I'm not a Pokémon succubus.

Aisha was not tired, but... it would be a good idea to go back to the Mimosa Hotel early to prepare for tomorrow's battle.

"that!"

Kojiro took a step forward excitedly.

"Please, please... Officer, teach us how to cook ramen!"

"Ah?" Coach Ai was stunned when he heard his request.

"We sell ramen at our stall. I think if our ramen can be as delicious as the cadres'... no, even if it's only one-tenth as delicious as the cadres', we'll definitely attract more customers!"

"That's right, meow~"

"That way, we can definitely help the cadres make more money!"

The trio looked at Aisha with shining eyes, expectantly, waiting for his response.

Looking at their faces, Coach Ai shook his head helplessly.

"Okay, I'll teach you."

"But..." He smiled wickedly and said, "I'm in a hurry, so I'll only demonstrate it once. You three, watch carefully!"

"Okay, thank you, officer!"

"I'll definitely learn it, meow~"

"Hehehe~ Musashi, I'm a beautiful cook!"

Accompanied by laughter and joy, the tempting aroma wafted out of the soup pot again.

......

Athletes' Village, Pokémon Center.

After a day of fighting, the players who were eliminated and those who won two games in a row chose to restore their Pokémon's energy here.

The defeated gathered together, lamenting their mistakes and agreeing to fight again next year.

The victors were busy and nervous, thinking and studying how to deal with tomorrow's game...

Xiaozhi was one of the winners on the first day.

He defeated two opponents today, and the wins were not difficult.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to win the first day's battle." Professor Oak appeared on the big screen on the Pokémon Center's video call. He smiled and teased Ash, saying, "I thought you, such a fool, wouldn't even make it through the first day of battle."

"Doctor, don't joke!"

Xiaozhi refuted Professor Oak's teasing a little depressed.

He knew that Professor Oak had no ill will towards him. Rather, it was Professor Oak who expected him to achieve good results in the Quartz Conference.

Next to Professor Oak, Satoshi's mother Hanako covered her face and smiled.

"Come on, Xiaozhi!"

She clenched her fist to encourage her son and said, "Mom will always be proud of you. Even if you lose tomorrow, Xiaozhi, I won't despise you!"

"Mom, you're not trying to encourage me but to insult me, right?" Xiaozhi complained helplessly.

"Hey~"

"Humph!"

Xiaozhi snorted and said, "I'm planning to face Coach Zhan Ai at the Quartz Conference. How could I possibly lose before I met him?"

"how?"

At this moment, a frivolous voice broke into everyone's ears.

Xiao Mao, who had a hedgehog-like hairstyle inherited from his ancestors, walked from the hall to the communication area.

"You're not going to fight me?"

He squeezed in next to Satoshi very familiarly, and greeted Professor Oak and Hanako on the other side of the video with a smile.

"Hey, Grandpa and Aunt Hanako, good evening!"

"Oh, Xiaomao is here?" Hanako took over Xiaomao's words very naturally, glanced at Xiaozhi beside him, and said: "Now I have to trouble Xiaomao to take good care of our Xiaozhi. Don't let him run around or get out of bed. Xiaozhi likes to stay in bed and stay up late. He can't be like this during the competition..."

"Eh, eh, eh!"

Listening to Hanako rambling on about family matters, Xiaozhi interrupted him in a panic.

"Mom, don't say these unnecessary words. I'm not a child now..."

"Don't worry, Auntie, I will take good care of little brother Xiaozhi!"

Xiaomao shamelessly took on the task of taking care of Xiaozhi, and became the "older brother" on his own.

"Asshole, Xiao Mao!"

"Don't worry, brother."

Seeing that the two children were about to fight again, Professor Oak coughed.

Xiao Mao suddenly became well-behaved.

Xiaozhi: "Tsk!"

"Xiao Mao, I watched your game today too. It was pretty good."

Professor Oak lightly praised Xiao Mao, but then changed the subject, saying, "However, the preliminaries are only the beginning of the Quartz Conference. Starting in the fifth round, you will encounter truly formidable opponents. At that time, you two must be extremely alert and careful."

"Yes, I understand, Grandpa."

