Two Friendships in One Go

Xingye had been supposed to start school the next day, but instead he ended up lying in the hospital for a whole week, wrapped like a mummy and unable to do anything.

The case had been settled by the third day. As one of the two main parties involved, he had gotten off completely unscathed, since he was a minor—and he had been beaten up so badly.

Mihao's situation, on the other hand, was extremely serious. Deliberately beating a Pokémon School student and causing severe injuries was more than enough to ruin him.

But the police also uncovered other things. In any case, the guy truly was not a good person. He seemed normal enough in everyday life, but in secret, there had been multiple incidents where he had ordered Pokémon to attack and injure other Trainers.

Whether anyone had died as a result had yet to be determined, since those incidents had taken place in other regions. Mihao's final sentence had not yet been handed down, but this alone meant at least twenty years in prison, along with a lifetime ban from being a Trainer...

"Serves him right, meow."

Xingye watched the news on the TV in his hospital room. Since he was a minor, his privacy had been protected, and the report did not mention which Pokémon School student had been attacked.

He had reacted quickly that night. The moment he heard the police sirens, he knew he had to hurry and pretend to be the victim, so he put on a performance with Cyclizar.

Well, it had only been him playing along. Cyclizar had not known what was going on, which was why, after it kicked out its legs and lay flat, it had let out such a heartbreaking cry.

That was because Xingye knew that although Cyclizar looked rather dumb, its reactions were incredibly fast. It could make instant turns while speeding at full tilt, so naturally it could also pull back its strength the instant it threw a punch.

It had been risky. If it had failed to hold back, he would have been dead on the spot. But that was Xingye's trust in Cyclizar. Even though they had only spent a few short days together, he believed it could do it!

If you treated Pokémon well, Pokémon would naturally return that kindness. He might have lost the fight, but as a Trainer, he had won completely.

"So it's time to leave the hospital too..."

Those injuries had mostly healed after a week. The medical standards in this world truly were impressive, perhaps because Pokémon helped out.

Xingye changed into his school uniform. Some bandages still had not been removed, but they did not get in the way. He did not want to keep wasting time in the hospital.

After saying goodbye to the other patients in the ward, he left directly. At the hospital entrance, Cyclizar was already waiting for him.

Since this was a human hospital, Pokémon over one meter long were prohibited from entering to prevent any unusual situations, so it could only wait outside.

"Cyclizar, Cyclizar~"

The moment Cyclizar saw him come out, it happily rushed over and bit down on his head.

"Alright, alright. You've been waiting a long time, huh? Let's go home."

Xingye was helpless, though still happy. He put on his goggles and rode off on Cyclizar. He had taken quite a beating this time, but teaching that scumbag a lesson had felt pretty great.

Maybe Odd Jobs could take on commissions like this in the future—something satisfying, like killing NTR bastards for free...

After returning to Drifter District and teasing the Meowths chasing after him from behind, he finally arrived at the izakaya. It was only afternoon, not yet opening time, but the door was open.

"Hmm?"

Curious, Xingye walked over with Cyclizar. He happened to see Delphox, dressed in a maid outfit, cleaning the place, so he greeted her.

"Alola~"

"Huohu~"

Seeing that it was him, Delphox happily called back. After what had happened that day, their friendship had risen completely.

Xingye nodded. He already knew that Slowking had taken her in as well, and that she could happily do the work she liked here every day.

Just then, the panel before his eyes flickered, and the reward effect that he had not seen in a long time suddenly appeared.

[Obtained Delphox's Friendship: Flame Stick (Can easily start a fire by rubbing sticks together in any environment)]

"What kind of useless life skill is that..."

While gaining a Friendship Talent was not surprising, the effect of this Talent truly disappointed Xingye. Any Pokémon that knew Fire-type moves could do this, couldn't it?

Still, it did not matter. What he needed more was for Delphox to help promote his Odd Jobs business to customers during her breaks.

Then he suddenly remembered something. His expression instantly changed as he glanced inside and asked, "Where's Boss Slowking? Did that guy swallow all my compensation money and plan to run off without saying a word?"

Wasn't the reason he had played the victim so that he could get a huge compensation payout?

