"Later!"
"Bye-bye!"
"Bye!"
At the school crossroads, everyone split up.
The two girls went shopping. Su Tingxi and the others headed to the library. Sui Yan had a match to play. That left only Lu Ze and Mini Dragon walking home together.
"Hey Mini Dragon, want to have a battle or two?"
Chuu~
Mini Dragon firmly shook her head. Absolutely not.
Lu Ze laughed. "Ha! Look, Klefki got to show off today. Don't you want some of that spotlight?"
Chuu~
Mini Dragon puffed herself up, floating mid-air, and gave Lu Ze a smug little spin.
(I am an alternate-color quasi-Legendary. My mere appearance IS the spotlight!)
"Fine, fine — you're the prettiest, you're the prettiest."
Lu Ze plucked Mini Dragon from the air and tucked her into his arms, nuzzling her little cheek.
"Lu Ze? I'm challenging you!"
Just as Lu Ze and Mini Dragon were having their moment, some hotheaded kid charged right up and bellowed it at him.
"Challenge me?"
"Yeah!"
The kid boomed, brimming with confidence.
Lu Ze smiled. "Sure. Two hundred points as the wager — you up for it?"
The hothead faltered. "Two hundred points? I don't have that much. Can I do ten instead?"
"Ten points?"
Now it was Lu Ze's turn to be caught off guard.
"Fine, fine."
Ah well — a mosquito is still meat, even if it's small. Who was he to judge, after he'd cleaned out his own wallet yesterday.
The hothead lit up the moment Lu Ze agreed, nodding vigorously before tossing his Poké Ball.
"Go, Heracros!"
The Ball opened in mid-air, a flash of white light — and a powerfully built Heracros stomped onto the field.
Pokémon: Heracros Gender: Male Types: Bug, Fighting Ability: Guts — attack increases by 50% when afflicted with a status condition, and ignores the attack-halving effect of burn. Quality: Purple Base Moves: Tackle, Leer, Fury Attack, Endure, Aerial Ace, Horn Attack, Double Kick, Low Sweep, Brick Break, Bullet Seed, Close Combat, Shadow Claw, Ultra Sword. Egg Moves: Harden, Seismic Toss, Focus Energy, Night Slash. Genetic Moves: —
Lu Ze glanced at Heracros's full profile, then gave an approving nod. The movepool was solid. And from the muscle definition and shell luster, the kid had clearly put in real effort training this one.
Having sized Heracros up, Lu Ze threw his own Ball.
"Go, Electabuzz!"
He ignored the startled whispers from the gathered onlookers and flicked a coin high into the air.
In battles without a referee, a coin toss takes the referee's place — determining turn order.
The coin spun. Landed. The battle began.
"Electabuzz! Ice Punch!"
"Heracros! Megahorn!"
.......
A short while later, both Pokémon hit the ground at the same time. Lu Ze had no complaints. Electabuzz had done well to get this far.
The opponent's Heracros was genuinely on the level of a Crawdaunt. If not for two consecutive command mistakes that gave Lu Ze the opening to land a boost and fire the finishing blow, Electabuzz would have lost this one.
Then again, Lu Ze hadn't been aiming to win. He'd only wanted to see how much Electabuzz had improved recently.
"So, what happens with a draw? Does that make us both first on the monthly ranking?"
The hothead recalled Heracros, scratching his head in confusion.
"Are you even on the top five of the monthly ranking?"
"Uh... no."
Lu Ze gave the hothead a mild smile. "Monthly ranking challenges allow you to skip up to five ranks — meaning, if I'm first, you have to be fifth to challenge me. That's why you can only face me once you've cracked the top five. And the monthly ranking format is three-versus-three, not one-on-one."
"The match you just issued me? That doesn't count toward the ranking at all. It was just a friendly wager. And since we drew, neither of us owes the other anything."
"Oh—"
Only now did the penny drop. "So my challenge didn't count toward the ranking at all?"
"Nope."
"Alright then. I'll work my way up to fifth place. And then I'm definitely coming for you!"
"Good — I'll be waiting."
Watching this fired-up hothead, Lu Ze suddenly caught a flash of a certain someone with thick eyebrows in his expression. He shuddered and stepped back.
