Chương 169: We're all buddies

"Click! (To put it bluntly, you guys just want to be eliminated as soon as possible and run away, right?)" Lu Sha rolled her eyes.

According to the schedule, there will be a total of 6 rounds from the first round of the knockout stage to the final.

The first round lasted 10 days. From the second round onwards, one round was held every week until the final, which took nearly a month and a half in total.

The sooner you are eliminated, the sooner you are free.

Like Quartz Academy, students can now take an early holiday to go back to their hometowns.

Furthermore, this year's Indigo League coincides with the Academy Cup, allowing eliminated Indigo Academy players to even return to their home region's league conference.

Viewers in Kanto no longer need to struggle with watching both games simultaneously.

"How can you say I'm leaving early? After the first round of group assignments comes out, I'll be joining the filming crew for my new movie," Karuni retorted with a laugh.

"Cut? (What movie? It seems like the two regions are going to co-produce a movie, right?)" Lu Sha became interested when the topic of movies came up.

As the ones facilitating things, he and the young lady were still able to know some of the actions on both sides.

"The new movie is about the ancient Sinnoh period of the Green Age, and Professor Ichigo provided the production team with a lot of valuable historical materials. I will play the protagonist who travels back to that era and embarks on a wonderful adventure," Karen explained.

"Is it you playing the role yourself? Or is it a fictional trainer character you created?" Cattleya's interest was piqued.

She recalled her adventure with Lu Sha in the underground of Tianguan Mountain.

Lu Sha once told her that the giant speedhound was a special form from the time of the Washing Green.

That experience sparked her deep interest in the period of washing greenery.

If you could experience an adventure that takes you back to that era, it would definitely be a very interesting experience.

In the Pokémon world, time travel is not actually a rare occurrence.

The most famous true story is found in Dr. Oak's autobiography, which he wrote and published himself:

"The Forest Encounter with the Future Pikachu Boy".

Even though Professor Oak's writing isn't exactly great, people are still very curious about the boy from the future in his story.

If someone can travel from the future to the present, then it is also possible for someone to travel from the present back to the past.

For any trainer, this is an extremely desirable and anticipated adventure.

"I'll be playing the role myself. If you're interested in a cameo, Jiajia, our crew can arrange a role for you anytime. We'll even tailor-make a supporting role for you as the strongest warrior in Xicui, which would also be more conducive to cultural exchange between our two regions," Karuni enthusiastically extended an olive branch.

The initial intention behind this film project was to promote cultural exchange between Sinnoh and Carlos, so as to lay a foundation of public opinion for possible future regional mergers and cooperation.

If the highly popular future champion, Gardner, could make a guest appearance, the promotional effect would definitely increase exponentially.

"Click! (That's an interesting idea, I agree!)" Lu Sha glanced at the young lady, who was clearly somewhat interested, and decisively made the decision for her.

"No problem! Once you win the Academy Cup, I'll have the director move your scenes back, and I guarantee you'll have plenty of time to shine on camera."

Seeing that they readily agreed, Karuni couldn't help but feel happy and immediately took on all the responsibilities.

Being a trainer is her duty and job, but acting in movies under the spotlight is what she truly loves.

Upon hearing that Lu Sha and the others were willing to act in a movie, Karuni immediately began to communicate with them with great interest.

After exchanging pleasantries for quite some time, Lu Sha finally got back to the main topic: "Click! (Speaking of which, you didn't come all this way just to talk about movie investment, did you?)"

"Oh, right! I'm here to invite you guys to go shopping together. It's not easy to come all this way to the Hoenn region, so I want to take advantage of this free time and explore it properly. Hmm, it's on me!"

"Huh? (Then why did you specifically choose us?)"

"Because I know you guys are free right now. Anyway, with your abilities, you definitely won't do any last-minute preparations for the upcoming matches."

"Click! (Slander! This is absolutely blatant malicious speculation! Can't we train in our room?)"

"So, are you going or not?"

"Click! (Go! I have to go! Why wouldn't I go when someone's treating!)" At Karuni's urging, the group happily left the hotel.

The midday sun wasn't scorching; instead, it felt comfortably pleasant on my skin.

