That was deadly.
The one silver lining was that, despite using every dirty trick to force Lilligant into a badge wager race, Shan Sheng had at least kept his word.
When talking to Shen Qi, Shan Sheng had still referred to "Tsareena," not "Lilligant."
He wasn't some heinous villain, but he was a racer without scruples... You really couldn't tell from the outside. He came across as such a straightforward, sincere guy.
ID Shen Qi: It's okay. There's still plenty of time before my badge wager race. Focus on getting yourself back together, Lilligant. Leave the race to me.
ID Lilligant: Don't... take too many risks for my sake...
ID Shen Qi: Don't worry.
Once their conversation ended, Shen Qi, who had sounded so ambitious in his messages, privately broke into a nervous sweat.
Racing Shan Sheng really would be tough.
He was a professional racer familiar with the roads on Island 6. Even if he was a benchwarmer, a reserve, calling him a semipro was certainly fair.
It wouldn't matter if Shen Qi lost. His badge cost less than 20b. The problem was that, if he failed to win back Lilligant's badge, he could forget about the relaxing summer vacation he'd planned.
He had a chance of winning, but a very, very slim one. He had to modify the Little Sheep, and he had to bring Chansey along.
"Chansey! The team's in danger! Get back here, now!"
Outside the little house, just as Shen Qi was about to drive inside, another beam of light illuminated the dirt road in front of the entrance.
A race car.
A pink race car!
"Lilligant?!"
He'd expected Lilligant to withdraw for a while, slowly recover, and stay out of sight for the time being.
He hadn't expected her to suddenly drive over to his place.
In the darkness behind the headlights, her petite figure looked a little timid, half-hidden behind the open car door. The lower halves of her legs showed beneath it, like a fairy tempting people in the night.
"You... what brings you here?"
The last time Lilligant had come here, she'd only met up with Shen Qi to ride the Little Sheep to Island 3 for photos.
[Do you... have a spare Poké Ball?]
Insects chirped in the summer night, frogs croaked, and the cool breeze brushed back and forth through the mugwort, as though the fluttering in his heart were steadily swelling.
In an instant, Shen Qi felt all his blood rush to his head, his adrenaline surging.
"Yes, yes! All you can eat!"
[But you can't eat those...]
[Narrator: Lilligant looked at the boy, wondering, Why isn't he inviting me inside?]
Prompted by the narrator, Shen Qi immediately caught on.
"I'll drive my car inside first. Come on in too, Lilligant. The yard's plenty big. You can stay overnight too. My bed's also big enou-"
Sensing something off about her gaze, Shen Qi cut himself short and immediately corrected himself. "I've got enough beds!"
On the ground floor of the little house, Lilligant's eyes occasionally wandered around before she deliberately restrained herself.
[Narrator: Lilligant didn't want the boy to know just how curious she was.]
Still, frustration and sadness remained the underlying mood of the day.
Lilligant recounted what had happened.
After she'd finished warming up the car, Shan Sheng had come over and stated quite bluntly that he knew where the pink race car had come from.
His meaning was obvious: if Lilligant refused the badge wager race, that information would get out.
"That really is troublesome..."
Shen Qi instinctively wanted to say that Lilligant should have reached out telepathically to discuss it with him, but on second thought, there really hadn't been anything to discuss.
The organizers had already been calling the racers into position, and Shan Sheng's stance had been unmistakable. Even if Lilligant had contacted Shen Qi, she would almost certainly still have had to race.
Suddenly learning that the result would determine whether the car left to her remained intact was bound to put her under immense psychological pressure. A few comforting words couldn't fix that. Besides, Lilligant couldn't contact Shen Qi anywhere except the starting and finish lines.
"What a schemer."
Throughout his challenge to Shen Qi, Shan Sheng had acted like a passionate young man interested only in honing his skills. Yet behind the scenes, he'd actually subjected Lilligant to a psychological attack.
What was the point of winning like that?
[That's why I was so worried when you said you'd agreed to a badge wager race.]
