Lingcheng.
Today's high temperature was minus two degrees Celsius.
The sky was grey, with snowflakes drifting down slowly. Along the roadsides, on the lampposts, and atop the evergreen trees, layers of pure white snow had accumulated.
The world was a blanket of white.
But the air was exceptionally dry—much drier than in Mist City. If you stepped outside and took a deep breath of the icy air, it would sting your nose.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, everyone could see why Lingcheng was called Lingcheng.
—The Snow Ridge.
The Snow Ridge wasn't a single mountain, but a mountain range—a majestic sight covered in silver-white snow that inspired genuine awe.
As the northernmost city in Zhuxia, Lingcheng existed alongside the Snow Ridge. Across from the ridge lay Tengburg, a city in the Far North region.
Lingcheng and Tengburg had good relations, with residents frequently traveling between the two for trade. As a result, it was common to see fair-haired or blonde Far Northerners on the streets. While they were changing into warmer gear, they spotted quite a few.
Dreepy, faced with the choice of entering its Poké Ball or staying outdoors, opted for a third option—curling up inside Li Xiang's clothes. This black-haired human gave it tasty food and was incredibly warm.
Dreepy had followed its stomach's advice. Unfortunately, after only two seconds, Li Xiang couldn't take it anymore. The Dreepy had three sharp spines on its tail, and they were dangerously close to poking through his clothes.
Song Jie let out a merciless laugh, only to have Li Xiang snatch his knitted hat away. The two started chasing each other until Miao Shuang lost her temper and made them fall back in line.
A group of senior sisters quietly watched the drama unfold, remarking that ever since the boys joined the team, the atmosphere had been completely different. It was nice to have that kind of energy.
They checked into the hotel the organizers had booked—still single suites, as the Youth Tournament never skimped on accommodations.
The match was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, and whether it would be held outdoors would be decided tomorrow.
With heavy snow falling, most people abandoned the idea of going out.
Most of Li Xiang's Pokémon were in good condition, including Greninja. Incineroar, however...
Just as he had expected, the big tiger, which disliked cold environments physiologically, sat on the sofa in a sulk, refusing to speak. It looked like a silent, oversized statue.
It didn't affect its physical condition, but it did affect its mood.
Still, back in Qingcheng's winters, it had been the same way, so everyone was used to it. They went about their own business and ignored it.
The only one who kept circling around its feet was the bewildered Galarian Meowth.
It made for a hilarious scene—one without a thought, the other without a care.
Li Xiang couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Roar!"
Incineroar glared at him. What kind of trainer was this? His own Pokémon was upset and he didn't even try to cheer it up—he even had the nerve to laugh!
"Oh, come on. You were happily eating ice cream a few days ago, and now that it's a little colder, you're upset?"
Li Xiang tugged at its cheeks, watching its white fangs appear and disappear behind its thick lips.
Incineroar snorted hot air from its nose, scalding Li Xiang's hand. It grinned mischievously when Li Xiang yelped and pulled back, slowly perking up.
Ice cream and winter were two completely different things. How could Li Xiang not understand that? He was getting more clueless by the day.
The world-weary big tiger shook its head disdainfully, stood up, walked to the window, and pulled back the heavy curtain to look at the snowy scene outside.
The cold air had condensed into frost on the glass.
It wasn't afraid of the cold, of course. Its mood might be sour, but more than anything, it just wanted to cuddle with Li Xiang.
Back in Qingcheng's winters, before going to sleep, Li Xiang would worry about it getting cold and would pull it and Lucario into bed with him, all of them huddled together. Body against body, heart against heart.
Those were the best memories from its short life.
The next day, the heavy snow gradually lightened.
According to the weather forecast, there was a good chance the sun would come out in the afternoon.
As expected, the venue was switched from indoors to outdoors.
Ruan Qingqing was even more relieved that she didn't have to compete, since thawing snow was even colder than falling snow.
Li Xiang checked the weather and decided to stick with his usual outdoor morning training rather than use the hotel gym.
Following Xu He's advice, he didn't march all his Pokémon behind him as he would at school. He only brought Lucario.
At five in the morning, Lingcheng was just barely lit, with light snow drifting through the air.
It was a pity that the successor of the God-Slaying Sword Art wasn't in Lingcheng, but in another city in Haizhou—otherwise, he could have paid a visit.
"Phew..."
Li Xiang exhaled a cloud of cold mist and gazed at the beautiful Snow Ridge glowing faintly under the hazy morning sun. A thought crossed his mind—he wanted to step foot in those mountains.
Or ride Corviknight and fly over the Snow Ridge, taking in the view from above.
But time and conditions didn't allow it.
He quickened his pace and arrived at the nearest park.
Surprisingly, he wasn't the only one out here. There were one or two other people who passed by him.
Following his usual routine, he found the park's battle area.
He paused, startled.
The thick snow had been cleared.
There was someone there. Not Zhuxian—a blonde, blue-eyed, fair-skinned Far Northerner, doing warm-up stretches. She looked like a student, though it was hard to tell her age.
The thing was, it was below zero, snowing, and she was just wearing a sports tank top?
Even if Far Northerners were more tolerant of the cold, this was a bit much.
