All of that had come from hard work, courage, and luck. Only at the end had game items helped stabilize his condition and open his energy chakra.
So...
Other than studying hard and putting in the effort, what damn experience did he have to pass on...?
"Uh, stop bowing. Stand up, stand up. I'll do my best to help, but I can't promise it'll work."
"Thank you so much!"
"Let me think... How should I put this...?"
Shen Qi thought it over seriously.
Even without eating the eggs, Shen Qi would have sensed Normal-type energy a month later anyway.
The foundations were still the most important part.
"You really need to study what's in the textbooks carefully and think it through."
Pokémon High School had few teachers and poor teaching facilities, but its textbooks were the same as those used in the Kanto region. Official textbooks refined over countless revisions were unlikely to have any major problems.
"Get your textbook out. I'll point out a few things worth paying attention to."
"Okay!"
Xiao Chun took out his textbook in earnest, taking notes as he listened to Shen Qi explain.
Honestly, if he worked this hard in class...
Oh, right. Xiao Chun really has been paying close attention in class lately.
The sky darkened and the streetlights came on. Only when the staff checking the classrooms urged them to leave did the two finally head out.
"Shen Qi, you're amazing. How did you figure all this out on your own?"
"Ahahaha... A flash of inspiration."
Shen Qi had shared some unique insights into Normal-type energy. In truth, he was analyzing it from the level he had now reached, so naturally his explanations seemed to offer a broader perspective.
Still... Xiao Chun's change in attitude was pretty extreme.
Thinking back to just over a month ago, Xiao Chun had rushed to school several times after finishing farm work at home, only to struggle to stay alert in class.
Exhaustion tended to make him pessimistic. He had considered becoming a Professional Pokémon Trainer an unattainable dream and only hoped to graduate with a Pokémon, then go home to help with the farm work.
The gulf between dreams and reality had left the fifteen-year-old feeling deeply powerless. Deep down, he had believed he would never get anywhere.
Then, because he wanted to pursue a girl, he had suddenly started striving to improve. Over the past two weeks, his attitude at school had clearly changed.
Shen Qi had assumed it was because finals were approaching...
"You like her, and you still secretly took pictures of her?"
As he said that, Shen Qi blushed. I think I did that too...
He quickly composed himself, and Xiao Chun didn't notice.
"Actually, here's what happened."
At the fork where their routes home diverged, Xiao Chun explained how he had pursued Qiu Yan.
In short, she had rejected him three times.
The gap between their grades and abilities was too large, so rejection was only natural. The last time in particular, Qiu Yan had told Xiao Chun bluntly that he couldn't stir even the slightest emotion in her.
Young and hotheaded, Xiao Chun had made a bet: he would definitely make an impact on Qiu Yan.
"You took that impact thing way too far."
Shen Qi rubbed his brow. Just what he would expect from a boy in the throes of young love. Once the blood rushed to his head, there was nothing he wouldn't do.
"And then? What do you get if you win the bet?"
"There's no prize..."
"Uh..."
There was no prize, but at least he had gained something. Xiao Chun had realized that pursuing Qiu Yan wasn't as simple as an ordinary school romance. First, he had to reach a respectable level of ability and become an outstanding student.
Being able to put simple principles into practice was already a worthwhile gain, as far as Shen Qi was concerned.
"Keep working hard. If you get the chance, spend more time around Normal-type Pokémon and try to sense how they use energy when they unleash moves."
"Okay! Thank you!"
Thanking him again, Xiao Chun ran down his branch of the road, his steps light and lively. Clearly, some of the weight had lifted from his heart, and he was more certain of the path ahead.
Back in his empty home, Shen Qi opened the refrigerator. There were two eggs left.
Last week, he had sent Chansey into the mountains for rigorous training. She had said she expected to return in ten days to two weeks, or next week at the earliest.
Shen Qi squeezed his arm. He had clearly grown sturdier lately, and his stamina was better than before, thanks to the eggs' rich nutrition.
Chansey's therapeutic massages might have helped as well.
Ring, ring-
His phone rang, and the caller's name appeared on the screen: Xia Yang.
With a friend from Island 6's racing scene calling him, Shen Qi naturally assumed it was about a race.
"Shen Qi, Shen Qi!"
The voice coming through the phone was breathless, not with anxiety, but more with excitement.
"What's up?"
"Have you heard the news Tsareena put out?"
"Tsareena..."
