Chapter 136: Xingye: “i’m An Expert On This!”
“Brat! Where do you think you’re running?!” A sharp shout rang out.
Zuo Hang knew that it was already impossible for him to avoid his old man.
Since that was the case, he had to find a way to turn the tables.
“Damn it! Who’s the brat?!”
“Calling you the brat!”
“That’s right! The brat is calling me!”
“Damn it! How many years old is that joke you’re still using to fool your dad?”
“A meme isn’t old if it’s useful! Gardevoir! Future Sight!”
“Dragonite! Dragon Rush!”
Two blinding skill lights lit up simultaneously on the two Pokémon.
They weren’t flying very high.
This was still above the White Dragon, so if they started fighting, the two of them were bound to be watched.
“You two really are a loving father and filial son.” The man following behind Zuo Tian couldn’t help but say.
“Outsiders shouldn’t interfere; this is a matter between our father and son.” Zuo Tian said.
Zuo Hang said disdainfully, “Nothing to say; sooner or later I’ll give you a beating!”
“Pah! What do you know?”
“I don’t know shit! If you’re sneaking off my Charizard behind my back, that’s not happening!” Zuo Hang spat downward and spoke to Gardevoir again: “Future Sight!”
The first command was just to charge the skill; Gardevoir and Dragonite weren’t sure if the father and son were really going to fight each other.
The second command was a signal, indicating that the father and son were really going to fight.
The purple light orb of Future Sight collided with the deep blue illusion of Dragon Rush.
Zuo Tian jumped up from the Dragonite’s back, quickly pulling a Poké Ball from his lower back; a red beam flashed, and a Noivern appeared in midair. Zuo Tian stood on the dragon’s back and didn’t crash out together with Dragonite’s Dragon Rush; his body wasn’t strong enough to take Future Sight head-on.
A cloud of black mist rose at the point where the two skills collided; Dragonite shook its head and burst out from the black mist.
“Pikachu! Electric Terrain into Iron Tail!”
Golden electric current rapidly spread after Zuo Hang’s command; Pikachu turned into a thin strand of electric current in the Electric Terrain, shifting like a ghost to Dragonite’s back, the metallic sheen on its tail blooming sharply!
—Iron Tail!
Dragonite didn’t think twice; the moment Electric Terrain opened, its right arm lit up with flames.
He and Pikachu were old rivals too, sparring plenty of times.
Dragonite knew that Pikachu’s first move after activating Electric Terrain would always target the back; this had become muscle memory from long-term battles. Unless consciously changed, his prediction would absolutely be correct!
“—Boom~!” Flames clashed with Iron Tail; the two physical attacks actually produced black smoke comparable to a special attack collision.
Pikachu’s figure kept shifting in the Electric Terrain.
The first move could be predicted, but not the second.
Dragonite flapped its wings, flying higher; Pikachu couldn’t fly and was just using Electric Terrain to teleport in the sky. As long as he got out of the Electric Terrain’s range, he wouldn’t have to tangle with Pikachu.
But
Gardevoir, floating above the venue with Psychic, clearly wouldn’t let Dragonite get away that easily. She had been waiting with moon energy gripped in her hand, perfectly intercepting Dragonite at its high altitude position.
“What are you doing?! Real men 1v1! What’s a woman interfering for???”
Zuo Tian suddenly roared, startling Gardevoir.
What’s a woman interfering for?
Thanks, feeling targeted!
The moon power in her hand became a bit more solid.
“—Boom~!”
Dragonite’s hasty Fire Punch collided with Moonblast; Gardevoir’s Moonblast, laced with some anger, clearly overpowered Fire Punch.
Zuo Hang said, “I don’t care about any 1v1 men battle! It’s gonna be 2v1, got a problem? If you’ve got the skills, bring out two flying ones yourself!”
Zuo Tian glanced at the Noivern under him, then at the White Dragon principal who came to see him off.
The only Pokémon he had left that could fly was Salamence. If he wanted Salamence to join the battle, the White Dragon principal would have to use Psychic from the Unown disguised as a brooch on his clothes to hold him back.
