Pokemon: I refuse to be a supporting character!

Read advance chapters for both of my work, exclusively on Patreon at - www.patreon.com/Sniperwoof

-----------------

Li Xiang had his own thoughts about the Aura Power, but as far as he knew, mastering it required an innate ability to perceive aura in the first place.

The most prominent example was Ash, the protagonist of the anime.

Ash naturally possessed the ability to sense aura, which allowed him to gain a rudimentary understanding of the Aura Power later, with the help of a globally famous Lucario from the movie.

He even used this ability in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl to seal away the Spiritomb that had broken free.

Beyond that, however, there are almost no documented cases of anyone mastering the Aura Power from scratch—except, of course, in countless fanfiction stories.

Because of this, Li Xiang was skeptical about the widely circulated claims in this world about mastering Aura Power.

Putting those aside, Li Xiang was actually more interested in Riolu itself.

When excluding its Mega Evolution, in the games, Lucario was a Pokémon with inherent vulnerabilities. It was fragile, and its offensive power wasn't particularly high.

The plight of dual-attack Pokémon was evident—trying to excel in both physical and special attack while also being fast meant compromises had to be made due to limited base stats.

Fragility became inevitable, and excelling in one area without significant drawbacks was impossible.

Moreover, the limitation of having only four move slots made things even harder.

However, as previously mentioned, Li Xiang no longer judged a Pokémon's strength solely by its effective base stats.

The move pool was key.

In this world, there were no artificial move-slot restrictions like in the games, nor was there the limitation of showing only four moves as in the anime.

A Pokémon with a deep move pool had a distinct advantage.

Fortunately, Riolu was just such a Pokémon. Its evolution, Lucario, had access to an even broader range of moves.

This fact left Li Xiang thoroughly satisfied.

What pleased him even more was that this Riolu didn't have the Inner Focus ability but rather the Hidden Ability, Prankster.

In this world, Pokémon with excellent Hidden Abilities were considered extremely rare, described as "one in a thousand."

That might be a slight exaggeration, but it wasn't uncommon to find only one Pokémon with a Hidden Ability out of hundreds.

Litten, for example, had scored so highly at the breeding center largely because of its Hidden Ability, Intimidate.

Having Prankster as its ability made Riolu even more valuable.

Li Xiang couldn't help but wonder how Li Zhehan had managed to obtain a Hidden Ability Riolu.

After all, weren't Pokémon prohibited from leaving the harbor area? How had he acquired a Riolu while spending two months in the port?

It couldn't have been a gift from a business partner, could it?

Hmm… asking would likely result in vague answers. Li Zhehan didn't like being interrogated, a trait he had seemingly passed down to Li Xiang.

Like father, like son.

Returning to the main topic—

Li Xiang wasn't trying to be critical, but Inner Focus was a relatively useless ability. If you had time to gain speed after flinching, wouldn't it be better to use Agility instead?

It was a nice-sounding ability in name only.

In comparison, even Steadfast was better; at least it prevented flinching and nullified Intimidate, ensuring that physical attack stats weren't lowered.

With Prankster, the strategic possibilities expanded tremendously. Whether as a support or an offensive lead, Riolu could be used in various ways.

That said, there was one minor gripe:

This Riolu was female, unlike Litten, which was male.

It seemed likely that this Riolu had been bullied by other Littens before, as it now had a reactive hostility toward any that looked similar.

Sigh.

Ensuring harmonious relationships among one's Pokémon was yet another critical challenge.

A difficult one.

-------------------------------

Inside the room.

Li Xiang and Riolu sat facing each other, attempting to get to know one another.

Through brief interaction, though neither could understand what the other was saying, they managed to establish a basic mutual understanding.

Li Xiang also discovered that this Riolu had an exceptionally strong sense of pride.

Specifically, she refused to let her head be touched. Touching her paws or body was acceptable, but her head was strictly off-limits.

Additionally, she despised being held like a child, especially in a cradle-like pose!

Poor Li Xiang had only wanted to lift her to gauge her weight, but the attempt was met with firm rejection.

Lastly, when Li Xiang applied medicine to her back, even though the pain nearly brought her to tears, Riolu gritted her teeth and remained silent, refusing to show weakness.

This resilience was both a strength and a potential drawback.

Fortunately, Pokémon like these are steadfast and won't waver easily in battle, driven by their determination to improve.

Unfortunately... they might be harder to bond with.

