April 30th, Saturday.
Xia Huanao stepped off the plane and looked around, "Linglong City, I'm back."
...
Let's rewind to the day Wei Chiting learned the move 'Acrobatics'.
On that day, Xia Huanao officially began his special training in the gacha-pulling style. On the first day, the biggest achievement of this training was that student Chu Xiaodie had to copy the Battle Arena rules twenty-four times.
On the morning of the second day, when Xia Huanao saw Chu Xiaodie's eyes, red from copying the Battle Arena rules all night, his heart softened. "You... I didn't say I needed it today, why are you working so hard?"
Chu Xiaodie handed the Battle Arena rules to Xia Huanao. "Assistant Coach Xia, I've finished copying the twenty-four copies of the Battle Arena rules. Can you not arrange things like this for me today? I don't want to be punished anymore."
Xia Huanao nodded, "Don't worry, I won't punish you today. However, besides one-on-one battles, you must also participate."
Chu Xiaodie nodded gratefully, "Coach Xia, don't worry. As long as I don't have to copy, I can do anything."
Xia Huanao smiled slightly, "Don't worry, I plan to participate today too."
Xia Huanao's idea was that by participating, he could strengthen his tactical deployment abilities, enhance Guagua's combat power, and help Nincada evolve as quickly as possible. His Poké Balls and empty slots were ready. As for Diancie, Xia Huanao didn't intend to let the little princess appear in front of everyone yet, given her rarity.
During the remaining days of March, Xia Huanao and Chu Xiaodie were truly the brightest stars in the entire Six Spirits University. In the team's statistics, Chu Xiaodie's win rate in training reached thirty percent, which was quite impressive for a freshman. As for Xia Huanao, his win rate in the team's statistics had exceeded forty percent and was approaching fifty percent. It's worth noting that Xia Huanao was only in his second year of high school, and having such a win rate at Six Spirits University was already terrifying.
The Pokémon Xia Huanao had also undergone tremendous changes. Guagua had reached level 28, and Nincada had successfully reached level twenty, evolving into Ninjask and Shedinja. Xia Huanao had also found a suitable home for Ninjask, sending it to tend to a garden. Ninjask was quite happy with this outcome, as the garden was rich in nectar and sap.
As for Rotom, it had successfully entered Xia Huanao's Pokédex. Xia Huanao confirmed that he currently only had three Pokémon. Xiao Meng had been returned to her parents, and they remained tight-lipped about what they were doing.
Meanwhile, Wei Chiting had also returned. Not only had he captured Pokémon, but he had also obtained both Shuckle and Nosepass in one go.
Xia Huanao's response to this outcome was: "Wei Chiting, you must treat these two Pokémon well. Even if you don't need them, find them a good home."
Wei Chiting's return made the team's training more organized. The brief tactical exchanges between Xia Huanao and Wei Chiting left the classmates thrilled.
After March ended, April began, and on April 1st, the University Pokémon Competition officially started. According to the schedule, the entire month of April and May would be divisional qualifiers, with preliminary rounds held at various schools in different regions. The top four from each region would qualify to participate in the final competition in Linglong City.
Regarding this preliminary round, Xia Huanao remarked that it wouldn't matter if he was there or not. If they couldn't even pass the regional qualifiers without him, then they shouldn't participate in any competition.
Tong Ruo had also asked Xia Huanao what he planned to do. Xia Huanao's answer was that he was going to train in the secret realm. Tong Ruo did not stop him, only reminding him to reach Linglong City by May 1st for team member registration. As the team coach, Xia Huanao had to register in person.
Therefore, throughout April, while Six Spirits University battled in the regional preliminaries, Xia Huanao was causing a stir in the secret realms. Xia Huanao, the once famous Block Merchant in Jinghai City, had returned to the world. However, it must be said that Xia Huanao had become much smarter this time. He roamed the world, leaving his footprints in the secret realms of all beginner trainers in Minglong Country. He also successfully maxed out the Effort Values for Diancie and Shedinja. Congratulations, congratulations.
It was also on April 30th that Xia Huanao officially packed his bags and arrived in Linglong City.
Shifting the focus back to Xia Huanao, he walked out of the Linglong City exit with his backpack. Looking at the large clock in the airport, he mused, "I'm early. Now I have to wait for them. I should have gone back to Liuling City earlier and flown with them. At least they could have covered my expenses."
Xia Huanao found a chair and sat down, looking at the airport exit. "Why aren't they here yet?"
