There's Something Off About My Pokémon. [72]

Although Lu Cheng didn't quite understand why Gao Lu made such a strange request, he scratched his head and still agreed. Looking at Gao Lu's dejected face, Lu Cheng hesitated for a moment before asking, "Can you tell me why you wanted to back out at the last minute? If the reason makes sense, I might reconsider."

Gao Lu was stunned. This guy is way too nice. But could she really tell him the truth? Because you're my brother's opponent in the finals, and I don't want you to get any stronger? That just felt too underhanded! Having grown up listening to her father's teachings, Gao Lu shook her head frantically, her voice trembling. "It's nothing! I just felt a bit attached, that's all—nothing serious!"

Attached? Didn't she initiate the trade in the first place? Lu Cheng gave her a puzzled look. Gao Lu forced a smile and hastily added, "Alright, alright, if there's nothing else, I'll be on my way!"

"Hey!"

"W-what?" Gao Lu jumped, thinking Lu Cheng might have figured out her connection to the Yixin Dojo.

"You forgot your TMs." Lu Cheng sighed, rubbing his forehead in exasperation.

With her face as red as an apple, Gao Lu quickly buried her head and sheepishly came back to retrieve the TMs. Watching her awkward behavior, Lu Cheng couldn't help but wonder. Is she a bit of an airhead? She sure doesn't look the part with that sporty outfit.

Just then, a little girl with a Skiploom perched on her head wandered over. The girl was holding a large bouquet of roses, glancing back and forth between Lu Cheng and Gao Lu before breaking into a sweet smile. "Big brother, how about buying a bouquet of roses for the big sister?"

"W-what!?" Gao Lu jumped back a full meter in surprise.

"Oh, so this is a Skiploom," Lu Cheng murmured, scratching his chin as he curiously observed the creature atop the girl's head. The pink, blob-like body reminded him of Jigglypuff, with its four stubby limbs extending like malformed tumors, lazily resting on the girl's head. The dried, yellow grass on top of Skiploom's head quivered in the breeze.

Hearing Lu Cheng's comment, Skiploom rolled its tiny yellow button eyes upward and gave him a disdainful look, sticking out its bright red tongue. What a bumpkin, never even seen a Skiploom before!

---

Gao Chi threw his last punch, wiping away his sweat. He glanced at Gao Lu, who had been quietly peeking at him from behind a pillar for the past half hour. "You've been standing there for thirty minutes. If you have something to say, just say it."

Gao Lu cleared her throat and stepped out from behind the pillar, her voice soft. "First, let me say this: don't get mad, okay?"

"I can't promise that," Gao Chi raised an eyebrow, lifting the teacup that had cooled down a long time ago. No matter how tired or thirsty he got, he refused to drink soda—a habit he'd developed since childhood.

"Brother!" Gao Lu whined.

"Fine, fine," Gao Chi handed a piece of Pokémon food to his equally sweaty Machop, looking up at her. "Go ahead, I won't get mad."

"Great, thanks, bro!" Gao Lu flashed a sweet smile as she approached him.

"Your opponent in the finals... Is his name Lu Cheng?"

"Him?" Gao Chi sipped his tea, raising an eyebrow. "What about him?"

"His Pokémon... Is it a Vulpix?"

Gao Chi silently nodded, then added, "And a Grovyle too."

"Both of his Pokémon are tough to deal with..." Gao Lu had never seen her brother so tense before. In her mind, even during the city's fighting tournaments, Gao Chi was always full of confidence. Seeing him like this made her face fall. Maybe I shouldn't add to his stress.

Meanwhile, Gao Chi clenched his fist, feeling the surge of excitement at the thought of facing a strong opponent. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he looked at Gao Lu curiously, "Wait, why are you suddenly bringing him up?"

"Nothing!" Gao Lu shouted and darted back to her room as fast as she could.

"Strange..." Gao Chi murmured to himself, stroking his chin. "Why would my little sister suddenly mention the name Lu Cheng?"

Machop, who had been resting with its eyes closed, opened them and pointed in a specific direction. Following its finger, Gao Chi spotted a single red rose quietly lying on the ground.

---

"It's over, it's all over!" Gao Lu groaned as she rolled back and forth on her bed, occasionally hitting her head against the pillow. "That Lu Cheng is already hard enough to deal with, and I even traded him 'Double Team'—"

"Doesn't that make things even worse!"

"Should I tell my brother about this?"

"But if I tell him, how am I supposed to explain the whole situation?"

"But if I don't tell him, what if my brother loses because of Double Team?"

Gao Lu found herself caught in a dilemma.

Sitting beside the bed, her Meditite with its garlic-shaped head watched curiously as its trainer rolled back and forth. As if she had seen a savior, Gao Lu suddenly grabbed Meditite's hand. "Meditite, what do you think? Should I tell my brother?"

Meditite, a dual-type Psychic and Fighting Pokémon, tilted its head in confusion. Even with its psychic abilities, it couldn't make sense of its trainer's thoughts at that moment. Gao Lu, pulling at her hair in frustration, resigned herself to focusing on teaching Meditite its new skill first.

Fumbling through her pockets, she suddenly exclaimed, "Huh? Where did the flower I bought go?"

She had bought a rose, one for herself and one for Lu Cheng, just so the little girl selling them could finish work earlier. Gao Lu scratched her head, quickly dismissing the thought.

Meanwhile, in a tearoom, Gao Chi sat facing his father, Gao Minglang. Ever since Gao Minglang's wife had passed away due to illness, it had been a long time since father and son sat together like this, sharing tea.

Despite being seated across from each other, there was no conversation between them. The only sounds were the boiling water and the cicadas chirping in the yard.

Unlike Gao Chi, who was dressed in his taekwondo uniform and black belt, Gao Minglang wore a dirty polo shirt, mumbling to himself, "Business hasn't been doing well these past few days. We can't even afford to pay wages."

"Some of the security team leaders are thinking of banding together with a few Machamps to demand their pay. They even suggested I take the lead," he said, with a hint of pride on his face.

"They're just looking for a scapegoat," Gao Chi replied, sipping his tea. He was no longer the teenager who once resented the world, and now faced his middle-aged, slightly overweight father with calmness. "The dojo's business is doing well," Gao Chi added.

"That's good." Gao Minglang rubbed his calloused hands together, feeling a bit uneasy. "How's your U20 tournament—"

"I'm in the finals," Gao Chi responded without much expression.

His father let out a small "Oh," and then repeated, "That's good, that's good..." His tone trailed off.

Gao Chi had never let anyone down. But as a father, Gao Minglang had failed his son time and time again.

They sat in silence for a while.

"There's something I need you for," Gao Chi finally said.

Gao Minglang looked up, a glimmer of light in his eyes, and gave a hearty smile, reminiscent of the old days. "Go ahead, what is it?"

"It's about Gao Lu..." Gao Chi hesitated. "I think she might be... dating."

Gao Minglang nearly spit out his tea. "Ha! Which poor kid has such bad taste?"

Seeing Gao Chi's icy expression, his father wisely closed his mouth.

"She seemed like she wanted to tell me today," Gao Chi recalled, "but it was like she couldn't quite decide."

"And," he added, pulling out a now-wilted rose, "there's also this."

---

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