Even the Pope Must Take Three Steps First

When Yue Guan carried the old booklet into the Papal Hall, Bibi Dong was reading the training record Hu Liena had submitted the night before.

The record was only half a page long.

What time Eevee ate, what time it slept, that it woke once in the middle of the night, then circled Hu Liena's bedside twice. There were no changes in soul power or move strength afterward, only one sentence: At dawn, it rested its tail on my wrist.

Bibi Dong set the paper back on the desk.

"Is this why she was late today?"

"The Holy Maiden went to that shop early this morning," Yue Guan said. "Yan and Xie Yue were there too."

"You allowed it?"

"I was only responsible for bringing them back. Whether Eevee wanted to return was up to Eevee itself."

At that, Bibi Dong raised her eyes and glanced at him.

Yue Guan's expression was calm, though a thin layer of bandaging still wrapped around his right wrist.

Bibi Dong asked, "Did that panda do that?"

"A minor misunderstanding."

"I heard you only took three steps."

Ghost's shoulders shifted slightly in the shadow of a pillar.

Yue Guan turned his head. "If you want to laugh, come out and laugh."

Ghost's shadow immediately fell still.

Bibi Dong rose and picked up her outer robe. "Let's have a look."

She wanted to see for herself what sort of shop could make her disciple write sleep, food, and a tail into a training record for the first time.

By the time the three arrived on the old street, the shop was already open.

A plain soft mat lay at the entrance, with three wooden signs set beside it. Yue Guan crossed the first two steps with practiced ease, then eased up slightly on the third.

Pancham, seated beside the door, stared at him and nodded in satisfaction.

Bibi Dong noticed the red mark on its wrist. "It was hurt too?"

"I pressed down on it while borrowing its force," Yue Guan answered quickly.

Hearing that, Pancham raised the paw wrapped with an ice pack and waved it, then pointed at Yue Guan's wrist.

The man and the Pokémon stared at each other for a moment, then both lowered their hands.

Bibi Dong stepped across the mat.

Pancham did not stop her. It merely counted behind her, then suddenly raised a paw and pointed outside.

There was no one there.

Yue Guan turned his face slightly. "Old Ghost, come out."

A mass of shadow slowly rose from the corner of the wall. Ghost had merely been accustomed to hiding in the dark, but being exposed face-to-face by a little panda left him silent for two breaths.

Zorua, in the front hall, immediately lit up at the sight.

It plunged headfirst into Xia Che's shadow, then poked half its face out from the other side and smugly wagged its tail at Ghost.

Ghost looked down at it. "You hide too?"

"Awwo."

Zorua jumped out of the shadow and pretended it had merely been picking something up.

By the counter, Metagross's eyes swept over Ghost before turning toward Zorua. The little screen on the wall immediately displayed two similar black silhouettes, labeled one and two beneath them.

The smugness vanished from Zorua's face at once.

The corner of Yue Guan's mouth twitched. "Looks like you rank behind him."

Ghost glanced at the screen and, for the first time, felt that this shop was not quite as unpleasant as Yue Guan had claimed.

The doorbell rang three times in succession before Hu Liena finally emerged from the Encounter Room.

"Teacher?"

She held Eevee in her arms and a brush in one hand. Xie Yue followed behind her, carrying the small bag of unfinished rations from last night. Yan sat at the counter revising his schedule card, with two crumpled sheets already on the table.

The three of them straightened at once when they saw Bibi Dong.

Only Xia Che by the window did not move.

He had stayed up late fussing around the night before. The moment he set out a new soft pillow, Eevee had snatched it away. He could only rest his head on a rolled-up outer robe now, yet he was still sleeping soundly.

The actual soft pillow was on top of Metagross's head.

Eevee had been lying there just moments ago. It only climbed down when Hu Liena called it, leaving a small circle of light fur on the pillow.

Bibi Dong followed everyone's gaze.

The massive silver-gray figure hovered beside the counter, its four metal arms quietly folded together. A soft pillow embroidered with berry patterns sat atop its head, and it looked as solemn as if it were guarding something precious.

"This is also a Pokémon?" Bibi Dong asked.

"Metagross," Yue Guan said. "It wasn't here last night."

Yan could not help adding, "Xia Che said it was a new shelf."

Metagross's eyes both turned toward him.

Yan lowered his head and continued revising his paper.

Bibi Dong stepped closer. She did not release any soul power, but the authority cultivated through years in a high position still made Eevee's ears perk up. Its body instinctively shrank a little deeper into Hu Liena's arms.

Hu Liena stroked its back. "It's all right. This is my teacher."

Eevee poked its head out to look, but still did not approach immediately.

Bibi Dong extended her hand.

Eevee's nose twitched twice. It buried its face back into the crook of Hu Liena's arm, leaving only its eyes exposed.

