Chapter 97 – The Pokémon Battle Center’s Opening Match! Pei Jingguo VS Xiao Zhang!

Early the next morning, Su Bai left Ditto and Rotom to watch the shop, and took Zhou Xiaofei out to buy clothes.

Of course, Zhou Xiaofei stubbornly resisted—until Su Bai coldly said it'd be deducted from his salary. That shut him up.

To protect the kid's pride, Su Bai had purposely chosen a budget-friendly department store.

Even so, the weird looks he got from the staff lingered in his mind as he stepped into the Pokémon Center.

Who shows up at a bargain mall flashing a black card? That kind of extravagant thriftiness was truly one of a kind.

As soon as he entered the Pokémon Center, Su Bai saw Ditto hard at work.

At that moment, a customer was shopping for a Pokémon, and Ditto had transformed into Su Bai's appearance—holding a stack of prewritten cue cards Su Bai had prepared in advance.

Each card had a different sales pitch or keyword written on it.

Right now, Ditto raised a card that read:

"Price: 400,000 Federation Credits. Please swipe your card."

The customer was clearly hesitant.

"Can't it be a bit cheaper? 400,000 is really steep…"

Ditto scratched its head, then calmly raised another card:

"Sorry, no bargaining."

The customer ranted on and on, but Ditto—still wearing that dumb, fixed smile—held up the same "No bargaining" sign without blinking.

Eventually, faced with Ditto's unwavering professional grin, the customer surrendered, swiped their card, and took their new Pokémon home.

On the side, Wang Tao and the others were practically rolling with laughter.

"Hahaha! I've never seen Su Bai look like this!"

Liu Yunlan clutched her stomach as she howled with laughter.

"That face! That expression! It's priceless!"

Ding Yue had literal tears forming in her eyes from laughing. She whipped out her phone and pointed it at Ditto.

"I have to film this. This moment is historic!"

Su Bai's face was covered in black lines. He dashed forward and blocked the camera lens.

"Film what?! What are you all even doing here again?!"

He turned to Ditto, who looked delighted to see him—but even its happy face looked… well… dumb.

Same features, same face, and yet it radiated a serious lack of brain cells…

Su Bai sighed helplessly.

"Looks like I really need to help Ditto mold a new face…"

He shrugged, exasperated.

"This is doing serious damage to my reputation."

"Damage is an understatement," Wang Tao laughed, slapping Su Bai on the back. He glanced curiously at the wide-eyed kid behind him.

"So who's the little guy? Your son's already this big?"

"Son?!"

Murong Nan yelped in shock.

All eyes immediately turned to a certain cool and elegant beauty nearby.

Murong Nan's fair cheeks flushed pink. She'd just blurted it out without thinking. Of course she knew Su Bai was only eighteen. How could he have a kid that age?

"Say another word, Fatty, and I'm blacklisting you from the Pokémon Center!" Su Bai glared at Wang Tao, then gave Zhou Xiaofei a little push forward.

"Everyone, meet our newest employee."

After Su Bai spilled everything about Zhou Xiaofei like a bamboo tube pouring beans, the mood in the room shifted. The laughter died down, replaced with solemn understanding.

The girls—Liu Yunlan, Ding Yue, and others—immediately overflowed with maternal instincts.

The tallest among them, Li Xiaoyu, stretched out her arms, wanting to hug Zhou Xiaofei.

But the kid dodged nimbly.

"I'm not a little kid! I'm a Pokémon Center employee! I have a job!"

"And I'm a Trainer too! Look! This is my Magikarp!"

Zhou Xiaofei proudly held up the oversized, flopping fish in his arms.

Magikarp gave a spirited leap, using Splash, sending a burst of water straight into Wang Tao's face.

Wang Tao wiped the water off and sighed.

"So this thing's a Pokémon? I thought Su Bai caught a giant fish and was planning to treat us to grilled seafood…"

Su Bai quickly held back the bristling Zhou Xiaofei—whose hair looked about ready to stand on end and start a fight.

"Alright, stop teasing him. Seriously, why do you all keep hanging around the Pokémon Center? Don't you have school?"

"School? What school?"

This time, it was Wang Tao and company's turn to look confused.

"Our teachers are too busy studying Pokémon themselves now," Wang Tao said, looking constipated.

"Word is, the city lord's office teamed up with Haicheng No. 1 High School for some kind of Pokémon knowledge program."

"They're planning to teach stuff like Berry classification and Pokéblock crafting."

"So yeah… basically, the whole city is running around trying to catch up with this Pokémon craze you started. We don't even have teachers anymore—just self-study."

"By the way, what's with you? You really gave away the recipes for Berries and Pokéblocks?"

"Did Lord Zhu pay you with something… sketchy?"

Wang Tao's suspicious gaze practically said:

You must've made some shady backroom deal with the city lord.

After all, why else would Su Bai share such a money-printing goldmine?

Su Bai's face turned dark.

"One more word out of you and I'll have Meloetta beat you up!"

"Melomelo~!"

Meloetta even rolled up her imaginary sleeves like she was about to throw hands.

Su Bai sighed.

"This isn't something I can explain quickly. You'll understand in a few days."

The Pokémon's full descent was still a secret. Until it was officially announced, Su Bai wasn't planning to cause a public stir.

Better to keep things quiet than start a city-wide frenzy.

Suddenly, Su Bai's gaze shifted toward two silent figures—Pei Jingguo and Xiao Zhang—who had been staring daggers at each other for a while now.

Even more amusing?

Xiao Zhang's newly acquired Machop was having a stare-down with Pei Jingguo's Pawniard, standing in a formation as rigid as its trainer.

Only Honedge, floating nearby, remained emotionless as ever—its single eye showing no ripples of emotion.

Li Xiaoyu giggled.

"What do you think? The eternal runner-up is here to challenge the reigning champ again!"

"But this time feels… a little different."

"Apparently Xiao Zhang wants to fight with both Trainer and Pokémon on the field."

"Both Trainer and Pokémon?!" Su Bai raised an eyebrow. Now that was something new.

Pokémon battles were already thrilling enough. But now the Trainers themselves were gonna brawl too?

Raw. Savage. Exciting.

Now that was Su Bai's kind of entertainment.

He strolled over to the two and clapped them on the shoulders.

"Alright, enough staring. Let's go."

"You two will be the opening match at our brand-new Pokémon Battle Center!"

"Make it a good one!"

Su Bai beamed, flashing a mouthful of pearly whites.

At his signal, Rotom updated the massive display screen behind the Pokémon Center counter.

"The Pokémon Battle Center's Grand Opening Match is about to begin! All customers are welcome to watch!"

"Match Participants: 'Haicheng's Number One Sword' – Pei Jingguo VS 'Genius Martial Artist' – Xiao Zhang!"

"Battle Rules: Special Format – Trainer and Pokémon will fight side by side!"

"Please proceed to the Pokémon Battle Arena if you wish to watch!"