c162: Gossip
No way this isn't my fault!
Chen Xiaoxiao would never admit it.
At most, it's Grandma's fault.
Definitely nothing to do with her.
After ending the video call, she stepped out of the transfer room.
Xiaoqing was waiting nearby, but her nervous look made Chen Xiaoxiao raise an eyebrow.
Really now? You think I wouldn't figure it out even if you didn't tell me?
Chen Xiaoxiao muttered inwardly.
After exchanging a few small-talk words with Xiaoqing, she returned to Grandpa Yi's house, stayed for tea, and then took her leave.
By the time she passed the Breeder Field's front gate, the sun was setting over the meadows. Checking her Pokétch, it was almost six o'clock in the evening.
Opening her Pokédex's map function, she pinpointed the coordinates of the Guangdong City Gym the Normal-type Gym managed by the Gym Leader Yiman and set it as her next destination.
"Gardevoir, Teleport."
In less than a minute, the world shimmered, and she reappeared near the gym's outer district, Yuezhou Avenue.
The building, styled like a marble arena with Eevee statues lining the steps, was already closed for the day.
"Figures," Chen Xiaoxiao sighed.
She found a nearby hotel, checked in, and once inside her room, entered her Pokémon Space, the special dimension linked to her Poké Ball storage.
Meowstic was the first to appear, its blue fur fluffing up as it scanned the area. Seeing only Chen Xiaoxiao and her partner Gardevoir the Sun Pokémon, it tilted its head and mewed inquisitively.
"Snorlax? Oh, I sent him to Grandma," Chen Xiaoxiao explained.
Upon hearing that, Meowstic looked utterly disappointed.
"???"
Chen Xiaoxiao blinked. Since when were you and Snorlax that close?
She thought back Snorlax barely did anything except sleep and eat. It hardly interacted with anyone!
Using telepathy, she asked Gardevoir for clarification. The psychic reply nearly made her fall over laughing.
So that was it Meowstic missed its trampoline!
Apparently, the lazy Snorlax's belly had been Meowstic's favorite bouncing pad during downtime.
Chen Xiaoxiao was speechless.
After consoling the sulking Meowstic with a Poké Puff, she entered her villa inside the Pokémon Space and sat down.
"Tomorrow's the Gym challenge," she murmured. "Better learn more about Sister Yiman before walking into her arena."
She opened her Pokédex again, switched to the Qiandu app, and typed "Yiman."
Instantly, hundreds of thousands of results appeared, the first being her Qiandu Encyclopedia profile.
Chen Xiaoxiao already knew most of it she had studied all eight Gym Leaders' profiles when she planned her League route.
As a Psychic-type specialist, her memory was extraordinary; even if she wasn't eidetic, she remembered everything for at least several weeks with perfect clarity.
Still, she scrolled through the rest.
Skipping the main profile, she tapped the second entry"Qiandu Video."
Dozens of battle clips loaded: highlights of Yiman's Normal-type Gym matches, League Cup appearances, and exhibition battles before she earned her Gym title.
Chen Xiaoxiao chose a few of the most-viewed ones to study.
To her surprise, Yiman was undeniably stunning on camera. Even in her early thirties, she exuded the confident allure of a mature Trainer poised, graceful, with that commanding air common among veteran Gym Leaders like Sabrina or Elesa.
"Wow… she's really got that royal-sister aura," Chen Xiaoxiao mumbled to herself.
Wait focus! You're supposed to analyze her battles, not her looks!
But then again… the videos themselves were ridiculous.
Less than a third of the footage showed Pokémon combat; most shots centered on Yiman herself. Her opponents barely appeared!
"No wonder I got distracted! These are fan edits!" Chen Xiaoxiao groaned.
Clearly, these clips had been uploaded by her devoted fan community. The high view counts made sense now—clickbait thumbnails and all.
After a few minutes, she gave up on the videos and returned to the search page.
As she scrolled, a few "related searches" caught her eye at the bottom:
Iman
Guangdong City Gym Leader
Normal-type Iman
Eevee Iman
Iman kiss
"!!!!!"
Chen Xiaoxiao's eyes widened.
What on earth Kiss?
She had heard that Yiman was single and had argued with her father, but this?
If the term appeared under "related searches," it meant people had been looking it up a lot.
Her gossip instincts flared like a lit match.
Without hesitation, she tapped the keyword.
Instantly, a flood of posts appeared tens of thousands of them. The first was from none other than Zhuo Wei, known nationwide as China's No.1 Paparazzi.
Chen Xiaoxiao nearly laughed. Of course, him again.
In this world, Zhuo Wei was infamous not only as the boldest tabloid reporter but also as an Elite-level Trainer himself. His main partners were an Arcanine and a Houndoom, both powerhouses, and most importantly a Xatu capable of long-range Teleport.
That's how he always got his scoops before anyone else.
His combination of Odor Sleuth and Teleport made him unstoppable; no matter where a celebrity Trainer hid, he could track them down.
He'd even exposed rumors about top League contenders like Leng Hao in the past. Though now that Leng Xin had become the Champion of Huaxia, Zhuo Wei didn't dare mention names directly he leaked gossip through anonymous "alt" accounts instead.
Still, he was relentless.
And now, apparently, he'd targeted Yiman.
Chen Xiaoxiao eagerly opened the post.
The first few paragraphs were boring text, but she scrolled straight past them.
Then bingo!
A blurry aerial photograph appeared: a Charizard soaring through the night sky, carrying a man and woman on its back clearly embracing and kissing mid-flight!
Chen Xiaoxiao's jaw dropped.
"Zhuo Wei, you madman… you even followed them into the air?"
She zoomed in. The shot was grainy but unmistakable. The woman was young, her long hair fluttering behind her no doubt Yiman.
The timestamp claimed it was from eight years ago, back before she officially became a Gym Leader.
The man's identity, however, remained unknown. Only part of his chin was visible.
Then a detail caught her attention.
"Wait… a Charizard?"
Chen Xiaoxiao's eyes narrowed. That detail didn't fit the Normal-type theme of Yiman's usual team.
She leaned closer to the screen.
This gossip might be more complicated than it looked.
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