[Why are you giving me a Poké Ball? I'm not catching...]
Halfway through her reply, Lilligant quickly realized what Shen Qi really meant.
[Ah-]
She slapped Shen Qi on the shoulder with her leafy hand, then bounded far away, juice in hand.
"What are you getting shy for? I already hinted at it before, saying I wanted you in my passenger seat... It's the same thing."
[No, I can't...]
Lilligant stumbled over her words, waving her arms about.
[I... I have to finish the race I never completed.]
As expected, the tragedy involving that wealthy young party girl remained a knot in Lilligant's heart. Although it wasn't her fault
, Lilligant still wanted to fulfill that last wish.
"Those things don't conflict." Watching Lilligant run off, Shen Qi raised his voice toward the moon. "We can finish it together."
Amid the mingling moonlight and lamplight, Lilligant stopped and looked back with a radiant smile.
In that moment, her beauty was beyond words.
"Who's still at school this late?!"
The shout shattered the silence. Lilligant went pale with fright and fled into the woods.
Shen Qi wanted to run too, but a Pokémon wearing large flowers on its head shot out at astonishing speed, its grass skirt swaying.
Come dance with me, Bellossom-
"Bellossom... Ms. Jixiang!!"
Chapter 44: Another opponent
In the office, Jixiang studied the boy before her.
Pokémon High School only had two classes in each grade, so the teachers remembered their students' details clearly.
Shen Qi, first-year Class A.
"What were you yelling about outside the library building in the middle of the night?"
"Uh... I..."
Shen Qi could claim he had happened to sneak a photo of Lilligant for the Pokémon Photography event, but his phone was stuffed with pictures of her. Their relationship clearly wasn't ordinary.
Lilligant obviously hadn't freed herself from the restraints in her heart yet, and couldn't openly acknowledge their bond. He would keep it private for now.
"I wanted to practice my energy perception some more, so I stayed late to try interacting with nocturnal Pokémon that aren't active during the day."
"I see..."
Word that Shen Qi had unlocked Normal-type Energy Perception had spread a while ago, and the handful of teachers at Pokémon High School already knew.
At an average school on the mainland, that progress would put him slightly above the middle of the pack.
But at Pokémon High School, fewer than ten students across first-year Classes A and B could clearly sense energy. Shen Qi was at least in the top ten percent of his grade, a genuinely outstanding student.
With that status as a top student, and his explanation that he had stayed to study, Jixiang's attitude softened considerably.
"Don't push yourself too hard. A Trainer's basic abilities concerning energy are related to type. Whether you interact with nocturnal Pokémon or ones active during the day... there isn't much difference."
As a teacher, Jixiang quickly slipped into her habitual, patient lecturing mode. She explained that nocturnal Pokémon weren't necessarily inactive during the day. They might simply dislike light, and could still be found in caves or dense woods during daylight hours.
"Of course, only enter caves within Pokémon High School grounds. The other caves on Island 6 are dangerous, and not all wild Pokémon are friendly."
"Got it..."
With the conversation having reached this point, Shen Qi expected Ms. Jixiang to tell him to go home early and rest, perhaps adding a reminder to avoid breaking school rules.
Instead, things took an unexpected turn.
"Did you know a reserve driver from a professional racing team came to Fuchsia City?"
"Huh?"
The topic had changed far too abruptly.
Even though Shen Qi had heard the news more than ten days ago, he couldn't understand why the conversation had suddenly jumped to that.
"A member of the support staff mentioned it at a gathering a while ago. The reserve driver from the Perilla Racing Team is named Shan Sheng."
"Oh, I see..."
Shen Qi thought of Yixiong, Pokémon High School's electrician. He had a Magnemite partner and had even raced against Lilligant.
Jixiang had heard rumors that Shan Sheng from the Perilla Racing Team had lost several times at first because he wasn't familiar with Island 6's roads.
After some time, once he had learned the roads of Island 6 and some of Island 5's mountain roads, Shan Sheng had become hard to beat, winning race after race.
"A few days ago, just after the rain stopped, Shan Sheng raced a driver from Island 5 and won."
"Uh-huh..."
