Xia Huanao studied the list of Pokémon for the evening's borrowing for a while, then returned it to the teacher. "Thanks, I'll treat you to a meal sometime."
After the teacher politely exchanged a few words, Xia Huanao left the school's breeding center. On his way back, Xia Huanao felt as though something was watching him, and it wasn't a Pokémon, but a person.
"I'd like to see how bold you really are."
As he spoke, Xia Huanao further slowed the speed of his wheelchair. The hand-cranked wheelchair, already not fast, became even slower with Xia Huanao's deliberate deceleration. The journey home, which wasn't that long, took Xia Huanao over half an hour.
Opening the gate to his yard, Xia Huanao smiled. "You're quite patient. Come on then."
Xia Huanao entered the yard, locked the door, and waited in the house with his eyes half-closed for the person following him to make a move. However, just waiting was clearly boring, so Xia Huanao released his Pokémon and began to play with them.
While playing, Xia Huanao pondered, "Borrowing Ditto clearly means they plan to use Ditto to participate in training in my place. But how should I handle this? Just catching them red-handed won't work. If I catch them directly, it's only attempted crime, which carries little punishment. I need to find a way to make them face a more serious consequence."
With a wicked thought, Xia Huanao quickly devised a plan. Finally, Xia Huanao slapped his wheelchair. "This is how I'll do it."
Having devised a plan, Xia Huanao glanced at the clock in the living room. "It's been an hour already. Why haven't they come in? Should I wait a bit longer?"
Deciding to wait for the uninvited guest, Xia Huanao leaned back in his wheelchair with his eyes narrowed, waiting for the impending visitor. He ended up dozing off. When Xia Huanao opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning.
Seeing his living room unchanged, Xia Huanao yawned. "What's going on? Well, I'll deal with it later. Time for breakfast."
Deciding to eat breakfast first, Xia Huanao headed to the cafeteria with Rotom. On the way, Xia Huanao asked Rotom, "Rotom, you're in the Pokédex now. Let me ask you something. If Ditto transformed into a person, could you tell immediately?"
Rotom answered resolutely, "Of course I can, Roto."
Xia Huanao nodded. "That's good. Later, can you help me test a few thousand samples to see if any of them are Ditto?"
"A few, a few thousand Roto? That's too difficult, Roto."
"I only have one target I suspect. I have the rest of the morning, understand?"
Rotom relaxed. "Understood, Roto."
"By the way, after detecting Ditto, don't say anything. Just remember it."
...
Instead of eating at the cafeteria, Xia Huanao, carrying soy milk and fried dough sticks, arrived at the entrance of the training grounds and watched the students enter. Xia Huanao waved to them. "Good morning, everyone."
Few of the students, who had been bothered by Xia Huanao all day, returned his greeting. Only the members of the school team nodded at Xia Huanao as they passed and entered the grounds.
Xia Huanao bit into a fried dough stick. "Why so little spirit?"
Chu Xiaodie happened to pass by. "Coach Xia, I'm so tired. My legs and feet are sore and numb from yesterday. It's really uncomfortable."
Xia Huanao swallowed the entire fried dough stick. "Is that so? Don't worry, you won't be standing for long today. I heard today's exercises are quite intense."
After breakfast, Xia Huanao drove his wheelchair onto the training grounds. "Good morning, everyone. Let's work hard again today."
Training began. With yesterday's experience, the students immediately sent out Ice-type Pokémon to cool down. Xia Huanao continued his rehabilitation, while Rotom constantly flew around the formations, completing the task Xia Huanao had given him.
Nothing went wrong that morning. After the special training concluded, Xia Huanao approached the instructors. "Instructors, have you noticed anything unusual, perhaps a student who seemed a bit clumsy?"
Upon hearing Xia Huanao's question, the instructors began to recall the morning's training session. Soon, one instructor mentioned that a student in his group had been moving slowly and appeared slightly awkward. Xia Huanao then inquired about Rotom's test results and left without saying anything further.
Afternoon training began. However, before Xia Huanao could even take out his crutches for rehabilitation, his phone rang. Xia Huanao answered the call, then wheeled himself away from the training grounds. A short while later, Xia Huanao returned in his wheelchair and called out a few students' names. "You few, come with me. We need some help with something."
After speaking, Xia Huanao glanced at the two in-charge instructors. They nodded, and Xia Huanao led the students away.
Taking the five students, Xia Huanao arrived at the battle department's office. "Teacher Tong Ruo has some questions for you. You are all top students from your respective regions, so don't be too nervous."
