Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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On the day of reunion, there was naturally no need to go to the dojo in the afternoon.

As it happened, Duan Tianxing also needed to reunite with his family, so Li Xiang could only tag along for a meal.

After lunch, a certain young man started knocking on the door downstairs.

Lin Feng's family home was also in the neighboring district, so it wasn't too far. Whenever he went back home, he often came to find Li Xiang to hang out.

Today was no exception.

"Do you remember the secret base we used to go to when we were kids?"

He lowered his voice, looking left and right as if someone might be listening.

Secret... base?

Li Xiang blinked and quickly recalled an abandoned, overgrown small dock, covered with broken stones and cracks in the ground.

Boys were always mischievous as kids, running around the streets and alleys like it was routine.

Kids like Lin Feng and Li Xiang, who weren't controlled by extra tutoring classes, were the epitome of carefree play.

They even created multiple "secret bases."

"It's been a long time since we went there. I wonder what it's like now, maybe it's been demolished?"

Lin Feng spoke with a tone of nostalgia.

Li Xiang shrugged. "Who knows? We can just go check it out, although it's a bit far."

Today, there were no bodyguards, and there wouldn't be any in the future. Li Xiang's Litten and Riolu had taken over the responsibility of protecting him.

The two walked, one in front and one behind, heading towards the place in Li Xiang's memory.

Along the way, Lin Feng didn't forget to talk about his recent achievements.

For example, his Porygon's driving skills had improved, and it had mastered the basics of drifting, no longer needing to take such wide turns. It even improved the accuracy of using moves while moving at high speed.

"To practice this, I actually used a wooden board as a target!"

The young man sighed, revealing his bruised arm. Charmeleon also sighed, rubbing its still slightly sore arm, since it was one of the targets.

Or rather, it was because it couldn't take it anymore that Lin Feng decided to take over.

Using moves while moving wasn't too difficult of a technique—actually, it could be considered basic. But the accuracy of the moves would drop drastically, and missing was very common.

There were simply too many factors to consider.

Li Xiang had also been a moving target himself, and not just once or twice.

The furry Fireball technique, which he usually didn't use, originally had a long wind-up time and required standing still to cast. Without the right timing, it was basically giving the opponent a free opportunity.

But after more practice, it had become a move that could be executed much more proficiently.

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Qingcheng Dock.

As one of the five major ports in Yuzhou, the import and export volume of Qingcheng Dock was unimaginable to most.

Its scale was terrifyingly large.

However, these were all related to the new dock. The old dock, which was once used for smuggling or private fishing boats, had mostly become a thing of the past.

A symbol of progress?

Li Xiang and Lin Feng's secret base was an old, abandoned dock from a long time ago. It was small, with a two-story dilapidated house covered in dust and ivy, made of gray limestone concrete.

Concrete appeared early in this world, as the technique was passed down by the ancient builders.

The wooden walkway extending from the coast was broken and shabby, and the water beneath was pitch black, with no idea what had grown in it.

"What a forsaken place..."

He looked at the terrain and immediately understood why it had been abandoned.

The place was next to a cliff, and its location was so remote that big ships couldn't get in, and small boats wouldn't come. What was the point of keeping it?

Furthermore, it seemed to be a private dock, connected to a house that looked like a haunted mansion.

"Wow, it's been years since I came here, and it's really changed... huh? There are signs of activity. Did water-type Pokémon come ashore?"

Lin Feng pushed aside the tall grasses, noticing many broken branches and bent plants.

There were even signs of soil sinking.

—The shapes were strange, but not the bulbous, human-like footprints.

He squatted down and observed. "Looks like it's a Pokémon with some weight. Do you think it could be a Blastoise? I've really been wanting a new Pokémon, preferably a water type."

"Let's not talk about whether that's possible. Even if it's a Blastoise, you won't catch it. It's level 30, at least. I wouldn't mind helping you out, though."

Li Xiang casually replied.

"Hey? You said it! I just happen to have some Poké Balls on me!"

He excitedly patted the bag on his back.

The sound of Poké Balls clashing together, making a plastic-like noise, could be heard. By the looks of it, he seemed to have quite a few.

Li Xiang twitched his mouth. "You were already prepared? You tricked me into coming here, didn't you?"

"We're brothers! How could that be called tricking you?"

Lin Feng retorted with righteous indignation. "Can training be considered a trick?"

Li Xiang didn't bother to respond. He turned and glanced at the small house.

He definitely wouldn't come here at night, but during the day, he was curious enough to take a look.

Of course, they had been inside before, but back then, he and Lin Feng had made a habit of scaring each other, chasing each other around in fear until they eventually screamed and ran away.

After all, the inside of the small house was indeed quite dark.

So, he called Lin Feng and started exploring together.

The door was broken, half hanging, so they could just step over it.

The interior was darker than the light areas, looking gloomy and a little eerie.

"Ugh, so dirty." Lin Feng, holding a bundle of grass, knocked down a spiderweb that who-knows-which Pokémon had spun.

No matter the world, Bug-type Pokémon always liked to crawl into dark places.

The house's owner had moved into a nearby community, so the place was very empty. There wasn't much trash, just some scattered broken wooden furniture.

There was, however, a large amount of dust, which floated around like a wisp of smoke when the sunlight shone through.

"Screech!"

The shrill sound of two Rattatas running out of a dark corner startled them. Charmeleon barely resisted the urge to chase them and sniffed the air inside the house.

The smell of dust was choking, mixed with a strange, complex odor.

Suddenly, a beam of light pierced through the darkness.

"Flashlight!"

Li Xiang looked at Lin Feng with disdain and took the second flashlight he handed him. This guy was well-prepared.

"Who carries a flashlight around when they're just playing nearby?"

"Hahaha."

Lin Feng awkwardly laughed and walked into what used to be the kitchen with his Charmeleon.

"I'm going in to see if there's anything interesting, like a kitchen knife... what the hell!"

Lin Feng cursed loudly as he peered halfway into the room. "Li Xiang, come quick! There's a huge hole here! And behind it, there's another hole!"

Hmm???

Li Xiang paused for a moment before coming over to Lin Feng's side, and he saw the large hole in the wall that Lin Feng had mentioned.

It was an irregular round shape, as if something had crashed into it.

Behind the hole was a deep, dark cavity, so deep that even with the flashlight shining into it, they couldn't see the bottom.

It was a sight that sent a chill down their spines.