Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

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Besides PokéBalls, they also provided emergency signal lights, the kind that make noise when turned on. The little Pokémon in the mountains would turn and leave as soon as they heard it, not even daring to come close.

And there was something that looked like a remote control, used to call for outside assistance. 

In case of any emergencies, like running out of PokéBalls, losing a shoe, being exhausted from hunger, or dying of thirst, you could just press it.

This trial sounded incredibly relaxed, almost like a picnic. 

But what could you do? It wasn't like Demon Slayer; who could run around the mountains catching Pokémon all day without getting tired or thirsty? 

The true meaning of the pilgrimage trial was to show Lugia the process of humans and Pokémon coexisting harmoniously. 

The competition was secondary— 

On the surface 

"Two hundred people competing for eight spots, the competition is really fierce." 

Li Xiang silently began his warm-up exercises. 

Everyone around him looked eager and confident, their Pokémon mostly in their final stages. Plus, almost everyone was older than him, looking like they were at least high school students. 

It made him a little nervous. 

To be honest, if this trial relied solely on the raw strength of Pokémon, he definitely wouldn't have come. 

Because even if the age limit was twenty, or even fifteen, he couldn't guarantee he'd make it into the top eight.

But if it was about the trainer and Pokémon working together, Li Xiang believed he still had a chance. 

Everyone needs to have dreams, right? 

From the first embarrassing attempt at catching a Pokémon, Li Xiang, like Kris from the Pokémon Adventures manga, began practicing his Poké Ball throwing accuracy. 

Even though these days, it doesn't really matter how accurately you throw a Poké Ball. If you want a Pokémon, you can just buy one. As long as you're willing to spend the money, you can even get a pseudo-legendary in its final stage.

"It is fierce, but there's no need to worry too much. Most people on the island who needed to have already undergone the ritual." 

Song Jie looked extremely calm. He wasn't much stronger than Li Xiang, but he was confident he could secure one of the top eight spots.

Li Xiang didn't comment. The initial number of PokéBalls provided by the islanders was twenty. 

If you ran out, Pokémon would bring you new ones. 

The trial also had Pokémon following and recording everything, so no one could cheat. 

Soon. 

The competition was about to begin.

Psychic-type Pokémon were all in position. 

"Competitor, see you on the mountain." 

Song Jie extended his fist to Li Xiang. 

Li Xiang smiled and bumped fists with him, "If you steal my prey, I'll tear you apart when we get back to school." 

Nearby. 

Lycanroc also extended its paw to Riolu. This guy, like a husky, looked incredibly cool as long as it wasn't sticking out its tongue.

Riolu lightly touched paws with it, expression calm. 

Although it had always been a bit disdainful of Lycanroc, it didn't mind encouraging it at this moment. 

And encouraging itself as well.

Not far away. 

Abigail silently recalled her Weavile, to avoid leaving it behind during teleportation. 

The Psychic type is a very overpowered type, capable of many things that are hard for ordinary people to understand, such as predicting the future, telekinesis, moving mountains, controlling living beings, time travel, gravity manipulation, healing diseases, and so on. 

But as everyone knows, nature doesn't allow any one thing to be invincible.

Thus, the powerful Dark type was born.

It completely blocks the direct effects of Psychic-type energy, preventing the Psychic type from becoming overwhelmingly dominant.

Therefore, it's perfectly normal for a level 100 Mewtwo using Psychic to fail to deal type-based damage to a level 1 Poochyena.

Of course, Mewtwo isn't stupid. If Psychic can't directly affect it, it can still do so indirectly, like manipulating the air to create tornadoes or shockwaves.

The Mewtwo in the Pokémon Adventures manga loved to play around with its excessive psychic energy, even creating a solid, oversized spoon.

And these physical effects don't fall under the category of type-based energy.

Moreover, the move Miracle Eye exists precisely to allow Psychic-type moves to damage Dark-type Pokémon.

In the end, the reason this world's Pokémon League isn't called the Psychic League is largely thanks to the Dark type.

"Senior, remember to go easy on me."

Li Xiang's voice successfully interrupted Abigail's thoughts.

Abigail glanced at him, nodded silently, and remained as aloof as ever.

Li Xiang wasn't bothered. He'd seen plenty of quiet people, like Duan Tianxing, who could scare off a crowd without saying a word, exuding an intimidating aura. 

Or like Third Sister Jiang Shangrou, whose gentle, water-like personality spoke volumes without words.

And Fourth Brother Duan Yu, the secretly mischievous, seemingly serious type. 

As for Senior Abigail here. 

She was different from all of them.

Based on Li Xiang's observations and guesses, the senior might have encountered some "unpleasant" event, which was why she always wore a bitter, resentful expression, keeping others at a distance. 

Combined with her name and skin tone.

It might have something to do with the Archipelago region. 

In the Archipelago region, there are many Eastern-looking foreigners, and since it's a tropical area, it's easy for people to develop a tan if they live there. 