Yet Slowking, disguised as his guardian Pokémon, had gone over and done who knew what, then accepted all of it on his behalf. When Xingye saw that on the TV news, he had nearly passed out from rage.

Hearing his voice, Slowking walked out with its hands behind its back and shouted, "What are you making such a fuss about? You're out already? That was pretty quick."

Xingye did not want to hear any more of his nonsense. He stepped forward, grabbed the ornament around Slowking's neck, and loudly demanded, "Where's my compensation money?!"

"I used it all to cover your medical bills. The reason you could leave the hospital so quickly was because I found Alola's best doctor for you. The miracle-working Doctor Bai Jack treated you personally and got you better. You should be thanking me."

"Keep making things up! Why not say it was Doctor Li Fuxi?!"

Xingye had already seen how well this guy could spin tales. He had definitely pocketed the money and refused to hand it over, while trying to make Xingye owe him even more. What a schemer!

Yet Slowking still wore that dumb expression as it slowly replied, "Your mindset isn't very good. After a week in the hospital, you still haven't calmed down."

"And whose fault do you think that is?!"

"I don't know. Even an omniscient and omnipotent Slowking has things it does not know."

"..."

Xingye gave up. This guy clearly intended to deny everything to the bitter end. That was such a huge sum of compensation money—enough to pay off all his debts with some left over—yet it had vanished just like that. Nothing had changed.

Watching the two argue, Delphox smiled and did not go over to interrupt them. Inside the izakaya, Ceruledge glanced over briefly before looking away.

Just then, Slowking, who had been wearing a foolish expression moments ago, suddenly became serious. Its eyes turned solemn as it asked, "So you intend to continue helping the Pokémon on this street resolve their troubles in this way?"

"..."

Xingye came back to his senses. He had not expected Slowking to ask that so suddenly. It had clearly been very dismissive of the idea before, yet it had changed its attitude quickly.

But no matter what anyone asked, once Xingye had made a decision, he would never change it!

"Isn't that obvious? Not only that, I'm going to open an Odd Jobs business here that does anything and everything, specifically to help these Pokémon solve their troubles!"

"An Odd Jobs business that does anything and everything..."

The Noble Pokémon murmured to itself. After a moment of silence, it unexpectedly revealed a silly smile and said, "Then work hard and do what you want on this street. A brat like you might actually accomplish something big."

After saying that, Slowking turned and went back into the shop. But Xingye could already tell that it meant it approved of his idea, and he smiled softly as well.

But at that very moment, the panel before his eyes flickered again, triggering the reward effect once more!

[Obtained Boss Slowking's Friendship: Not Dumb at All (Improves learning ability and makes it easier to understand Pokémon language; Trainer-only)]

"???"

Xingye could not understand it. It was not that he was surprised to suddenly gain friendship, but why had it been Boss Slowking rather than the Noble Pokémon?

And the effect of this Talent was incredibly useful. It was excellent in every respect, and exactly what he needed right now. Had he really obtained it that easily?

Thinking back on the four Talents he had obtained aside from the Rotom Phone, their effects seemed to vary wildly. The good ones were incredibly good, while the bad ones were utterly terrible.

"Could this thing have rare Talent settings too?"

That thought suddenly popped into Xingye's mind. If it had only been an ordinary Noble Pokémon, it might have given him some regular Talent for keeping his mind clear. But this was Boss Slowking!

Thinking that, he immediately looked toward Slowking. After obtaining a Friendship Talent, he could view its status information. Maybe he could learn something...

[Pokémon: Noble Pokémon]

[Type: Water + Psychic]

[Height/Weight: 1.95m/76.6kg]

[Ability: Oblivious (Will not become confused)]

[Moves: Nasty Plot, Yawn, Disable, Amnesia, Zen Headbutt, Slack Off, Psychic, Rain Dance, Psych Up, Mega Punch, Rest, Sleep Talk, Protect, Shadow Ball, Surf]

[Status: Dumb (Just dumb), Irritated (That brat really knows how to cause trouble. He'd better not pull something like this again someday), Happy (The izakaya's best employee is back. That brat really can get proper work done, so should I reduce his rent? Better forget it.)]

"Then reduce it already!"