"Why would they come all the way from the Sinnoh Region to compete on Island 1?"
The moment he voiced that complaint, Shen Qi realized his own thinking had been too narrow.
The offshore Sevii Islands appeared in FireRed and LeafGreen, whose main setting was Kanto. Players completed the main story there and could only head out to sea after becoming League Champion.
So he had naturally assumed the Sevii Islands were right beside Kanto.
That wasn't entirely wrong, just incomplete.
Island 1 was indeed close to Kanto's Fuchsia City, but it wasn't far from other places, either.
The distance from Island 1 to the Johto Region or the Hoenn Region wasn't much greater;
the distance from Island 3 to Canalave City in the Sinnoh Region might even be shorter than the trip to Kanto.
Going by this larger map, Lilligant and the girl's journey to Island 1 for the race had only been a medium-distance trip.
Shen Qi swallowed, then opened the third set of images...
"I'm mentally prepared. It should be a lot easier this time. It's just an unfortunate crash during the race."
He reassured himself, only for the urgent warning that rang out in his mind to wrench his newly relaxed nerves taut again.
No, we're falling too far behind! At this rate, we won't finish in the points!
Shen Qi broke into a nervous sweat. Why be so desperate? She was still young. If she didn't place in this race, there was always the next one. There was no need to risk her life.
That was true enough, but if Shen Qi himself fell behind in an important competition, how could he possibly think about waiting for next time?
Without the desire to win and the spirit to give it everything, a person could very well spend years going nowhere.
In the next image, the race car's angle as it exited the turn was slightly off.
"Lilligant, Synthesis!"
Shen Qi had recently brushed up on Pokémon racing, so he knew that healing moves produced an effect akin to a protective energy film when placed in a racing Skill Slot.
Tires and brake pads wore down rapidly during intense competition. The protective film produced by healing moves could absorb a fixed amount of that wear for a limited time.
It was somewhat like Shen Qi's [Adaptive Tire].
The difference was that the game item's substitution was far more complete. Until its durability ran out, the actual tires would barely suffer any wear.
The energy that a healing move coated the tires with merely slowed their wear, and the same applied to the brake pads.
Besides that, healing moves also offset some Energy Block consumption.
These effects were inconspicuous, which was why Shen Qi had been unable to notice any benefit from "Egg Bomb" while chasing the car with Chansey aboard.
Returning to the [Memory Image], the Pokémon Trainer's command to use Synthesis, coupled with the car's odd line coming out of the turn, likely meant the tires were badly worn and had lost enough grip to start slipping.
That was dangerous.
Unfortunately, the human and Pokémon in the car were focused solely on catching up to the Points Zone. Neither would simply pull over and abandon the race.
"Ugh..."
The next image made Shen Qi clasp his hands tightly together.
The crayon art remained innocent and lively, only making the tragedy feel all the more intense.
A distant view.
At a bend halfway up the mountain, the pink race car smashed through the guardrail and hurtled off the cliff.
Large stretches of the image were left blank, conveying an oppressive sense of helplessness and despair.
The next picture showed the car's interior. As the car plunged off the cliff, the girl recalled Lilligant into the Poké Ball, which had been half-open all along, and threw it out the window along with another car key.
Thank you for bringing me into this beautiful world. I have no regrets.
Don't be afraid of other people's disapproval. Stay true to yourself and keep moving bravely forward!
Flames burst out... Black smoke billowed from the woods. Fortunately, the Poké Ball and the discarded car key landed in the thick canopy, beyond the blast's reach.
The [Memory Image] ended there.
"Phew..."
Shen Qi slowly exhaled. In that brief span, he had all but watched the girl's entire life flash before his eyes-a bright yet sorrowful story.
Thinking back to the final two pictures, the key the girl had thrown out wasn't the one in the ignition. There had been two similarly styled pink keys, which had to belong to two different cars. Otherwise, leaving it to Lilligant would have been pointless.
Then the car Lilligant drove now was probably her former Trainer's spare car, or her everyday vehicle.
Don't be afraid of other people's disapproval. Stay true to yourself and keep moving bravely forward!
Those had been the girl's final words. Lilligant was doing her best to follow them, but the goal wasn't so easy.
The Pokémon Trainer-and-Pokémon pair had barely reached the so-called T2 points threshold. Starting from scratch on her own, with only one Buff Skill and one healing move, how could Lilligant possibly manage it?
"This is just too..."
With the [Memory Image] over, Shen Qi came back to his senses to find that the Pokémon communication class had already ended. The dismissal bell rang throughout Pokémon High School.
Though classes were over, the atmosphere on campus was even more enthusiastic than during the usual club activity period.
