On the lush green lawn, the guests took their seats and watched the newlyweds nearby, offering warm applause and blessings.
Cynthia wore a wedding dress, elegant and beautiful, her expression bashful. She held Pikachu in her arms, with Garchomp following behind her.
Su Bai wore a formal suit, and the Arcanine behind him balanced the rings on its head.
Snow-white Mt. Coronet rose in the distance as their backdrop, while a rainbow hung across the sky.
"Su Bai! Su Bai? Su Bai!"
"Ah!"
Su Bai blearily opened his eyes, saw Qi Shijun's weathered face, and jumped off the sofa.
"Uncle Qi, what are you doing? I was sleeping so well."
"You silly brat, were you dreaming about getting married? Come on, let's go. Stop embarrassing yourself here."
Qi Shijun pointed at the drool beside Su Bai's mouth, looking so disgusted he wanted to bury him.
That careless attitude was exactly like his father's. Still, looking at him now, his eyes really did resemble his mother's.
Wang Officer Jenny stood at the door with her arms folded, barely holding back her laughter.
Two entertaining spectacles in one day. How nice.
It wasn't really Su Bai's fault. Officer Jenny's office had such wonderful natural light, and the sofa was so soft and comfortable.
Besides, Officer Jenny wore Comfey No. 6 perfume, just like Cynthia.
"Uncle Qi, where's Eevee?"
"Already sent back. You'll see Eevee when you get back to school."
Su Bai let out a long breath, though he still felt a little embarrassed.
"Uncle Qi, sorry for making you come all this way on a Friday."
"So there are things that can embarrass you?"
Qi Shijun gently cupped the back of Su Bai's head and told him not to be so stupid next time.
"I wanted to beat that brat up myself when I saw him. But be smarter next time. Find somewhere with no one around, or have Pikachu jump into his arms and say he was stealing your Pokémon..."
Qi Shijun patiently passed on his tricks to Su Bai, one by one.
"Back when your dad and I were at Celadon University, that's what we did whenever we wanted to beat up Bill."
"You're the best, Uncle Qi."
Wang Officer Jenny's delicate brows drew together. Was it really appropriate for these two scoundrels, young and old, to discuss ambushing someone right in front of Officer Jenny?
"You two, could you show a little restraint?"
"Heh heh, sorry, Captain Wang. Brat, hurry up and thank your auntie."
Officer Jenny's beautiful eyes brimmed with murderous intent. Naturally, Su Bai wasn't as clueless as Qi Shijun.
"Thank you, big sis Jenny."
"What a good boy. Come to me if you need anything."
Wang Officer Jenny patted Su Bai's cheek in satisfaction, adopting the air of an elder.
Watching Qi Shijun wink and make faces at Wang Officer Jenny, while she made no obvious attempt to rebuff him, Su Bai understood.
Something's going on here.
That was nice. When Su Bai had arrived, he'd been bored enough to glance at the notice on the wall.
Wang Officer Jenny seemed to have only just turned thirty this year. She had recently been promoted to captain after catching two Team Rocket elites. Add in the pretty face she'd inherited from the Jenny Family, and she really was a worthy match for his Uncle Qi.
As for Qi Shijun, that went without saying.
It might sound a little unpleasant, but as a member of the Dragon Nation's Elite Four, there were very few people in the entire world beyond his league.
There were a few, though, and one of them was Su Bai's fiancée.
"Uncle Qi, didn't you tell me yesterday that you wanted to take big sis Jenny out to dinner and have me help pick a place? Siebold of the Kalos Elite Four just opened a Western restaurant in J City, not far from our school. Should I make a reservation?"
"Yes, go ahead."
Qi Shijun nodded and secretly gave Su Bai a thumbs-up.
Why hadn't he thought of that?
How could Qi Shijun's gesture escape the eyes of a professional police officer like Wang Officer Jenny? But she didn't refuse. Instead, her cheeks flushed as she extended an invitation.
"Su Bai, why don't you come with us?"
"No, no. I want to go see little Eevee."
Under Qi Shijun's dangerously benevolent gaze, Su Bai made a hasty escape.
He called to book a table for Qi Shijun, then went to the Pokémon Day Care to pick up Pikachu and Growlithe.
"Pika pi!"
The moment Pikachu saw Su Bai, Pikachu leaped into his arms.
Growlithe also circled around Su Bai's feet, panting and wagging its tail. On closer inspection, it was drooling too.
Who knew whether that silly dog had missed Su Bai or was just hungry?
"All right, all right. See? I'm fine. Come on, I'll take you to see little Eevee."
Su Bai said goodbye to Zhang Shu and left with Pikachu and Growlithe.
As for Gengar, it had been hiding nearby the whole time. Once Su Bai came out, it slipped back into his shadow.
Looking at his three precious companions, Su Bai felt a rush of emotion.
How could anyone bear to hurt such adorable Pokémon?
Back at J University, Su Bai headed straight for the breeding area.
The Breeding Teacher was feeding the Pokémon their dinner there and paused in surprise when he saw Su Bai.
"Su Bai? You're back? You're not hurt, are you?"
"Thank you, sir. I'm fine."
Apparently, Zhang Shu wasn't the only one who knew he'd beaten up Liu Feng.
Still, the Breeding Teacher meant well, and Su Bai gratefully took the Pokémon food cart from him.
"Sir, let me do it."
"All right. Thanks for your help. Eevee's in the usual place. Ah, poor little thing."
The Breeding Teacher knew Su Bai had come back to see Eevee. He had been furious when Eevee was first brought back, and then he'd heard that Su Bai had beaten up the boy who bought Eevee.
Though he couldn't say it openly, the Breeding Teacher also thought Su Bai had done the right thing.
To all the teachers who knew what had happened, even though Su Bai didn't yet have permission to raise Eevee, this Eevee was probably already as good as his.
Eevee was valuable, but no one would be willing to pay a high price for an Eevee that couldn't see and had become deeply wary of humans.
If Eevee could evolve, the problem with its eyes might improve.
Evolution was a miraculous leap in life, compressing biological changes that would take decades, or even centuries or millennia, into a dozen or so seconds.
There was no reason a transformation like that couldn't heal Eevee's eyes.
But whether evolution required friendship or an item, it would take tremendous effort. Su Bai was probably the only person willing to do it whom Eevee would also accept.
Su Bai didn't rush straight to the innermost area. Instead, he sent Pikachu, Growlithe, and Old Ghost ahead while he finished handing out the Pokémon's food.
The other Pokémon here were his friends too, and this was a task the Breeding Teacher had entrusted to him.
The teacher had made things easy for him, and Su Bai couldn't betray that trust.
With the Viridian Force, Su Bai's work became even easier. Even the Pokémon the teachers boarded in the neighboring area occasionally came over to play with him.
Director Li's big Tropius even stretched its neck over to offer Su Bai some fruit.
When he gave them his sincerity, they responded in kind. Pokémon were such adorable creatures. They truly deserved better.
Before you continue