Song Zifu was the first to enter Tong Ruo's office. Shortly thereafter, Song Zifu left, and the next student entered. Xia Huanao chatted with the top students in the hallway outside. After all the students had left the office and returned to the training grounds, Xia Huanao took out his phone and dialed Qin Peipei's number. "Hello, Qin Peipei? How is the task I gave you going?"
"Yes, the little brat has been apprehended. Teacher Xia, you can proceed with the rest of your plan."
"You recorded it, didn't you?"
"Yes, I recorded it. Ultra HD, and very exciting."
A mischievous smile spread across Xia Huanao's face as he wheeled himself towards the training grounds. His entire plan was conceived after confirming that Song Zifu had used Ditto to evade training. If he could lure Ditto away, he could use Song Zifu's absence from training as grounds for disciplinary action.
Wheeling himself across the training grounds with a drift, Xia Huanao asked the instructors, "Have the students I called away earlier returned?"
The instructors quickly replied, "No, one student named Song Zifu has not returned."
Xia Huanao blinked. "Song Zifu? Wasn't he the first to leave? Could he have gotten lost in the school? That would be troublesome."
With that, Xia Huanao quickly arranged for the student union members to search, while others continued their training.
Xia Huanao, observing the student union members, led them directly to the boys' dormitory and apprehended Song Zifu. Song Zifu was caught sitting at his desk, reading, appearing quite like a diligent student. Ultimately, under the pressure from the student union and Xia Huanao, Song Zifu returned to the training grounds to continue his training.
Watching Song Zifu train, Xia Huanao said nothing, continuing his rehabilitation. During a break in training, Chu Ting approached him and whispered, "Teacher Xia, will he be expelled?"
Xia Huanao leaned back in his wheelchair. "Who are you talking about? Song Zifu?"
"Yes, will he be expelled?"
Xia Huanao shook his head. "No, he's just skipping training. At most, he'll get a demerit. It's not enough for expulsion. Why are you so worried about him?"
Chu Ting shook her head. "It's nothing. I'll be going back now."
Watching Chu Ting run away from him and turn towards Song Zifu, Xia Huanao sighed. "Such a fine flower, why is she so determined to get herself into trouble?"
...
A few more hours passed, and the afternoon training concluded. As everyone was dispersing, Xia Huanao wheeled himself to go for dinner. Before he could leave the training grounds, he saw Song Zifu standing in front of him.
Xia Huanao asked, "Is there something you need?"
Song Zifu retorted, "I heard you're going to give me a demerit?"
Xia Huanao nodded. "Yes, although it still needs to be discussed and decided by the teachers, the worst outcome is a demerit. What, you want me to dismiss this demerit? That's impossible."
Song Zifu took two steps forward. "Believe it or not, forget a demerit, I won't even get a reprimand!"
After saying this, Song Zifu turned and left. Xia Huanao watched Song Zifu's retreating back, confused. "Not even a reprimand? Is he delirious? Why is he so arrogant?"
After dinner, Xia Huanao went to the breeding center to check on Ditto. That afternoon, Ditto had been made to exit its transformation by falling asleep, so it wasn't seriously affected. Upon seeing Xia Huanao, it immediately jumped onto him.
Xia Huanao gently squeezed Ditto and then put it down. "I have something to do, so I'll be going now."
Leaving the breeding center, Xia Huanao went to Tong Ruo's office, wanting to ask how Song Zifu's matter should be handled. When he arrived at Tong Ruo's office, Tong Ruo had just finished a phone call. Seeing Xia Huanao enter, Tong Ruo asked, "Little Xia Zi, is there something you need?"
Xia Huanao got straight to the point. "Sister Ruo, regarding Song Zifu's matter this afternoon, how does the school plan to handle it?"
Tong Ruo sat in her chair and waved her hand. "No handling."
Xia Huanao was stunned. "No handling? Why?"
Tong Ruo waved her hand again. "Do you see the phone in my hand? It says no handling."
Xia Huanao glanced at the phone. "Sister Xiaoxiao isn't letting us handle it? That doesn't make sense!"
"It's not your Sister Xiaoxiao, it's someone else who won't allow it."
Xia Huanao became even more confused. "Someone else? There are others who can pressure you into not handling this matter?"
As he spoke, Xia Huanao thought of Song Zifu's expression that afternoon and asked Tong Ruo, "Sister Ruo, is Song Zifu pressuring you?"
Tong Ruo didn't answer him but instead asked him a question. "Little Xia Zi, have you heard of Song Ru Si?"
"Of course, I've heard of him. He was rumored to be a Champion-level trainer decades ago. Hmm? What's his relationship with Song Zifu?"
"What do you think?"