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After a few peaceful days.
Half of Qingcheng's docks had been sealed off, officially announced as undergoing reconstruction.
For a city that relied on maritime trade for its economy, this was a significant blow.
Fortunately, thanks to Li Xiang's timely report, the Association's swift response, and the Master-level trainers' organized resistance, the damage caused by Buzzwole was minimal.
Only a few ships, dozens of warehouses, hundreds of machines, and an entire dock were destroyed.
Compared to the tragedy in the archipelago region, this was nothing.
The number of injured people and those who had seen Buzzwole was also very small, with most of them lying in hospitals receiving treatment.
Not a single photo of Buzzwole's appearance had been uploaded online. Even the surveillance footage had been altered.
What circulated on the internet and TV was just news of a mysterious Pokémon attacking the docks.
As for the Seaside Cave, due to its remote location, it's sealing off went unnoticed.
Passersby might have thought something new was being built there.
Thus, the impact was minimized.
As for Buzzwole, it was either killed, captured, or escaped back into the Ultra Wormhole.
The second possibility seemed more likely, though Li Xiang was just guessing.
But undoubtedly, beneath the calm surface, there were undercurrents.
Because on the fourth day after the incident, the 59-year-old president of the Qingcheng Association, Xu Zhen, announced that he would resign by the end of the year and enter retirement.
On the same day, Xu Dongran, the vice president of the Yuzhou Research Institute, was demoted to an associate professor-level researcher.
The moment these two pieces of news broke, the internet was in an uproar.
The Xu family's sky had collapsed!
Both the pillar and the successor had fallen, meaning the Xu family's influence in Qingcheng was basically over, even if their network still existed.
For a while, all sorts of conspiracy theories flooded the internet.
Xu Wan, once a top-tier young elite, was now reduced to a mid-to-lower-tier figure.
The poor girl probably needed Lin Feng's comfort right now, but unfortunately, Lin Feng was under house arrest. If someone were to swoop in at this moment, especially someone more emotionally mature and…..
Cough… Cough…
Ahem...
After kicking the random intrusive thoughts from his mind, Li Xiang began to seriously consider the Xu family's downfall.
If the Ultra Beasts were indeed brought here by them, mere resignation and demotion were too lenient, after all, the destruction of Flame City was the first major tragedy the Alliance had faced since its establishment.
That bloody number was something no one wanted to mention.
The archipelago region had also been in chaos for a long time and hadn't fully stabilized even now.
Moreover, this probably wasn't Li Zhehan's doing. Li Xiang knew his father's limits, and he wasn't the type to force someone out of their position just to vent his anger.
Most likely, there were other people present during the negotiations that day besides the Xu family and Li Zhehan.
Whatever. Who rises and who falls isn't my concern.
The key point is, did those reckless people manage to get rid of that hot potato?
In Li Xiang's opinion, it would be best to throw it back into the Ultra Wormhole Buzzwole came from. Just don't leave it in Qingcheng.
This major expansion pack came too early. Li Xiang didn't even have the strength to fight back and could only choose to stay away, saying sorry.
The safety of his family was more important than anything else.
"Ah.. why do these people insist on courting death? Isn't living a peaceful life good enough?"
Li Xiang watched TV, gently stroking Torracat, who was sporting a bandaged leg, and sighed.
Torracat rolled its eyes at him, too lazy to correct his misnaming.
Why are you asking a clueless little cat about this? Are you kidding me?
Seeing that Torracat wasn't paying attention, Li Xiang turned to Riolu. "Little Dog, this guy has been corrupted by Meowstic."
Beside him, Riolu sat cross-legged, its paws resting on its knees, eyes closed in deep meditation.
This was something it had learned from Meowstic, who had convinced it that meditation was a way to enhance one's mind and body, greatly aiding in learning moves that required focus.
The young Riolu, having never heard of such a thing, was completely fooled. Whenever it had free time, it would meditate as if it had entered a monastery.
"Li Xiang!"
A shrill cry came from the bathroom.
Li Xiang turned to see the bathroom door open, and a light blue tree frog being tossed out, looking utterly confused.
"Can you teach it not to enter the bathroom when someone's showering?!"
Mrs. Yin shouted, clearly annoyed.
After all, anyone would be startled if they were undressing and suddenly noticed a pair of eyes on the showerhead.
"Mom! Froakie likes damp environments. Where else is it supposed to go if not the bathroom? You just didn't notice it was already in there!"
Li Xiang shouted back, then grabbed Froakie and scolded it:
"And you, can't you come out on your own when someone enters? Do you really want to be a peeping Tom?"
I'm not! I didn't! You're lying!
Froakie shook its head in denial. In fact, its usual hangout spots weren't limited to the bathroom. It also frequented the sink in the toilet, the kitchen sink, and the backyard pond.
If Li Xiang hadn't threatened to tear its head off if it ever went near the toilet, it might have even squatted in there.
After all, that white thing sprayed water, which was quite interesting.