Xiao Mao nodded.

Xiaozhi looked confused and said, "Why? We won't meet strong opponents until the fifth round. This isn't a level-up..."

"fool!"

Xiao Mao looked at Xiao Zhi with a look of disappointment on his face.

"What did you say?"

"You're such an idiot... The Quartz Conference's matching mechanism is said to be random, but it's not completely random."

Xiao Mao explained some hidden mechanisms, saying, "To ensure the subsequent events have enough exciting highlights, the organizers will absolutely not allow the top contenders to meet in the early qualifiers. This is to ensure that the players who advance are all truly powerful Trainers with real skills, and to prevent those who are just filling in the numbers and getting good rankings through luck. Therefore, our early rounds of battles will be relatively easy."

Xiao Mao shook his head.

"However, after the preliminaries, the small fry have been eliminated, and then the real fierce battles will begin."

"Oh......"

Xiaozhi looked confused.

Then he gave up thinking.

"It doesn't matter!"

"Anyway, Pikachu and I are together!" Xiaozhi glanced at Pikachu on his shoulder and said, "As long as we show our courage, we won't be afraid even of Coach Ai!"

Pikachu: "..."

Pikachu said you are bragging and don’t take me with you.

Xiao Mao and Professor Oak looked at him and sighed helplessly.

However, this is not a bad thing.

With a personality like Xiaozhi, he won't be distressed by setbacks even if he fails.

For a trainer, this kind of personality is very good.

"You'd better pray that you don't run into me after the preliminaries are over~"

Xiao Mao waved his hand and walked towards the counter of the Pokémon Center - his Pokémon had recovered.

Finally, Xiao Mao said lightly, "Otherwise, your journey to the Quartz Conference will be over!"

"Damn Xiao Mao, even if we meet, I will definitely defeat you!"

Looking at the interaction between these two boys who had been childhood sweethearts, Professor Oak and Hanako smiled at each other.

"Xiaozhi and Xiaomao have such a good relationship."

"That's what childhood sweethearts are like. They encourage each other, chase each other, progress together, and succeed together."

Professor Oak stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

He could always see the shadows of the red and green of the past in Xiaozhi and Xiaomao.

......

As the night deepened, the night sky of the Quartz Conference became as clean as if it had been washed by clear water.

The clear night sky is filled with stars, and the bright moon emits a cool light, which is full of charm.

Wearing thin clothes, he walked aimlessly, looking up at the brilliant night sky from time to time.

The quartz plateau is different from other places and seems to be very close to the sky.

I felt as if I could just reach out and touch the stars and the bright moon in the sky, and touch my dreams...

So, what is your dream?

Manchong stared blankly at the sky, stunned.

His partners, Shafiya and Ruby, have their own dreams and have been working towards them.

So...Manchong, what is your dream?

"Yes, what?"

Full of self-questions.

He felt empty inside.

Is your dream to reach the pinnacle of the Quartz Conference and become the champion?

No, it's not...

"Ah."

Manchong shook his head.

I actually don’t care whether I can win the championship at the Quartz Conference this time.

Just as he said to Aisha this morning, everything he did was to prove to his family that he was not a bud that needed to be protected in a greenhouse.

Going out for exercise is to gain the approval of my family.

I also participated in the Quartz Conference to gain recognition from my family members...

After all, being recognized is what Manchong desires most.

"Hey."

Shaking his head in distress, Manchong continued walking on the quartz plateau under the night.

The evening breeze blew, and a hint of coolness climbed up Man Chong's back.

He was very weak and sneezed immediately.

"Ahem, ahem..."

Covering his mouth, he couldn't stop coughing.

At this moment, his stomach also made a series of rumbling sounds in response.

I'm hungry... Because of his physical condition, Manchong always has no appetite.

This just made the situation worse.

"Hey, why is this kid hanging out alone so late at night?"

"Are you hungry?"

Suddenly, two voices came into Manchong's ears, and two hands were placed on his shoulders.

Feeling the warmth of the hand, Manchong smelled a fragrance from the two people.

"Um, ramen?"

His nose twitched as he smelled the essence of the scent - he was very sensitive to smells.