Of course, these were just guesses. 

Time's up. 

The Abra responsible for teleportation began placing three pink rings around Li Xiang.

 Li Xiang took a deep breath, tightened his backpack, and held Riolu's paw.

This was his first time teleporting; he hoped it would be a good experience. 

"Khee!"

 The fox-like, squinty-eyed creature let out a sharp cry and gave him a thumbs-up. 

[Are you ready?]

[Go!]

And so, in the blink of an eye -

While Li Xiang was still pondering the meaning of Abra's gesture, the surroundings had completely changed. 

One moment he was under a blue canopy, the next he was under a large tree, standing on a pile of dry leaves and branches, his pants slightly damp. 

A strange, rotting leaf smell filled the air, rushing straight into his nostrils. 

"Well then…" 

Li Xiang blinked, his body swaying slightly as if he couldn't keep his balance. He glanced at the equally confused Riolu. 

"Alright, that was unexpected." 

He reluctantly let go of Riolu's paw, stretched his limbs, and pulled out a Poké Ball. "Let's get ready to start. Time is life." 

"Riolu."

Riolu nodded in agreement, its aura quietly spreading out in all directions.

When it comes to short-range detection, Pokémon that master aura are second to none. 

... 

In the mountains. 

A Rattata cautiously looked around, the blue plastic tag hanging on its chest indicating that it was also a "contestant." 

But unlike the humans trying to catch it, its task was— 

Run! 

Whoosh—!! 

A sudden gust of wind rushed from behind! 

The Rattata shuddered and instinctively bolted forward!

But before it could run more than a few meters, the sudden gust of wind slammed into its tail, exploding with a loud "boom!"

The intense impact sent the Rattata flying. It felt the world spin around it before a water-blue Poké Ball swiftly flew toward it, hitting it with a "smack!"

Click!

The Poké Ball opened!

"Squeak!!"

Before falling into darkness, the Rattata let out a cry of frustration, but in the end, it was still captured by a beam of green light.

The water-blue Poké Ball fell to the ground.

Then, it was picked up by a slightly pale hand.

"These guys are really good at running."

The hand's owner sighed, then turned to call out to a large tree, "You can come down now! Good job!"

On the tree.

The leaves rustled. 

A small, black-blue figure gracefully landed, looking slightly pleased, "Riolu!"

"Yeah, the tenth one."

Li Xiang put the Poké Ball in his pocket. "Each one is better at running and hiding than the last. Finally caught the tenth one." 

He pulled out a water bottle from the side of his backpack, took a sip, and offered it to Riolu, "Want some?" 

Riolu shook its head. 

From the start of the trial until now, about half an hour had passed. 

Yet Li Xiang had only made friends with ten Pokémon, a snail's pace. 

But what could he do? 

These wild Pokémon were ridiculously good at running!

Every single one of them was a sprinting champion, darting into the woods so fast that even Riolu's Quick Attack couldn't catch up! 

It was insane! 

Even from hundreds of meters away, the moment he spotted them, before he could do anything, they'd already run off. 

So clever!

Li Xiang didn't even have a chance to pull out the various items that could attract wild Pokémon.

At first, he and Riolu would chase after them, running hundreds of meters only to find that the Pokémon had disappeared like they'd teleported or turned invisible!

Gone without a trace! 

After chasing for so long, they hadn't even caught a single one. It made him grit his teeth in frustration, and he was completely out of breath.

Riolu, the main attacker, sighed beside him, feeling guilty for its poor tracking skills and annoyed at Li Xiang's lack of stamina.

If it weren't for Li Xiang, Riolu would have kept chasing mindlessly.

But honestly, since when were wild Pokémon so good at running? 

Shouldn't they either stand still or attack when they see people, like in the games and anime?

Running away at the sight of humans, what's that about?

Anyway, Li Xiang wasn't a fool. After trying twice and realizing he really couldn't catch these wild Pokémon, he quickly changed his strategy.

Instead of charging at them head-on, he started sneaking up from behind, moving quietly rather than rushing in. 

Or he'd use Sweet Scent and strong-smelling incense to wait for them in areas where wild Pokémon were active. 

Sneak in quietly, no loud noises. 

Only then did he start to see some results, catching ten unlucky ones.

Along the way, he did run into a couple of other competitors. 

It was hard to tell how many they'd caught, but their wary eyes suggested they thought he might try to steal from them. 

Li Xiang felt exhausted. With all the birds flying around with cameras, who would dare to steal? Are you kidding me? 

So they just looked at each other, exchanged no words, and went their separate ways. 

Li Xiang's heart grew heavier, and he couldn't help but wonder where Song Jie was making his fortune and if he could lend a hand. 

But it was just a thought. 

You have to rely on yourself.

Just like he wouldn't complain in front of Riolu that he should have brought Torracat, with its Intimidate and long-range Fake Out, instead of Riolu, to avoid hurting its confidence.