Psychic-type Pokémon could multitask easily; his own son’s Gardevoir could float Zuo Hang with Psychic while fighting.
“Hey! I say, old Xiao, could you maybe…”
Before Zuo Tian could finish, Zuo Hang in the distance pulled out two more Poké Balls from his lower back.
Red beams flashed.
Charizard and Doublade appeared in the air.
“Forget it, never mind.” Zuo Tian’s eye twitched.
Good grief! Four flying ones!
Can’t play fair?!
Zuo Tian rubbed his hands, putting on a face even more eager than simp Xingye: “Good son, Dad was wrong; that Aether is just a bunch of idiots! Actually, I was planning to play hard to get before, send Charizard in first… then link up with them from inside and out!”
As he spoke, Zuo Tian made a fist-pumping gesture.
“I’m gonna puke! Can you not disgust me…” Zuo Hang said: “No way you’re whitewashing this!”
“Hey, don’t say that; you’ve been to Aether, right? That place, honestly, is pretty good.” Zuo Tian said: “Ultra Beast Factor is just a quick way to boost strength; it’s not as bad as you think.”
Zuo Hang’s gaze turned somewhat cold.
Clearly, he didn’t agree with Zuo Tian’s words.
The atmosphere fell silent.
The two faced each other wordlessly.
Charizard and Dragonite seemed to be glaring at each other, ready to fight at any moment.
After about five minutes, Zuo Tian sighed deeply, “—Sigh~~, I give in; I was wrong.”
This was his second apology. No more attempts to justify himself.
“I don’t want to see you again for a while.” Zuo Hang said.
His heart felt like it was harshly tugged; Zuo Tian’s expression turned somewhat dejected.
“Dragonite, let’s go.”
“Roar~?!”
“Where else? Home!”
Zuo Tian on Noivern flew past Zuo Hang’s side; their gazes briefly met, and Zuo Tian spoke during the overlap: “If nothing’s up, come back and visit; in a few days I might leave Feiniao. If nothing unexpected, it’ll be a year, or maybe longer.”
The words carried a lot of info, but more than intelligence, what Zuo Hang heard was an old man’s helplessness.
He suddenly felt a bit soft-hearted.
After all, it was his old man.
“Got it; I’ll go back when I have time.”
Unlike typical father-son arguments that end in cold wars after cursing each other out, both sides had stepped back.
Two lives, never been a father, never felt a middle-aged man’s bitterness; Zuo Hang didn’t know what Zuo Tian was feeling right now. He just suddenly remembered a phrase, and at this moment, he felt a bit grateful for that nagging White Dragon Terminal.
“—Chill-inducing! When will humans and machines ever mutually understand each other.”
Yes, whether humans and machines, or humans and people, they all need mutual understanding.
Zuo Tian’s figure grew more distant until even the massive Dragonite vanished from sight.
Zuo Hang watched his old man leave, saying nothing more, no other words to say.
“I want to whitewash Aether a bit; they just go about things pretty extremely.” The man left behind said.
Zuo Hang saw the Unown on his chest, and the Psychic flowing light on the Unown.
Zuo Hang said, “No need; no whitewashing. I’ve been to Aether; I’ll judge them myself.”
“Gardevoir, let’s go.”
Psychic suddenly accelerated; Zuo Hang flew toward the teaching building, recalling Charizard and Doublade midway.
Xi Ran’s class was nearing its end.
“Anyone have questions? You get three minutes!”
Silence from the audience below.
“Good! My disappointment in you has leveled up again!”
Zuo Hang looked at the blackboard from outside the classroom.
Still a lesson on Pokémon personality.
He couldn’t help feeling a bit unmotivated.
Zuo Hang slipped into the classroom from the back door.
Xingye was still playing Pokémon Punk.
The researcher named Xingye Zheng Hong at Aether had caught Zuo Hang’s attention. If he was from the Xingye family, Zuo Hang might be able to ask about Aether-related stuff.
“Xingye.” Zuo Hang patted his shoulder.
“Hey! Quit it! Trading Pokémon!”
As soon as he spoke, something felt off; Hoshino Ryuji whipped around.