As the largest city in the Hoenn region, Kanaz City presents a vibrant scene of modern architecture when viewed from the Devon Hotel in the city center.

"Click! (It feels a bit inferior to Zhuqing City; the buildings are somewhat scattered and not as well-organized as Zhuqing City's urban planning.)" Lu Sha glanced at the modern buildings of varying heights and gave his fair assessment.

"If we're talking about urban planning, Miareta is undoubtedly number one. Centered on Miareta, the various areas radiate outwards, creating a neat and uniform layout while also exuding a unique artistic aesthetic."

Karuni smiled and did her best to promote her hometown.

"Click! (Miare City, it looks really nice on the map. I'll definitely take Miss there sometime.)" Lu Sha nodded in deep agreement.

In terms of city size, although both are core cities in their respective regions, Miare City far surpasses Kanaz and Jubilo City in both prosperity and area.

While Sinnoh and Hoenn are also making great efforts to develop into economic capitals, other cities in the region are developing just as well.

In contrast, Carlos poured all his resources into Miare, causing other cities to fall far behind.

This is why Miare enjoys a reputation worldwide as a fashion and modern capital.

"Where exactly are we going to shop today?"

Seeing that Lu Sha and Karuni were aimlessly wandering around, Gadriya couldn't help but remind them.

She has never liked aimless wandering.

Whether it's buying some new clothes, enjoying a delicious meal, or visiting some attractions, it's all better than just walking aimlessly on the main road like this.

She already had the entire map of Kanaz City memorized in her mind; if she continued walking, she would be heading straight into the work areas of the headquarters of large companies like Devon.

"I don't know. I don't know what's fun in Kanaz City either. I didn't do any research beforehand." Karuni shook her head with a smile.

For her, it really didn't matter where she went.

I didn't get to explore Sinnoh properly last time, so this is a way to make up for it.

For her, strolling around the streets like an ordinary girl in a place where there are no fans crowding around and no one recognizes her is a rare enjoyment in itself.

"Click! (This time, it's the young lady's decision; you decide the location!)" Lu Sha grinned mischievously as he looked at Gadria.

He naturally wouldn't interfere with the destination of such unplanned trips.

It's rare for the young lady to be willing to go out for a stroll, so she has to decide where to go.

"How about... going to the Kanaz School of Enlightenment?" Cattleya suggested softly.

"School?"

"Huh? (Why did we choose this school? Just because we're participating in the Academy Cup?)" Lu Sha and Karuni were both stunned; this suggestion was completely unexpected.

But then, as the one who understands the young lady best, Shark quickly realized what was going on.

He quickly tapped a few times on his phone and immediately found the school's location.

500 meters away!

Good heavens, it's so close!

He knew it! Why would the young lady suddenly mention this place? It turns out it's because it's close enough that she doesn't have to walk far.

"Click! (I have absolutely no objection!)" Lu Sha decisively raised his hand in agreement.

"Let's go for a walk!" Karuni seemed eager to try it out.

With two people and a shark, the proposal was passed unanimously.

The distance of just 500 meters will only take a few minutes to reach.

The Kanaz Enlightenment School doesn't occupy a large area; its size seems similar to the large kindergarten in Lu Sha's previous life.

A group of young boys and girls were running and playing happily on the playground under the supervision of several teachers.

There was also a group of Pokémon unique to the Hoenn region playing with them, their cheerful laughter echoing in the air.

As they walked slowly to within a few meters of the gate, Gadriya and Karuni stopped in unison, staring blankly at everything on campus.

Lu Sha quickly looked away.

His feelings towards human infants... well, they weren't exactly liking or disliking.

Anyway, it's someone else's child, there's no need to pay too much attention to it.

If it's his own child, he won't look away for even a second.

Unfortunately, he probably won't have any human offspring in this lifetime.

In contrast, the envious and longing expressions on the faces of the young lady and Karuni were quite amusing to him.

The young lady may have been troubled by the rampage of her superpowers in her childhood, and lacked normal playmates, so she was reminded of these things.

There was absolutely no need for Kaluni to do this, was there? She wasn't some feared monster when she was a child.

