Pokémon: Dreams Come True Starting in Sinnoh

Chapter 206 Night Camp, The Plan to Let Xiaoguang Relax

"I feel like it's a bit of a pity."

That evening, after leaving Riolu and the others.

The roaring campfire crackled and popped, and in the quiet night, Hikari thought about the Riolu and couldn't help but sigh.

"What's a pity?"

Ash sat by the campfire and continued to "play" with the Aura he had just mastered. During his time with Riolu, Ash's control over Aura had made a qualitative leap.

However, Ash is still unable to expand the range of his Aura, as that would consume too much of his mental energy.

"It's Riolu, isn't it very powerful? If it has that kind of power, wouldn't it be a waste to just stay in one place for its entire life?"

Xiao Guang spoke his mind very frankly.

However, there's nothing wrong with her idea. Any Pokémon trainer would have the same thought immediately after learning about Riolu.

If it weren't for the responsibilities it had to fulfill, Riolu would probably be shining on the big stage, right?

"That's Riolu's homeland. It loves its kingdom, it loves that old man, and it also loves the people in the kingdom it will need to protect in the future... Its homeland is there, so instead of feeling sorry, let's wish it can become the place it longs for in the future."

"The one in your heart? By the way, Ash, you said that with Riolu's help, you can now use Aura to read Riolu's mind."

"However, this isn't the first time Ash has used the power of Aura."

Xiao Gang's interruption drew Xiao Guang's displeasure.

She pursed her lips, pretending not to care and just staring quietly at the campfire, but in reality, Xiao Guang was still somewhat envious and longing for Xiao Zhi and Xiao Gang's past experiences.

Even though most of those experiences were accompanied by danger.

"So what kind of being does Riolu want to become?"

As Xiao Guang added firewood to the campfire, he asked this casually, almost as if talking to himself.

Ash pondered, recalling Riolu's appearance at that time, and said:

"A being who can appear before people in times of crisis, leaving only a safe and steady figure on the battlefield."

"What is that...? Speaking of which, there can't possibly be a war in Riolu's kingdom right now, right?"

"Hmm... that image should be the hero from the fairy tales that Riolu's breeder, the old man, told it since it was born."

He is strong, mature, and stable; just by standing there, he can give people an unparalleled sense of security.

Just imagining Riolu becoming Lucario and becoming even stronger made Ash chuckle a few times. Although Riolu wasn't his Pokémon, Ash was still incredibly proud of its growth.

"Really? Ha~~~"

As he was talking, Xiao Guang let out a big yawn.

It wasn't too late yet, but Hikari, who had been wholeheartedly preparing for the Grand Contest these past few days, was already feeling sleepy.

She originally wanted to train for another half hour before bed, but when Xiaozhi saw that she was about to give up, he half-driven Xiaoguang into the tent and told her to go to sleep.

Less than a minute later, Ash and Brock heard steady breathing coming from inside the tent, indicating that Dawn had fallen asleep.

"Wow, that was fast. I didn't expect her to fall asleep so quickly."

Xiao Gang sighed, then pulled the bucket closer, intending to put out the campfire later.

"Of course she'll be tired from training so hard. Xiaoguang has been too tense these past few days. She needs to relax a bit. The pressure from the Mikkel Cup is too much for her."

"Pikachu~"

Ash scratched the fur on Pikachu's head, while Pikachu, who was already dozing off on the other side, reached out to try to swat Ash's hand away. However, because its arms were too short, Pikachu's plan failed, so it could only protest with a snoring sound.

"The Mikuri Cup... I don't know much about this competition, but it seems to be much more difficult than the Yori no Tsurugi. Is Hikaru really okay?"

Xiao Gang expressed his concern for Xiao Guang in a motherly manner.

While Ash knew that Dawn had indeed won the tournament in the past, no one dared to say for sure what would happen if they did it all over again, after all—

"It's probably going to be difficult, since Haruka is also going to participate in this year's Mikkuri Cup."

The air was silent for a few seconds.

In this brief moment, not only Xiao Gang froze, but even Xiao Guang's breathing inside the tent stopped.

"Huh? Haruka's coming too? I really miss her~ So, Ash, have you and Haruka talked on the phone? Did she say when we should pick her up at the pier?"

Time passed, and Xiao Gang, only then realizing what had happened, pressed for an answer, but—

"I...I don't know..."

"what?"

He thought Ash must have already communicated with May, but he never expected Ash to give such an answer.

"Because May and Max were arguing about something strange when I made the call at the Pokémon Center, I just hung up. But the Pokémon chart does show the arrival time of the nearest cruise ship... it's the day after tomorrow at noon."

Ash brought up the screen on the Pokémon list and said this.

Although he didn't know if Xiaoyao would contact him again, there were only a few cruises, so he could just wait at the pier by Lizhi Lake each time, right? It wasn't a difficult thing anyway.

"Hmm... We'll have to deal with the rest later. Right now, we should let Hikaru relax a bit. There are still a few days until the Mikkuri Cup, so it's best to let Hikaru get a good rest before then."

As Xiao Gang spoke, he took out a travel guide from his pocket and flipped through its pages by the light of the campfire. Finally, he paused, as if he had discovered something, and placed the guide in front of Xiao Zhi, pointing to the contents and saying:

How about this one?

"Hmm? The golden bridge where poisonous white butterflies fall in love on a full moon night?"

Xiao Zhi murmured to himself, feeling that something was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

......

P.S.: Daily gift request~!