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The chatter of the onlookers reminded Li Xiang, who was on the phone. Before they could take out their phones and photograph Mewtwo, he had Greninja use Smokescreen.
In the pitch-black night, thick smoke quickly covered the small area by the lake, drawing exclamations from the passersby.
"Using a move in the city? Has this kid gone mad?"
"Everyone, keep your distance."
"Be careful of pickpockets!"
Within city limits, outside of designated battle areas, it was strictly forbidden for Pokémon to use moves indiscriminately unless under special circumstances. This was especially true for moves like Smokescreen, Haze, and Mist, which could obscure vision. Getting caught by a patrol officer could easily lead to a trip to the police station. So generally, everyone kept as far away as possible.
Inside the smokescreen, Li Xiang asked Mewtwo to find a place nearby with no people and teleport them there. Mewtwo understood, and blue light flickered in its eyes. The group then arrived at a quiet location.
In the distance, red and blue lights flashed. It seemed the smokescreen had indeed attracted the patrol officers. Good thing they left quickly. Li Xiang shook his head helplessly, but then thought, shouldn't he be happy that public security was so good?
[What's wrong?] Mewtwo asked from beside him.
Not many Pokémon had followed them. They could still squeeze inside the house if needed. Even if they couldn't fit, if the environment wasn't too demanding, the villa and the surrounding woods could accommodate them. It was just a phone call away.
"It's not really suitable for you to appear in public right now." Li Xiang shook his head. "I don't know if anyone in the region has put a bounty on you, but in human society, it's very common to use phones to photograph one's surroundings. If someone takes a picture of you and posts it online, and some ill-intentioned person sees it, it will definitely be troublesome."
He didn't have time to deal with bounty hunters; he already had too many things to do. Before Mewtwo was registered and became a legally protected Pokémon, it was best not to expose itself.
[I see.] Mewtwo had a sudden realization. It looked at Greninja, whose figure was obscure among the trees, and its eyes lit up slightly. Then, its body vanished into the air.
'Copycat? No, it should be Mimic.' Li Xiang blinked. He was originally going to say either teleport directly back to the villa or have Greninja lead it there. But it seemed that was no longer necessary.
With the biggest problem solved, the group set off again. They entered the school through the back door. On the wide, flat main road, many students were walking back and forth with their Pokémon. In the distance, the familiar sound of explosions occasionally came from the battle area.
Li Xiang and his group walked down the street, drawing considerable attention. He already had a certain level of fame on campus, and recently there were rumors that he had gone into seclusion for training under a high-level trainer. After a month away, this much-anticipated individual had reappeared, bringing with him a group of imposing-looking Pokémon, marching grandly forward. How could people not take a few extra glances?
Several students came up to greet him. While still on the phone, Li Xiang smiled and nodded at them. On the phone was his beloved mother, complaining about why he hadn't made a single phone call in over a month. Had he gone into seclusion in a primeval forest? However, Mist Island was even more remote than a primeval forest.
The students watching him walk away couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
"Are those all his Pokémon? New ones?"
"They all seem to be pretty high level. And just by looking at their builds and expressions, you can tell they've been raised exceptionally well. Where did he get them? Did the school provide them?"
"Can he even handle training that many Pokémon?"
"I'm so jealous. How many resources has the school poured into him? I heard he doesn't even have to pay for massages, and people deliver his meals right to his door."
"...That statement is ambiguous."
"But it's true. When he takes his Pokémon to the massage parlor, doesn't he not have to spend money? Others have to curry favor with him, flatter him."
"When you can win one against five at fifteen, you'll get the same treatment."
"Different people, different fates. Sigh."
Amidst the chatter, someone took a picture of the backs of Li Xiang's team and posted it on the forum. Immediately, like a torpedo, it stirred up countless lurkers. In just over ten minutes, almost half the school knew Li Xiang was back.
However, by that time, Li Xiang had already returned to the villa area.
Song Jie and Gong Xu didn't seem to be home; their lights were off. Li Xiang greeted the Joltik on the utility poles. They had wanted to jump down and draw some static electricity from this kind-hearted big guy. But before they could leap, they saw a group of "fearsome-looking" creatures and forcibly restrained themselves, scurrying away in a panic.
"Ah, they ran away." Li Xiang was a bit regretful. He hadn't seen these little guys in half a year and missed them.
From the void, Mewtwo's voice came through. [Was that a Joltik? I've only seen them in books.]
"Yes, there are many other Pokémon on campus that are usually only found in other regions. I'll take you for a walk around later." Li Xiang opened the door and invited the group of Pokémon inside.
He hadn't been back in half a year, but the room wasn't very dusty. He knew it was because someone came to clean every week. The school's logistical support was quite thorough.
[It's different from the base camp.] Mewtwo looked curiously at the room's layout. Having arrived in such a confined space, the Pokémon behind it also relaxed considerably.
"Of course. These things symbolize the fruits of human industrial manufacturing." Li Xiang smiled, releasing all his Pokémon and asking them to entertain these new guests. Incineroar and the others had just gotten home and had many things they wanted to do, but they had to listen to Li Xiang and entertain the Pokémon from Mist Island.
