A team made up of a Pokémon Trainer and Pokémon had really begun to take shape.
The Poké Ball rack Huzang had given him, the Bucket Seat Uncle Dev had removed on short notice, the brake calipers borrowed from Xia Yang, and this new set of tires jointly sponsored by the Pork Shop and the vegetable stall.
Without them, the Little Sheep in its current form could never have come together.
For the enthusiastic islanders, for Lilligant, and for a different life ahead, he would win this one here.
"Get in!"
At the fork on Trail Mountain, islanders crowded around the abandoned fishpond destroyed by the mudslide.
Today was the Car Badge Duel between the Little Sheep and the Perilla Racing Team's reserve driver.
Island 5's Racing Drivers had been utterly defeated by Shan Sheng, and Island 6's Tsareena had already lost. If Shen Qi lost too, it would mean the Racing Drivers of both islands had been swept without a single win.
Still, nobody thought Shen Qi could win.
Or rather, Shen Qi's willingness to step forward and face Shan Sheng in a fair Car Badge Duel was already a rare and precious victory.
Across the road, Shan Sheng quietly played on his phone.
Nobody had accompanied him to Island 6 today. His older sister and the people on the team had no interest whatsoever.
For the previous duel against Tsareena, Ayumi had at least been curious about whose Pokémon she was;
this time, his opponent was just a Little Sheep. There was no reason to spend a fortune modifying that kind of car, and minor adjustments and repairs could never let it compete with a Class B Car driven by a professional racer.
In Shan Sheng's eyes, this Car Badge Duel was indeed a foregone conclusion. He