Ling You rode a shared bicycle all the way to He Pingfan's house. Sprigatito sat in the basket in front of the bicycle, half-closing its eyes, feeling the wind blow across its face, incredibly excited.
The last time it felt the wind like this was when it rode Pidgeotto in the forest, but it was quickly thrown off and landed face-first in the dirt.
Knock, knock, knock.
Ling You knocked on the door a few times and said, "He Pingfan, it's Ling You."
He Pingfan's house was in a villa area in Xingyuan City. Fortunately, there were no dramatic security guard incidents here, probably because Ling You came often. He Pingfan's house was a two-story European-style villa with a courtyard. There was no nanny blocking Ling You at the courtyard gate, so Ling You went directly into the yard and knocked on the main door.
"Coming!" He Pingfan opened the door, with Dreepy and Scorbunny by his side. "Ling You, is there something you need me for?"
"Here, my mom asked me to bring this over," Ling You said, taking out another rotom phone and handing it to He Pingfan.
"A rotom phone! How did you get it? My dad applied to the League two days ago, and he still hasn't received an official reply," He Pingfan said, taking the rotom phone with surprise.
"You forgot, my mom is a researcher, so it's easier for her to access these things than for Uncle He. Uncle He isn't even employed by the League anymore, so of course it's not easy for him to get these things," Ling You shook his head. He Pingfan's brain was really slow to react.
"Xiao Fan, is that Xiao You?" A gentle female voice came. He Pingfan's mother, Tan Yueyue, had a different style from Ling You's mother, Su Yuwan, who was more capable. Tan Yueyue was wearing a light green dress with long brown hair tied in a three-strand braid draped in front of her, looking gentle and virtuous.
"Mom, look, Aunt Su sent me a rotom phone!" He Pingfan excitedly shared with Tan Yueyue.
"Hello, Aunt Tan," Ling You greeted Tan Yueyue, and so did Sprigatito in his arms.
"Meow!"
The cheerful and bright Sprigatito extended its paw to greet Aunt Tan. 'The Trainer has greeted her, so I, the Pokémon, cannot be impolite,' Sprigatito secretly gave itself a thumbs-up.
"Hello, Xiao You, and hello, Sprigatito," Aunt Tan smiled gently and greeted them both. "Come, quickly, come inside."
"Excuse the intrusion," Ling You said, holding Sprigatito as he walked into He Pingfan's house.
"You two sit on the sofa for a bit, dinner will be ready soon. Xiao You, it's been a long time since you've been to Auntie's house, hasn't it? Come over for dinner whenever you're free. Yuwan isn't back yet, right? It's not healthy for you to always order takeout by yourself," Tan Yueyue nagged Ling You as she walked towards the kitchen.
"Understood," Ling You agreed verbally, but Ling You didn't like to trouble others, so he usually just agreed verbally, finding it more convenient to order takeout at home.
"Go play, Sprigatito," Ling You put Sprigatito down. Sprigatito happily ran in front of Scorbunny, meowing triumphantly, seemingly mocking its defeated opponent.
Scorbunny, exasperated, chased Sprigatito, while Dreepy tilted its head, unsure what was happening, still trying to mediate between the two Pokémon.
Ling You couldn't help but shake his head. His Sprigatito was truly a mischievous cat that loved to cause trouble. Ling You even suspected that Ursaring might have been provoked by Sprigatito itself.
"Perfect, I'll try out the uses of this rotom phone," He Pingfan quickly read the instruction manual, then opened the rotom phone and registered Dreepy's Poké Ball. Afterward, he pointed the camera at Dreepy.
Pokémon: Dreepy
Type: Dragon, Ghost
Level: 15
Ability: Clear Body
Gender: Male
Height: 0.7 m
Weight: 4kg
Moves: Bite, Quick Attack, Astonish, Infestation
Egg Moves: Curse, Disable, Double Team
"Children, dinner's ready," Tan Yueyue walked out of the kitchen, carrying soup.
"Auntie, let me help you," Ling You quickly stepped forward and took the casserole. When visiting someone's home, one should always act like a good child.
"Xiao You is so sensible, unlike my Xiao Fan, who is clumsy and utterly thoughtless," Tan Yueyue praised Ling You with a chuckle, while also not forgetting to lecture He Pingfan.
"Mom, please give me some face," He Pingfan was on the verge of tears. Why did everyone like to mock him? Did he look like he attracted hatred? They never said anything when he usually acted like this, did they?
"Here are the portions for Little Dreepy, Little Scorbunny, and Little Sprigatito," Tan Yueyue brought out three pet bowls, piled high with premium Pokémon food.
"Dreepy~"
"Scorbunny!"
"Meow~"
The three little ones excitedly began to eat, Sprigatito's cheeks bulging with food.
Ling You and the others watched Sprigatito and the others eat so happily, then sat down and began their own meal. It had to be said that Aunt Tan's cooking was indeed far superior to all the takeout Ling You ate, but Ling You still disliked troubling others.
Although the two families had a very good relationship, this wasn't a reason for Ling You to trouble others. Ling You's principle was to handle everything himself. Since childhood, Ling You had disliked asking others for help; he would only seek assistance from family members for things he truly couldn't resolve on his own.
Ling You had been very independent since he was young, which was why his parents felt at ease leaving him alone at home. They had even given up their jobs for Ling You at one point, but as Ling You grew older, they became increasingly confident in him.
Although Ling You was more mature than an average child his age, he still had his childish moments.
After dinner, Ling You stayed until around 6 o'clock, when the sun was about to set, before leaving. To train Sprigatito, Ling You decided to visit the largest department store in the city to see if he could buy anything suitable for Sprigatito, and he also needed Pokémon food.
"Sprigatito, the sunset is beautiful today, isn't it?" Ling You strolled along the path in the villa area. Sprigatito wasn't walking on the ground but was hiding in Ling You's arms.
The reason, of course, was that this ignorant little clumsy cat had provoked a strong Mabosstiff and was so scared by its Intimidate ability that it hid in Ling You's arms. Fortunately, that Mabosstiff was confined to its yard, otherwise Ling You would probably be racing it right now.
"Meow~"
Sprigatito turned its head to look at the sky. The afterglow of the setting sun cast upon Sprigatito's face, and its ruby-like eyes seemed to sparkle under the sunlight. Sprigatito hadn't seen such a beautiful sunset in days.
"Student Ling!"
A voice suddenly came from behind Ling You, sounding somewhat familiar. He turned to look and saw Lin Qiuyu standing in front of him, panting, hands in her pockets, her chest heaving, and her small face flushed. Lin Qiuyu was wearing a pink sports tank top and black sports shorts, with a thin white jacket over it.
Beside her, Riolu, with Power Anklets strapped to its legs, also looked out of breath. Both of them appeared to be jogging. 'So she lives here too?'
"Student Lin, are you and Riolu jogging?" Ling You asked.
"Yes, I didn't expect to meet you here. Do you live here too?" Lin Qiuyu asked curiously.
"No, Xiao Fan lives here. I had dinner at his house and now I'm going to the department store to look around," Ling You shook his head. This was not a place his family could afford to live in. Although Ling You's family was not poor, they were not particularly wealthy either.
"I see. Well, I'll go with you then. Riolu also needs to learn some new moves to prepare for future battles," Lin Qiuyu thought for a moment and decided to go with Ling You. She had to go eventually, so she might as well go now and have company.
"Sounds good," Ling You had no complaints about this. If they shopped together, wouldn't he learn more about Riolu's move pool? That would be beneficial to him.