"Come with me." He waved at Mewtwo. "Let me introduce you to the things in the house."
Life at the Mist Island base camp wasn't primitive. Mewtwo had seen many things there, like refrigerators, computers, gas stoves, and sofas. But at the villa, it still found many things it had only seen in books and never encountered in reality. It couldn't help but turn into a curious baby, clinging to Li Xiang with question after question. It even had to ask about the toilet brush.
On the other side, the Pokémon from Mist Island were also a bit uncomfortable. Although the outside world was novel, it didn't quite meet their expectations. Even the air they breathed was so polluted. The water wasn't sweet enough either, and the berries were terribly bland. Some of the Pokémon, who were more about loving the idea than the reality, were already starting to want to go back.
Seeing this, Li Xiang poked Mewtwo's body. "Care about your underlings."
[...Oh.] Mewtwo turned its head and went to find those Pokémon who were having second thoughts. Li Xiang had expected it to encourage them to persevere, to paint them a rosy picture. Instead, it directly started trying to talk them out of staying, saying things like it was normal that the outside world wasn't as beautiful as they had imagined, and that it wasn't too late to go back now.
Indeed, it wasn't too late; it hadn't even been an hour yet. It successfully convinced a group to leave.
[I'll be right back after I send them off.] Mewtwo waved at the stunned Li Xiang and vanished.
What was this guy even thinking?
...
Inside the house, Li Xiang was tidying up his luggage.
He found the jar he used to store hard candies and put the remaining gummy candies inside. There were still many gummy candies left, considering there were so many types.
At present, aside from getting them from Mewtwo, these things were essentially a non-renewable resource, so he planned to save some for future Pokémon. After all, Incineroar and the others had reached the point where eating dozens of candies of the same type might not even yield results.
They had also tried candies of different types before, but the effects were even worse. This made Li Xiang completely abandon the idea of using hundreds to gain a tiny improvement.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Someone was here to see him already? Li Xiang looked surprised, walked to the entryway, and opened the door.
"Junior." The visitor was none other than the team captain, Su Qian. She looked at Li Xiang, her eyes curving into a smile. "Long time no see. Was life on Mist Island so enchanting you didn't want to leave?"
"Long time no see." Li Xiang welcomed Su Qian inside, smiling. "Enchanting, not really, but I did feel a bit unaccustomed after leaving."
"Haha, I felt the same way back then." Su Qian's smile was bright. She noticed many Pokémon in the living room that she hadn't seen before. Immediately, she was surprised.
"Are these all Pokémon you caught on Mist Island?"
As someone who had been to Mist Island, she knew the temperament of the Pokémon there very well. They weren't exactly hostile to humans, but they certainly weren't friendly. Moreover, the Pokémon there couldn't be caught using PokéBalls; you could only rely on persuading or coaxing them. In this situation, how exactly had Li Xiang managed to persuade so many Pokémon to come out with him?
"No, no, no. These Pokémon are temporarily staying here with a friend of mine." Li Xiang shook his head and poured Su Qian a cup of tea. The tea leaves came from Phantom Island. Mewtwo had discovered them and urged him to gather them, since there was nothing else to do.
Su Qian took a sip, her eyes lighting up as she realized the tea was from Mist Island. She asked curiously, "Did you bring back any other local specialties? Share some with me?"
"I do, I do." Li Xiang hurried toward the kitchen, but she stopped him.
"I was just joking." Su Qian patted his back forcefully, saying with exasperation, "I never knew you were so straightforward before."
Li Xiang looked helpless. "But I really did bring back a local specialty for you."
He went to the kitchen and brought out a bag of fresh berries, Moomoo Milk, fresh water, and homemade Pokéblocks. He had asked a ranger who had left earlier to help transport these things. If Zhong Hai hadn't brought it up, he wouldn't have dared to ask a Chief Ranger to run the errand.
"Ah!" Su Qian put down her cup and covered her mouth, pleasantly surprised. "You..."
"Senior, you've always taken good care of me this semester. It's the least I could do." Li Xiang smiled and placed the things in front of her.
The young captain was very touched and thanked him repeatedly. Then, unable to resist the desire, she started looking through the items. Suddenly remembering something, she said, "I almost forgot. It's good you're back. Come to the school team classroom for a meeting next Wednesday at one o'clock."
Su Qian remembered why she had come. It was something that could have been easily handled using WeChat or a phone call, yet she made a special trip. That was very much her style, but it also made people feel valued.
"Okay." Li Xiang nodded.
They chatted for a while longer, then Su Qian got up to leave. Her main purpose had been to see Li Xiang, much like visiting family or friends.
Li Xiang saw Su Qian off and was about to return to his bedroom to tidy up when he saw Mewtwo sitting on the sofa and nearly jumped out of his skin.
"When did you get back?"
[A while ago.] Mewtwo said indifferently. [That girl, is she your girlfriend?]
"You're overthinking it. She's my team captain." Li Xiang rolled his eyes. Mewtwo was great in many ways, but its habit of misusing new words was rather exasperating.
[Captain? School team captain?]
"Yes, I've told you about her. Su Qian, my senior, a good big sister, someone who looks out for me a lot."