Building closeness between a Pokémon and its Trainer often requires a lot of physical interaction to foster understanding and strengthen their relationship.

Take Li Xiang and Litten, for example. Thanks to their habit of even sleeping in the same bed, their bond had progressed by leaps and bounds. They were now so in sync that they no longer needed Meowstic as their chubby translator.

For simpler matters, the two could roughly understand each other.

With Riolu, however, Li Xiang felt it might be a bit more challenging.

Of course, there were many ways to strengthen bonds with Pokémon—physical interaction was just one of them.

Li Xiang still had much to learn.

Nearby, Litten lay on the bed licking its paws, occasionally glancing at the boy and Riolu with a complex expression.

Typically, cats exhibit hostility toward new intruders in their "territory."

If the intruder is of the same species, this hostility is amplified—like when Meowstic and Espurr initially reacted strongly to Litten's scent.

If the intruder is a canine species…

The response could either escalate further or be dismissed entirely.

Litten, being smarter than the average cat and having been prepped by Li Xiang in advance, fell into the latter category—at least outwardly.

Deep down, though, jealousy was inevitable.

It was like how a child might feel upon hearing their parents had a second baby and then seeing their sibling receiving endless affection and care.

Feeling neglected, fearing that their share of love had diminished.

For Litten, a simple-minded kitten, it was even harder to suppress the sourness welling up inside.

Watching Li Xiang and Riolu chatting and smiling, Litten couldn't help but wonder:

'Why did it turn out like this?'

'The first time I met someone I liked, someone who could be my lifelong teammate, and now this… Two happy events colliding—why does it feel like this?'

'I was here first! How did you get so good at this?!'

"Meow!"

Unable to hold back his thoughts, the little cat pounced onto Li Xiang's shoulder, startling Riolu.

"Riolu!"

The latter immediately stood up, her gaze fixed on Litten with vigilance.

'Want to fight?'

'Bring it on! I'm not afraid of you!'

"Hahaha, calm down, calm down. Finally decided to join us, huh?"

Li Xiang gently reassured Riolu, then lifted the Litten off his shoulder and held it in front of him, his lips curling into a soft smile.

"Worried I'll ignore you? Don't be silly, I never will."

He placed it on his lap, meeting its amber eyes while scratching its chin lightly. "I've told you before—we're two halves of the same whole, bound by destiny. Relax; we've got plenty of time ahead of us."

Litten tilted its head, staring at the familiar smile and the honeyed warmth in Li Xiang's eyes. Slowly, the bitterness in his heart dissipated.

"Meow…"

It licked Li Xiang's fingers and rubbed its head against his stomach, giving in to a moment of affectionate vulnerability.

Across from them, Riolu watched this scene unfold, observing through her aura vision the constant flow of love and warmth between the two. Her expression grew complex.

Though young, Riolu couldn't yet distinguish between parental love and admiration, but she could sense the overwhelming emotions shared between the two.

To be honest…

She was envious.

Despite her strong pride, Riolu hated being lonely.

Even before she reached Li Xiang—back when she was still just an egg—she had listened to the breeder talk about her future.

One day, she would meet someone to accompany for a lifetime. Together, they would rise to the peak or weather the lowest valleys.

That person would be… family.

Family.

A word unfamiliar yet deeply yearned for.

Was this boy in front of her to be her family?

Riolu stared at Li Xiang, her gaze shifting to the cheerful Litten. For the first time, a flicker of envy appeared in her determined eyes.

I want that too…

"Come here."

Li Xiang's sudden voice broke through Riolu's thoughts.

She looked up to see his smiling face and the gesture of him patting his leg.

"Come here, Riolu. Sit here," Li Xiang repeated, moving Litten to his right to make room for the little pup.

Riolu hesitated. Was he asking her to act like Litten and be affectionate?

No way… That's not me.

"From now on, we're family. We'll support and understand each other, help each other grow, and face the future together."

Li Xiang's slow, gentle words struck a chord deep in Riolu's heart.

What had she just heard?

Riolu's eyes widened, questioning whether she had misheard, but Li Xiang repeated himself.

Yes, she hadn't been mistaken.

Lowering her head, Riolu walked over and plopped down in the space Li Xiang had cleared for her.

Li Xiang reached out, wrapping both the kitten and puppy in his arms.

"Riolu…"

Riolu extended a small paw, resisting the urge to shed what she deemed "weak" tears, and gently hugged Li Xiang in return.

Finally…

Finally, she had found her family.