Lu Zhengjie excitedly mapped out the matchups on his fingers. "Machamp against Snorlax, Lucario against Crawdaunt — or maybe Machamp against Snorlax again — then Lopunny versus Electabuzz. And for the final round, my newly hatched Baloon against your newly hatched Sirfetch'd."
"Sure."
Lu Ze nodded, then released his Aura into the air.
"Yin~"
Crobat flew over in no time and launched itself straight into Lu Ze's arms.
"Ow~"
Lu Ze caught Crobat — who had, to be fair, pulled its punch. Otherwise Lu Ze would have been knocked flat on his back.
"Crobat, how's training going?"
"Yi~"
Crobat flapped a wing toward the Charizard dragging itself along behind like a dead dog, then tilted its head up proudly.
"Great job. Charizard being that strong is all thanks to you. I'll add an extra meal when we get back."
Lu Ze laughed and rubbed Crobat's head, then waved Charizard over.
Charizard rolled its eyes with obvious resignation but picked up the pace anyway.
"Ew — look at all that sweat on you."
Lu Ze examined Charizard, who looked like it had been pulled straight out of a lake, and poked Charizard's arm with exaggerated disgust.
"Roo!"
Charizard looked wounded. Disgusted? By it? It bathed every single day before coming home! Sniff!
"Heh, kidding. Did you have an Energy Cube after training? One after a session works better, you know."
"Roo!"
Charizard's expression shifted to smug satisfaction in an instant. It nodded and patted the small satchel on its chest.
(Already ate one!)
"Kyu?"
A small head poked out of the satchel suddenly. It was Klefki, who had apparently been sleeping soundly inside.
"Kyu?"
Klefki stretched one tiny leg and scratched its head, then looked over at Charizard.
"Roo?"
Charizard shrugged. Your guess is as good as mine.
After Charizard and Klefki finished their non-conversation, Lu Ze turned and patted Lu Zhengjie with a grin. "Oh right — I'm here to have a battle with him."
Saying that, Lu Ze produced a mischievous smile. "Charizard, could you do me a favor and bring Crobat, Snorlax, Electabuzz, Crawdaunt, and Sirfetch'd over here?"
As he spoke, Lu Ze handed Charizard the Poké Balls containing Snorlax, Electabuzz, Sirfetch'd, and Crawdaunt.
Charizard's face fell. Reluctant as it was, it tucked Klefki under one wing, spread its wings, and flew off toward the backyard mountain.
Normally, when the Pokémon went out to train, they carried their own Poké Balls. But since Lu Ze was in a hurry this time, he just handed the balls directly to Charizard, which would fly them back so the Pokémon could be recalled and transported together.
Faster that way. Otherwise, with Snorlax's speed, Lu Ze and Lu Zhengjie could have had lunch first.
While they waited, Little Red suddenly burst out of the trees to the side.
"Hey there, Little Red! Where were you playing just now?"
Lu Ze startled slightly when he saw her come running out, then quickly figured it out.
He had asked Crobat to look after Little Red. So when Crobat came to train, Little Red must have come with it.
Little Red beamed at Lu Ze, then held up a Pecha Berry in her hand to show him. Then she ran over and handed one each to Lu Ze, Crobat, and Lu Zhengjie.
The truth was, Little Red had been accompanying Crobat and Charizard's training in her Latias form.
And as a jet, she had quite a bit of experience with high-speed flight. So she had actually taught Crobat and Charizard a lot of techniques for flying fast.
After that, Lu Ze suddenly arrived. When Crobat sensed Lu Ze's Aura, it flew straight to him.
Latias quickly changed back into Little Red form.
But seeing Charizard drenched in sweat, she didn't particularly want to ride on its back. So she signaled to Charizard that it could head back first — she'd walk over.
On the way, Little Red spotted a Pecha Berry tree and had a sudden idea. She picked a few and brought them back.
At this moment, eating the Pecha Berry, Little Red silently gave herself a pat on the back for being so clever.
"Who's she?"
"Oh, a friend's kid. I'm helping look after her for a couple of days."
"I see."
Lu Zhengjie nodded. He was a bit puzzled — why ask a student still in school to look after a child, rather than someone more available? But he also understood a bit. Some people just didn't have many friends.
Like himself, really. He hardly had any friends. And as an only child, he didn't have siblings either.
That was exactly why, after finding out he had a big brother like Lu Ze, he'd gotten so excited.
Before they had finished the Pecha Berries, Charizard came back with Klefki and several Poké Balls.
The instant it landed, the Balls opened and Snorlax, Electabuzz, Crawdaunt, and Sirfetch'd tumbled out.
"Bika~"
Snorlax looked delighted to see Lu Ze.
And when it spotted the food Lu Ze was eating, it got even more excited.
"There's only one bite left, though."
Lu Ze held up the Pecha Berry, reduced to just a tiny scrap, and showed it to Snorlax with a helpless laugh.
Snorlax also felt a little sheepish. The area where they trained — it had basically eaten every berry tree there as snacks. Now all that was left were empty, yellowing branches swaying in the wind.
"Come on, Snorlax. Let's have a battle. I still have food back home."
Lu Ze popped the last bite of Pecha Berry into his mouth, shouldered his backpack, and addressed Snorlax.
"Bika!"
Snorlax's energy surged instantly. It pumped its chest, grinning with excitement, and thumped its own pectorals as it looked Lu Zhengjie's way.
"Um."
Lu Zhengjie met Snorlax's stare and smiled. Then he threw his Poké Ball.
"Go, Lucario, Machamp, Lopunny, and Baloon!"
"Tin, tin, tin, tin."
Four flashes of light, and four silhouettes materialized.
"Koh!"
"Gurr!"
"Cooli~"
"Shing!"
"Let's all say hello — these are big brother's Pokémon."
"Bika!"
" KOH!"
Snorlax and Lucario exchanged greetings first. Then the rest of the Pokémon introduced themselves to each other.
All except Charizard, that is.
At this point, Charizard had already flopped down on a large rock off to the side and was sprawled out resting.
"Machamp, remember — you're up against Snorlax."
"Hah?!"
Machamp had barely finished saying hello to Snorlax when it heard Lu Zhengjie's words. It looked up at the towering Snorlax, then down at its own height. It turned to Lu Zhengjie with wide eyes and pointed at itself.
Lu Zhengjie smiled and nodded firmly. "Yes. It's definitely you against Snorlax."
"Gurr!"
Once the confirmation landed, Machamp's eyes immediately hardened with determination. It gave Lu Zhengjie a single nod, then turned back to face Snorlax, scanning it from every angle — as if searching for a way to overcome this giant.
———
Please give me Power Stones!
Support me on Patreon @ patreon(dot)com/SorenEclipse
Read 15 Chapters Ahead on Patreon!