As Xia Huanao sat there waiting, he soon attracted the attention of those around him. A person approached him and asked, "Student, what are you here for?"
Xia Huanao turned his head to see a shifty-looking person standing very close to him. "Me? I'm here to watch the Pokémon competition. Is there something you need?"
The shifty-looking man nodded. "Watching the Pokémon competition, that's great! You can see how your seniors perform and then aim for a good university. But why are you just sitting here? Can't you find a place to stay?"
Xia Huanao nodded, "Yes. Although this is my second time here, I really don't know where to stay."
What Xia Huanao said was half true and half false. All the teams participating in the University Pokémon Competition stayed in the dedicated accommodation complex for the competition. However, Xia Huanao genuinely didn't know how to get to this complex.
Upon hearing Xia Huanao's answer, the shifty-looking man took out a flyer. "No place to stay, huh? Want to check out our hotel? It's not far from the competition venue, less than a ten-minute walk. Consider it."
Xia Huanao pushed the flyer back. "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm not planning on it."
The shifty-looking man leered at Xia Huanao, and Xia Huanao frowned and backed away. "I'm not in the mood to patronize your business. Please keep your distance."
The shifty-looking man's eyes widened. "I'm warning you, outsiders like you should be well-behaved when you're in Linglong City. If I tell you to stay at our hotel, you have to. Otherwise, believe it or not, I'll make sure you don't reach the competition venue."
Xia Huanao stood up and pushed the man aside. "Threaten me all you want. I'm warning you too, you'd better behave yourself and keep your eyes open, or no one will be able to save you."
With that, Xia Huanao turned and walked towards the exit. At the exit, Tong Ruo was leading the Six Spirits University team out. Xia Huanao approached them. "Strange, why are you arriving later than me? I've been waiting here for a while."
Tong Ruo spread his hands. "No choice. The flight was delayed, and not by a little."
Xia Huanao was surprised. "The flight was delayed? That's really unlucky. But never mind, let's go. I've never been there before."
Xia Huanao and his group took a few steps and arrived outside the airport, only to see the shifty-looking man from before approaching again. "Yo, you've got quite a crowd meeting you, kid. But I'm telling you, no matter how many people you have, I can stop you from reaching the venue."
Tong Ruo looked at him. "How strange. I haven't been in Linglong City for a while, and criminals here are already this bold, daring to threaten people right inside the airport."
"So what if I threatened you? I have people behind me, so you should just calmly..."
"Calmly what?"
He turned around and saw Yu Longdu, wearing the uniform of the Alliance Police Department, standing behind him. "Speak, calmly what?"
"You think I haven't seen police officers? Who are you trying to fool? Get lost, or I'll slap you."
Yu Longdu heard this and kicked him to the ground, then pulled out handcuffs and cuffed him. "I'm sorry. There have been too many people like this in Linglong City recently. Are you all right?"
Xia Huanao looked at Yu Longdu. "I can see you're very busy, or they wouldn't have sent you out to do this. Alright, you should get back to work. We're going to rest now."
After a brief chat, Yu Longdu left, and Xia Huanao and his group headed to the competition accommodation complex. On the bus, Li Qiufeng asked, "Coach Xia, was that your friend who visited Six Spirits University before?"
Xia Huanao glanced at him. "Oh, you remember him? I'll definitely tell him later."
"I never expected him to be a police officer. Coach Xia, you have very wide connections."
Xia Huanao smiled. "After all, I am the chairman of the Styling Committee. Is it strange to know one or two unusual people?"
The group chatted and laughed as they arrived at the Pokémon Competition accommodation complex. The complex consisted entirely of villas, with one villa per team, enough to house the entire team.
Xia Huanao's villa was number twelve. They arrived outside the villa, opened the door, and the group entered. After casually arranging their rooms, they dispersed. Those who wanted to see friends went to see friends, and those who wanted to go shopping went shopping.
Xia Huanao lay on his bed. "System, was the person who came out today a bit off? Even an idiot wouldn't be so stupid as to make threats in broad daylight."
The system explained, "How to put it... Perhaps the impact of Arceus's death was too great?"
Xia Huanao was surprised. "Don't the various legendary Pokémon manage different domains?"
"My guess is that as the various legendary Pokémon reasserted their authority, these individuals were subtly influenced by the imbalanced elements, and then it erupted at a certain point."
"Is that so? I hope there won't be any bigger problems."