Trouble

"Ah! My Teddiursa!"

The boy among the three who had secretly sent out Teddiursa let out a wail and hurriedly ran toward the Teddiursa that had been knocked flying.

Crystal was stunned. She had not expected a Teddiursa to suddenly appear beside her, but the sight instantly made her understand what had happened.

"You dared to launch a sneak attack! I'm telling your parents! I'm telling Falkner too!"

She roared, shielding Smoochum behind her like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

Smoochum was dumbfounded as well. It had only felt a gust of wind brush past its ear and knew nothing else.

When the two boys opposite heard Crystal say she would tell their parents, their faces instantly turned green. They could not understand it. The negotiation had been going perfectly well, so why had that idiot launched a sneak attack?

"It has nothing to do with us! Don't talk nonsense!" The chubby boy leading them shot his companion a meaningful look.

His companion immediately understood and shouted, "Yeah, yeah! It has nothing to do with us!"

With that, the two turned and ran, abandoning that idiot without a second thought.

What nonsense! Why stay and wait to get scolded?

After the leader fled, the remaining little boy shot Elekid and Crystal a resentful glare. Wisely, he did not confront her head-on. Instead, he picked up Teddiursa and ran off with his head down, leaving behind a threat.

"Just you wait! I'm telling my dad and mom!"

Only Crystal, the crying girl, the dazed Smoochum, and the ashen-faced Elekid remained.

"I-I'm sorry, Sister Crystal." The girl apologized through her tears. She could sense that something bad had happened.

"It's okay. They were looking for me in the first place. I should be the one apologizing to you. Go home first, okay? I've got this!" Though Crystal was young, she showed remarkable responsibility.

After sending the girl away, she turned to Elekid with a smile. "Thank you so much, Elekid. If it weren't for you, my Smoochum would have been in danger."

"Ele..." Elekid forced a smile, though inwardly it wailed over how many math problems it would have to do that night.

After thanking it, Crystal intended to find Falkner. That boy was unfamiliar, probably a recent transfer. If his parents were unreasonable, she could be in trouble.

But before she could leave, a car pulled up in front of her.

The little boy who had only just left got out of the car with his chin held high. Behind him followed a well-dressed man and woman.

Crystal's face suddenly turned pale.

Library.

Heiduo put down his book and let out a long breath, his heart filled with joy.

This book was incredibly valuable and had given him many important insights.

Though written in diary form, it recorded all kinds of wilderness survival techniques, reminding readers what they could and could not do.

It also included local customs, landscapes, mountains, and rivers from various regions and cities.

For someone who did not plan to travel, this book was merely reading material. But to Heiduo, it was incomparably valuable.

"Who exactly is this Feng? I wonder what his real name is." Heiduo admired the author named Feng. His writing was not especially polished, but it did not affect readability, and his descriptive ability was outstanding.

Blackthorn City had a special festival called the Dragon King Festival. It was extremely lively. Dragon type Trainers from all over came to Blackthorn City on that day, seeking to claim the annual title of Dragon King, which was said to ensure favorable weather for the entire year.

It was said that Lance had already won the Dragon King title for four consecutive years. If he won again this year, he would have held it for five straight years, earning the right to have his name carved at the highest point of Dragon's Den and receiving the title of Eternal Dragon King.

But that was not what attracted Heiduo. What caught his attention was the diary's claim that a newly crowned female Champion from Sinnoh was very interested in the Dragon King Festival and intended to take the Dragon King title.

Sinnoh's female Champion—wasn't that Cynthia? Wasn't that Sister Cynthia?

My idol!

As soon as Heiduo saw it, he checked the date of the diary entry. It was November 13th of last year, while the Dragon King Festival was held every year on October 10th.

In other words, he had a chance!

Heiduo glanced at the date. It was now May, leaving five full months. More than enough time!

A priceless treasure! A priceless treasure!

Heiduo returned the book to its place. Perhaps because he had read it so thoroughly, he already remembered every detail clearly.

He wondered whether there were any more treasures like this...

As Heiduo browsed through the shelves, a quarrel outside caught his attention.

He frowned and listened closely, hearing Crystal arguing.

Wasn't Elekid with Crystal?

He immediately lost all interest in reading and climbed straight out of the library.

Dawdling was not a good habit.

Shuangye, who had been sitting on a small chair enjoying the breeze, opened her eyes and silently followed after him.

"Your son was the one who sneak-attacked my Smoochum first! Your son was in the wrong! Why should I pay you money?"

Crystal argued furiously.

Before her, the man and woman sneered. "You say my son attacked first? Where's your evidence? You can't produce any, can you? My Teddiursa has marks from Quick Attack all over its body! It's lying in the hospital right now, and the hospital wants one hundred thousand from us. You have to pay it!"

