Chapter 160: The Everhart Family Birthday Banquet
At that moment, facing Mismagius's answer, Arthur felt very hurt.
Although the killing aura on his body was a bit heavy, and his presence a bit strong, to suspect he wasn't human—wasn't that a bit too much?
If I'm not human, could I possibly be a Machamp then?
Little did he know, in the little Eevee's eyes, the difference between him and a Machamp was probably only that he didn't wear his underpants on the outside...
Mismagius also chuckled secretly.
Fortunately, in the time that followed, the little Eevee finally, gradually, confirmed Arthur's species. Afterward, when the Flareon mother's milk was insufficient, it also sensibly came to Arthur here to scrounge a few meals.
This, on the day of the birthday banquet, left Monica watching dumbstruck.
"Eh? Have you cast some kind of magic on this little one these past few days? He's actually so close to you already?"
She stared at Arthur, looking him up and down; no matter how she looked, she couldn't believe Arthur would be someone skilled at coaxing little Pokémon to be happy.
"You couldn't possibly have threatened him with force, could you?"
Arthur was momentarily quite speechless as well.
"Of course not!"
In fact, the little Eevee's change of impression towards him was actually more due to the efforts of Specter and Mismagius.
Mismagius had always been very fond of juvenile Pokémon.
Specter, on the other hand, harbored a longing for his past comrade-in-arms.
During these two hundred years, he had been muddle-headed by hatred, basically losing contact with all his past partners, single-mindedly managing the organization and looking for trouble with Mythical Pokémon everywhere.
By the time he looked back and re-evaluated, many of his partners from back then were already gone.
Just like Leafeon.
Now, having sobered up, Specter couldn't help but feel somewhat regretful and sad about this.
Although he verbally cursed "dog-humper" every day, upon truly seeing Leafeon's descendants again, even if they were descendants separated by over ten generations, he momentarily couldn't help but always want to do a little something more.
The companionship and amusement provided by the two ghosts were the real reason for the little Eevee's rapid change of impression towards Arthur.
It was just that Specter and Mismagius had always gone to find the little Eevees at night previously, never appearing in front of outsiders. Therefore, Monica, living in the same large courtyard, had been unaware all along.
Although puzzled, Monica also gladly offered her blessings, "Then I wish you success in capturing him. The little fellow will probably choose his master today. Many people have their eyes on him; you'll have to work hard~"
"Okay."
Arthur responded briefly, appearing full of confidence.
Subsequently, when evening arrived, the birthday banquet formally began.
Several round tables were set up in the courtyard, and many people gathered together, eating, talking, and laughing.
Arthur mainly sat and chatted with Monica.
It couldn't be helped; he really didn't know anyone else.
However, quite a few people knew him.
The military live broadcast previously had truly raised his fame to an unprecedented height.
Before long, Levi came over to find him, saying the old patriarch was calling him over, wanting to thank him face to face.
Arthur followed him.
This grandfather of the Everhart family was celebrating his eightieth birthday this year. His physique was still robust, but his facial features inevitably bore the marks of time's passage.
Upon seeing Arthur, the old gentleman smiled cheerfully.
"Is it Arthur? Come, come, quick, sit down! This time, Levi's operation in the Star Brilliance Alliance was successfully concluded thanks to you. You truly are remarkable! Single-handedly killing the Stitched Shadow Army's leader! A hero emerges from a young man!"
Arthur quickly offered a few humble words.
Afterward, he sat obediently, quietly waiting for the other party to continue speaking.
Honestly speaking, up until now, he still hadn't guessed what the old gentleman's true intention was in specially inviting him over for this meal.
As for him having helped Levi out, that indeed counted.
Regardless of how one put it, with Oliver's disappearance, the Kubfu Alliance's operation could at least conclude a month ahead of schedule.
But to say it was all thanks to him... somehow, it made Arthur feel somewhat guilty.
Even without him, Kubfu Alliance was never at a disadvantage; at most, it was merely a matter of how long it would take.
Therefore, for a moment, besides being modest, he really didn't know how to continue the conversation.
It wasn't until Old Master Everhart spoke again, "Arthur-kun, are you interested in a career in the military? I heard from Levi about your skills; they're quite remarkable!"
Only then did Arthur understand the other party's intention.
Turns out, it was for recruitment.
However, Arthur also had something to say.
"One must be eighteen to enlist in the army. My age isn't sufficient yet."
This was actually also the reason why, when he first transmigrated, he hadn't thought of directly enlisting but instead chose to take the professional trainer route to earn Alliance merit points.
Nowadays was no longer his era.
The military did not recruit minors.
Two hundred years ago, it was wartime, and moreover, trainers were too scarce then, considered highly sought-after talent.
Arthur himself, back then, was also specially recruited into the army ahead of time at the age of fourteen due to coincidentally capturing a Pokémon.
Originally, even at that age, he hadn't met the enlistment standard for that time.
Let alone now.
Old Master Everhart laughed heartily and said, "No hurry, no hurry. I know you're still young; the younger generation is truly formidable."
However, immediately after, Old Master Everhart's expression suddenly turned serious, and his words also abruptly became solemn.
"But I heard that your main focus is participating in those Pokémon competition matches?"
"Uh, yes."
Arthur nodded his head.
The fact that he was a trainee at the club's youth training camp was never a secret.
Although it had been a very long time since he had gone back to properly attend classes...
Old Master Everhart admonished rather sternly, "If you ask me, if you truly want to pursue a career in the military in the future, it's best you participate less in those competitive matches. That circle, ah, it corrupts people."
Arthur was left completely baffled, unsure what expression to make.
Why is it that if one wants a career in the military, it's best to play less Pokémon competitions?
And what does "that circle corrupts people" mean?
Solely based on Arthur's current personal experience, he didn't feel there was any conflict between participating in Pokémon competitions and enlisting for practical combat.
Seeing his perplexed expression, the old gentleman added another sentence, "That circle in Kubfu now is an utter mess. How many years has it been? How many years since we lost the World Cup championship? Has there been any improvement? They've lost all face!"
Hearing this, Arthur faintly had some realization.
Military personnel, especially those of the older generation, all place particular importance on honor.
For military personnel, the honor of the Alliance is where their faith lies.
And in the area of Pokémon competition, Arthur had heard something about it as early as when he first transmigrated: Kubfu Alliance, these years, had performed rather poorly in various international events.
The Kubfu Alliance's overall strength steadily ranks among the world's top three, jointly known with Sinnoh and White Eagle as the three superpowers of this world.
However, in the most recent World Cup, Kubfu Alliance didn't even make it into the top four...
Tracing back further, Kubfu Alliance hadn't touched the World Cup championship trophy for over thirty years.
Was it because Kubfu's competitive atmosphere was bad?
It didn't seem so. Kubfu's professionalization of Pokémon competition started very early, and its commercial development was also very mature.
Even Kevin knew that the degree of professionalization on Kubfu's side was much higher than in his hometown, the Star Brilliance Alliance.
Then was it because few people played competitively?
Even more not the case!
Previously, just the Golden Autumn Cup that Arthur participated in, an amateur-level league, could become a major theme cultural project for a large province like Ming Province. This showed that the number of people following and participating in Pokémon competitions was not small at all.
Then the question arose—
Why is it that with basic conditions all being not lacking, Kubfu Alliance always fails to achieve results in the highest-level leagues?
At least, Arthur, at this moment, could be said to have figured it out. In Old Master Everhart's eyes, it seemed some people should be held responsible for the honor lost over these years.
However, at this moment, he still didn't know which group of people Old Master Everhart was actually cursing.
(End of Chapter)
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