Li Xiang glanced beside her and saw an enormous snowman.
Well, that was an Abomasnow.
Its limbs and tail were emerald green, it was plump and round, and it stood over two and a half meters tall—almost as big as the one Li Xiang had seen on Mist Island.
It was exceptionally well-trained.
Li Xiang thought for a moment.
There weren't any Far Northerners on the Haizhou team, were there?
He remembered from the materials he had that neither the new nor returning students included any from the Far North.
A traditionalist trainer?
Online, people said traditionalist trainers were inhuman monsters, and the best of them were monsters among monsters. That certainly fit her characteristic of wearing a tank top in the snow.
Whatever. It didn't matter either way.
He walked in slowly, the crunch of snow underfoot catching the Far Northern girl's attention.
"Hm?"
She turned and glanced at Li Xiang, a flicker of surprise crossing her face before it quickly returned to calm.
They both did their own thing without disturbing each other.
That was, until Li Xiang and Lucario finished their fifteen rounds of Beng Quan and were about to leave.
The girl suddenly spoke.
"You... aren't you here to battle?"
Fifty meters apart, her voice was still crystal clear, though her accent was a bit odd. A Far Northerner who spoke language—not bad.
"No, I'm here for morning training."
Li Xiang replied casually, exchanged a glance with Lucario, and prepared to leave.
But the girl walked closer.
"Want to have a match? Just Lucario and Abomasnow."
Her eyes sparkled.
Li Xiang stopped and asked, rather than answering, "Do you know me?"
"Yes, Li Xiang the Divine Child! The only freshman in Zhuxia's Youth Tournament! I watched your doubles match live!"
The girl nodded honestly, her eyes blazing with fighting spirit. Her words, however, made Li Xiang press his palm to his forehead.
Damn... that was embarrassing.
Li Xiang rubbed his face, nearly forgetting how to breathe. His toes curled inside his shoes, as if digging a three-bedroom apartment out of the snow.
After a few seconds, he replied, "Hold on. Who are you?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm Aurora. From Yeburg. I'm a student at Yeburg Trainer University and a member of the school team."
Aurora apologized. "Our Summer Tournament doesn't start until August. I'm just here to have fun and watch the matches."
No way! A team member from a neighboring region's university!
Li Xiang never expected to run into a member of a neighboring region's school team during a morning jog.
But Yeburg—wasn't that one of the Far North's largest cities? Last year's global stage featured a team from Yeburg!
Whether Aurora had participated in last year's Youth Tournament, Li Xiang couldn't quite recall. He had a bit of face blindness for foreign faces and often couldn't match names to them.
Especially with so many people at the global level, he only remembered a couple of the particularly strong ones.
Still, for Aurora to reveal her identity so directly caught him off guard.
Li Xiang glanced at his watch. There were twenty minutes left before Xu He's six-thirty deadline.
That should be enough.
"Alright. Let's have a match."
Li Xiang stood on the snow-covered field. He was actually curious about Aurora's strength. A member of Yeburg's school team was unlikely to be weak.
Aurora beamed and dashed to the other side of the field. Her massive Abomasnow lumbered in as well.
Even though Abomasnow was weak to Lucario's typing, and its STAB moves wouldn't be very effective, the weather and terrain didn't necessarily favor Lucario.
Both sides got into position.
Li Xiang glanced at Lucario. After this morning's Beng Quan drills, the dog was a bit winded, but it was fully warmed up and in good shape.
Time for a quick finish.
Without a referee, they simply counted down together.
When they reached one, both Pokémon moved!
"Aurora Veil!"
"Agility!"
Abomasnow moved fast, pulling its arms apart to summon a shimmering, multicolored ribbon of light that swirled around its body.
At the same time, snow burst from its body like an explosion, intensifying the falling flakes!
Snow Warning!
Aurora knew Abomasnow was weak to Steel and Fighting, so she wouldn't let it go unprotected. Opening with Aurora Veil was the best choice.
Her eyes were locked onto Lucario, unwilling to miss a single move. From her earlier observation, Li Xiang's Lucario was absurdly fast—if she blinked, she'd lose track of it.
But even with her eyes wide open, Lucario still "vanished" from where it stood.
It was too fast for the eye to track!
She jolted in surprise, but Abomasnow had already acted!
It opened its huge mouth and exhaled a blast of freezing mist, carrying the falling snow and ground snow in a roaring wave of light that surged forward!
Like an avalanche!
It consumed everything in its path!
The attack covered a massive area—almost impossible to push through!
But then—
Whoosh!
Flames ignited from thin air!
Aurora instinctively turned to look at Abomasnow's other side—and found Lucario had somehow appeared there!
Her pupils shrank.
Before Abomasnow could react, Lucario lashed out with a swift roundhouse kick!
Blaze Kick!
A burst of searing blue flame exploded in the wind and snow!
Boom!
Flames devoured the snow in an instant, sending Abomasnow flying like a sack!
Crash!
The massive, pale body slammed into a stone pillar at the edge of the field with a heavy thud, its arms falling limp.
One hit. One knockout.
Lucario slowly lowered its leg, glancing at Aurora, whose brow was furrowing, and casually brushed the snow off its foot.