"Forget it. Guess I'm stuck with you. Follow me." Li Yuan sighed with a headache. Ultimately, he decided to help her for the sake of her "May" identity.
After all, she was one of his childhood nostalgic heroines. While her looks weren't at a nation-toppling level, they were still quite good. If there was a chance, he could still collect her.
If it were any other beauty, even if she threw herself at him, he would offer a 10% discount at most. Beauties were nice, but you couldn't mess with money, right? Did rich men ever lack for beautiful women?
"But... I can't even afford 10% right now." Sapphire was embarrassed. Even at 10%, it was still 50,000 big ones, okay? As an ordinary university student who had to spend money raising Pokémon, where would she have that much savings?
"Since I told you to come, obviously I won't charge you money. Of course, if you feel really bad about it, you could always pay me with your body. I wouldn't mind taking it out in trade," Li Yuan shrugged indifferently.
"I mind!" Sapphire instantly blushed with shame. She was right; this guy was definitely after her body!
Normally, Sapphire wouldn't accept owing someone such a huge favor for free. What if one day he really demanded her body as repayment?
But today, for some reason, her heart was wrapped in an indescribable nostalgia, as if she felt an unspoken affection for him. It made her willing to accept even this kind of free benefit. And everyone knew free things were often the costliest.
However, Sapphire didn't realize that this sudden emotional shift was due to Li Yuan's Aura manipulation. He could adjust the frequency of his Aura to alter how others perceived him.
Sapphire's feelings of nostalgia weren't just because she was seeing an old classmate; she was being actively influenced by his Aura. In layman's terms, Li Yuan was currently emitting special pheromones designed to attract her, making her subconsciously trust him and want to follow him, dulling her usual defenses against his advances.
The two of them arrived at the small training ground behind the shop. The training would take place here. The facilities inside the hall had been reinforced according to Gym standards to prevent the Pokémon from tearing the place apart during training.
"We're here. Let Blaziken out first," Li Yuan ordered.
"Okay. Come on out, Zhizhi." Sapphire gently tossed a Poké Ball. A red light immediately burst from the ball, taking the form of Blaziken.
"Zhizhi" was the nickname Sapphire had given Blaziken when she was still a Torchic. Since she was used to calling her that, she hadn't changed it. This taught the valuable lesson of not naming Pokémon too early, or it would eventually become awkward.
"Long time no see, Zhizhi. Do you still recognize me?" Li Yuan stepped forward to greet her and casually stroked her orange-red... chicken feathers.
"Charmo? (It's you? That punk who always bullied my Yaoyao!)" Blaziken naturally recognized Li Yuan immediately and took several steps back warily.
She was far too familiar with this man in front of her. He had spent their entire high school period manipulating her Yaoyao, often teasing Yaoyao until her face was bright red and getting handsy in various ways.
The key point was that every time he took advantage of her, he managed to retreat unscathed. He could make Yaoyao very angry at him, yet not enough to hate him. You had to admire his ability. Over time, even Blaziken herself had habitually started using the nickname "Yaoyao" to address Sapphire. One could imagine how much influence Li Yuan had on the human and Pokémon duo.
If this guy hadn't been their "frenemy," it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him their psychological shadow.
"Don't be so scared. It's not like I'm going to grab you and make chicken stew. We might be seeing each other often in the future, right Yaoyao?" Seeing that he couldn't touch Zhizhi, Li Yuan turned back and started petting Sapphire instead.
"Stop messing around..." Sapphire quickly dodged his hand, her face flushing. Instead of the look of disgust Blaziken wanted to see, her face showed the shy timidity of a young maiden.
"Charmo! (What!)"
Blaziken was shocked by this scene. What was with Yaoyao's shy reaction? You should be clapping back at him! Why are you blushing, you teapot!
What the hell was going on? Had her Yaoyao really caught feelings for the Great Demon King? No way, no way. Yaoyao, had you actually gotten addicted to being bullied by the Great Demon King?
Not only did you not hide from him, but you actively and shyly leaned in to let him continue bullying you. Had she awakened as a masochist? This chicken only went offline for a little bit; how did it feel like the sky was falling?
"Zhizhi, don't let your imagination run wild. I only came to find him because I have a request." Sapphire quickly explained, blushing.
"Charmo? (What kind of request means you absolutely have to find him?)" Blaziken expressed extreme skepticism. As the saying goes, to explain is to cover up. As the person who had the greatest influence on them during high school, it didn't seem strange that Yaoyao couldn't forget Li Yuan.
"You'll know what it is in a moment." Sapphire didn't know where to begin explaining, so she just let Li Yuan handle it.
"Charmo... (Sigh. Fine, fine. A grown daughter can't be kept at home. Since you like him so much, I guess I'll just have to marry over there with you.)" Blaziken looked utterly bereft of the will to live.
"I told you it's not what you think!" Sapphire was furious. Could this chicken not understand human speech anymore? Just because I came to see him once means I like him? I see plenty of people every day; does that mean I fall in love with every one of them?
"Alright, alright. May really did come to find me for help. Later, I'm going to help you awaken a second ability, Blaze. You need to remember that sensation well," Li Yuan reminded her.
"Charmo? (Blaze? I understand.)" Blaziken suddenly understood. So, this was about getting Li Yuan to help her change abilities.
Although in her opinion, Speed Boost was much stronger than Blaze, since it was her Trainer's request, there must be a special plan. As a Pokémon, she would just cooperate.
So Blaziken didn't think much more about it and silently accepted the Great Demon King's caresses.
But soon, she felt something was wrong. It wasn't that the Great Demon King's petting was slightly suspect in its groping nature, but that she found a massive amount of heat energy suddenly surging within her body.
That thermal energy hovered in her abdomen like a furnace, scorching her internal organs. If that majestic energy didn't erupt soon, she wouldn't be able to hold it in!
"CHARMO!"
Blaziken suddenly threw her head back and let out a hearty roar toward the sky. Immediately following, a wave of intense flames surged from within her body, forming a roaring inferno that enveloped her form. Her entire aura began to climb steadily higher.
What was even more terrifying was that although she had erupted with such powerful Blaze, her body still retained the Speed Boost ability.
That meant at this moment, she possessed two abilities simultaneously. How was such a thing possible?
Something clearly impossible had happened to her. No wonder Yaoyao didn't mind being bullied to come find him. It turned out the Great Demon King possessed such incredible, inconceivable methods!
Blaziken was instantly ecstatic. With this power, she could definitely wash away the shame of her recent defeat at the eighth Gym.
Even Sapphire, standing at a certain distance, felt the intense heat of the flames on Blaziken's body. It was far hotter than any Blaze she had ever seen. She had never seen such a powerful Blaziken!
Li Yuan had actually done it. He had done it just by casually petting her a few times. This was too unbelievable, wasn't it?
What was even more incredible was that while she felt Zhizhi's flames were too hot even from a distance, Li Yuan was still petting Zhizhi with his bare hands, acting as if he completely disregarded the flames.
This... what is going on? Is this guy really the man I knew?
It was too hard to believe. Sapphire realized only now how unfamiliar this man was to her. She had never truly understood him, only interacting with him based on first impressions. It was a bit suspect of judging a book by its cover.
Now, watching the young man who remained indifferent while enveloped in raging fire, still seriously focused on the work in his hands, Sapphire felt a burst of dizziness in front of her eyes, a sense of unreality.
She had never seen him look so serious before. It was actually... a little attractive.