"Oh my, playing with you youngsters makes me feel so much younger."
Shen Qi quickly turned back to help Lao Fu. Apparently, in the race where he had been eliminated, his old back problem had flared up, hurting so badly he could not drive. He had stopped beside the track for a while, and after receiving treatment from the medical staff, Lao Fu had insisted on returning to the race and driving the entire course.
With that delay, he had naturally finished last, but the audience had given this elderly driver chasing his dream applause and well wishes as enthusiastic as those for the winner.
He helped Lao Fu inside. A Ding was washing vegetables, while his wife and Lisia were in charge of cutting them up and threading them onto bamboo skewers.
With her Psychic-type and Water-type Pokémon, Lisia could have easily finished this little bit of work, but Abra had already fallen asleep-or rather, had yet to wake up today. Slowpoke stood beside the faucet, looking as though its soul had left its body.
Quagsire moved so slowly that it took ten minutes to wash one green pepper. A Ding was better off doing it himself.
"Oh, Shen Qi, Mr. Fu, you're here?"
"Hahaha, sorry to impose."
Beedrill came in last, carrying Lao Fu's little bag of snacks.
Shen Qi had first seen a real Beedrill at the Pokémon Park track.
A three-foot-tall venomous bee made for quite an intimidating sight.
Anyone with an innate fear of bees would probably have fled far away already.
Their Beedrill was actually very gentle, using the stingers on its arms to spear watermelon from the fruit platter and feed it to Furfrou.
"Sorry I'm late." A gentle female voice spoke in less-than-standard Kanto speech. "I didn't know the roads, so I