Chapter 25 – Arriving in Shantou City
The boring graduation ceremony was finally over.
Chen Xiaoxiao had officially received the document certifying her four years of study: her Graduation Certificate.
After parting ways with the teary-eyed He Xiaowen—her roommate, best friend, and occasional sparring partner Chen Xiaoxiao officially began her journey as a full-fledged Pokémon Trainer.
Departing from Shencheng Pokémon High School, she hailed a taxi bound for the outskirts of the city. Since air travel within city limits was restricted except for licensed aerial taxis like "Didi Bidiao"—Chen Xiaoxiao had no choice but to take a ground route. Fortunately, Shencheng Pokémon High was already located near the edge of the metropolitan zone, so the drive only took a few minutes.
Once beyond the city limits and past the official Trainer Departure Point, Chen Xiaoxiao stepped out of the taxi, unclipped a Poké Ball from her belt, and flicked it forward.
"Come out—Togekiss!"
With a soft hum and a flash of red light, a Pokémon emerged mid-air. Its plump, egg-shaped body was covered in downy white fur. Triangular wings extended gracefully from its sides, and the red and blue triangular pattern on its lower belly shimmered in the afternoon light. Its head sported three small, feathered crests one white in the center, flanked by red and blue tips.
The evolution of Togepi and Togetic—this was Togekiss, a rare Fairy/Flying-type Pokémon known for its gentle nature and graceful flight.
Because today marked Huaxia's national graduation day, there were quite a few newly licensed trainers gathered near the edge of the city, preparing for their own adventures. When Chen Xiaoxiao released Togekiss, its striking presence immediately drew attention.
"Whoa! Check it out, it's a Togekiss!" – Passerby A
"Oh my gosh! That's such a gorgeous Flying-type. I want one too!" – Passerby B
"Snap out of it, bro. We're still in the daylight realm." – Passerby C
"She's not just beautiful—it's majestic!" – Passerby D
"Is it just me, or is Togekiss's trainer really cute too?" – Passerby E
"When I say beautiful, I meant the trainer, not just the Poké Kid!" – Passerby D
"Bro, I was just about to say that. We're so in sync!" – Passersby D & E
. . . . . .
Chen Xiaoxiao didn't bother to respond to the buzz around her.
Togekiss was extremely rare, especially outside of professional League circles, so the crowd's reaction was expected. The Fairy/Flying-type wasn't just beautiful—it was powerful, graceful, and highly sought after.
As for their chatter about whether the trainer herself was pretty, Chen Xiaoxiao didn't even flinch. She was long used to being stared at. She had lost count of the number of times strangers had approached her on the street, or how many love letters she'd received over the years at school—enough to "boil a whole hot pot," as she liked to joke.
She had long since developed immunity to that kind of attention.
In one smooth motion, she hopped lightly onto Togekiss's back, legs straddling just behind the curve of its broad wings.
"Let's go, Togekiss," she said quietly.
With a soft, melodic cry, Togekiss flapped its wings once and the two soared gracefully into the wide blue sky, heading toward Shantou City.
Sitting behind Togekiss, Chen Xiaoxiao enjoyed the view from the sky as the wind rushed past her face. Below, the vast, patchworked terrain of fields, rivers, and forests unfolded like a living map. From her high vantage point, she truly felt the meaning of the phrase: "From the mountaintop, all other peaks seem small." Stretching out her arms, she let the breeze wash over her.
"It feels so good to soar through the skies like this!" she exclaimed with joy.
After savoring the moment, Chen Xiaoxiao took out her Pokédex—the latest model co-developed by Devon Corporation and Silph Co. in collaboration with Huaxia's regional tech giant, Penguin Inc.
She opened the Penguin Navigation app, marked her destination as Shantou City, and selected "Flying" as her travel method.
She also enabled the "Avoid Urban Airspace" option—since non-commercial flying through cities was strictly forbidden by the Huaxia League's Airspace Regulations. Only licensed carriers like "Didi Bidiao" or Pokémon with flight permits for emergency services could enter city skies.
The app quickly calculated the optimal flight route from her current coordinates to Shantou City, complete with altitude advisories and real-time wind data. A calm, pleasant voice guided her along the way—a popular voice pack nicknamed "Nurse Joy GPS" by students.