"It doesn't like me?"

Hu Liena hesitated for a moment. "Xia Che said last night that you shouldn't rush to touch someone the first time you meet."

Yue Guan and Ghost both looked toward the window.

The person bold enough to make the Pope withdraw her hand was still asleep over there.

Yet Bibi Dong really did withdraw her hand. "Then I'll wait until it's willing."

Hu Liena froze for a moment, then lowered her head and softly said something to Eevee. The little one looked at Bibi Dong several more times. This time, it did not keep hiding, only rested its chin on Hu Liena's arm.

"How was last night?" Bibi Dong asked.

"It woke up once," Hu Liena said. "I sat with it for a while. After dawn, it was willing to enter the Premier Ball and rest on its own, so I brought it back."

"No training?"

"No."

Indeedee brought over morning tea at that moment. Hu Liena received warm water, while a shallow dish was placed before Eevee. Yue Guan had an extra cup of flower tea, and even the corner where Ghost hid was accurately provided with a cup.

The last cup stopped beside Bibi Dong's hand.

"I merely came to take a look."

"Indee."

Indeedee pushed over a small dish of sliced berries as well.

Yue Guan had already lifted his cup. "The taste isn't bad."

Bibi Dong looked at him. "How many times have you been here?"

"Counting today, twice."

"You act as though you've returned home."

Yue Guan lowered his head and drank his tea without speaking further.

A pale hand extended from the corner and silently took Ghost's cup away. Zorua watched the entire time. Once the hand withdrew, it also conjured a black hand with an illusion and tried to drag away Hu Liena's little dish.

Eevee pressed a paw against the edge of the dish.

The black hand paused, then switched to taking its own portion.

Bibi Dong lifted her teacup and took a sip. The tea carried a faint berry fragrance and was at just the right temperature. She had only intended to stay briefly, yet she did not set it down.

Yan's writing hand paused.

Bibi Dong looked at him. "Do you have something to say?"

"I wrote down rest too." Yan turned over the card he had just revised. "A whole square."

"The back," Xie Yue reminded him.

Yan immediately pressed the card back onto the table.

Bibi Dong did not press the matter, but Ghost saw Zorua quietly circle behind Yan and use an illusion to create two lines of words on his back.

The first line read: One square of rest.

The second line read: Make it up after training.

Xie Yue lowered his head, his shoulders starting to shake.

Yan remained completely unaware. "What are you laughing at now?"

"I remembered something happy."

Bibi Dong's gaze moved over her disciples before finally landing on Metagross.

"How strong is it?"

The moment those words fell, the golden markings on Metagross's front lit up.

The cups around them trembled softly.

Yue Guan shifted half a step aside. "Your Holiness, it's best not to test it inside the shop."

"Why?"

"There aren't many chairs left in the shop."

Pancham nodded in agreement by the door.

Before Bibi Dong could speak, a sleepy voice finally came from the window.

"If you want to test it, go underground. If you break the cabinets, pay for them at full price."

Xia Che was awake.

He opened his eyes and first saw Bibi Dong, then Yue Guan and Ghost, before finally noticing that his soft pillow was still on Metagross's head.

"Everyone's here today."

Hu Liena softly reminded him, "This is the Pope."

"I heard."

"You're not getting up?"

Xia Che considered it, then sat up a little straighter. "I'm up now."

The front hall fell silent.

Yue Guan was already prepared to intervene before Bibi Dong became angry, while Ghost moved half a step forward from the wall.

Bibi Dong merely looked at Xia Che. "You're in charge of this shop?"

"During the day, Indeedee is usually in charge."

Indeedee, who was organizing brushes, looked up and politely nodded to Bibi Dong.

"Then what are you responsible for?"

"Handling matters she doesn't want to handle."

Indeedee placed a stack of application forms before Xia Che.

Xia Che changed his answer. "And filling out forms."

Bibi Dong's gaze fell on the stack of papers. "Can everyone who comes here receive a Pokémon?"

"That depends on whether the two sides are compatible."

"I need to be assessed too?"

"The pen is over there."

Pancham had already brought over a pen, standing on tiptoe to set it on the table. It then dragged over a chair and placed it behind the three-step mat, its position perfectly precise.

Bibi Dong looked at the ordinary wooden chair.

Yue Guan lowered his voice. "This time, it's inviting you to sit."

"You seem experienced."

"A minor misunderstanding bought that experience."

Bibi Dong finally sat down at the table.

She picked up the application form. The first line asked how much time she could set aside each day.

"What if there is no fixed time?"

Xia Che leaned back by the window again. "Write the truth."

Bibi Dong held the pen for a moment, then wrote four words in that space.

After I'm done working.

Rotom flew over. After one glance, a huge red cross lit up on its screen.