"Uh, I should get going."
"Yeah yeah — get back out there. I'll be waiting for you at the top!"
"Sure. I'll be there."
Lu Ze finished and hurried off.
Not only was there this firecracker of a kid, but also quite a few other classmates watching from the crowd.
He didn't mind the audience. But the fire itself?
Sorry — I'm trying to lie flat here. Your blood's too hot for me. Stay back, okay?
As Lu Ze walked away, among the watching crowd a bespectacled kid with a mushroom cut was furiously typing onto a tablet.
If Lu Ze could have seen what was on that screen, he'd have found it rather interesting.
Name: Lu Ze.Family: Unknown — but energy levels are massive.Disposition: Relatively easygoing.
Pokémon: Crobat, Snorlax, Charizard, Crawdaunt, Mini Dragon, Electabuzz.
Each Pokémon's name on the list could be expanded for details. For example:
Crobat: Strength unknown — presumably above Charizard's level. Charizard is being trained by Crobat. Predicted to be at Senior-tier strength.Snorlax: Strength unknown...Charizard: Mid-tier Pokémon — post-special evolution, battle capability rises significantly. Estimated to reach Senior tier.
But the most recent entry on this profile was from half a month ago, right after Lu Ze's freshman tournament concluded.
Now it had been updated.
Electabuzz: Mid-tier Pokémon — exact strength unknown. Occasionally erupts with combat power close to Senior tier. Moves well-mastered. Speed extremely high.
"Lu Ze, huh..." The bespectacled student pushed his glasses up with a smile. "No wonder he's the freshman of the year. Even the two specially recruited new students couldn't beat him. And he's got a special evolution method in his back pocket too. How intriguing."
He melted back into the crowd and vanished.
After that impromptu battle, Lu Ze took the long way home to get Electabuzz treated. Only then did he arrive at his doorstep.
"Hm?"
The moment Lu Ze approached, he sensed a strange Aura inside the house.
Familiar? Not really. But also... not entirely unfamiliar. He was certain he'd felt this Aura before.
"Deoxys — be careful."
Sei!
Deoxys nodded from above, then used Psychic to guide the key into the lock.
Click!
The moment the door clicked open, the Aura inside rushed toward the entrance.
Just as the door swung wide.
"Oh — it's you."
Lu Ze exhaled only after seeing who it was.
He set his bag aside and, on impulse, lifted the little girl who had hopped over into his arms.
"Why are you here alone? Where's Little Blue?"
Little Red frowned, puffing her cheeks — then shook her head with an expression of profound disgust.
With her delicate, slightly chubby face, fair and rosy skin, big eyes brimming with starlight framed by thick lashes, even her look of disdain was disarmingly cute.
"They had a fight. But you shouldn't have run off on your own like this — did you tell Uncle Ziyu?"
Little Red nodded quickly. But Lu Ze caught the flicker of caution in her eyes.
She clearly hadn't told any adults. She'd just run out on her own.
Lu Ze didn't expose her. She had her reasons for not wanting to tell the adults — and even though she was just a child, she'd earned the right to that respect.
"hungry? Want something to eat?"
Little Red's eyes brightened. She nodded, then pulled out a menu she'd apparently been carrying for her Pokémon and tapped a picture on it.
"Oh, the spicy masala curry, got it."
Lu Ze leaned in to look at what she was pointing at.
"Pika pika~"
Snorlax pushed its face in beside him, and Lu Ze snorted, patting Snorlax's belly. "Back off — you already ate so much. You're still hungry?"
"Pika~"
"Alright, alright — eat, eat. But put me down first."
Lu Ze pushed Snorlax's face away from where it was snuggling against his cheek, then rubbed Snorlax's head and gestured for it to set him down.
Snorlax had picked that up fast.
Just a moment ago, it had held Little Red exactly like this. And now it was trying to get Lu Ze to do the same to it.
"Pika~"
Snorlax carefully lowered Lu Ze to the floor only after getting confirmation.
"You only get one bowl, alright?"
"Pika pika~"
Snorlax nodded with fierce conviction. Lu Ze looked at that expression and couldn't help laughing.
