Zhang Yu arrived at the competition venue, the assessment had already been underway for some time.

The edge of the arena was surrounded by staff watching, and the air was filled with the faint blue glow of the hunting gliders.

Zhang Yu found a spot with a good view and stood there, while Azure Flame Blade Ghost stood beside him, its ghostly eyes fixed on the arena.

A young ranger was trying to tame a ferocious Garchomp. The light rope coiled around the Garchomp's limbs like a nimble silver snake, but the Garchomp lashed out with its tail fin, causing the light rope to ripple erratically.

"Keep the pace! Use the cursor to reassure the Pokémon; it's just afraid of unfamiliar surroundings!"

Recalling the teachings of his experienced rangers, the young ranger's forehead was sweating as he quickly adjusted the angle of the cursor and shouted firmly at the Garchomp.

"Please! Let's go explore the world together!"

Although his words sounded a bit cheesy, they were surprisingly effective.

A pale blue halo slowly spread along Garchomp's scales, finally calming the restless Dragon-type Pokémon down, and it eventually docilely nuzzled the Ranger's hand.

"Good adaptability, but still needs to improve in judging the moves Pokémon make."

Zhang Yu commented in a low voice, and Cangyan Rengui nodded in agreement, with ghost fire gently dancing at the tip of the blade.

Just then, a cheerful voice came from behind: "This friend has a discerning eye; he seems to be a master as well!"

Zhang Yu turned around and saw a man in a dark blue senior patrolman uniform standing behind him. The gold patterns on his epaulets indicated his identity. Beside him was a Lucario with sharp eyes.

"Hello, young man, my name is Leo, and I'm a senior ranger. My partner Lucario overheard what you were saying."

Leo's words contained no hostility, only a hint of curiosity.

"I was just saying, but the patrolman assessment really does test teamwork more than I imagined," Zhang Yu replied politely.

A glint of fighting spirit flashed in Leo's eyes as he looked at the Azure Flame Blade Demon, his tone tinged with curiosity.

"Judging from your attire, you don't seem to be a ranger. You must be a trainer, right? This Azure Flame Blade Ghost has a calm aura, so it must be quite strong."

How about we have a friendly spar? No need to hunt darts, let's use the trainer's methods and see how skilled outside trainers are.

That's right, the hunting lance can not only be used to "catch" Pokémon, but also to attack!

The surrounding rangers all turned to look when they heard this. It was a rare sight to see a senior ranger taking the initiative to challenge a trainer.

Zhang Yu raised an eyebrow, sensing the excited aura surging from the Azure Flame Blade Demon, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Since Mr. Leo is interested, let's have a match, and stop when we've reached a point."

The backup battle area next to the arena was quickly cleared out, and Leo sent out Lucario first.

"Come on, I won't lose in close combat!"

Lucario assumed a battle stance, his Aura power forming a faint halo around him.

"Xiao Cang, I'm leaving you to him. Be careful not to hurt him," Zhang Yu said softly.

"Whoa!"

With a flash, the Azure Flame Blade Demon teleported to the center of the battle zone, its blade tip igniting with blazing flames, causing the temperature in the air to rise sharply.

"Lucario, close the distance with lightning speed, unleash your power!"

At Leo's command, Lucario transformed into a blur and charged forward, its fist brimming with powerful Fighting-type energy.

"Shadow clone, then counter with a flame slash."

Zhang Yu's instructions were concise and clear.

Several afterimages instantly appeared around Azure Flame Blade Demon. Lucario's Extreme Speed ​​missed its target. Just as it regained its footing, a blade wrapped in flames came slashing towards it.

It hastily raised its hand to block, but the burning sensation of the flames and the cutting force of the blade struck at the same time, causing it to stagger backward and dim its waveguide aura.

A look of surprise flashed across Leo's eyes, then he said in a deep voice, "Counterattack with wave missiles!"

Lucario gathered blue energy blasts in his hands and hurled them fiercely at Azure Flame Blade Demon.

"Teleport to avoid it, then use the ghost fire to block its movement."

Azure Flame Blade Demon vanished in a flash, while the wave missile landed on the open ground and exploded in a cloud of dust.

Before Lucario could react, several clusters of ghostly blue flames had already surrounded it, forming a closed ring of fire.

Lucario tried to break free, but was scorched by the will-o'-the-wisps, which slowed its movements. Meanwhile, the Azure Flame Blade Demon had teleported behind it, its blade tip pressed against its shoulder. The flames subsided just in time, causing no real damage.

"You flatter me, Mr. Leo."

Zhang Yu raised his hand, signaling the Azure Flame Blade Demon to stop its attack.

He hasn't had a proper one-on-one Pokémon battle in a long time.

During my time in Alola, it was basically all about combo moves and group battles.

Leo paused for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

"Amazing! No wonder you're a trainer who can raise such a strong Pokémon. I'm impressed by your teamwork and skill!"

He stepped forward and shook hands with Zhang Yu, his eyes full of admiration. "It seems that the level of trainers outside is even higher than I imagined."

Zhang Yu responded politely and courteously to the compliments.

The surrounding patrolmen applauded, for the battle, though brief, had demonstrated the strength and teamwork of both sides.

Azure Flame Blade Demon sheathed its blade, walked to Zhang Yu's side, and a hint of pride shone in its ghostly eyes.

"Ruka!"

[You're very strong; you must be the strongest partner your trainer has ever had!]

Lucario walked up to Azure Blade Demon and gave it a thumbs up.

However, its words left Azure Flame Blade Demon somewhat at a loss for words.

Could it say that there are seven or eight stronger Pokémon...? Wouldn't that be a bit too discouraging for Pokémon? ⊙w⊙

"Luka?"

Seeing that the other party didn't reply, Lucario called out in confusion.

"Hoo...hoo!"

"Um, I'm a little hungry, let's eat something delicious together!"

Azure Flame Blade Ghost took out two Peach Fruits from its bracelet, handed one to Lucario, and then quietly ate it without saying a word.

"Lukaka?_??"

Scratching its head, Lucario didn't refuse and started eating the berry too. It's so endearing; this Pokémon is actually quite nice.