Flying steadily with favorable tailwinds, Chen Xiaoxiao and Togekiss reached the outskirts of Shantou City after roughly an hour. They could have arrived faster, but she had instructed Togekiss to avoid prolonged high-speed flight for its well-being.
"Togekiss, let's land over there," she said, pointing toward a clearing just outside the city's trainer checkpoint.
They landed gently. Once on the ground, Chen Xiaoxiao reached into her bag, pulled out a few high-grade energy cubes—a blend specially formulated for Fairy and Flying-types—and offered them to her loyal partner.
"You've worked hard, Togekiss. Eat something and rest in your Poké Ball afterward."
Just as Togekiss happily munched on the cubes, a young man—about eighteen or nineteen, dressed in a windbreaker with a stylized Wing Badge insignia—approached them.
"You must be from out of town, right?" he asked with a smile. "Your Togekiss is rare and well-trained. Are you up for a one-on-one battle?"
Chen Xiaoxiao's expression darkened slightly.
"You can tell I'm not local, and yet you still challenge me after my Togekiss has just flown for an hour straight?" she said coldly.
The young man looked startled, then quickly bowed his head.
"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to be inconsiderate. I'm an apprentice at the Shantou City Flying Gym—I specialize in Flying-types. I just got excited seeing a Togekiss and asked without thinking. I sincerely apologize."
Seeing his sincere apology and trainer uniform, Chen Xiaoxiao realized he truly hadn't meant any disrespect. Trainers who specialized in Flying-types often grew passionate when seeing a rare avian species.
Her thoughts drifted as she recalled a thread from the Huaxia Trainer Forum—one that theorized the source of the mysterious telepathy sighting near Shantou was a Psychic-type Pokémon, possibly wild or abandoned. However, the post hadn't specified which forest or location.
"It's been days since that post went up," she thought. "Others have likely been searching already. Without clearer directions, it's too easy to waste time... But this guy's a Flying Gym apprentice—he probably knows the nearby terrain well. Maybe I can ask him."
Before she could speak, Togekiss gave a gentle cry and nudged her side. Chen Xiaoxiao, who could understand basic Pokémon speech due to her family's Psychic heritage, smiled and stroked its head.
"You want to battle, Togekiss? Aren't you tired?"
Togekiss shook its head confidently, eyes sparkling with determination.
Realizing Togekiss wanted to stretch its wings in a fight, Chen Xiaoxiao turned back to the young trainer.
"Alright then! What's your name?"
"My name is Zhang Guoxiong. Are you sure? I really didn't mean to offend you earlier," he said, scratching his head in embarrassment.
"Chen Xiaoxiao," she replied calmly. "It's fine. You saw it—Togekiss wants to battle too. Go ahead and send out your Pokémon."
"Okay! In that case—let's go! Altaria!"
With a burst of light, a majestic Altaria took flight, its cloud-like wings shimmering in the sun. The Dragon/Flying-type Pokémon sang softly as it hovered, its gentle aura radiating calm.
Zhang Guoxiong grinned with pride. Battles like this were rare.
Togekiss flapped its wings in response, hovering beside Chen Xiaoxiao with confidence.
Chen Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow in surprise. Altaria wasn't a common Pokémon, and it evolved from Swablu only under high friendship—let alone reaching a level suitable for battle. And if it Mega Evolved, it would become Dragon/Fairy—a truly rare typing.
"Is this guy really just an apprentice?" she wondered.
Still, she knew the rule of battle: Know your enemy, know yourself. She opened her system interface and scanned Altaria for tactical data:
Altaria
Gender: ♂
Level: 53 (Quasi-Elite Advanced Tier)
Type: Dragon/Flying
Nature: Gentle (↑ Special Defense, ↓ Attack)
Ability: Natural Cure – Status conditions are cured when the Pokémon switches out.
Hidden Ability: Cloudless Mind – Immune to weather-related stat changes, form shifts, and environmental debuffs.
Potential: Quasi-Elite
She smiled faintly. This might not be an easy win—but it would definitely be a battle worth remembering.
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