Seven People in Line, Only Six Mats in the Training Room

When the doors opened the next day, all seven of them were indeed there.

The spice stall owner brought a box of leaves with different scents, the errand runner from the carriage shop carried old reins, and the young woman who fetched medicine for an elderly man held a water jug. The remaining four came from nearby shops, bringing everything from abacuses to brooms.

Pancham handed everyone a numbered tag.

When it reached the seventh tag, it glanced into the training room.

There were only six mats on the floor.

It took back the seventh tag, counted again, then handed it out once more. There were still seven people and only six mats.

Xia Che leaned against the counter. "Split them into two sessions."

"I'm free in the morning," the spice stall owner said first.

"So am I," someone else followed.

All seven quickly said that mornings worked for them.

Xia Che looked at Rotom. "Then four tomorrow morning and three the following afternoon."

"Why not add another mat?" the carriage shop errand runner asked.

"If you add a mat, you'll need another chair, another water bowl, and another path wide enough for people to walk through."

Xie Yue had just entered. Hearing that last sentence, he looked toward the training room. He walked to the innermost part and circled around the gaps between the six mats.

"Six people are already crowded," he said. "If the seventh stands by the door, they'll block the way out."

Yan followed behind him. "Move the soft post against the wall, and there'll be room for another spot."

Magby immediately picked up a red soft post.

Before it had taken two steps, Indeedee pointed at the white line on the floor. If the post was moved, half the stop line would be blocked.

Magby put the post back where it had been.

"Then split the sessions," Yan quickly changed his mind.

Hu Liena entered holding Eevee. "Four in the morning and three in the afternoon. First, tell us when each of you needs to work."

The spice stall owner opened his stall in the afternoon and wanted the morning class. The carriage shop errand runner was busiest at dawn, so afternoon suited him better. The young woman who fetched medicine went out every afternoon and also needed the morning. After only a few questions, the seven were quickly divided into four and three. A moment ago, everyone had wanted the morning, yet now no one's work had been delayed.

Xia Che pushed four tags toward Hu Liena. "You're well suited to standing behind the counter."

"I'm only helping today."

"You can help tomorrow too."

"Get up first."

Xia Che had no choice but to leave the chair.

The Golden Generation temporarily helped with the first basic lesson.

Hu Liena explained how to help partners become familiar with a voice. Rather than having Eevee perform in turns for all seven people, she asked the four students to stand in different directions and called it back herself.

The spice stall owner's sleeves carried the strongest scent, and Eevee could not resist pausing as it passed by.

Hu Liena waited until it had sniffed enough, then lightly patted the side of her knee.

Eevee turned and returned to her feet.

"Why not call it several more times?" the young woman fetching medicine asked.

"It already heard you. Calling again will only make the sound seem unimportant."

Eevee raised its head and cried out in agreement.

Xie Yue handled the soft posts and passageways. He had each person carry the object they had brought through the route once, to see whether they would bump into their partner while turning.

The abacus was fine. The broom was the real trouble.

The grocery clerk was used to carrying the broom horizontally across his shoulder. Whenever he turned, the broom's tail swept across half the room. Pawniard stood outside the safety line and immediately stepped back.

"Hold it upright," Xie Yue reminded him.

The clerk changed his grip and walked through again. With the broom pressed close to his body, half the space that had been taken up was left free for others.

This time, Pawniard did not retreat.

Yan was responsible for the rest area.

He had thought that would be the easiest task, requiring only that he tell everyone where the water bowls were. But before he could speak, Magby ran over to the mats, tested the water temperature, then pushed the bowl near the window crack half a foot farther inside.

"Is it afraid of the cold?" the spice stall owner asked.

"The water is too cold, so it drinks less," Yan said. "You need to check before and after training."

Magby lifted the water bowl for him.

"It's just right now."

Only then did it put it back.

Xia Che stood by the door and watched for a while. "The three of you explain things pretty smoothly."

"Our teacher usually divides training like this too," Hu Liena said.

"Then you can come help often from now on."

The three of them looked at him at the same time.

"Occasionally," Xia Che shortened his earlier statement.

While everyone practiced, Zorua turned all four rest mats into water bowls. When the students looked down, clear water covered the ground around their feet, and no one dared step forward.

The little fox waited on the windowsill to watch the fun.

The spice stall owner crouched first and sniffed. "It doesn't smell like water."

He tried reaching out, and his palm passed straight through the illusion.

Before Zorua could laugh, Metagross's pair of red eyes had already turned toward it. The real mats were steadily lifted at the same time, while the illusion remained on the floor, quickly revealing the difference.

"Look, smell, wait a breath," Xie Yue said. "If you're unsure, don't rush to step on it."

Zorua realized that even its prank had become part of the lesson, and its tail slowly drooped.

Hu Liena gave it a small piece of dried fruit. "You helped a lot."

It immediately perked back up.

When the four morning students finished class, each had learned only a few small things. Hold brooms upright, do not place water bowls in drafts, wait after calling once, and look before touching unfamiliar things.