Students either tried things out on their own or gathered in small groups to invite Pokémon to pose for photos.
Quite a few were already facing their first hurdle, taking a blow to their enthusiasm.
Most of the Pokémon at Pokémon High School were good-natured, but not all of them wanted to be taken around for all sorts of photos. The students' excessive enthusiasm instead sent some Pokémon fleeing to the living quarters at the back.
Others were rather timid, like the Bellsprout and Oddish huddled together and trembling. There was no way to get a usable photo of them like that.
Students who had already formed bonds with Pokémon had a much easier time. All they needed to do was take their own Pokémon to a pretty location and snap some pictures. They might not produce outstanding work, but at least they wouldn't be left with no idea where to begin.
Ding-
His phone chimed. After nearly twenty minutes, Lilligant had finally replied.
ID Lilligant: Your studies are important... Let me help you with your schoolwork.
She had put it very delicately. She was clearly agreeing to model for Shen Qi, but made it sound as though she were a tutor or class study representative.
ID Shen Qi: I've got something on tonight. Would tomorrow work?
We can meet during lunch break tomorrow, too. That grassy patch covered in flowers by the water would make a nice photography spot.
ID Lilligant: Yes.
That brief reply took about two minutes to arrive, showing just how unfamiliar Lilligant was with using a phone.
ID Shen Qi: Then let's meet at the usual spot tomorrow.
Chapter 24: Ascetic Training Was a Must
"Jili!"
In the first-floor kitchen, Chansey opened the mini fridge as though showing off. The lower drawer was filled with white, faintly pink ellipsoids.
"You... laid this many eggs?!"
After three days at Shen Qi's house, she had nearly filled an entire level of the fridge... There weren't actually that many-only five-but they were so large that they took up a great deal of space.
[Don't eat them too quickly. Your body won't be able to absorb it all.]
Chansey was about to return to Ruins Valley, and she kept giving him instructions and reminders.
"So you do know I can't handle it." Shen Qi rubbed his stomach. "How many eggs did you stuff into me while I was unconscious?"
An innocent smile appeared on Chansey's face.
[Just one. You couldn't eat that many.]
"That's terrifying enough!"
The thought of someone stuffing an ostrich egg into his stomach while he was unconscious immediately reminded Shen Qi of the scenes in Alien where eggs incubated inside humans.
Chansey knew nothing about another world's movies or science-fiction concepts. She simply squeezed Shen Qi's arm, sending gentle waves of Normal-type energy through it, then nodded in satisfaction.
[You've gotten a little sturdier.]
It had only been three days. No matter how nutritious his food or how thorough his exercise, the physical results wouldn't be obvious yet.
At most, Shen Qi felt a little more alert. Over the past day or two, he had rushed to school, hurried off to meet Lilligant during lunch, then raced back to the classroom building without seeming to get particularly winded. He did seem to have a little more energy.
"Um... If you're not in a hurry, you could stay a few more days."
Although Chansey was terrifying when she entered "treatment mode," she was still a Pokémon he had committed to winning over. He had explicitly said that he would become her Trainer someday, and Chansey was adapting to Shen Qi's life as they continued to communicate.
Chansey had taken care of the little house's cleaning these past few days, and she could also cook some simple home-style dishes, perfectly matching this Pokémon's portrayal in the anime and games.
The three-story house had a farmhouse courtyard. There was plenty of room for another Pokémon to stay.
[No, I have to go train in Ruins Valley.]
[If I don't train hard, my unique treatment techniques will deteriorate.]
The "Crazy Quack" scenario included the keyword "Ascetic Training." Beneath Chansey's innocent, friendly exterior, she truly had convictions of her own.
"You're going into the mountains to practice medicine? Why does that sound so strange?"
Shen Qi had far fewer reservations around Chansey. He didn't have to tread carefully to avoid sensitive subjects the way he did when talking to Lilligant.
On the night they had driven after Lilligant, Chansey had said, [Nobody wants to be my Pokémon Trainer.]
She clearly had an unpleasant past, yet neither then nor during later discussions of related topics had Chansey's affection ever dropped. It was just like the steadfastness deep within her heart.
Dinner was set on the table, and Shen Qi picked up some of the wild greens they had gathered.
"By training... do you mean treating the Pokémon in the mountains?"
[No.]
Chansey's stubby little arms struck a pose for throwing alternating punches.
Wing Chun · Egg Man
[I have to practice massage in the harsh mountain environment. I often smash rocks and trees, and there isn't enough room at home to use my fists and feet properly.]
Plop...
The tofu dropped onto his rice, and only then did Shen Qi close his mouth and return to his senses.
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