“Holy shit! Back in the day! Hangzi Ge, you’re back!”
Xingye’s voice was a bit loud; Xi Ran glanced their way.
She saw Zuo Hang who slipped in from the back door, said nothing extra, no nod or anything, as if Zuo Hang had been in class the whole time.
Because of Xingye’s loud shout, the rest of the class saw the class monitor who had been missing for nearly a week.
The student union election was urgent; other classes’ class monitors were out pulling votes everywhere, and someone like Zuo Hang who just vanished for a week was rare.
Zuo Hang said to Xingye, “Can you keep it down? I just took a week off, not dead.”
Xingye waved it off: “Pretty much; haven’t seen you anyway. While you were gone this week, that Wang Wenchuan from F Class was super cocky. Check this out.”
Xingye switched out of Pokémon Punk, opened Bilibili, found an uploader called Canned Food, then clicked “Latest Upload”; the first one: 【Myth of the Finishing Move, Spinning Charge of the Blue Riolu】
“Look! See! Wang Wenchuan that kid definitely traded with this uploader; eighty percent of this video’s footage is him battling Riolu.”
“But…” Xingye changed tone.
“The previous Myth of the Finishing Move had someone shining bright!”
The previous Finishing Move Myth was Zuo Hang’s battle against Blood Dragon, way higher quality than Wang Wenchuan’s this time.
Madame Blood Dragon had high popularity to begin with, plus Elite Four Pokémon battling was a sight to see; Zuo Hang’s video crushed Wang Wenchuan’s in every way.
But…
Zuo Hang, missing for a week, hadn’t done any election campaigning; in contrast, Wang Wenchuan’s little brothers were handing out flyers all over campus every day.
This wasn’t a good sign.
A Class didn’t ask questions; after Xi Ran scolded them, class ended normally, so Xingye spoke even louder, drawing most of A Class’s attention.
Zuo Rou ran over from the doorway, “Stinky little brother! Where’ve you been these past few days?”
Lin Ping from the front row also came over: “I heard other classes are already prepping speeches, and it’s not just first-years eyeing student council president; plenty of second-year holdovers want the spot too.”
Speeches were secondary; what surprised Zuo Hang was Zuo Rou actually coming to talk to him with so many people watching.
Looks like… those words he said to Zuo Rou before leaving had some effect. He didn’t know how she’d handle strangers, but at least with A Class folks, Zuo Rou seemed no different from a normal girl.
“Went out to handle something; might’ve taken longer, but I missed you, so I came back.” Zuo Hang ignored Lin Ping, ruffled Zuo Rou’s head; “Pika~!” The Electric Mouse hopped onto Zuo Rou’s shoulder, nuzzling her cheek affectionately.
Back and forth, Lin Ping looked a bit awkward.
Everyone took a look.
Ah~
This ugly siscon!
They were initially interested in Zuo Hang’s return, but if you’re playing like this, it’s no fun.
The crowd dispersed unhappily.
Only Zuo Hang’s team of five remained around.
“Say, why aren’t you in a hurry?” Xingye asked.
Zuo Hang said, “Hurry for what? I just got back; let’s rest first. Lunch together; been gone a week, what’s not gonna work still won’t!”
Half an hour later.
Nanchuan East Road fish paste noodles.
“Nini~~wa~!!” Mr. Mime pointed at the daily special by the door.
Everyone was stunned; Xingye spoke first, “Whoa! Mr. Mime spoke!”
Lin Ping pushed his glasses: “Who told you Mr. Mime can’t talk?”
“Play less phone, read more books.” Zuo Hang added.
Zuo Rou said to Mr. Mime: “One fresh shrimp fish paste noodles, one lemon Poffin.”
The uncle making noodles wasn’t there today; only Mr. Mime was minding the place.
“I’ll have one fresh shrimp fish paste noodles too.” Zuo Hang said.
“Pika! （Blueberry Poffin and a can of happy water! ）”
20 minutes later.
Everyone’s noodles were mostly served.
Zuo Hang slurped a mouthful, then pulled out his mobile phone and opened the latest Myth of the Finishing Move.