"Yeah, yeah — I'll hold you to that."
Trust a Piplup. Like I don't know exactly how much you eat.
Lu Ze smiled and headed to the kitchen.
Curry rice was easy enough. Most curries came with their own special seasonings.
The spicy masala for this one — he'd just steam the rice and build the curry on top.
The masala seasonings were pre-mixed — he'd bought them specifically. Fifty-plus spices blended into one powder, properly fiery.
He'd made this once before, so he knew his way around it.
He rinsed the rice and set it to cook, then peeked out偷偷 at the living room.
Little Red was sprawled on Snorlax's belly, clutching Mini Dragon, watching TV.
Only then did Lu Ze feel at ease and pulled out his phone to message Cyrus Zhuge.
Lu Ze: Uncle Ziyu, Little Red is here with me. Little Blue isn't with her — don't worry.
Cyrus replied instantly.
Uncle Ziyu: Good to know. Did she cause you trouble?
Lu Ze: Not at all. Little Red is a delight — she's sitting nicely on the sofa waiting for dinner.
Uncle Ziyu: That's a relief. I'm away for a couple of days on business in Shangjing. Is it alright if Little Red stays with you for a bit?
Lu Ze: Let's try it out. I've got classes during the day, but as long as she doesn't run off on her own, it should be fine.
Uncle Ziyu: Sounds good — let's try. Thank you so much!
Lu Ze: Uncle Ziyu, you're too kind.
Uncle Ziyu: [handing her over.jpg]
Lu Ze: [easy peasy.jpg]
He put the phone away and glanced out again. Little Red hadn't noticed anything.
"As long as she doesn't wander off while I'm in class, it should be fine. If not, I'll just have Snorlax keep her company."
Lu Ze chuckled at the thought.
"When Uncle Ziyu gets back, he owes me a nice meal, don't you think?"
"Hmm — yeah, he totally does."
Lu Ze checked the time.
"Almost ready."
The rice had been steaming for a while now. Start the curry — it'll be done right when the rice finishes.
The fragrant steam rising off the hot curry over fresh rice? Chef's kiss.
Ding ~*
The rice cooker chimed. Lu Ze killed the curry pot fire at the same moment.
"Snorlax, come get the bowls~"
"Pika!"
No sooner had Lu Ze called out than Snorlax came trudging in with Little Red cradled in one arm and Mini Dragon nestled in the other.
"Here — split it between the two of you. I'm going to head upstairs."
Lu Ze pointed to the rice and curry, then gently took the already-drowsy Mini Dragon from Little Red's arms.
"Go take a nap after you eat. If you're not tired, you can watch TV. Just don't go running around, alright?"
"Pika pika~"
Both girl and Pokémon nodded in unison, then immediately turned their full attention to the mouthwatering spread before them.
Lu Ze smiled and headed upstairs with Mini Dragon.
"Pika?"
— How do we split it?
Snorlax looked down at the bowl in its right hand and the girl perched on its left arm, genuinely stumped.
It had never shared a meal with a toddler before. Maybe it should just portion it based on Little Red's size?
— One each?
— One each? You sure you can finish it?
Snorlax eyed Little Red's frame with obvious doubt.
— Of course! Watch me!
Little Red smugly patted her own belly. What do you take me for? You think I can't handle this much?
I've been starving for two or three days — I could put away a whole pot, easy!
— ...Fine.
— Huh?!
Snorlax stared at Little Red in disbelief.
— Wait — you can UNDERSTAND me? And TALK back?!
— Big deal. Hurry up and plate it — I'm starving.
— ...Right.
Snorlax shot her one more suspicious look but let it go. It had a vague suspicion about something — but food was food. Nothing beat a meal in front of you. (Lu Ze didn't count.)
Nom nom~
A short while later, a three-meter-tall giant and a little girl of about a meter-and-a-half sat together at the same table.
Both wore expressions of pure bliss, shoveling food into their mouths with abandon.
If you overlooked the sheer difference in height and build — it was actually kind of beautiful.
(Tch. Stupid brother. Your loss that you couldn't make it!)
(End of chapter)
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