Water-type Pokémon are always drawn to water.
And they're never satisfied with just a small area. Wherever there's water, you'll find them.
Qu Sheng's Wartortle was much the same.
During the summer, when the outside weather was too stuffy and the air-conditioned indoors too dry, Qu Sheng once woke up to find it sleeping in the kitchen sink with a stack of dishes.
Even though there was a huge fish tank in the living room.
"Alright, next time be more considerate, or I won't save you if you get beaten." Li Xiang waved his hand, no longer dwelling on the matter.
After a few days of living together, he became increasingly aware of Froakie's low presence. Even he, its trainer, would sometimes unconsciously overlook it.
Even when it was right beside him, he would still struggle to find it.
It was like looking for glasses while wearing them or searching for a phone while holding it.
This was both a good and a bad thing.
"Riolu!"
Suddenly, Riolu's voice called out.
Li Xiang and Torracat turned their heads, shocked to see three white orbs spinning around Riolu like stars.
Then, Riolu, still sitting cross-legged, began to float as if it had achieved enlightenment!
"Magnet Rise! You learned it!"
Li Xiang was overjoyed. Was this meditation technique really effective? Just two days ago, there hadn't been any sign of progress!
Riolu, having successfully floated, was just as delighted as Li Xiang. For the past few days, it had been struggling to understand what magnetism was and how it could help it levitate.
Even though Pelipper had taken it flying and it had watched countless videos about magnetic fields and gravity, even playing with magnets itself, it was still completely lost.
But after meditating, it gradually recalled the feeling of being carried by Pelipper, sensed the Earth's magnetic field, and remembered the tingling sensation of electricity flowing through its veins when using Thunder Punch.
Without realizing it, It had used Magnet Rise!
"Riolu!"
At this thought, Riolu's focus wavered, and the light orbs around it flickered.
Then, the orbs disappeared, and it fell from the air onto the sofa.
The move was interrupted.
"Good, good, you've learned another crucial move! All those giant magnets Dad bought weren't in vain!"
Li Xiang laughed heartily and hugged Riolu.
As the saying goes, once you've done it once, you can do it again. The hardest part is going from zero to one. Now that Riolu had done it once, it would surely do it again and again!
Finally, one of his Pokémon could battle airborne opponents.
And Riolu even knew Thunder Punch, perfect for taking down those annoying flying pests!
"Meow..."
Torracat glanced at its bandaged paw and sighed.
Its poor cat life was so full of hardships. Not only were there wolves ahead and tigers at the back, but it also occasionally faced ambushes from unknown forces.
Of course, it didn't regret anything.
Regret was useless.
Better to channel its emotions.
Torracat glanced at Riolu, who was happily nestled in Li Xiang's arms, and suppressed the sour feeling in its heart, turning it into anger.
Ever since it coincidentally used Burning Jealousy on Qiong Island, Torracat had realized something.
The power of emotions could help it learn moves!
It was precisely because of its jealousy toward Riolu that it had ultimately learned Burning Jealousy.
But what about other emotions?
Although it couldn't move around much right now, Torracat had already planned to turn its jealousy into anger.
Not anger toward Riolu, but anger toward its own weakness.
If it were stronger, it wouldn't have been injured so badly by Buzzwole. If it were stronger, Li Xiang wouldn't have been in mortal danger.
If it were stronger, what would this tree frog even matter? All the affection would be its!
If...
Repeatedly questioning itself, Torracat's anger continued to build.
Now, it desperately wanted to know what would happen when its anger reached its peak.
At that time, it would tell Li Xiang that not all cats are the same. In its extreme anger, it would instantly learn seventeen or eighteen moves, level up dozens of times, and evolve into its final form!
Thinking this, the little cat gradually fell asleep. Recently, it had been sleeping a lot, probably because it had too much free time.
On the other side.
Having seen the initial success of meditation, Riolu once again sought out Meowstic, who was practicing the art of silence, for more advanced techniques, adopting an extremely obedient posture.
In its eyes, Meowstic had become the embodiment of expertise.
"Riolu!"
[Master! Teach me something else! Master!]
Having never received such treatment in this household, Meowstic couldn't help but feel a bit smug. It coughed lightly, maintaining its composure, and didn't respond.
But the slight lift of its eyelids showed that it was quite pleased with Riolu's respectful address and even wanted to hear more.
Li Xiang watched from the sidelines, curious about how Meowstic had managed to fool Riolu. It seemed to be somewhat effective.
I wonder if Froakie... huh? Where is it?
Whatever, let it be.
Having failed to find Froakie, Li Xiang put it out of his mind, as Meowstic had already begun imparting its wisdom to Riolu.
Meanwhile, Froakie, squatting at Li Xiang's feet and engrossed in the TV, was unaware that it had once again been overlooked by its trainer.
At this moment, it was fully immersed in the movie on the screen, stars flashing in its eyes, the names Mathilda and Leon echoing in its ears.