In the early morning, the sky seemed to be tightly covered by a grey curtain, and the sun struggled to cast its light from behind the heavy clouds, only making the sky appear even more murky.
The air was filled with a damp scent, and a hint of coolness permeated the skin, as if the lingering essence of the night had not completely dissipated.
Chen Kai, with his Larvitar, hurried towards the classroom.
A gentle breeze ruffled his hair, and he continuously yawned, his eyes still showing traces of sleepiness.
This was because he had returned from Area Zero too late yesterday and almost overslept this morning; it was Miraidon who had woken him up.
Just as he reached the classroom door, he saw Huang Mao holding a Poké Ball, loudly exclaiming, and many classmates around him cast envious glances.
As soon as Larvitar saw Huang Mao, it joyfully ran over and hugged his leg.
“Oh! Larvitar, it looks like you’ve been eating quite well recently!” Huang Mao said, smiling as he stroked Larvitar’s head.
Larvitar, however, grumbled: “Lar, Lar!” (Yes, but it’s all fruit!)
“I’m really sorry I could only let you eat fruit!” Chen Kai retorted irritably, while extending his hand and saying, “Huang Mao, the breeding fee!”
Huang Mao awkwardly rubbed his hands and said with a fawning smile:
“Kai Ge, I’m really tight on money lately, do you think you could wait a bit?”
Chen Kai stared at Huang Mao suspiciously. Huang Mao, feeling increasingly awkward under the gaze, quickly pulled Chen Kai aside and pulled out his phone, saying:
“Kai Ge, look, my Huabei credit limit is all used up, I really don’t have any money. Tonight, when my dad gives me my allowance, I’ll definitely pay you back immediately.”
Chen Kai saw that Huang Mao was indeed short on cash, so he said, “No rush. By the way, where’s that amber of yours?”
Huang Mao grinned, proudly saying, “Hehe, it successfully revived! If Teacher Xu hadn’t just said we couldn’t release Aerodactyl in the classroom, I would’ve definitely let you see it.”
Only then did Chen Kai understand why his classmates had all looked at Huang Mao with envy earlier. However, Aerodactyl is quite large, and its appetite probably isn’t small either. Huang Mao already has four Pokemon, and Chen Kai wondered if he could afford them.
But this was Huang Mao’s own business. Chen Kai said to him, “You should have a chance to see it during training this afternoon.”
After speaking, Chen Kai walked towards his seat, hoping to catch some sleep before class.
But before he even reached it, Su Yuexi excitedly came over: “Chen… Chen Kai! The fossil you gave me is so valuable!? I should really give it back to you!”
Su Yuexi had a purple, vine-like creature wrapped around her. Its tentacles were tightly coiled around Su Yuexi, making it difficult for her to even walk.
Bellossom and Hoppip were trying their best to pull away the tentacles, but no matter how hard they tried, the tentacles remained unmoving. Luckily, Su Yuexi only needed to gently push, and the tentacles would loosen.
These tentacles belonged to the ancient Pokemon revived from the Root Fossil—Lileep.
Chen Kai hadn’t expected Cradily to be so fond of Su Yuexi, already entanglement her. He smiled and said, “Isn’t this great? It likes you so much and gets along well with you.”
“But this is really too precious…” Su Yuexi wanted to say more, but Chen Kai directly interrupted her.
“Look at it now. Even if you told it to go with me, it wouldn’t be willing.”
As the two were talking, Lileep’s tentacles secretly wrapped around Su Yuexi again. Su Yuexi was momentarily speechless, unsure what to do. Chen Kai casually said, “Alright, just treat Lileep well.”
“Ahem! Everyone, take your seats!” Teacher Xu’s voice had already entered the classroom before he did.
Su Yuexi, Chen Kai, and the others quickly sat down in their seats.
Teacher Xu came to the podium and happily said, “First, I have good news for you all. Su Yuexi won first place in last week’s county competition, and our other classmates who participated also achieved good rankings. Therefore, the county is rewarding our entire class with a three-day autumn outing to Cheng City next Wednesday!”
