Chapter 48: Recovery Practice Tempering Transformation
The second day morning.
“Pi~ka~chu~, Pi~ka~chu~, ~Pi~~ka~~chu~~~” The Electric Mouse hummed a little tune, holding a can of chilled Moo Moo Milk in its hands.
Zuo Hang came to pick up Fletchling and conveniently bought a can from the vending machine. Then Pikachu wanted one too, tugging at Zuo Hang’s trouser leg to stop him from leaving, and even jumped onto his shoulder to tug at Zuo Hang’s hair and shake it.
“You’re already almost ten years old, which kid still asks their trainer for milk at ten? Adults should drink this—see this Happy Water for three fifty?” Zuo Hang had said this to Pikachu.
But Pikachu didn’t listen at all.
Happy Water?
That stuff is so dark, how could it possibly taste good?
This Pikachu only recognizes Moo Moo Milk! Doesn’t recognize anything else!
No choice. Anyway, he earned a bit of pocket money at the arena, so let it drink.
Zuo Hang finally gave in, spending a thousand bucks to get two cans from the vending machine.
*
Pokémon Center indoor garden.
Fletchling didn’t know when it started playing with a Sealeo, and from the looks of it, they should both be “fellow patients” admitted last night.
The originally scorched feathers had all molted after one night, and the new feathers grown out seemed sharper than before, with colors more vibrant than previously.
After molting, the new feathers of Flying Type Pokémon become sharper than the originals to adapt to the previous damage; only by growing sharper, tougher feathers can they strike back.
All Pokémon follow the same principle.
Fighting Type Pokémon are mostly combative, gaining a complete transformation each time they get injured. Fighting Types often pull off comebacks against higher levels because they fight a lot and battle frequently.
Since Pokémon become stronger after every injury, some trainers want to try it too.
Deliberately breaking their own leg bone, then going to the hospital to wait for self-healing.
Pokémon bone fractures heal in one night, but human bone fractures take at least half a year to recover. Of course, people’s constitutions vary; even trainers with exceptional physiques take a month to recover, which is still plenty long.
Moreover, the idea that self-healing after shattering bones makes them harder doesn’t hold true for humans at all.
In the end, it was the lack of education that did him in.
So yeah.
When idle, still gotta read more books.
“Catch.” Zuo Hang tossed the Moo Moo Milk to Fletchling. The throw was a bit sudden, and Fletchling almost missed it, but luckily its claws were nimble and hooked the pull-tab string under the bottle cap as the milk bottle flew over.
“See ya, Sealeo, bye—” Fletchling had just opened the bottle cap when a familiar voice came from behind Zuo Hang.
Jiang Xia stopped mid-sentence, her expression changing when she saw Zuo Hang.
Zuo Hang was stunned; he hadn’t expected to see Jiang Xia here either. He gave what he thought was a friendly smile and said, “No one would still hold a grudge after a week, right?”
“Pika~” The Electric Mouse stood on Zuo Hang’s shoulder, offering its milk bottle to Dedenne, signaling that it was treating.
“Dedenne!” Dedenne stepped back and nearly fell off Jiang Xia’s shoulder.
“Hold a grudge? How could I not? Your family’s Grandpa Pikachu scared my Dedenne so bad it didn’t eat properly for a week.” Jiang Xia emphasized several words, but her expression suggested she wasn’t really angry anymore.
“Well, it was just one Thunderbolt in the end. Let it shock you back another day and call it even?” Zuo Hang vaguely remembered Dedenne going to that ramen shop for dinner the next evening; the “not eating for a week” was pure exaggeration.
“Heh.” Jiang Xia sneered coldly. “Forget shocking back. Have Dedenne scratch your Electric Mouse to itch it? Here’s the deal: show me Pikachu’s combat power data, and I’ll let bygones be bygones. This senior isn’t…”
“No way.” Zuo Hang chuckled lightly. “You keep holding that grudge then. Combat power data is off-limits—Fletchling, let’s go.”
Zuo Hang extended his hand, and Fletchling flew onto his index finger. During their conversation, it had chugged the entire Moo Moo Milk. Pikachu sipped it bit by bit because it knew it was something good, but Fletchling always downed it in one go.
Kids always chug it all because kids have people doting on them; after one bottle, there will definitely be another.
“Wait, hold on.” Jiang Xia suddenly stopped Zuo Hang. “There’s a tea party on Saturday. Come, and I won’t hold the grudge anymore. Deal?”
“Tea party? Where?”
“Student Union Activity Room, the building right across from White Dragon Plaza.”
Zuo Hang thought about it—Saturday was free anyway.
“Lots of people at the tea party?”
“Should be quite a few.”
“Any shady characters?”
“Shady characters? Of course not—it’s the Student Union’s tea party. How could shady people get in?” Jiang Xia said.
“Alright then, I’ll go.”
A tea party should be lively. Zuo Rou would definitely hole up in the dormitory on Saturday, so Zuo Hang suddenly thought bringing her out for a change would be nice. Plus, no shady characters at the tea party—that was good. More interaction with the outside world helps with social anxiety recovery.
That was what Zuo Hang thought, but he didn’t notice the sly, scheming smile tugging at Jiang Xia’s lips.
The Sealeo that had been playing with Fletchling earlier turned gloomy at the mention of “tea party,” as if the word brought back painful memories.
*
That morning, 9:12, Combat Class.
Fletchling’s training target changed from Alloy Mannequin A Mister to that familiar old scholar tree.
The injuries left on the tree trunk had surprisingly healed somewhat after a weekend, with the holes faintly visible, but the large scars were gone.
An old tree standing unbroken on White Dragon Sports Field must adapt to White Dragon’s rhythm of life. Trees that wilt after a hole is chiseled in their trunk can’t survive in White Dragon.
Zuo Hang said to Fletchling: “Know how you lost yesterday, right? One, not fast enough; two, flame didn’t fly far enough. Practice speed during the day, flames at night. Pikachu, you run ahead; Fletchling chases behind. I won’t give you a mandatory catch-up target—just stop when you feel fast enough.”
“Got it?”
Both Pokémon nodded at the same time.
*
At that moment, the other side of the sports field.
Xingye heard Zuo Hang’s training plan and said to his Caterpillar, “See that Electric Mouse? Remember it—that’s White Dragon’s fastest mouse! When you can catch it, you’re not far from Rayquaza! Of course, you can’t now, so just chase Fletchling!”
At the word “Rayquaza,” Caterpillar’s eyes instantly filled with fighting spirit. It nodded to Xingye right away and shifted its gaze to Fletchling in the sky.
“—Whoosh~”
A yellow afterimage suddenly streaked past Caterpillar, with Fletchling right behind.
“Mao Mao!!”
Caterpillar called out, and in the blink of an eye, Fletchling and the Electric Mouse were gone?
（ps: Some tickets, brothers~~）
Thinking about it, I feel the old wutong tree deserves a character card.
