Chapter 72: VS Shen

"Ding!"

"Daily Mission: Do Two Thousand Skip Ropes"

"Quest Reward: 1 Rare Candy (for Pokémon below level 50) and 300 points"

Every morning at eight o'clock, new daily tasks appear. These tasks can be quite unusual, ranging from skipping rope and feeding Pokémon to climbing mountains.

Some of the stranger tasks include holding your breath underwater for a whole minute, climbing a tree that's 30 meters tall, or simply staring at a Magikarp for an hour!

Julian finished his daily task in under fifteen minutes and was happy to collect his reward: 1a Rare Candy.

In the game, Rare Candy is useful for helping Pokémon level up, but this one can only be used on Pokémon under level 50. Since his Metagross was level 51, he couldn't use it on him. Instead, he called out Lucario and was about to hand the Rare Candy to him when Meltan suddenly jumped up excitedly.

"Here, eat this!" Julian said, pulling out Aron's metal shell from his storage. 

When Aron evolves into Lairon at level 18, it sheds this tough metal shell. This shell is special; it's made of all the metal Aron has eaten and can be used for many things, from making tools to crafting items. Plus, some Pokémon really enjoy eating it, like Meltan, who absolutely loves this metal shell.

With the metal shell in front of him, Meltan lost interest in the Rare Candy. Meanwhile, Lucario happily ate the candy, increasing his level from 42 to 43. The candies from the system have no side effects, so there was no worry about Lucario becoming unstable after the level up.

"Ding Dong~"

The doorbell rang.

When the waiter saw Lucario open the door, he paused for a moment before smiling and asking, "What would you like for breakfast?"

Julian quickly ordered his breakfast. He was becoming quite a well-known figure at the conference, so even at the hotel, many recognized him. Most people respected his space, but there were always a few who wanted to chat or take a photo.

To avoid distractions, Julian preferred to stay in his room when he wasn't busy.

His breakfast was simple yet satisfying: ten xiao long bao, a fried dough stick, and a bowl of salty soy milk.

(TL/n: Xiao Long Bao, also known as XLB, is a type of small Chinese steamed bun (baozi) originating from Shanghai and Wuxi. It is a delicate, soup-filled dumpling made of ground pork and pork broth.)

"Long live the salty soy milk!" he joked, releasing Metagross and Dragonair. Luckily, his room was spacious; otherwise, Dragonair might feel cramped with its long, slender body.

He took out energy cubes for Metagross, Lucario, and Dragonair but to his surprise, none of them ate right away. They all looked at him instead.

Julian chuckled, realizing he needed to make the food more appealing. He decided to buy some Fluffy Powder from the mall.

Fluffy Powder: This makes energy cubes soft and tasty.

This powder doesn't add any nutritional value but greatly improves the flavor. Energy cubes can be quite dense, so Pokémon might prefer something soft. After sprinkling the Fluffy Powder on the energy cubes, the three Pokémon eagerly devoured their meals. It's hard for any Pokémon to resist delicious food!

Meltan, on the other hand, didn't care for energy cubes. He was content munching on Aron's metal shell, which he preferred over the cubes. However, he was picky about the quality and wouldn't eat just any shell.

All of Julian's Pokémon had developed their preferences, thanks to the best resources he could provide them, whether from the Walker family or the special items from the system mall.

After breakfast, Julian spent some time scrolling through social media, mostly watching Pokémon-related videos. At 9:30, he called back his four Pokémon into their Luxury Balls. His game was scheduled for ten o'clock, and it would take him about 20 minutes to walk to the sixth venue.

The excitement in the air was palpable. This was an individual competition, and the energy of the crowd was even more intense than during the team matches. The venue, which could seat 50,000, was already packed, with many people standing in the aisles.

"Hey, Julian! You didn't cheer for me!"

Will exclaimed as soon as he spotted him. He had just finished his match in venue No. 5.

"Did you win?" Julian asked, grinning.

"Of course! I beat that rookie in less than an hour!" Will replied, his pride shining through as he animatedly shared details about his game.

"Han and Zosh are also competing at ten, so it's just us here," he added, gesturing to their fellow competitors Chase, Chris and Zack.

Though they hadn't qualified for the individual competition, they were still basking in the glory of their recent team victory. 

"Don't worry; you'll get bonus points form the team victory for the entrance exam coming up in two months," Julian said, knowing how important every point could be.

As Julian looked around, Will noticed eyes searching for someone. 

"Shen is already in the player room," he said, sensing Julian's curiosity.

"Alright, I'll head over now," Julian replied, feeling the gaze of many spectators on him. 

The clock struck ten.

As Julian and Shen stepped out from their respective passages, they took their places on the battlefield. It was a standard venue; special themed arenas would only be used in the semifinals.

"I heard they were teammates during the team competition," someone whispered from the crowd.

"Wait, aren't they a couple?" another voice chimed in.

"Come on, Sister Shen, Retaliate for my Nolan, and defeat this b*****d"

"I heard that Nolan likes fried noodles"

The live comments were buzzing with excitement, mostly cheering for Shen and urging her to get revenge for Nolan, it seems a lot of lady fans were present.

As the cheers rang out, Julian took a deep breath, ready for the match ahead.

*****

Upto 30 chapters ahead on patreon :-

patreon.com/ReduxMagister