Flowing light of Quick Attack flickered on Riolu, along with the flowing light of Rock Smash on its right arm…
Cool, but felt like something was missing.
Compared to Fighting-type Pokémon’s punchy melee combat, Bilibili Pokémon district viewers seemed to prefer watching various special effects skill clashes.
Zuo Hang said leisurely: “This Canned Food…”
“I can contact them!” Xingye jumped in. “Been lined up forever; White Dragon doesn’t let just anyone in; we provide the video, Canned Food does the editing.”
“Your filming skills…”
“Suck! But someone else’s don’t! Remember that uncle and little girl from the skill application last time? They’re on call.”
“Nice one, Xingye!” Zuo Hang said, somewhat surprised: “When did you get so reliable?”
“Hey, reliable my ass.” Xingye waved it off: “This student council president election boils down to operations. Before it starts, whoever has more campus influence has the edge. Those second- and third-tier little stars in the Xingye family? I hyped them all up myself. A student council president? Piece of cake!”
“Pika?”
“Second- and third-tier little stars?”
Pikachu and Zuo Rou both caught the detail.
The four’s gazes toward Xingye suddenly changed.
Zuo Hang said, “I always thought you were pure… Wait, you 15 yet? Something’s off, Xingye classmate!”
Lin Ping slurped noodles, “Zheng Hong Pictures is the Xingye family’s, right? That company has plenty of idols and trainers under it.”
Xingye calmly sipped soup. “What do you all know? In a big family, lots of things are out of your control…”
“Burp~~” Pikachu drinking happy water let out a burp, ruining Xingye’s melancholy vibe.
Xingye seemed unaffected by the burp, continuing on his own.
“I asked Spark; every student council president gets to add one school rule and change one. Lots use it as election bait. That rule now allowing guys and girls to visit each other’s dorms? Li Changzhi changed that.”
“Li Changzhi?” Lin Ping puzzled.
“The current student council president!” Xingye said.
Zuo Hang blanked for a moment.
So that buzzcut black-framed glasses cool guy was named Li Changzhi.
Hard to imagine that sloppy rule allowing dorm visits between guys and girls came from that sexless-looking guy.
He must’ve put in work during his election back then.
“Add a school rule?” Zuo Hang murmured softly.
White Dragon’s current rules were loose; nothing really needed changing, and adding one didn’t seem right…
School rules restrict students; adding arbitrarily could cause backlash.
Zuo Hang pondered.
Xingye suddenly pulled a crumpled sheet from his pocket.
“This is from second-year D Class’s flyer; their class monitor and vice class leader both want student council president. This is the vice president’s; among the candidates I know, it’s pretty good. Take a look.”
Zuo Hang took the flyer from Xingye.
Second-year D’s vice class leader was a girl.
The photo on the flyer was pretty; kinda influencer face, no standout features.
The girl hugging a cute Meowth, going the adorable route; besides that, there was a Pichu and a Fireball Rat in the photo. Whatever in reality, from the pic, this senior and her Pokémon seemed highly approachable.
The school rule in artistic red font at the bottom stood out.
【On normal double-rest days, students can freely enter and exit campus without leave】
White Dragon’s fully closed management doesn’t allow easy entry-exit; this added rule hit the bullseye for most students.
But
White Dragon’s closure has its reasons; if nothing unexpected, higher-ups won’t pass this rule easily.
“Done looking? Now check this interesting one.” Xingye pulled another flyer from his pocket.
“Interesting?” Zuo Hang opened the second sheet from Xingye.
Compared to second-year D vice class leader’s, this one looked much sloppier and unprofessional, just basic dialogue and pics slapped together.
“First-year F Class, Wang Wenchuan… What the hell is this?”
Xingye said, “Wang Wenchuan’s leveraging that cool face rivaling this term’s president to suck up plenty of fangirls, including lots of third-year holdover seniors.”
“From my analysis, Wang Wenchuan’s antics might seem childish to 17-year-old girls, but women nearing adulthood seem to like immature boys younger than them; Wang Wenchuan’s op hits the sweet spot for broad senior sisters.”
