The City's Tricks Ran Deep

Ye Qing couldn't stand the smell. He fanned his nose and snapped, "Come on, you're taking a bath!"

"Ooh!"

The moment Chimchar heard the word "bath," he wanted no part of it. He was about to jump to the floor when Ye Qing, already prepared, grabbed him.

Dragging the squealing Chimchar along, Ye Qing changed out of his dirty clothes and carried him into the bathroom.

Hearing the commotion, Ye Mom said worriedly, "Son, be gentle! Don't hurt him!"

"Oh, relax, Mom. What kind of person do you think I am? I'm not going to hurt him!"

Staring at the sulking Chimchar, Ye Qing threatened, "If you don't take a bath, don't expect me to buy you any more Pokéblocks."

"Ooh."

Chimchar still sounded defiant, but he stopped struggling quite so much.

Heh, that worked.

Ye Qing breathed a sigh of relief. With the little guy bouncing all over the place, he really wouldn't have known how to bathe him.

"Go eat, big brother. I'll wash him for you!"

Just as Ye Qing was lost in thought, Ye Menghan's clear voice came from outside the bathroom.

"All right, I'll leave him to you."

Happy to take a break, Ye Qing pointed at the indignant Chimchar and told him to behave.

"Okay!"

Ye Menghan opened the door and gently took Chimchar from Ye Qing's hands.

Strangely enough, the moment Chimchar was in the little girl's arms, he stopped fussing. He was so well behaved that he hardly seemed like a monkey at all.

Ye Qing ate a hearty dinner. Just as he set down his chopsticks, the formerly filthy Chimchar had been washed clean too.

The night passed without dreams.

Knock, knock.

Sunlight spilled across Ye Qing's face the next morning, and a series of knocks woke him from a deep sleep.

Still drowsy, Ye Qing really didn't want to get up. Bleary-eyed, he nudged Chimchar, who was sleeping beside his pillow, and muttered, "Chimchar, go get the door."

"Ooh, ooh."

Chimchar was sleeping soundly too and had no intention of paying Ye Qing any attention. He stuck out a foot and kicked his head, telling him to get it himself.

Realizing he couldn't boss the little guy around, Ye Qing had no choice but to open the door with a yawn. He decided that next time, he absolutely had to catch an obedient Pokémon.

"Thanks."

As soon as he opened the door, he discovered that his delivery had arrived. The package should contain the Double Team TM.

After all that fuss, Ye Qing was no longer sleepy. He washed up, ate some of the breakfast his mother had prepared, and got ready to wake Chimchar and take him downstairs to train.

Every bit of strength Chimchar gained now would give him more confidence. Otherwise, it would be miserable to come across a Pokémon he wanted only to find that he couldn't beat it.

Ye Qing took out a Poké Ball and recalled the still-sleeping Chimchar, then fitted the circular opening in the center of the TM over the raised button in the middle of the ball.

Once that was done, Ye Qing suddenly grew curious about how a Pokémon inside a Poké Ball received the move recorded on a TM. Could it really be like the theory from his previous life, with the Pokémon sitting on a couch inside the ball, watching footage of the move on TV?

As a green light lit up on the Poké Ball, the formerly smooth TM broke into several pieces.

"That should do it, right?"

Ye Qing hefted the Poké Ball and murmured to himself. This was his first time using a TM, after all, so he really couldn't be sure whether it had worked.

He got dressed and hurried downstairs, found an empty patch of ground in the residential complex, and let Chimchar out.

"Ooh-ah."

Chimchar had been put through quite an ordeal. He felt as though something had suddenly appeared in his mind out of nowhere.

Ye Qing tried giving a command. "Use Double Team."

Chimchar: (´･_･`)?

A breeze swept past, carrying a few leaves with it.

Embarrassed, Ye Qing repeated, "I said, use Double Team."

Chimchar blinked, squatted on the ground, and strained with all his might.

Watching Chimchar's ridiculous movements, Ye Qing laughed. "Are you trying to poop...?"

Chimchar was frustrated too. Although the method for using Double Team was already imprinted in his mind, he felt as though he was missing a trigger.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Qing decided to try a different approach. "All right, start running as fast as you can."

Chimchar nodded and began sprinting across the open ground.

"Not fast enough. Go faster."

"Faster!"

As Ye Qing kept raising his voice, Chimchar ran with every ounce of strength he had.

The instant Chimchar reached his top speed, Ye Qing shouted, "Use Double Team!"

Chimchar cried out and swiftly split off two afterimages. They only lasted a brief moment, though. It seemed this move still needed practice.

Ye Qing did nothing else that day. Apart from meals, he spent all his time training Chimchar. Fortunately, mischievous as the little guy usually was, he never slacked off when it came to training or battles.

Early Monday morning, Ye Qing was summoned to his homeroom teacher's office without any idea why.

Seeing all the teachers inside, Ye Qing walked in with his scalp prickling.

"You're here, Ye Qing. Give me a moment."

Zhao Xinran set down her lesson plan, stood up, and led Ye Qing outside.

Once they stopped in a corner, Ye Qing asked in confusion, "Did you need something, miss?"

Zhao Xinran smiled. "Well, I wanted to ask you about the Tao Trio. You answered so confidently last time. There must be plenty of details you didn't mention, right?"

Ye Qing shook his head and said frankly, "No. That's all I know."

"Really?"

Zhao Xinran bent down, bringing her pretty face close to Ye Qing's, and stared at him without blinking her large eyes.

"Really."

Catching the light fragrance coming from Zhao Xinran, Ye Qing rubbed his nose.

Inside a Secret Base built out of a mountain cave.

A middle-aged man with slicked-back hair sat in a chair and asked without turning around, "How's the investigation going?"

Holding Mightyena's leash, Blood Hand bowed. "Boss, I've already sent out the Mightyena and Houndoom teams to investigate separately. Using the scent the target left at the scene, we've ruled out a large number of locations one by one."

Yanlang snapped, "So you've found where he is? Then why haven't you taken action? Don't you know how little time we have left before the Leader's deadline?"

Blood Hand trembled. "At present, we can only confirm that the target is somewhere within China. We haven't determined the exact location yet.

"Because... because of our last operation, China has raised its security level. If we act rashly now, we could very well walk into their trap."

Disappointed, Yanlang said flatly, "Is that so? Then haven't you thought of a solution? Your own trusted subordinate turned out to be a traitor. I suppose you're looking for a nice long rest!"

Blood Hand's legs shook, and his voice trembled as he replied, "I... I do have a plan. I've assigned three operatives prepared to die on the mission. They've already entered China with Mightyena that have smelled the target's scent. They should eliminate the target soon."

Boom!

Just then, a violent explosion rang out. Yanlang gave a slight start as a massive hole was blasted through the mountainside. Looking out through the opening, he saw Mewtwo floating in the air, staring coldly at them.