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Rooftop.
Riolu and Torracat eventually made their way up.
These two hadn't completely forgotten about their boss. After some "flirting" downstairs, they realized Li Xiang was missing and were utterly confused.
After asking the somewhat disdainful fat translator.
Oh!
The boss had taken the new guy upstairs!
Without even telling them!
When did this happen?
The cat and dog immediately felt a sense of alarm, as if they had finally established a peaceful coexistence and fair competition, only for someone to come from behind and overtake them in the curve.
Torracat, with its three legs, hissed in dissatisfaction.
"Meow!"
This new guy is sneaky!
Riolu nodded in agreement, wanting to help Torracat up the stairs, but Torracat waved its paw, refusing.
What's wrong with three legs? One could still walk!
The two then made their way to the rooftop, just in time to see Li Xiang chatting and laughing intimately with Froakie on his shoulder.
In that instant, the blood pressure of the two Pokémon skyrocketed!
Something's wrong!
The cat and dog exchanged a glance, both seeing the sense of crisis in each other's eyes.
This guy just arrived yesterday, and he's already on the shoulder? And he's licking! Ew! Li Xiang was even smiling!
One had to know that Li Xiang hated getting sticky, whether it's bodily fluids or saliva, he'd always been disgusted by it!
Torracat hardly ever dared to lick Li Xiang!
And this guy—!!!
We need to do something—
"Hey! You guys came up?"
Li Xiang's voice and footsteps approached at the same time. In the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of the cat and dog with Froakie.
"Because of what happened yesterday, I haven't properly introduced you yet."
He crouched down and placed Froakie on the ground. "Let's formally meet. Froakie, your new teammate from now on."
"Froakie!"
Froakie squinted its eyes, giving the cat and dog a friendly smile.
It was well aware that it wouldn't be Li Xiang's only Pokémon and would have to coexist with many other teammates.
At the same time, although it was used to being alone, it fully understood the importance of companions. If it hadn't been for the overwhelming number of Sharpedo back then, it wouldn't have been forced to flee into the Ultra Wormhole.
This was quite different from Riolu, who, despite being surrounded by a group of cats, still refused to join the dog faction.
Therefore, Froakie wouldn't hesitate to show kindness to its teammates.
As the saying goes, you don't hit a smiling person.
Especially with Li Xiang present, the cat and dog didn't dare to give Froakie a cold shoulder or openly exclude it. Seeing Froakie greet them, they also smiled in response.
The atmosphere was harmonious and peaceful.
Li Xiang, standing to the side, had a strange expression. For some reason, he felt the atmosphere was a bit off...
Whatever.
Since Torracat couldn't move, Li Xiang picked it up and placed it on a wooden stool nearby.
Then he pushed the wooden stake aside, letting Riolu and Froakie stand in the open space.
"If you can fight, don't waste time talking. A fight will help you understand each other better."
Li Xiang stepped back with a smile. "But tone it down a bit. Don't damage anything around you."
Although he knew Froakie was exceptionally talented, Li Xiang still wanted to test its combat awareness.
Combat awareness comes in many forms, including but not limited to calm observation, flexible adaptation, timely judgment, and knowing when to advance or retreat.
After all, battles are fought by the Pokémon themselves. When a trainer is unable to give commands due to special circumstances, the Pokémon's own judgment will determine the outcome of the battle.
Earlier, Li Xiang was worried that Torracat relied too much on him, fearing it lacked initiative.
Of course, being too independent wasn't good either.
The battle began.
Froakie, having transformed, immediately disappeared from sight.
Riolu was momentarily stunned, looking around and above in confusion and wariness, instinctively using Swords Dance.
This little guy had never experienced the power of Camouflage before. Seeing it for the first time, it was caught off guard and was likely to suffer.
Sure enough.
Froakie's figure appeared behind Riolu but didn't attack immediately. Instead, it threw two blobs of foam at Riolu!
Riolu, hearing the sound from behind, quickly lunged forward and twisted its body. Unfortunately, the foam still stuck to its feet, clinging like glue and affecting its agility.
By the time it turned around, Froakie had already vanished.
"Riolu!"
Being toyed with by the new teammate, especially in front of Torracat, made Riolu feel a bit embarrassed. It immediately used its trump card—
Aura.
All things have an aura, and different species have different auras.
Even if Froakie turned invisible, it couldn't make its aura disappear.
But for Riolu at this stage, its not-yet-mastered Aura ability had a bit of a wind-up time and required closing its eyes to fully focus.
This gave Froakie another opportunity.
A glowing blue water orb was hurled from Froakie's position to the side and behind Riolu!
The water orb, riding on a wave, exploded with a boom as it neared Riolu, sending a surge of water crashing down on it!
By the time Riolu detected Froakie's presence, it was too late. The sticky foam under its feet became its downfall, slowing its movement just enough.
That split second caused Riolu to be knocked down by the water surge!
Nearby.
Li Xiang watched their intense battle carefully.
Camouflage was truly dirty in real life. If you encountered it unprepared, it would take a while to figure out how to deal with it.