"Don't worry. There's nothing he can use to attack me psychologically."
As everyone had seen, the Little Sheep's badge had already been knocked off. In a few days, he'd spend ten or twenty b buying another.
It was just a cheap badge. Shen Qi wouldn't lose anything in this race. When the residents of Island 6 heard about it, they'd simply cheer him on. Who would ever expect the Little Sheep to beat a professional racer's Class B Car?
If there was anything to be disappointed about, it would be failing to win back what he wanted.
With his thoughts clear and his car a wreck, his mind was naturally impregnable.
[You're only taking part in this race because of me, Shen Qi. I want to fight by your side!]
Lilligant had a little place of her own where she could do simple modifications, and she could offer suggestions too.
[Narrator: As a Pokémon, Lilligant decided to enter a Poké Ball and use moves from the passenger seat to boost the Little Sheep's performance. Together with her Pokémon Trainer, she would win back what she'd lost!]
Shen Qi took out the prize Poké Ball. "Lilligant, this is the Poké Ball we won by taking photos together. I won't use it on any other Pokémon."
["Speedy Hot Girl," Romance Scenario progress: 79%]
Lilligant lowered her head slightly.
[You won't use it on any other Pokémon? Then... what about Chansey?]
"Oh, I bought another Poké Ball for Chansey to live in."
[What-Chansey's already in a ball?!]
Looking at that message, anyone who didn't know better might have thought Chansey had scored a goal at the World Cup.
["Speedy Hot Girl," Romance Scenario progress: 76%]
"Ah, Lilligant, my progress with Chansey isn't as high as it is with you. She's going deep into Ruins Valley for ascetic training, and I was worried I wouldn't be able to find her, so I used a Poké Ball to mark her."
Still, learning that Chansey had entered a ball first had only lowered Lilligant's progress by 3%. It wasn't exactly an explosive incident.
Lilligant was easy to soothe. Getting that 3% back would be a breeze.
Creak-
The ground-floor bathroom door opened, and a round pink figure emerged through the steam.
"Jili!"
[You're back too, Shen Qi!]
[Would you like a bath first, a massage first, or to eat... my... egg?]
Chapter 60: Aromatherapy
[Aah-]
Lilligant took a critical hit. It was super effective.
["Speedy Hot Girl," Romance Scenario progress: 69%]
Provoked beyond endurance, Lilligant bolted out the door.
"What kind of rotten luck is this girl having today...?"
Lilligant was about to run out of the yard!
Shen Qi spun around. "Chansey!"
[Here!]
"Lilligant's hurt!"
[H-hurt...]
A shadow spread over Chansey's innocent smile. With a whoosh, she shot out of the house, nothing like a Pokémon whose base stats gave her a speed of only 50.
Before long, Chansey returned carrying an unconscious Lilligant. Clearly, her training had paid off. The moment she started her therapeutic massage, her patient hadn't even had a chance to scream.
About half an hour later, Chansey came out of the room.
[Lilligant's injuries are mostly healed now.]
"L-let her rest for a while first."
Chansey sat down at the table, and Shen Qi told her what had happened that day.
"The badge wager race went like this..."
[Poor Lilligant. That racer named Shan Sheng is awful.]
[He knew where her car came from, and he still threatened her.]
"So we have to help win her badge back!"
"Jili!"
Honestly, Lilligant in the passenger seat wasn't nearly as dependable as Chansey.
Chansey could also provide buffs that increased attack and special attack.
As for healing moves, Chansey had an egg-laying move and Heal Pulse, while Lilligant's Synthesis was less effective at night.
Beyond that, Lilligant had no other buffs.
Chansey was different. She had the crucial Defense Curl, which increased the hardness of the car's components. Only with that foundation did Shen Qi dare to push the overclocking so far.
She also had Helping Hand for short bursts, a devastating tool for accelerating out of corners.
Even so, that still wasn't enough to stand up to Shan Sheng. The Little Sheep's underlying specs were too poor. It had to be modified.
Chansey shook her head. [I don't know anything about modifications.]
Before you continue