: The Three Sacred Birds Compete for the Cup

"I really miss those days... don't you think so, old buddy?"

"Doloshi!"

"Ha~"

With a soft chuckle, Lewis placed the metal box on the table in front of him, then bent down and lifted Young Kiras into his arms, placing him on the box as well. He then slowly pulled out the top old photograph, holding it out to the four pairs of eyes.

"This is a photo of me and your grandfather participating in the Three Sacred Birds Cup back then. Do you know what level of competition that is?"

"Of course! The Legendary Bird Cup is one of the major tournaments that only experienced trainers can participate in. Teams of up to three members enter the same hyperdimensional space for wild battles. Only the team that defeats all other teams or has the most loot and successfully escapes can win the championship."

"Yes, your grandfather and I participated in the competition back then. We were so well-coordinated that we defeated countless three-person teams."

"Crunch~ Crunch!"

The dragon-headed gopher beside him also showed a nostalgic expression. Back then, he was a dragon that roamed through sandstorms with Sandslash King, and could be invincible in two-on-four or even two-on-eight battles.

He misses those days; every day at noon when he basks in the sun, he can almost see the scenes of battling with his friends.

But unfortunately...

"Dolo-hiss~"

There's no going back. His trainer is old, and his companion's trainer is no longer alive. They've lost the passion to continue fighting.

Although Pokémon don't lose strength from occasional laziness, he could clearly feel that he could no longer move freely through sandstorms with strong winds cutting through rocks as he used to.

"Do you plan to participate in these kinds of competitions in the future?"

"Maybe. Although I don't really want to go down the path of a trainer, I'm young, and young people enjoy being in the spotlight."

Looking into Lewis's cloudy but clear eyes, Xia Ming answered without hesitation, his voice firm and resolute:

"Besides, this is a free challenge-level multidimensional world. Even if you're not aiming to win, getting some high-level items for free is still great!"

As the saying goes, a trainer who doesn't aspire to be a champion as a side job isn't a good free agent; even a amateur champion is still a champion!

"Haha, what are you saying... Alright, here, take these creation crystals. Want to stay and have a meal before you go back?"

Lewis chuckled, then reached out and grabbed all the Genesis Crystals from the box, stuffing them into Xia Ming's hands. He then invited him to have a casual meal at his home.

It's already 5 p.m., and dinner time will be in about half an hour.

"Thank you, Grandpa Lewis, but no thanks. My Sandslash is waiting for me at home. I've learned some skills over the years, and while I'm not a master chef, I'm barely qualified."

Xia Ming first thanked Lewis, then shook his head to politely decline. The Mountain King was still waiting for him at home, and he was thinking of personally cooking a family feast for Young Gilas and the Mountain King.

Most importantly, he needed to go back early to tidy up his accommodation for the night. Although Pangolin said he would help, but...

It's definitely more reliable to have Psychic-type Pokémon and humanoid Pokémon handle these kinds of things.

"Alright, just come visit this old man when you have time. By the way, if you have time, you can check out the community center. That place... sigh, never mind."

Looking at Lewis, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated, Xia Ming could probably guess what he wanted to say.

The community center was once a bustling landmark of the town, but it has fallen into disrepair in recent years as few young people are willing to maintain it. The older generation is somewhat powerless to keep it up, and the rules passed down from their ancestors do not allow them to ask outsiders to help with the maintenance.

Over time, although it didn't fall into disrepair, it did accumulate dust for a long time.

When Xia Ming was a child, he went in to play out of curiosity, but to be honest, it was really not interesting.

…………

After leaving Lewis's house, Xia Ming stopped by Pierre's place to buy some vegetables, oil, salt, and renewable Pokémon meat for cooking.

Pokémon meat is literally edible meat cut from Pokémon. However, compared to Pokémon killing and eating each other in the food chain, modern people tend to eat more of the meat that can regenerate from Pokémon.

For example, Slowpoke's tail, Jellyfish Pokémon's tentacles, Magikarp's belly meat, Tauros's outer layer of fat, etc.

Although this may be painful, in compensation, the Pokémon whose flesh is taken will receive the best treatment and food in exchange, and most of these transactions are carried out under the witness of the dominant member of the group. Therefore, this is part of the natural ecosystem and is not illegal.

"I'm back, Sandslash King! Tonight I'm cooking a stir-fried Slowpoke Tail with scallions. You absolutely have to try it."

"Bang? Bang!"

Bending down as he walked out of the three-meter-high, two-meter-wide gate, Pangolin nodded in agreement, then pointed to the farm he had spent half the afternoon tending to.

Xia Ming didn't rush to look around, but instead planned to put down the vegetables in his hands first.

After all, it took him a lot of effort to walk from the town all the way to the farm built in the mountain valley. Although there was a road, it was a primitive gravel road that had become difficult to walk on due to long-term neglect.

The half-hour journey almost cost Xia Ming his life.

He had no interest in properly reminiscing about his happy hometown.

Pangolin understood Xia Ming's predicament, so after he entered the house, it quickly brought over a chair and used its claws to hook the ingredients Xia Ming was carrying in his hands and place them on the kitchen cabinet not far away.

"Thank you, Pangolin. By the way, did any Drillhorn Rhinoceroses come to deliver something this afternoon? Did you put them somewhere else?"

Xia Ming said gratefully, tossing the spatial backpack he was carrying onto the dining table next to him. He closed his eyes and lazily lay back in the chair, while the baby Gilas at his feet obediently munched on a small snack.

Besides buying groceries, I also bought Pierre some sweet fruits to satisfy his cravings, such as peaches and candlenuts.

"Bang bang bang~"

"They're piled up in the warehouse? How come that place is still usable?"

"Debang."

"Oh, it's just that the space is a bit bigger. I thought it would still be usable after all this time. Oh well, I'll tidy it up slowly later."

Xia Ming was not surprised. The farm had been abandoned for so long that many of the facilities needed to be repaired before they could be used again. Even the ones that were still usable would need to be renovated, otherwise he wouldn't feel at ease using them.

After resting for a while until the soreness subsided, Xia Ming stood up from the chair again.

"Great, go tidy up the room first, then start cooking and boiling water, and finally enjoy the evening breeze before going to sleep!"

"Oh, and Sandslash, I'll need you to train Larvitar a bit, especially his Rock-type moves. Larvitar, go outside with Sandslash to get familiar with him, and I'll call you when it's time to eat."

"Bang!"

"Yuichi? Yuichi!"

Upon hearing about training, the young Gilas was initially puzzled, but then shouted with great enthusiasm, quickly devoured the peaches in his hand, and rushed outside without stopping.

Behind him, the Mountain King followed with a big smile.