Only I Understand

She was just as she had been when he first met her, like a royal heiress fleeing her fate beneath the moon.

[Lilligant wondered... why could their thoughts pass straight into each other's hearts when they had only just met?]

After the text that read like a stage narrator's lines, further notifications appeared.

["Speedy Hot Girl," romance script completion: 14%]

[Completion reached 10%. Awarding first-stage completion reward.]

[Obtained: Script Detector]

"Phew."

Getting the Script Detector opened up every possibility that followed. With Shen Qi's current finances, never mind buying a Pokémon-he couldn't even afford to buy Poké Balls to throw around in the wild.

It would be best if he could forge a bond with a Pokémon by progressing through a script.

But...

He had to keep himself fed first.

Lilligant was nowhere to be seen. Shen Qi gazed at the bright moon in the night sky. He had stayed at school a little too late.

"What time is it?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out something heavy.

The Pliers.

He had originally gone looking for Lilligant to return the Pliers, but after that string of events, his completion had increased, and he had somehow forgotten all about them.

"Huh? Where's my phone?"

His hand froze as he felt through his pockets, and Shen Qi let out a mournful cry.

"My pho-o-one!"

Trading an exploding phone for the beginning of mutual recognition with Lilligant was certainly a massive win.

But... losing his phone had dealt a financial blow to Shen Qi, who hadn't been well-off to begin with.

Leaving Pokémon High School beneath the night sky, Shen Qi searched his memories for his source of income.

In his memories, Shen Qi's parents were fanatical fossil enthusiasts. They had left their son some money, then gone roaming the world to dig up fossils. They were essentially unreachable.

He now had 20,000b left in savings. That could sustain him for a long time on Island 6, where purchasing power was low, but he couldn't simply sit and eat his mountain of savings away. So Shen Qi had found a part-time job making deliveries at night.

At night, he transported ingredients from Island 6 across the inter-island bridge and unloaded them at the Luxury Resort on Island 5.

He made two or three runs a week, earning 300b each time. After deducting fuel and vehicle maintenance expenses, he brought in one or two thousand a month and could still save a little.

Today...

He had a delivery!

Remembering tonight's job, Shen Qi broke into a sprint.

His phone exploding meant one or two months of work had gone down the drain. He couldn't afford another mishap at work.

Island 6 was much larger than it had been in the game. Starting from Marker Woods, where Pokémon High School stood, he first had to cross two mountains, drive across the main island, then cross the inter-island bridge to Island 5.

The map put the whole route at a little over seventy kilometers, but the winding mountain roads made the actual distance much longer.

Including loading and unloading, a round trip usually took more than five hours. That meant leaving as early as possible so a poor night's rest wouldn't affect his studies the next day.

Rushing home, Shen Qi glanced at the clock.

8:15 p.m.

More than an hour later than his planned departure time.

There was no time to eat. Shen Qi opened the garage door, revealing the small van inside.

First, he had to pick up the cargo.

Settling into the van, Shen Qi felt a familiar sensation well up inside him.

Before transmigrating, Shen Qi had worked as a delivery driver for the Seafood Company. In his early years, he had spent plenty of time driving cheap vans all over the place.

He hadn't expected to end up in the same line of work after transmigrating into a fifteen-year-old boy in the Pokémon world.

He released the handbrake and started the van. Once he was on the road, Shen Qi vaguely sensed that something was off.

His driving experiences across his two lives differed.

The dashboard didn't display the fuel level. Vehicles in the Pokémon world used "energy value"-Energy Blocks processed from the energy Pokémon consumed when using moves.

In addition, three things resembling router antennas stood beside the van's gearshift.

Those were Skill Slots. While driving, buffs from Pokémon could improve the corresponding aspects of a vehicle's performance.

For example, moves that boosted Attack could increase a vehicle's horsepower.

Even a cheap van like the Little Sheep had Skill Slots to enhance its performance, and there were professional Pokémon motor races too...

Buff moves. Racing.

Realization dawned on Shen Qi.

