Chapter 35
One small step for a Trainer.
Most importantly, his resistance to Confuse Ray seemed to have improved again. Before, he had only regained consciousness after they reached the Camp and someone woke him.
But this time, he had come around before they even reached the Camp. Of course, it was also possible that Mimikyu's Confuse Ray had grown weaker.
Still, Lu Li leaned toward the former explanation.
After all, people were always more willing to believe possibilities that worked in their favor.
When Lu Li returned to his room and stepped through the door, he saw Feebas wagging its tail at him.
The sight instantly lit up his eyes, dispelling some of his fatigue.
After all these days of feeding, Feebas really had become much livelier, and the pitted patches on its skin had faded considerably.
Lu Li jogged over to the tank, then moved it onto the table.
Feebas wagged its tail even faster inside the tank.
Lu Li wasn't sure whether Feebas was welcoming him home or urging him to hurry up and get its food ready.
Either way, he quickly took out an assortment of supplements and began feeding Feebas.
After spending these days together, Lu Li realized he genuinely liked Feebas. It wasn't because it would become his powerhouse in the future; he simply liked it.
Even if Feebas wasn't good-looking.
He also spent more time and energy on Feebas than anything else each day. Feeding alone took over two hours, on top of its daily beauty treatments.
Lu Li couldn't help poking fun at himself. Here he was, "working" for Feebas in the apocalypse, spending five hours every day catering to it.
"Little buddy, you'd better not forget me once you're beautiful." Lu Li gently tapped Feebas on the head.
Instead, Feebas pushed its head against his hand, as though it enjoyed his gentle tapping.
Maybe this counts as an affectionate gesture in Feebas's world? Lu Li wondered.
Feebas was willing to interact with him, and affectionately at that. To Lu Li, this wasn't merely good news; it was tremendously encouraging.
Even if I'm not a Pokémon person, bonds can cross the boundaries between species, Lu Li thought, filled with anticipation.
What he needed to do next was keep strengthening their relationship and help Feebas become prettier and more confident.
"Silly fish, from now on, your name is Xiaomei," Lu Li said with complete seriousness.
Feebas showed no reaction, and even splashed up twice.
Seeing this, Lu Li continued, "If you don't object, I'll take that as a yes."
Feebas jumped again.
"Xiaomei!" Lu Li called.
Feebas jumped once, as though it knew this was Lu Li's new name for it.
"Xiaomei!" Lu Li called again.
Though seemingly a little speechless, Feebas cooperated and jumped once more.
Now Lu Li was sure Feebas could probably understand what he meant. For instance, it had understood the name he had given it.
At the very least, it knew he was addressing it when he said Xiaomei.
Lu Li felt too embarrassed to keep teasing Xiaomei. After all, teasing a fool was unethical.
Next, Lu Li thought of something else.
The Pokémon leveling system.
In the games, Feebas needed to reach level 15 before it could learn Tackle. This was one reason it was called the most useless Pokémon.
Caterpie, on the other hand, knew Tackle in the games without any level requirement.
In other words, even after reaching level 15, Feebas still wasn't as strong as a newborn Caterpie.
But at least Feebas could learn an attacking move.
Lu Li had always been an optimist. Finding joy amid hardship was what he did best.
Lu Li began looking around for training equipment, preparing to teach Feebas Tackle.
Tackle was nothing to scoff at. After all, even Caterpie could smash a car to pieces with it.
Lu Li didn't expect Feebas's Tackle to match Caterpie's. His standards weren't high; he only needed one Tackle from Feebas to finish off an adult.
Lu Li didn't know how the move worked, but he knew what tackling meant.
So he chose the most basic method-having Feebas smash through a wooden board.
Lu Li held a piece of cardboard upright in front of himself, then got Feebas to look at him.
After checking the angle, Lu Li demonstrated.
He smashed straight through the cardboard with his head. Once he was done, he scooped Feebas out of the water and pointed at the cardboard in front of it.
Feebas stared at Lu Li with lifeless eyes, looking utterly unmotivated.
Seeing that Feebas hadn't understood, Lu Li patiently demonstrated again.
But Feebas still stared at him with those vacant eyes.
That familiar look reminded Lu Li of his classmates back in college.
Helplessly, Lu Li cradled Feebas in both hands and began explaining what he wanted.
But Feebas never understood what Lu Li meant.
An hour passed.
"!zzdm"
Thoroughly discouraged, Lu Li put Feebas back in its tank. He didn't dare show his negative emotions in front of Feebas, so he could only curse fiercely to himself.
Extremely irritated, Lu Li left his room. He intended to take a look at other people's suffering to ease his own frustration and gloom.
Training Pokémon was harder than he had imagined, especially when the Pokémon in question was Feebas.
In the Camp's communal area, Lu Li once again saw the grandmother and grandson who had been "waiting for their enemies to die" that day.
The elderly grandmother was wiping down a table, while her young grandson wiped a chair nearly as tall as he was.
The old woman showed no impatience, and even the child behaved sensibly, without crying or fussing.
The sight gave Lu Li plenty to think about.
The apocalypse really did put people through the wringer. When children misbehaved, it really was because the adults hadn't taught them properly.
Case in point.
Wasn't this little brat behaving quite well now? Even if the lesson had been far too tragic.
"My boy, one day, when Grandma is gone and there's no one left to look after you, you must still be good. Remember to volunteer for things like this that you're capable of doing.
"And make more of an effort to please your Sister Jun. Don't go throwing tantrums anymore. Also..."
The old woman kept rambling on, regardless of whether her grandson beside her could understand.
Just as Lu Li passed her, the old woman hurriedly pulled her grandson aside and greeted him respectfully. "Hello, Deputy Leader."
Lu
Li nodded lightly and walked straight past the old woman toward Jun Shutong's office.
There were quite a few children in the Camp: seven or eight under ten, and another four between ten and sixteen.
There was a reason Fatty Lei kept complaining that the Camp was short-handed. There were too many elderly people and children, and simply not enough jobs within the Camp for them.
Fatty Lei didn't dare assign them work outside the Camp either, because Jun Shutong was keeping a close eye on him.
Not forcing the elderly to their deaths or making children risk their lives had always been one of Jun Shutong's firm boundaries.
Lu Li didn't find Jun Shutong at the Leader's Office. He went to ask Fatty Lei, only to learn that she had taken a group out to gather supplies first thing that morning.
"Where did Sister Jun go today? It's been almost four hours, and she still isn't back," Lu Li asked, puzzled.
Fatty Lei explained, "Probably the Berthing Hotel on the outer edge of the Shopping Mall. The hotel happens to be connected to the mall, and apparently it prepares its own breakfasts, so Sister Jun suspects there should still be plenty of supplies there."