But for Riolu, there were actually many ways to counter it.
Aura was one, and setting up Rain Dance was another.
Because Camouflage couldn't prevent raindrops from passing through its body, once the rain fell on Froakie, its position would be exposed.
So Camouflage and Rain Dance had poor compatibility.
And the move Smokescreen could somewhat mitigate this minor drawback.
Unfortunately, it was useless against Aura.
Whoosh—!!!
A thick cloud of black smoke filled the rooftop.
Li Xiang stepped back again, sitting next to Torracat.
Froakie, having never encountered Aura before, mistakenly thought Smokescreen would work. Little did it know, it was completely ineffective.
"Meow?"
"Huh? You're asking who will win? Of course, Riolu will win."
Li Xiang responded confidently. He still had faith in Riolu. Although Froakie was cunning, its output was lacking, and it didn't have any moves to boost its power.
Once Riolu caught Froakie with its Aura, there was no way Froakie could turn the tables.
This was a natural counter.
Froakie's Camouflage might have fooled Buzzwole, but it couldn't fool a little blue dog.
Sure enough, two minutes later, Froakie was pinned to the ground by Riolu, its face filled with shock and confusion.
Riolu, on the other hand, was panting heavily, looking like it had just run a marathon, its body covered in sticky white foam.
"That's enough."
Li Xiang clapped his hands, stepping forward to separate the two Pokémon. He then used a garden hose to wash the foam off Riolu.
Admittedly, it was quite difficult to wash off.
In the middle of winter, being doused with water made Riolu shiver uncontrollably, almost freezing its nose off.
After Li Xiang roughly dried it with a towel, Riolu shook off the water and quickly went to Torracat to warm up.
On the other side.
"Froakie..."
Froakie, who had intended to show off its strength to Li Xiang and prove its worth, was feeling dejected.
It never expected to lose its first battle.
"It's okay. You have to lose to win. Don't take it too hard."
Li Xiang patted Froakie's head. It was good to feel upset and disheartened after a loss, but there was no need to dwell on it.
"Who in the world has never lost? As long as you win the most crucial battles, losing a few times in practice is just gaining experience."
Hearing this, Froakie's mood lightened a bit. It jumped onto Li Xiang's shoulder and closed its eyes.
Li Xiang smiled, completely unfazed by the water stains Froakie's feet left on his clothes.
Expecting a Water-type Pokémon to stay dry is like asking it to die.
On the wooden stool.
Torracat and Riolu stared blankly at Li Xiang's wet shoulder, then turned their gaze to Froakie, their expressions strange.
No way!
Li Xiang, who hated getting wet and sticky didn't throw a fit?
Something's wrong, definitely wrong!
This new teammate of theirs was suspicious!
The cat and dog exchanged a glance, and when they looked at Froakie again, their eyes were filled with disbelief.
...
Noon.
Li Zhehan returned.
Compared to the serious and heavy expression he had when he left, he now looked much more relaxed, even comforting Mrs. Yin.
It seemed the outcome of the "negotiations" had satisfied him.
During lunch.
Li Zhehan told Li Xiang to keep his mouth shut outside and not to post anything online, further solidifying Li Xiang's belief in the positive outcome.
Good.
It seemed they wouldn't end up like some novels where the protagonist's family becomes enemies with the protagonist over a woman.
Honestly, if the Xu family had targeted Li Zhehan, Li Xiang wouldn't have known how to face Lin Feng from then on.
After the meal.
"Where's Froakie?"
Li Zhehan looked around and asked Li Xiang.
Li Xiang had no idea. The guy had disappeared since mealtime. He glanced around the living room and then the kitchen.
Finally, after calling out, they saw Froakie jump out from between the sofa and the coffee table, responding.
"Froakie~"
Li Zhehan walked over and picked up Froakie. "Can I borrow it for a bit? I'll bring it back tonight, and we can register it for you too."
Borrow?
To communicate with the Psychic Elite again?
"What are you going to do? I want to come too!"
Li Xiang grabbed Li Zhehan's arm and started shaking it. "Talk to Mom, I want to go with you."
The computers these days made it impossible for him to stay home for long.
Besides, the Qingcheng Association—he had never seen it in person before, only in the memories of his past self!
"I'm going to the hospital. What are you going to do? You're twelve now, an adult. Don't make your mom worry. She didn't even go to work today."
Li Zhehan peeled Li Xiang off his arm, his tone firm.
"Next time. Next time, if it's not the hospital, I'll definitely take you out."
Next time, my foot!
Li Xiang's face darkened, realizing he probably couldn't convince Li Zhehan.
Helpless, he could only explain the situation to Froakie.
"Don't forget about it. Its presence is so weak."
Li Xiang handed the PokéBall to Li Zhehan, emphasizing seriously.
"Was it me who forgot the keys and phone at home last month and waited at the door for three hours?"
Li Zhehan chuckled and ruffled Li Xiang's hair. "Don't be silly. Your dad's not senile yet."
With that, he hummed a tune and left with Froakie.
He seemed to be in a good mood.