"Rapid Speed Girl" meant she drove race cars.

Lilligant's script keywords-machinery and racing-both fit Pokémon motor racing.

That also explained why she practiced buff and support moves so diligently without having any offensive moves.

Shen Qi had originally assumed that the Lilligant in the romance story was a character who maintained dignified etiquette in public while secretly pursuing fiery allure.

There was far more depth to that characterization than he had imagined.

In everyday life, Lilligant was a beautiful Pokémon adored and admired by the students of Pokémon High School. Out of the public eye, she was a hot girl who tore up the roads.

"Shen Qi, you're a little late today."

Beside the warehouse at Island 6's local specialty market, Uncle Dev looked Shen Qi over with concern. "Everything all right? You weren't answering your phone."

"Ah, something happened. My phone's toast."

"As long as you're all right. You can always earn more money."

It was getting late. Dev knew how long a round trip to Island 6 took, and he knew Shen Qi had school tomorrow. After a brief chat, he said goodbye.

The van set off again, heading into Marker Mountain outside Marker Woods.

Bright lights flashed in the rearview mirror. Shen Qi glanced back as an expensive sports car surged up at tremendous speed, its horn blaring repeatedly.

Given the Little Sheep's performance, the sports car overtook him in an instant. Its driver even deliberately rolled down the window, revealing a Krabby in the passenger seat.

Scrrrk...

Krabby rubbed his two pincers together in alternation. Black energy swirled around his larger pincer and flowed into a Skill Slot.

Dark-type move: Hone Claws

Attack rose by one stage, correspondingly increasing the vehicle's horsepower.

The sports car unleashed even greater power than before. Its taillights receded from Shen Qi's view, leaving only the "gurgle, gurgle" of Krabby blowing bubbles.

Chapter 4: Only I Understand

"It's Lilligant!"

"Wow... she's so beautiful. I want to be her partner."

Exclamations kept rising in front of the Teaching Building at Pokémon High School that morning.

Everyone knew a beautiful Lilligant lived at the school. A Pokémon with such off-the-charts looks captivated boys and girls alike. Whether they yearned for her, longed for her, or quietly worked toward winning her over, she was the Pokémon of everyone's dreams.

Surrounded by overflowing praise and eagerness, Lilligant continued calmly on her way, radiating a gentle, tranquil beauty.

Until a thought reached straight into her soul...

[Lilligant, your outfit yesterday was truly captivating.]

Lilligant stopped in her tracks. A faint blush colored her face, and she looked toward the school's main gate.

A lean but sturdy boy stood there. He seemed not to have slept well the night before, with faint dark circles under his eyes.

Turning away, the bashful Lilligant quickly left the Teaching Building.

Text notifications scrolled.

[She wondered why the boy hadn't slept well last night.]

Lilligant had only just left when the students near the school gate erupted.

"She looked at me! Lilligant has me in her heart!"

"Keep dreaming," a girl beside him scoffed. "A beautiful Lilligant obviously belongs with a beautiful girl."

The students chattered and argued nonstop. Only when a teacher reminded them that class was about to begin were they shooed into the Teaching Building.

Walking at the very back of the crowd, Shen Qi wore a faint smile.

The other students' compliments might have worked on another Pokémon, but this Lilligant was far too unusual.

Shen Qi had seen an earlier text notification.

Lilligant, who rarely wandered around the teaching area, had made a special trip to the main gate today because she feared Shen Qi would reveal the side of her she didn't want others to see.

Chattering boys of this age could never keep a secret.

Seeing the students behave normally had put her considerably at ease, and Shen Qi's compliment had come at just the right moment.

He appreciated Lilligant's unique beauty without passing judgment or broadcasting it to others.

And so...

["Speedy Hot Girl," romance script completion: 15%]

Hehehe, this script's difficulty was rated "medium," but actually working through it wasn't too bad.

Shen Qi's smile grew increasingly unrestrained.

Only I knew that I should praise Lilligant in terms of her wildness and boldness.

Keh heh heh heh heh...