The students in the classroom were so surprised by this news that they were momentarily speechless, and the entire class instantly fell silent.
Teacher Xu then waved his hand and excitedly said, “It’s for three days, all expenses paid! And we can also visit the Du Jiang Yan scenic area and a secret realm!”
“Oh!!!”
A deafening cheer immediately erupted in the classroom. It was the first time the students had heard of a high school having an autumn outing, and it was for three consecutive days, not even taking up weekend time; they could play to their heart’s content from Wednesday to Friday.
Teacher Xu pressed his palms down, signaling the students to quiet down, and then continued, “Alright, this weekend, students can go home and tell their parents, and prepare clothes and other things for the autumn outing.
As for Su Yuexi, Wang Yi, Tian Tianxiang, Bai Jin, Yelena, Qin Ying, and Chen Kai, the seven of you, come with me to the office.”
Chen Kai and the others followed, full of doubts, to Teacher Xu’s office.
Huang Mao was the first to ask, “Teacher Xu, what’s up?”
Teacher Xu said irritably, “I’m giving you money, don’t you want it?”
Upon hearing about money, Huang Mao’s eyes instantly lit up: “What money?”
“Besides the class reward, there are also your individual prize money from the competition. Starting with Su Yuexi, one by one.” Saying this, Teacher Xu took out a large stack of money from his bag and first handed a thick stack to Su Yuexi.
Then, he distributed it to the others in order. Chen Kai, as a top eight finisher, also received 5,000 yuan.
And Su Yuexi, who won first place, received a prize of up to 100,000 yuan!
Su Yuexi, who had never seen so much money, her small hands trembled slightly, and she stammered, “Tea… Tea… Teacher, this… I…”
Teacher Xu knew Su Yuexi was shy, so he comforted her, “Don’t be nervous, this is what you deserve, and there might be more later.”
Then, he faced the seven people present and said, “You are the top eight in our county. It’s only October now, but by the end of December, all of you will be eligible to participate in the entire Sichuan Province high school competition.
You should all participate, right?”
Huang Mao had just received over ten thousand in prize money, which perfectly solved his urgent financial needs, and he nodded repeatedly, like pounding garlic: “Participate, definitely participate!”
Teacher Xu was very satisfied with what Huang Mao said: “Okay, then I’ll sign you all up. You’d best train a few more Pokemon, especially Bai Jin and Qin Ying; having only one Pokemon won’t allow you to participate in double battles. Also, Chen Kai, the principal said he would try his best to use his connections to see if your Ampharos and Hydrapple can also participate.”
Chen Kai, Bai Jin, and Qin Ying all nodded in agreement.
After leaving the office, Huang Mao immediately sidled up to Chen Kai, grinning, and said, “Kai Ge, how much is the breeding fee? I’ll transfer it to you.”
Chen Kai pushed Huang Mao aside and said, “I was just joking with you. I only took care of it for two days, no need for any breeding fee.”
“Hehe, thanks, Kai Ge.” Huang Mao said with a smile, then as if suddenly remembering something: “Oh right, Kai Ge, have you heard? There’s a golden Magikarp appearing in the Qu River in Qu County!”
Chen Kai’s spirits immediately perked up upon hearing this: “A shiny one?”
Huang Mao nodded: “Yes, a shiny one. I heard a lot of people discussing it on my way back yesterday, but everyone has only seen it from afar, and no one has caught it yet. Kai Ge, how about we go to the Qu River bank this weekend to check it out?”
Chen Kai asked doubtfully, “Don’t you like Rock-type Pokemon? Magikarp isn’t a Rock-type.”
Huang Mao grinned: “Hehe, it’s a shiny one, isn’t it? You see, Su Yuexi and Bai Jin both have shiny Pokemon, and I’m so envious, I want to try my luck.”
Saying this, Huang Mao looked back at Qin Ying: “Old Qin, are you going?”
Qin Ying directly raised her hand to refuse: “I’m not interested in Magikarp.”
“Boring.” He muttered, pouting.
But Bai Jin, who was behind him, seemed to have heard it.