Su province, Pingcheng.
Just before the Spring Festival, Fang Yuan returned here.
Looking at the old neighborhood, Fang Yuan sighed.
Some time ago, Fang Yuan had wanted to spend twenty million on a villa in Pingcheng, but Dad Fang and Mom Fang firmly disagreed, seeing little point in it.
The main reason Fang Yuan wanted a new house was that the old neighborhood wasn't very suitable for training Pokémon; to train them, he still had to go to a training field.
If he could buy a villa with its own training field, then Dragonite and Milotic could stay outside all the time.
Hearing this reason, Dad Fang and Mom Fang called him a big spender and said it would be better to move the whole family back to their ancestral home, where there was plenty of space.
That way, they could save tens of millions.
After listening to them, Fang Yuan felt there was some truth to that; spending tens of millions just for a house was something he too was reluctant to do.
When Pokémon battles damaged someone else's property, Fang Yuan didn't feel too bad, but if he spent tens of millions on a villa and ended up blowing up his own home, Fang Yuan was sure he would go berserk.
"In the end, I'm just too poor."
Fang Yuan realized once again that his tens of millions in savings couldn't create much of a splash.
"If only someone would invest in a villa for me..."
Although he couldn't afford it himself, Fang Yuan guessed that once he became the National Champion and a Professional Trainer, perhaps many people would want to gift him a villa or something. Then he would have to decide whether to accept it...
As night fell, Fang Yuan, carrying Eevee on his back, climbed up to the fifth floor and took out his keys to open the door.
Light flooded into his eyes, and Mom Fang's Pokémon Farfetch'd and Dad Fang's Pokémon Raunchy tree immediately came out to greet them.
…
The atmosphere at home was naturally relaxed and joyful since Fang Yuan had arrived before New Year's.
Dad Fang, Mom Fang, Fang Yuan, and Eevee talked about all kinds of cheerful topics.
It was so merry that even Mom Fang thought about slaughtering Farfetch'd to celebrate the Spring Festival.
Farfetch'd: (╥﹏╥)
But this lighthearted, joyful atmosphere disappeared after two days.
Dad Fang and Mom Fang started to chide Fang Yuan.
While eating dinner in front of the TV in the living room, Mom Fang suddenly said, "Son, it's time you found someone. You're not young anymore. Look at the girls your age; they're all married off, and the guys your age already have children in kindergarten. Don't just focus on training Pokémon and Pokémon battles... You need to find a girlfriend too."
"Pfft..." Fang Yuan almost spit out his rice.
What was this all about? His peers were clearly still in school, for starters.
And why bring up this subject all of a sudden?
He looked toward Dad Fang, hoping Dad Fang would see the importance of the situation. He still needed to train Pokémon—how could he possibly have the energy for romance? If he got distracted by love, it would be harder to become the strongest Trainer. Xiaozhi understood this very well.
"I think Officer Lin's daughter is quite nice," Dad Fang said seriously.
"..." Fang Yuan.
"Didn't you say these words three years ago?" Fang Yuan asked.
"Did I?" Father Fang showed a blank expression.
"Bwoo! Bwoo!" Eevee slapped the table angrily, saying it's not good to talk while eating as one might choke and it's bad for one's health, but most importantly, it interrupted its news watching.
"Uh..." Fang Yuan sighed, but he did find it strange that despite being so outstanding and handsome, there were no proactive girls around.
...…
"With over ten months left until the World Pokémon Alliance Conference, our country's Trainer Association has already responded to the call from the Pokémon Alliance. Vice Chairman Kang Jindong of the Dojo Committee stated that the list of the Eight Major United Dojos will be decided as soon as possible, to be the training grounds for contestants from all over the world coming to Hua Nation," the TV reported.
"As of February 2019, 63 member countries of the Pokémon Alliance have registered to participate in the upcoming World Pokémon Alliance Conference and will respond to the call. Our country will..."
At the dinner table, Fang Yuan was feeling discontented due to Father Fang and Mother Fang...
However, soon after, the news on the TV attracted Fang Yuan's attention.
"They're starting preparations so early," Fang Yuan thought as he took a sip of the '19 porridge to calm his nerves.
From 2019 to 2020, before the World Pokémon Alliance Conference, many Trainers from around the world were expected to come to Hua Nation for training.
Similarly, some Trainers from Hua Nation would also travel abroad to other countries for their training.
This exchange process was both important and not important in a way.
Fang Yuan still didn't know if he needed to go abroad for training if he were to try out for the national team reserves.
Fang Yuan wouldn't mind traveling around the world to broaden his horizons... After all, since his transmigration, there were still many Pokémon he had yet to encounter or battle against.
For 99% of the Trainers in Hua Nation, from the moment they registered as Trainers, they might not even have had a single battle experience against foreign Trainers.
Fang Yuan was in a slightly better situation, but only by a limited amount.
Pokémon like Serpent King, Dragon Head Rat, Three Headed Evil Dragon, Volcarona, Demon Fire Red Fox, and Incineroar were extremely difficult to encounter within Hua Nation.
Fang Yuan had almost zero battling experience with these powerful Pokémon, but if he were at the Pokémon Alliance Conference, there would definitely be many contestants with such Pokémon.
Of course, it was all relative. Contestants from other countries faced the same situation, which is why different nations established United Dojos to welcome foreign contestants for training. This has been the tradition for several sessions, and a major nation like Hua Nation would definitely want to show its magnanimity by setting the example.
"I'm getting itching to challenge the dojos..." thought Fang Yuan.
However, going to other countries to challenge their dojos... First, he had to solve the language barrier issue.
Not speaking the language was a big problem!
The same applied to international competitions, where it was unlikely that contestants from other countries would kindly issue commands in Chinese. Without understanding the other language, he would virtually not understand the commands.
In such situations, it tests both the Trainers' and the Pokémon's judgment.
Fang Yuan could only understand some English and Japanese... However, if he were to go abroad, everyday communication shouldn't be a problem.
He had a deity on his side, the smartphone Rotom... which should now know all the languages in the world, making it the perfect translator.
"Bwoo Bwoo~~" At this time, the TV was showing the response from other countries, and when Eevee saw a certain term, it asked Fang Yuan whether he still wanted to go to Hawaii, United States. Eevee remembered Fang Yuan mentioning that he wanted to train there someday.
"Well, we'll see," said Fang Yuan. The Pokémon in Hawaii, United States, are mainly from the Alola Region in the Pokémon World, and there's a good chance they have products like Brilliant Stone, Z Pure Crystal... For whatever reason, a visit is in order.
"Let's just eat now, oh, and tomorrow we'll have the second Fang Yuan Tournament. Be prepared—this time you can only participate in your Eevee form..."
Eevee: Σ(°△°|||)︴???