Chat group: Have You Battled Today?

It was afternoon.

Li Wei called Green.

Green got straight to the point with a smile. "Calling me so soon? Looks like you've already heard about Arcanine."

Li Wei nodded. "I've agreed to take this on, but why me? Diantha Viridian seems like a better fit."

Green shook his head. "Yellow isn't suited for this. She relies on the Viridian Force to read Pokémon's memories and emotions.

"But reading memories and emotions takes a toll. She feels what they felt, and that... isn't pleasant."

Li Wei nodded. "All right, I'll accept that explanation."

Green tried his hardest to hide the smile tugging at his lips, but failed. "Don't worry. I won't leave you to handle this alone. Hang on."

A message suddenly popped up on Li Wei's LINE account.

[Administrator Green has added you to the chat.]

Green had added Li Wei to a chat group called [Have You Battled Today?].

[Akin]: Hey, Li Wei! Want to battle?

*???*

Li Wei stopped looking at the group messages because Green had started speaking again.

"Red set up this chat room specifically so people could arrange Pokémon battles. He said calling and messaging everyone one by one took too much time."

"..."

Okay, that was very Red.

Wait, why did this sound like a harem group?

Was this group going to turn into the Grim Reaper's roll call?

If Red picked Li Wei for a battle someday...

Wouldn't he get blown to bits?

No, Lucario would be the one getting blown to bits.

He had a Super New Trainer physique.

He shouldn't be afraid of taking Red on in a no-rules brawl.

Maybe he should learn boxing from Dayou?

Green had no idea how wildly Li Wei's thoughts had leaped around in that brief instant.

"It's a battle group, but everyone also shares information there. It might be useful to you. Probably."

Remembering the utterly pointless conversations in the group, even Green began to lose confidence.

Li Wei couldn't help quipping, "You don't even sound convinced yourself!"

"Anyway, how's Feebas doing?"

"Same as before. I've asked a friend to bring her Milotic over. She'll be here in a few days."

Green looked eager for some gossip. "A friend, huh? Let me know if anything changes. Got to go. He's pestering me to train."

"Beep, beep, beep, beep..."

"..."

He hung up way too fast!

Li Wei opened the group chat, which had already accumulated a flood of messages in just a short while. Clearly, it was full of relentless chatterboxes.

There were quite a few people in the group.

The quartet of Red, Green, Yellow, and Blue.

Akin and Crystal.

Doduo, Lorelei, and Bruno from Kanto's Elite Four, along with Gym Leaders Brock, Misty, Sabrina, and Lt. Surge...

Were they sure this wouldn't turn into a fight?

He loved watching women fight!

Ruby and Sapphire from the Hoenn Region were there, as was Steven.

What surprised Li Wei most was that the Kalos Champion, Diantha, was also in the group.

Green must have invited her, right?

After all, Green had visited the Kalos Region and crossed paths with Diantha.

Green had mentioned that himself a little while ago.

That was thanks to Dayou, who asked endless questions, was ridiculously outgoing, and acted like an old friend with everyone he met.

There were plenty of people in the group, but right now, only the two Elite Four of idle chatter, Akin and Lt. Surge, were flooding the chat.

When it came to filling a chat with nonsense, Li Wei was willing to crown them the Saint and King of Spam.

[Akin: How's business at the Breeding Center?]

[Lt. Surge: Idiot, haven't you seen how fast his follower count is growing? Business must be pretty good.]

Lt. Surge, who had also set up a video account on the Eevee Network, was extremely envious of how quickly Li Wei's following was growing.

[Akin: Oh, right. Someone's account has no real fans apart from his Gym apprentices.

Lt. Surge went silent. Li Wei could just imagine his frozen expression in front of the screen.

[Li Wei: We've got a foothold now. We're considering hatching and raising Pokémon.]

They really were considering it. It was a step they would have to take sooner or later.

It had been one of the Jubilife City mayor's conditions when he sold them the place.

[Akin: Oh! That was fast! If you have any questions about hatching eggs, ask me!]

[Lt. Surge: Ask you? The Pokémon would pick up bad habits!]

Li Wei didn't spend long chatting in the group. Only Akin and Lt. Surge were active at the moment anyway.

He had no time to chat with them. He needed to visit Back Mountain that afternoon.

Before that, though, Li Wei had to check on Arcanine.

Li Wei had let Arcanine out that morning.

But it hadn't been doing well, so he had only left it some food and water.

He would let it rest quietly for a while and adjust to its surroundings.

Not far to the left of Li Wei's house stood a row of five rooms, shared by his household and the Pokémon Center.

From a distance, Li Wei spotted Arcanine huddled in a corner.

It was so big, yet so timid.

In a way, Feebas and Arcanine were quite alike. Both hid in corners and refused to come out.

Arcanine couldn't have been like this before.

Otherwise, it could never have joined an elite unit or taken part in the operation to apprehend Team Galactic.

Its psychological trauma had clearly hurt it terribly.

Someone was standing in front of Arcanine.

"Nurse Joy."

"Li Wei."

Seeing Li Wei approach, Nurse Joy rose from her crouch.

"Nurse Joy, are you worried about Arcanine too?"

Nurse Joy paused, then sighed helplessly. "Actually, I was involved in treating it back then."

Recalling the injuries Arcanine had suffered, Nurse Joy couldn't help furrowing her brow.

"I also heard about the unusual behavior it developed afterward."

"When I heard about it at noon, I wanted to come and see it."

Li Wei and Nurse Joy both looked at Arcanine, huddled in the corner.

It was distinctly different from Li Wei's Arcanine.

Li Wei's Arcanine looked round and fluffy, with a long mane. It was bursting with energy and never stayed home.

That was perfectly normal, since Li Wei's Arcanine was only a little over a year old.

This Arcanine, once an elite police dog, had a well-proportioned build.

Its fur covered its entire body, hiding most of its scars. Only a scar resembling a knife wound was visible on its face.

That scar didn't look ugly on its face at all. It looked cool.

According to Zoro, this Arcanine was eight years old, right in a police dog's prime.

Arcanine generally retired between eighteen and twenty years old. It was still a long way from retirement.

It might not tear the house apart like Li Wei's Arcanine, but it certainly shouldn't have been like this.

Although Arcanine was very timid, thankfully, it didn't reject contact.

Nurse Joy gently stroked its silky mane and said softly, "Arcanine, lots of people care about you. Stay strong, okay?"

She turned to Li Wei, her gaze earnest. "Sorry for the trouble, Li Wei. Please help Arcanine get back on its feet."

Li Wei's expression immediately grew more serious. "I'll do everything I can."

"If there's anything you need me for, please don't hesitate to ask."

"All right."