No one had learned any earth-shaking moves.

Yet as the four left, they were all discussing which corner of their own shops could be cleared into a rest area.

Lunch had barely been set on the table when the three afternoon students arrived early.

Xia Che held his chopsticks. "There's a lunch break written outside."

"We can wait," the carriage shop errand runner said.

"Waiting while standing will block the door."

Pancham carried over three small stools and lined them up against the wall. After the three sat down, a full passage remained open at the entrance.

Yue Guan and Flabébé happened to enter then. He had placed the rough clay pot in a modified soft carrying bag. The pale yellow flower swayed gently with his steps but did not touch the edge of the bag.

Everyone waiting looked at Flabébé.

"Can it make flowers bloom immediately?" someone asked.

Yue Guan first glanced at the blue-flowered Flabébé in his arms. "It only came to inspect the potting soil today."

Flabébé flew to the window and, sure enough, only touched the pale yellow flower's leaves.

Ghost appeared afterward, and Duskull tapped twice on the doorframe first. The three students all turned their heads again.

"Can it pass through walls?"

"Yes," Ghost said.

"Can it enter locked rooms to retrieve things for people?"

Duskull hid behind him.

"No," Ghost answered even more briefly.

Xia Che ate his lunch and felt there were already more than enough teachers today.

The afternoon session continued with Xie Yue overseeing the passageways, Yan handling water and rest, and Hu Liena demonstrating with Eevee. Yue Guan sat in the front hall drinking tea, occasionally correcting misunderstandings about Flabébé's type. Ghost remained in the shadows, and only his teacup kept emptying.

The carriage shop errand runner had brought a length of leather rein he often used. It had been soaked that morning, and its surface was still damp. He wanted to know whether Magby could help dry it.

Yan did not agree on his partner's behalf. He first placed the leather rein before Magby.

Magby caught the greasy smell on it, immediately covered its nose, and backed away two steps.

"It doesn't like it," Yan said.

"Not even if it only heats it for a little while?"

Magby took another step back.

The errand runner had no choice but to take back the rein.

Indeedee stretched a clothesline across the backyard and hung the leather rein somewhere ventilated. It was slower, but at least Magby would not have to keep smelling something it disliked, and the leather would be less likely to crack from being baked.

"Just because a Pokémon can do something doesn't mean it wants to do it every time," Hu Liena said.

Eevee lay at her feet. Hearing that, it rested its tail over its forepaws.

Another student had brought a medicine basket with a loose seam. The thread ends were tightly tangled. Seeing Pawniard's blades, she tried asking, "Could it cut this for me?"

Xie Yue looked at Pawniard.

Pawniard first examined the basket opening, then raised an arm. Its sharp side remained pointed outward, while its flat guard lightly touched the loose thread without bringing down its blade.

"There's cloth inside. It could easily cut through that too," Xie Yue said.

Indeedee handed over a pair of small scissors.

The student cut the thread herself, then repaired it with new cord. After Pawniard watched, it nodded at her once.

"Was it warning me just now?"

"It didn't do anything," Xie Yue said. "The reason is my guess."

The student looked down and saw the lining pressed tightly against the thread end. She understood that the guess was reasonable, but she did not treat it as something Pawniard had said.

The last person wanted to pet Eevee.

Hu Liena did not answer. She only lowered her hand. Eevee looked at the stranger, then at her, and stepped back to the rest mat on its own.

"It doesn't want to today," Hu Liena said.

The person withdrew her hand. "I haven't even done anything."

"That's why it only moved away."

After Eevee lay down, the person sat on another mat and did not approach again. Half a lesson later, Eevee instead walked over on its own and sniffed the hand she had placed beside her knee.

She resisted the urge to pet it. Only after Eevee bumped her with its forehead first did she gently stroke its back fur.

Those three small matters took up most of the lesson. No one displayed any moves, but the people in the room were quieter than they had been that morning.

After both sessions ended, the Golden Generation was more exhausted than if they had attended training themselves.

Yan sat beside the long table. "Talking is more tiring than fighting."

Xie Yue poured himself water. "You talked the most."

"Everyone kept asking why Magby isn't afraid of fire."

Magby lay by the table, so tired that it buried its face in its arms.

Hu Liena combed out Eevee's back fur, which had been tousled from being petted. "Don't schedule us tomorrow."

Xia Che pushed dinner toward them. "The shop is treating you today."

The three looked at Indeedee.

Indeedee nodded. Their names were indeed absent from the bill.

Yan immediately served himself another bowl of soup.

The sound of wooden wheels came from outside.

The furniture shop delivered ten new low stools. Indeedee was listed as the buyer on the receipt. Six were intended for the waiting area outside the training room, while four were for the backyard dining table.

Xia Che looked at the stools lined up in a row. "Will ten people come in the future?"

Indeedee shook its head and separated six of them into a morning row and an afternoon row.

There could be ten more stools, but the training room still had only six mats.