It was a summer evening, and the afterglow of the setting sun, like a thin veil, gently draped over the old residential complex where his grandparents lived.
Mottled light and shadows, filtered through the dense foliage of large trees, painted abstract pictures on the ground.
The concrete roads in the complex, having been baked all day, still emitted a faint warmth.
In the trees, a Kricketune and several Kricketot chirped tirelessly, their sounds interwoven into a summer symphony.
Elderly people fanned themselves with palm-leaf fans, sitting on stone benches in front of the buildings, chatting and laughing, their voices rising and falling.
The streetlights were already on, their dim yellow glow spreading into the deepening twilight, adding a touch of warmth and tranquility to this vibrant old complex.
Children and a few Pokemon laughed and played under the streetlights, chasing each other's shadows, their crisp laughter echoing through the complex, as if dispelling some of the summer's stifling heat.
The aroma of food wafted from the kitchen window of his grandparents' house, cooking fumes accompanied by the clatter of spatulas hitting woks, spilling out from the window.
Chen Kai pushed the door open and saw his grandfather tidying the table.
His grandfather waved to Chen Kai, "Xiao Kai, come sit down. Dinner will be ready soon, have some dishes first.
It's just us tonight. Your uncle has to work overtime, so he won't be coming."
On a small table nearby, there was a bowl of vegetables and fruits that Xiao Mei liked, and Applin's favorite honey apples had already been washed and placed in a bowl.
And a large pot of delicious stewed soup.
His grandmother walked out of the kitchen, "Xiao Juan said Miraidon likes this kind of stewed soup, so I made something similar for you. There are also sandwiches, rice, and other main dishes in the kitchen!"
Miraidon was so moved he almost cried. The buffet was fine at first, but after eating a lot, he always felt the taste was mediocre, and the staff always looked at him strangely.
His grandmother then continued to Chen Kai, "Eating out at restaurants isn't healthy. Go out less. Anyway, it's not far from Grandma's house, so you can come here to eat every day for the next few days."
Soon, the rice was cooked, and the family sat together, enjoying dinner in the summer breeze, occasionally looking up to see the clouds on the horizon outside the window, dyed orange-red.
His grandfather took a sip of wine and said to Chen Kai, "I've inquired a bit. You'll likely be battling the children from the Bai and Long families who are in the same grade as you, soon to be sophomores. The difficulty isn't high.
And I've already talked to my old buddies. You just need to perform normally, getting a honey apple shouldn't be a problem.
I heard that Xiao Mei is very strong in battle. You can send Xiao Mei into battle; you don't necessarily have to use Applin.
However, since you're a Trainer now, sometimes if Applin wants to battle, you also need to be prepared for it."
After speaking, his grandfather returned to his room and took out an instrument and a disc.
"This is a TM, and this is the learning disc for the 'Lunge' move.
These next few days, you can try to teach Applin this move; it will give it another offensive option."
Chen Kai took the two items and thanked him, "Thank you so much, Grandpa. This must have cost a lot of money."
His grandfather took another sip of wine and said, "Sigh, that's nothing. I have a pension. I'll also help you ask around for that legendary seasoning that can restore Miraidon's body. I'll let you know when I find it.
Dragon-type Pokemon are very difficult to raise, so just remember to treat them well."
Chen Kai nodded and agreed, "Of course! And I'll definitely beat those little brats from the Long and Bai families!"
His grandfather smiled, "What little brats? They're the same age as you.
That you can enjoy raising Dragon-type Pokemon, I can consider one of my wishes fulfilled.
I don't have the talent for raising Pokemon. Look at the Swablu I'm raising; all it does is eat and sleep. Sigh, I don't know how to train it either."
Chen Kai glanced at the Swablu that was currently eating dinner. It was quite large, specifically, very fat, about half a meter tall.
And what surprised Chen Kai was that its appetite was almost as big as Xiao Mei's, even though Xiao Mei was much larger than it...
His grandfather continued sadly, "Your uncle and your uncle's child are both like me; they're not cut out for raising Pokemon. They're good at studying, but being a Trainer is out of the question.
Your mom isn't like me; she can be a Pokemon Trainer, but she stubbornly refuses to train Dragon-type Pokemon and insists on training Psychic-types.
Luckily, there's still you! If you have any problems raising Pokemon in the future, you can always come to Grandpa! Grandpa will help you solve them all.
You're still young now, and your energy is limited. In a few years, I'll even let you train Grandpa's Swablu!"
The more his grandfather spoke, the more excited he became, and his face grew redder and redder—he was drunk.
Whether on Earth or Blue Star, Chen Kai's grandfather was always like this: he liked to drink but had a low tolerance, getting tipsy after just a few sips.
Chen Kai and his grandmother were somewhat used to it.
After eating and drinking to their fill, his grandfather sat on the sofa watching TV and slowly fell asleep.
His grandmother covered him with a blanket.
She smiled at Chen Kai and said, "Your grandpa has been very happy these past few days.
But seriously, when you have the energy, you really can train this Swablu. It's wasting its potential with your grandpa. He's afraid it'll be cold in winter, hot in summer, and thirsty after flying for two minutes..."
Chen Kai wasn't sure how to respond. It seemed his grandfather really wasn't suited to be a Trainer.
He opened his Pokedex and scanned the Swablu.
Name: Swablu
Type: Normal, Flying
Level: Normal Class (over Level 20)
Ability: Natural Cure
"Its aptitude is very good. When it was tested, it had an A-rank. Your grandpa spent a lot of money to buy that Pokemon Egg and hatch it," his grandmother said.
What's A-rank aptitude? Chen Kai had never heard of it!
However, given his grandfather's training method, to reach Normal Class, its aptitude must be very good.
Afterward, Chen Kai helped wash the dishes and then went home to sleep.
The next day, he went to the Botanical Garden to continue training.
But Leaf Gym Leader hadn't arrived today. According to Sun Qian, Breloom was in a bad mood, and he was trying to adjust Breloom's mood.
Chen Kai also thought it was true; just standing there Silly letting the opponent hit them wasn't very kind to his own Pokemon.
Since the teacher wasn't there, he did a few sets of basic training with Applin and Xiao Mei on his own.
Next was to try the TM.
He used the 'Lunge' TM on Applin.
After use, the disc shattered, and Applin indicated that a lot of knowledge had entered its mind, making it dizzy.
By noon, Applin's head was still groggy. Chen Kai took it to the Pokemon Medical Center, where the doctor said it was a normal phenomenon and usually takes 1-3 days to process the content from a TM.
But Xiao Mei seemed to be able to learn many moves immediately without a TM. Could it be that she was really a genius?
With the teacher absent, Bai Yuchun and Sun Qian had come in the morning and gone home. Chen Kai, having nothing to do, simply wandered around Kyoto.
Suddenly, he remembered that he used to live in Kyoto! His few best friends were also in Kyoto. He should contact them and see how their lives were in the Pokemon world.
Chen Kai sent a message.
"What are you guys doing?"
Then he casually sent a location, an address in Kyoto.
"Damn it, you ran back?" one of his best friends, Zhang Yongchao, replied instantly.
Chen Kai was a bit speechless, "Get lost, what do you mean 'ran back'? I came back properly by plane.
Where's Old Liu? He didn't reply to my message."
Zhang Yongchao replied, "Him? His family is forcing him to train Pokemon. He's miserable."
Chen Kai asked, "Where is he training? I'll go see him too."
"His parents spent some money and enrolled him in a pre-sophomore summer special training class." At the same time, Zhang Yongchao sent a location to Chen Kai.
The address showed the training class was called 'Qingbei Education'.