The more Shen Qi listened, the stranger it seemed. Ms. Jixiang clearly wasn't involved in racing. Even if she liked watching races, that hardly explained why she would suddenly discuss this alone with a student who had stayed late.
"Yixiong heard that after winning one race, Shan Sheng said there were still two opponents on Island 6 he needed to beat. One was Tsareena."
"Oh, I know. She's definitely a strong racer on our island."
"The other..."
"Who?"
Jixiang's gaze was a little strange, making Shen Qi uneasy.
Why did this feel as though she was about to say Shan Sheng's other must-beat opponent was Shen Qi?
But Shen Qi had never raced at all. When hauling goods, he only increased his speed reasonably within safe, stable limits. What was there to beat about that?
His only racer-level performance had been while chasing Lilligant, and that had nothing to do with anyone else.
"Ms... Jixiang, please don't just go quiet. You're making me nervous."
"Besides Tsareena, the driver named Shan Sheng has another target whose identity is unknown. All we know is that they drive a Little Sheep."
Most Pokémon High School students had to help earn a living, and Jixiang knew Shen Qi supported himself by hauling goods in his Little Sheep.
"Oh, come on."
Shen Qi waved a hand. "Of course it isn't me. There are loads of Little Sheep vehicles around. There are more than a dozen at the market alone. They're the first choice for small shopkeepers and farmers."
"Good, as long as it isn't you."
"I've never even entered a race. Without a Pokémon, how could I compete with a professional driver?"
"That's for the best. I was worried you'd get into trouble without a Racing License or any training."
"Don't worry."
Jixiang had only happened to stay that evening to organize some materials and didn't intend to linger either. She said goodbye to Shen Qi at the school gates.
Facing the slight chill of the summer night, Shen Qi headed home along the path beside the fields.
Come to think of it...
That Shan Sheng from the Perilla Racing Team lost to a Little Sheep? That's pretty absurd.
First, he ruled out mistaken identification. The Little Sheep was highly recognizable. Although Shan Sheng was only a reserve team member, he was still a professional driver. He wouldn't mistake some other race car for one.
Then... what kind of Little Sheep could beat a professional driver's Class B Car?
Shen Qi had caught up with Lilligant in his vehicle, but that had been because she was exhausted from driving for so long, and her tires and brakes were worn.
After overtaking her, his Little Sheep had practically given up, riddled with faults and liable to fall apart at any moment. Had the chase gone on any longer, he would undoubtedly have lost.
"How much would it cost to modify a Little Sheep enough to race a Class B Car properly?"
A hundred thousand?
Two hundred thousand?
Shen Qi shook his head, unable to figure it out. Perhaps that driver was simply an exceptionally skilled Trainer with a powerful Pokémon.
Not far from home, the phone in his pocket rang.
Caller: Dev
"Huh? No way. Something happened to another household?!"
The skies had been clear these past two days. There hadn't been any natural disasters.
"Shen Qi, where are you?"
"At my front door."
"You've got a job tonight. Did you forget?"
"Ah-"
Shen Qi had been keeping tonight's delivery job in mind all along. He had timed his photo session with Lilligant so he could return at nightfall, eat dinner, and still leave at the usual time.
How could he have expected Ms. Jixiang to appear just before he left, then scramble his thoughts by talking about some reserve driver for no apparent reason?
As a result, he had spent the entire walk home wondering whose Little Sheep was so powerful, forgetting he had work to do.
"I'll be right there!"
Hurrying inside, Shen Qi called Chansey over.
After this delivery, she really would be returning to Ruins Valley for Ascetic Training.
No matter how reluctant he was to part with her, Shen Qi couldn't stop her. He only told her that she would always have a place to stay whenever she came back.
He started up the freshly washed Little Sheep and headed straight for the market.
Fortunately, thanks to Dev's reminder call, Shen Qi wasn't too late.
Today's job was different from usual. He had to go to Island 3, where Berry Forest was located, more than twice the usual distance away.
Accordingly, the payment rose from 300b per trip to 700b.
Once the vehicle was loaded with local produce, Dev handed Shen Qi an especially well-packaged box.
Before you continue