Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof
-----------------
In the world of Pokémon, every legend has clues to follow, as long as you remember the key elements of each Legendary Pokémon and the characteristics of each Mythical Pokémon.
Among them, in the Sinnoh legends, there are three Pokémon living in lakes. They are the Lake Guardians: Uxie, the Knowledge Pokémon; Mesprit, the Emotion Pokémon; and Azelf, the Willpower Pokémon.
Also known as the Yellow, Red, and Blue Pixies.
In the games, they inhabit a separate dimension within the major lakes of Sinnoh. Usually, only their souls fly out to wander around, asserting their presence.
Among them, the birth of Uxie, the Knowledge Pokémon, brought humanity the wisdom to solve problems.
Simultaneously, its eyes are kept closed. Anyone who sees its eyes will lose a part of their memory.
Its design prototype comes from one of Japan's three sacred treasures—the Yata no Kagami, embodying wisdom, truth and honesty.
A very remarkable Pokémon.
It took Li Xiang several seconds of thought to remember just who that elusive figure in the Misty Lake was, and the stories surrounding it.
Furthermore, the setting of a separate dimension was also quite tricky. The place where Mist Island was located was clearly within Uxie's separate dimension.
But what intrigued him more was Mirage Island.
Was it truly the Mirage Island from Emerald, accessible only through random numbers? And which version's Mirage Island was this?
Different versions of Mirage Island held different meanings.
Also, why were there white mists surrounding the separate dimension, the kind produced when the space-time duo Dialga and Palkia clashed?
That was another question worth pondering.
Additionally, how to enter this separate dimension. According to Incineroar, that whirlpool was definitely the entrance.
But without Slowking's guidance, getting through the white mist was another problem.
And if entering the separate dimension were truly that simple, why would Bai Wanhua insist on waiting much longer before telling him?
What kind of value did Uxie's separate dimension hold? What was the reason behind the formation of oversized Pokémon?
He also really wanted to see that twenty-meter Dragonite with his own eyes.
Right now, he continued asking Incineroar and the others if there was anything else they hadn't mentioned.
Unfortunately, there wasn't.
That was the extent of their intelligence.
Seeing the three Pokémon shake their heads, Li Xiang felt a little regret, but immediately after, a sense of being moved welled up inside him.
"You've worked hard."
He smiled, petting the heads and cheeks of the three Pokémon. "It took nearly a month to get this precious information. Not easy. Truly amazing."
In a moment of excitement, he couldn't help but reach out and hug them tightly.
"Excellent work."
Putting aside the value of this intelligence, just the thought of them striving so hard for his sake filled Li Xiang with immense gratification and being moved.
Hearing this, the depressed mood of the cat, dog, and frog instantly vanished. Broad smiles appeared on their faces as they hugged him tightly.
What was the point of sneaking out every night? Wasn't it to get Li Xiang's praise after reporting back?
Nothing else was needed; a single word, a single gesture was enough.
Of course, Li Xiang didn't forget to reward them.
Currently, thanks to the school's provisions, no matter how expensive the ingredients or finished products, regardless of quantity, it was just a matter of saying the word and registering it.
But he still restricted Incineroar and the others' diet, as overconsumption of some things was bad and could lead to addiction.
Today was a special exception. He doubled their usual portions as a suitable reward.
He also played basketball with Incineroar, took a walk with Riolu, and watered flowers, fertilized plants, and had a water fight with Greninja.
They spent the entire day relaxing.
The reserve team members waiting for Li Xiang to show up at the indoor training facility were inexplicably disappointed. They were hoping that someone would make an appearance.
The next day, after much preparation on multiple fronts, the press conference was smoothly held.
Due to it being an impromptu decision, and because Bai Wanhua and others had personally carefully selected the attendees, the number of chosen media outlets wasn't very large.
Basically, they were all major media and newspapers.
Li Xiang held the answer card Bai Wanhua had given him, which detailed the questions and answers.
Very official.
Additionally, Bai Wanhua told him that after the formal responses, there might be one or two additional impromptu questions not on the card.
He just needed to answer in a positive direction, without saying too much. If he truly couldn't answer, it was fine to be a bit vague.
After all, he was a minor.
Li Xiang nodded to show his understanding.
At the press conference, he wasn't the only one appearing. Su Qian, Xu He, and others were also there.
This helped Li Xiang's inner calm slightly improve.
Down below, there were countless cameras and numerous eyes full of a desire to explore. Flashbulbs were everywhere, nearly blinding him.
It was his first time facing this kind of situation.
Only fifteen years old. It felt quite strange.
The initial questions were all answered smoothly as per the card.
When it came to the impromptu questions, he originally thought he would face difficulties and be asked all sorts of strange things.
Fortunately, that didn't happen. They only asked about his views on the defeated teams from Meicheng University and Hongcheng University; and whether receiving so much attention as a first-year student made him feel lost or troubled.
Regarding those two universities' school teams, Li Xiang personally had no ill feelings towards them; rather, he had positive feelings.
At least, putting himself in their shoes, facing the heavy responsibility on their shoulders and an opponent they simply couldn't defeat, he might not have been as resolute as them.
No matter how messy they appeared, how much ridicule they received, or how depressed they felt inside, at the very least, until the very last moment, they never gave up hope and kept fighting with methods they thought could lead to victory.
Li Xiang felt this was an excellent quality that every trainer should possess.
It was also the shining point of the students from these two universities. Such trainers were worthy of anticipating their future.