"It's so nice... The innocence and joy of children always make me want to stop and linger," Karuni murmured softly.

"Click! (You really like children?)" Lu Sha asked curiously.

"Of course. If I weren't so busy with work, I might even consider having one myself." Karuni nodded without hesitation.

"Huh? (You're only 18 this year, right?)" Lu Sha looked at her with a strange expression.

How could a top movie star like Carlos, plus a future champion-level trainer, be thinking about going home and having kids all the time?

What kind of bizarre brain circuit is this?

"So what if I'm 18? I have many friends my age who already have kids running around."

Karune didn't see anything wrong with it at all, and even turned to Cattleya to tease her, "I remember that according to Sinnoh's laws, Cattleya is already of legal marriage age, isn't she?"

"What? What happened between me and Lu Sha?"

Cattleya looked over, as if she had just woken up from a memory, completely bewildered.

"I'm telling you, you two can register in a few years! According to the new regulations in the Kalos region, humans and Pokémon can legally marry. As long as the human is over 20 years old, they can get a marriage certificate," Karune teased with a smile.

She was just making a joke casually; she didn't mean anything by it.

However, the deep bond between Cattleya and Lu Sha, and Lu Sha's astonishingly human-like intelligence, was truly something she had never seen before.

"Huh? (No way, has Carlos become this open-minded?)" Lu Sha was filled with questions.

Carlos's early release even legalized cross-species pairings?

"Of course! Kalos has always been known as the city of romance, where Pokémon enjoy equal rights with humans. The laws and people of Kalos fully support this!"

Karuni's interest was clearly heightened when the topic was brought up.

Seeing her fervent expression, Lu Sha silently complained to herself: Given her overflowing maternal love and pregnancy energy, if she really had any free time, her daughter would probably be a toddler by now.

"Click! (You Carlos people really know how to have fun.)"

"Oh, I see..."

After listening to Karuni's explanation, Lu Sha and Gadria both showed expressions of great shock.

However, unlike Lu Sha's amazed and knowledge-enhancing reaction, Cattleya's two small ears, hidden in her thick blonde hair, suddenly blushed with an alluring red, perhaps due to the intense sunlight.

"When you two come to Carlos to visit in the future, I'll definitely drag you two to get a marriage certificate as a souvenir!" Karuni giggled.

"Click! (We'll talk about the future later! By the way, are we just going to stand there like idiots and watch, or should we go inside and take a look around?)" Seeing that Karuni was going off on a tangent, Lu Sha quickly pointed to the school gate in front of them and abruptly changed the subject.

What a joke! The young lady is only 16 years old. What if she gets her mind corrupted by this adult female hooligan in front of her?

"Can we go in?"

Cattleya hesitated for a moment, but her eyes revealed an undisguised anticipation as she looked at Lu Sha.

She knew that Lu Sha must have a way.

Because of her superpowers going out of control and family restrictions, she never experienced this carefree and happy atmosphere during her childhood.

If given the chance, she really wants to go inside and experience it for herself.

More importantly, she wanted to experience it with Lu Sha.

"Click! (Of course! In Kanaz City, there's nothing I, Shark, can't do. Just watch!)" Lu Sha chuckled, pulled out her phone, and dialed a number with remarkable decisiveness: "Click! (Moshi Moshi? Mikoli, can you do me a favor?)"

"Click! (We're at the entrance of the Kanaz Enlightenment Academy... Yes, we want to go in for a visit and play with the children while we're at it.)")

"Click? (What? You say you're busy right now? And you're asking me why I'm not going to see Daigo, but instead coming to see you?)"

"Click! (Hey! Do you even need to ask? We're closer than anyone else!)"

"Click! (I'll tell you a secret, but don't you dare tell Daigo, he was talking badly about you behind your back yesterday. He said you never do anything productive and even threatened to dump more messes on you to clean up.)"

"Click! (Yes, yes, yes! Daigo is such a wicked coward, he's a heartless and inhuman capitalist!)"

"Click! (Don't worry! When we meet him in the next match, I guarantee I'll give him a good beating!)"

"Click! (Oh, it's nothing, no need to thank me, we're all buddies!)" joddy