Chapter 154: Destination: Nanyun Province!
Kenji's eyelid twitched.
With how impatiently Elekid was eating, he didn't expect the little glutton to taste much of anything.
On the other side, Ninetales hooked a finger, using telekinesis to float a dumpling over. She opened her mouth, caught it, and chewed slowly with her eyes closed.
Unlike the Electric-type Elekid, Ninetales had a naturally high body temperature, so the piping hot dumpling didn't bother her at all.
After a moment, Ninetales opened her eyes and nodded solemnly, indicating that it was delicious.
Seeing the picky Ninetales approve of the taste, Kenji let out a sigh of relief.
Then again, dumplings made with High-grade Pokéblocks—specifically ones focused on flavor—couldn't possibly taste bad.
Meanwhile, Elekid continued to eat while grimacing from the heat.
With eight huge Pokémon to feed, Kenji had made a lot of dumplings. Just boiling them took quite a while. By the time all the dumplings were cooked, it was nearly 11:00 PM.
"Burp..."
In the living room, Elekid lay on the sofa. Its already round body had expanded a full size; it had stuffed itself until it looked bloated to the point of bursting.
Since it was the New Year, Kenji didn't bother controlling Elekid's diet. He could just work it off with extra training later.
At the other end of the sofa, Ninetales was holding Bellossom, watching the Spring Festival Gala.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the Gala here and in his previous life was the participation of Pokémon. There were dances featuring humans and Pokémon together, and even skits performed entirely by Pokémon.
Outside the villa, Kenji sat by the pool, holding a bowl of dumplings. Slaking lay on his side nearby. Gyarados was half-submerged in the pool, while Beedrill hovered in mid-air and Arbok lay curled up, all waiting quietly beside Kenji.
After a while, Slaking opened his large mouth. Kenji took the opportunity to feed the last few dumplings from his bowl into Slaking's mouth.
Putting down the empty bowl, Arbok let out a hiss and slithered over, wrapping itself around him.
Arbok disliked low temperatures, but it had stayed outside in the cold just to keep Kenji company. Kenji was touched.
"Happy New Year, Arbok."
"Happy New Year, Beedrill."
"Happy New Year, Gyarados..."
He wished each of his Pokémon a Happy New Year. Beedrill came closer, lowering its head proactively and twitching its antennae. Kenji reached out and patted Beedrill's head.
Gyarados let out a low growl in response. Even Slaking lazily nodded his head and grunted, giving Kenji some face.
Gyarados wasn't afraid of the cold and didn't like being indoors, so Kenji let it stay in the backyard pool. As for Slaking, it didn't matter where he was; with all that fur, he wasn't afraid of the cold either.
After staying outside for a while, Kenji planned to head back inside.
Just then, the villa door opened. Ninetales walked out holding Bellossom, with Pupitar following behind her.
As soon as she stepped out, Ninetales snapped her fingers lightly. Activating her Drought ability just a bit, the freezing backyard instantly became warm.
"Why did you guys come out?" Kenji looked at Ninetales, puzzled.
Ninetales raised her hand and waved the object she was holding. It was a camera.
Kenji didn't recall buying this camera, so Ninetales must have bought it herself.
"A family photo?"
Kenji paused, then looked at Bellossom in Ninetales's arms and Elekid, who had waddled out. Their faces were full of anticipation.
Kenji's heart warmed. Ninetales floated the camera backward, then signaled for Kenji and the other Pokémon to get into position.
After some adjusting, Kenji, the trainer, naturally took the center spot (C-position). Beedrill, the ace, hovered naturally at his side.
Behind them, Gyarados curled its body in the pool, its massive head looming over Kenji.
Bellossom sat on top of Pupitar's head, hovering in the air just below Gyarados's chin.
Slaking continued to lie lazily on one side, with Elekid standing in front of him, waving its hands and grinning with a wide, toothy smile.
Once the pose was set and adjustments were made, Ninetales used Teleport to appear right in front of Kenji. She reverted to her original fox form and sat elegantly by Kenji's feet.
The camera remained suspended in mid-air, controlled by her telekinesis.
"WHOOSH!!!—BANG!!!—"
"Click—"
Behind them, as the clock struck midnight, clusters of fireworks exploded in the sky. As the fireworks bloomed, the camera shutter clicked, capturing the moment.
...
Back inside the villa, Kenji looked at the photo in his hand and couldn't help but smile knowingly.
In this world, he had gained a group of adorable family members.
Perhaps this was the greatest happiness for a trainer.
To gain a group of lovely and reliable family members.
And his journey as a trainer had only just begun. In the future, his family would only grow larger.
After putting away the photo of him and his Pokémon, Kenji checked his phone. He found a flood of New Year's greetings in his chat apps.
They included messages from Leo's family, Mia's parents, Tyson Tang and his sister Bai Bai, Director He, Marina's family, Xie Mu, Xie Er, Guo Fei...
Kenji replied to each of them one by one.
...
Kenji stayed in Edgecliff City for another two days after the New Year. He visited Leo's family and made a trip to the Edgecliff Gym.
After getting all that done, the holiday was over. According to Kenji's original plan, he should have returned to Metropolis Academy for closed-door training before the National Collegiate League.
But now, with the variable of Elite Four Liu Yanju, Kenji had to change his plans and head to Mt. Dreadmist in Nanyun Province first.
Nanyun Province and Summit Province (where Edgecliff is located) were on opposite ends of the country—one in the Southwest and one in the Northeast. The straight-line distance practically spanned the entire Huaxia region.
If Kenji continued traveling on foot, it would probably take him half a month just to reach Mt. Dreadmist.
With the National Collegiate League imminent, Kenji didn't have that much time. So, he decisively chose to take a plane and fly directly to Nanyun Province.
To be precise, to Wumeng City in Nanyun Province.
Looking at the map, Wumeng City was the closest city to Mt. Dreadmist.
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