Losing itself wasn't scary; what was scary was losing the right mindset along with it.
The three basic elements of being a trainer—perseverance, learning, and humility—nothing was more important than these.
As for the latter question, Li Xiang really wanted to say yes, that ever since he became famous, the phone harassment hadn't stopped.
It mainly came from you media people; the rest wasn't too much.
But he didn't dare say that. After thinking for a moment, he changed it to an official response and tactfully expressed that he was just an ordinary freshman with a bit of strength, blah blah blah.
He hoped to retain a certain amount of personal space.
No choice. Fame is troublesome. Once he stepped onto the stage of the Junior World Tournament, he was destined to be unable to escape this situation.
It was a bit far-fetched, like in Ash's case, where despite advanced networks, no one recognized him even after he won championships and runner-up spots.
But what surprised Li Xiang was that when he was initially hyped as the national number one, it wasn't as exaggerated as this.
So, the social attention for the Spring Tournament was indeed higher than for the Youth Training Camp?
Fortunately, things would settle down once the hype around him died down.
In the age of big data, there were too many hot topics every day. Once people's attention shifted, no matter how famous someone was, they would become obscure.
Let alone someone as fleeting as him, a student.
Without the promotional assist from Mist City University, this press conference would have been redundant.
He estimated that after the Regional Tournament started, no one would pay attention to him anymore.
Everyone's focus would lock onto the team captains and aces of those strong schools.
For example, Su Qian from Mist City, Zhao Pan from Tiandu, etc.
Even an Oscar-winning actor could fade into obscurity and become just "Mr. Liu, the concerned citizen." Let alone him, a youth trainer who hadn't even earned a rank.
He would only be glorious for a few days.
Amidst the hubbub, the press conference completely ended. It ultimately added a bit more fuel to the fire for the name Li Xiang.
After learning that Li Xiang basically wouldn't have any more chances to appear in subsequent matches, the audience showed a certain degree of regret.
And then, life went on as usual.
In the final round of singles in the Spring Tournament, Mist City University vs. Jizhou University finally ended with a score of 5-3 in their favor.
Jizhou University was slightly stronger than Dianzhou University.
Upon learning that Li Xiang wouldn't be playing, the opponent truly breathed a huge sigh of relief, and their combat ability even increased somewhat.
Thus, the champion, runner-up, and third place for singles were determined. Mist City University had a perfect score of 25 points, Jizhou University 23, Dianzhou University 22, and Lincheng University 22.
Although Lincheng University only scored 4 points in their match against Mist City University, their subsequent performance was extremely good, worthy of being last year's fourth place.
Next up, it was time for the doubles matches, specifically for pulling ahead and determining the qualification spots.
The scores were so close that a good performance in doubles could allow for a comeback.
By the way, doubles were scored by wins. Each win added one point. With a total of thirty teams, there would be one bye, randomly giving one doubles pair a free point.
The highest champion could get 5 points, runner-up 4 points, third and fourth place 3 points, and so on.
Matches often saw situations where the runner-up, third, and fourth place all came from the same school, ultimately allowing for a successful comeback.
This was because the organizers generally tried to arrange matches between doubles pairs from different schools.
Internal matches, unless absolutely necessary, were usually avoided.
For Mist City University, the three competing pairs were: Team 1 composed of Zhao Jie and Lu Shu, Team 2 composed of water-type regular Shen Qing and grass-type regular Bai Xiang, and Team 3 composed of ground-type regular Feng Laiyi and a reserve senior sister.
The first two teams were veterans of doubles cooperation. Last year, Mist City University's achievement of reaching the top four was largely due to them.
The remaining doubles team from last year were graduates, so a new doubles team needed to be quickly developed.
Li Xiang focused on this third group.
Fortunately, Feng Laiyi's strength was very formidable. Her Vibrava, with its Rock Slide move, had taken down countless opponents. After Mudsdale's Stamina Ability kicked in, it became enduring to a frightening degree, withstanding opponents' Liquidation attacks.
The third group held strong until the quarterfinals before finally falling.
Meanwhile, Zhao Jie and Lu Shu's team, along with Shen Qing and Bai Xiang's team, simply met in the finals.
Ultimately, the qualified individuals did not change. It was still Mist City University, Dianzhou University, and Jizhou University.
Lincheng University missed out by a single point, a cause for regret.
If they could have won just one more doubles match, one more singles match...
But there was no "if."
Li Xiang watched the Lincheng University team captain standing on the award podium, smiling as he received the fourth-place medal, and then immediately started crying the moment he stepped down, along with the Lincheng University students who were weeping in unison. His heart felt rather complicated.
Lincheng University was still relatively lucky; they at least had the chance to go on stage and receive an award.
The six other schools didn't even have that opportunity. If they wanted to cry, they could only do so in empty corners, quietly sobbing.
Then, they would board their buses and dejectedly return to their respective schools.
For many of them, this might have been their last big tournament.
But in the end, they never got to see the main venue of the Summer Tournament, to attempt battling other schools from across Zhuxia.
They were locked out within the Xianan region.
This kind of feeling, Li Xiang never wanted to experience in this lifetime, and he didn't plan to.
The Spring Tournament thus drew to a close.
The Summer Tournament—the first half of the regional level of the Junior World Tournament—would begin in early July this year.
A total of twenty-seven school teams, including powerful schools from the five capitals, nine prefectures, and thirteen islands, would all compete on the same stage.