Shen Qi had just spoken to Lilligant that morning. She had wanted to race Shan Sheng of the Perilla Racing Team.
It looked as though they had already agreed to a showdown.
"I haven't heard yet."
"Tsareena posted in the Island 6 racing community on the Sevii Islands forum. Oh, to be precise, she replied to that racer called Shan Sheng."
Shan Sheng had previously spent a long time roaming Island 5 and Island 6 without finding Tsareena, so he had posted a challenge.
Now that Tsareena had replied, the challenge race was on.
If it had been any other two racers arranging a match, everyone would have watched for a bit of fun at most. But Tsareena was effectively the strongest racer on Island 6, so a showdown with an out-of-town professional was a major event.
"When does the race start?"
"They haven't set an exact time yet. The head shipowner at Island 6's docks is already getting involved as the referee and commentator, and the Perilla Racing Team will definitely send people too."
With preparations on this scale, it would be even grander than some of Island 6's amateur competitions. They couldn't organize it in a day or two, but it wouldn't take too long either.
Based on Xia Yang's experience, it would take three to five days at most, most likely landing on the coming weekend.
Chapter 55: Summer vacation, here I come!!!
With only the hundred-odd first-year students present, Pokémon High School's auditorium felt rather empty.
The final assessment for "Fundamentals of Energy Communication" was today, and it was also the last exam before summer vacation.
There was no written component. Students stepped forward in turn to sense or manipulate energy near a white stone monument, and the teachers assessed them.
Standing in line, Shen Qi couldn't shake a sense of déjà vu.
Please don't let someone touch the stone and set off all sorts of mystical lights, followed by:
Battle power, third stage.
Of course, reality wasn't anything like Shen Qi's wild imaginings. The white stone was simply a tool that aided the teachers' perception and made their scoring more accurate. Its raw materials included meteorites and certain special minerals, and it didn't glow.
While walking around Mossdeep City, players could occasionally spot white stones beside the road, and residents would even make wishes to them. Those stones were one of the materials.
"Excellent." Teacher Iron Pipe clicked his tongue in admiration at the student before him. "Basic control of Water-type, Normal-type, and Rock-type energy, and an open energy chakra. Outstanding."
When students performed poorly or merely averagely, Iron Pipe and Jixiang wouldn't announce their results loudly. When someone stood out, however, they naturally offered praise, which also encouraged the other students.
"First-year Class A, Shen Qi."
Jixiang proudly read out his results. "Basic control of Normal-type, Grass-type, and Psychic-type energy. His energy chakra is confirmed open. You've truly surprised me."
The previous student had a special aptitude for Water-type energy and had progressed quickly from the start. Shen Qi, however, really hadn't shown any particular aptitude in his entrance assessment. At most, he had ranked somewhat above average.
In just over three months, he had opened his energy chakra outright.
Class A had students who could sense energy, as well as students who could control it. But when it came to actually opening an energy chakra, Shen Qi really was the only one.
Most astonishing of all, one of the types Shen Qi had mastered was Psychic, a rarity on Island 6.
The Psychic-type Pokémon housed at Pokémon High School could be counted on one hand, and they rarely used moves in their daily lives. It was hard to imagine how he had encountered Psychic-type energy and become familiar with it.
"Wow, Shen Qi, you've been hiding your talents."
"It's only been a little over a month since you first sensed Normal-type energy, hasn't it? How did you do it?"
Faced with his classmates' enthusiasm, Shen Qi could only say that he had studied hard and spent more time around Pokémon.
Their excited chatter was soon drawn toward a figure with healthy, well-defined curves.
Qiu Yan, from first-year Class B.
The girl Xiao Chun liked.
Before this, Shen Qi had only known that she was an excellent student who had opened her energy chakra. Now that he looked closely, she really was pretty.
It wasn't simply natural beauty. Her figure always gave the impression that she had practiced dance or some other sport that shaped the body.
A student attending Pokémon High School probably wouldn't have that kind of money at home.
Her bearing was striking too... And finally, there were the Pokémon at her side.
Qiu Yan already had Pokémon she had formed bonds with. One was a Budew that Xiao Chun had photographed.
The other was... Vulpix!
A pure Fire-type Pokémon, it was a beautiful little reddish-brown fox with three tufts of curly fur on its head and six curled tails, just as its name suggested.
In the games, it could be caught in only a handful of locations in Kanto and the Johto Region. It didn't appear at all in FireRed or Gold, which showed how rare it was.
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