One hundred thousand!

Crystal's face went pale. Even if they sold her, she could not come up with that much money!

Besides! What kind of medical bill cost one hundred thousand? What Pokémon hospital would dare charge that much? This was definitely extortion!

Elekid stood behind Crystal, its expression equally unpleasant. It did not understand the words, but one look at those two faces told it they were not saying anything good!

"Impossible! You say we have no evidence, but what evidence do you have that proves we used Quick Attack?" Crystal shot back. She could not produce evidence, but neither could they!

The man and woman exchanged a glance and smiled as though they had expected this. They waved a hand, and the two trembling boys got out of the car again.

"We have witnesses who can prove it! What about you? You have nothing. Who do you think the Police will believe?" They looked smug. With every laugh, Crystal's expression worsened.

Just as the standoff reached a deadlock, a male voice cut in.

"Oh? Witnesses? I suspect the two of them were coerced or bribed by you. And those two should be involved parties, right? They're friends with your son, so their testimony is invalid."

Heiduo slowly walked forward. He first shot Elekid a fierce glare, then stepped in front of Crystal.

With ten points in Hearing, he could clearly make out their conversation from this distance.

He also had a pretty good idea whose move Quick Attack was, but now was not the time for blame.

Crystal wanted to say something, but Heiduo stopped her. He winked at her and made a gesture for silence.

Crystal closed her mouth. She knew she was young and had little say in the matter, so she had secretly asked Smoochum to use Confusion to send out the Poké Ball containing Arcanine. Given Arcanine's speed, it should be able to find Falkner and her mother in time.

Heiduo looked at the two of them. The man and woman's faces abruptly darkened.

"You little punk, where did you come from?" the man snapped at Heiduo. If there had not been so many people hiding nearby to watch, he would have thrown a punch already.

What he did not know was that Heiduo felt the same way.

When dealing with idiots like this, only fists could convince them. Reasoning with them was useless.

How did that saying go again?

"Study so you can calmly talk to idiots. Work out so idiots can calmly talk to you."

"Who cares where I came from! You're trying to scam your own ancestor! Why don't you piss in a puddle and take a good look at your ugly face!" Heiduo glared and cursed back.

When it came to insults, was any language richer than Chinese?

It was not something to be proud of, but when facing idiots, it always came in handy.

Sure enough, it was the first time the man had heard such filthy insults. His eyes instantly turned red with rage as he opened a Poké Ball.

Bang!

A creature with a round body of crimson and pale yellow, a duckbill-like mouth, and flames atop its head leaped out.

[Pokémon: Magmar (Beast) / Gender: Male / Level: 41]

[Ability: Flame Body / Type: Fire / Trainer: Jian Zhilang]

[Moves: Ember lv.4 / Smokescreen lv.3]

[Fire Spin lv.3 / Fire Punch lv.3]

Hm? A level-forty Pokémon with only four moves? And three of them were only level three?

Heiduo looked at the Magmar and nearly laughed aloud. There was actually such an... underdeveloped Pokémon?

Poor thing. Your Evolution was clearly so cool!

He shot Magmar a sympathetic look while releasing Ekans.

At level twenty, but with forty extra attribute points and most of its moves at level four, Ekans was definitely no weaker than this duck-fire dragon!

Heiduo was confident of that.

"Pfft! So you're just a broke loser." The man named Jian Zhilang laughed when he saw Ekans, and the woman beside him laughed as well.

Heiduo did not care. "Even if I'm poor, I'm not like you two brain-dead idiots, eyeing a little girl's money. Besides, why did you even send out your Pokémon? Do you dare attack? At a school?"

No one dared fight at a school, because schools were society's bottom line. They represented the futures of countless families. Anyone who dared cause trouble there would only be courting death.

Besides, the person following behind Heiduo was no pushover. If this man dared attack, would Shuangye just stand by and watch?

Just as Heiduo expected, Jian Zhilang truly did not dare make a move. He had only sent out Magmar to pressure Heiduo and the others.

But it seemed not to have had the intended effect. Instead, he had been mocked.

Jian Zhilang's face darkened. Just as he was about to say something, a voice rang out from above once more.

"Recall your Pokémon! I am Officer Falkner of the Violet City Police Department! Badge number 46738! This is your final warning! Recall your Pokémon!"

Police! Falkner!

Heiduo clicked his tongue. The Pokémon League's efficiency shocked him once again. This response time was incredible.

He and Jian Zhilang obediently recalled their Pokémon. Then, a giant bird descended before them carrying a person.

It was Falkner, dressed in casual clothes!

A small figure emerged from behind Falkner, swinging her legs as she ran to Crystal's side and whispered, "Sister Crystal, I brought Brother Falkner here!"