Chapter 131

"Phew—this lecture is much more tiring than a battle."

Huo La let out a long breath, slumped into the chair, arms draped over the armrests, head tilted, looking just like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.

"Huo La, you lectured really well. I really didn't notice before that you had such a deep understanding of ancient Pokémon." A voice filled with emotion came from outside the door, and then, the door was pushed open gently.

The person who entered was an acquaintance of Huo La—Red.

Behind him followed Erika and President Ran of Yuhong University.

"Hmm? Brother Red, why are you here too?" Huo La straightened up, his eyes full of surprise.

"I was in Fuchsia Town two days ago and heard that Entei had appeared here, so I came specifically to take a look." Red spread his hands, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "If it weren't for Ms. Erika leading the way, I wouldn't have been able to get through the gates of Yuhong University."

Before Erika could answer, Red looked at Huo La again, his tone sincere: "Seriously, your lecture just now was particularly brilliant, especially the final Q&A session, where you could crack a joke to ease the atmosphere. With your foundation, you really have the potential to become a Pokémon Doctor."

"Hey hey hey, that's not right!" Huo La sat up straight immediately, his voice even raised a bit. "My dream is to become a world-class Trainer; it has nothing to do with being a Doctor!"

"A Trainer and a Pokémon Doctor are actually not in conflict." President Ran's gentle voice intervened at the right time, his tone full of kindness.

Hearing the voice, Huo La stood up from the chair and nodded respectfully: "President Ran."

"An excellent Trainer should have comprehensive knowledge of Pokémon." President Ran walked closer, his gaze falling on Huo La. "If one can be both a top-tier Trainer and an in-depth researcher in their field of expertise, it is actually a rare thing. So you see, the two have never been mutually exclusive."

After a pause, President Ran changed the subject, his smile becoming softer: "By the way, Huo La, how are your father Yuki and your mother Yūna doing lately?"

Huo La was stunned for a moment, his eyes full of surprise: "President Ran, do you know my parents?"

"How could I not know them." President Ran nodded with a smile. "Your father Yuki was my student back then. As for your mother, I saw her once at their wedding; she is a very gentle girl."

"So that's it!" Huo La scratched the back of his head, his tone relaxing. "My mom has always been at home, but my dad went to Kalos a while ago, saying that Dr. Platane invited him over."

"Platane, huh." President Ran nodded upon hearing this, his tone carrying a hint of familiarity.

"President Ran, do you know Dr. Platane too?" Huo La was even more surprised now.

"Of course I know him." A flash of memory crossed President Ran's eyes. "He can also be considered my student. When he was an exchange student in his early years, he even attended my lectures. Come to think of it, his relationship with your father back then was quite good."

Huo La scratched his head again, unable to stop himself from muttering: So there were so many origins in his own family that he hadn't heard of; why didn't he know anything about it before?

"President Ran, about the matter you promised to let me read the school's ancient books..." Huo La leaned forward, his eyes full of anticipation, the end of his sentence carrying a hint of impatient tremor.

"You child, you're thinking about it as soon as you've said it." President Ran was amused by his appearance, waving his hand helplessly and indulgently. "I came today specifically to tell you about this. From now on, the school library is open to you throughout; you can go in and read any book in the library."

"Really?!" Huo La's eyes lit up instantly, he took half a step forward, his voice raised a bit. "Then President Ran, can I go now?"

"You, you're exactly the same as your father when he was young, without a shred of patience." President Ran shook his head, but a smile was hidden in the corners of his mouth. "Go, go, let Erika take you there."

After hurriedly saying goodbye to Red and Brock, Huo La didn't stop his footsteps, following closely behind Erika to the library, even his back revealing a sense of urgency.

For the next week, Huo La completely buried himself in the pile of books. Except for eating and sleeping, he spent all his time in the library, not even paying much attention to the sunrise and sunset outside the window. The notes piled on the table were almost as thick as half a book.

"Phew—" On the evening of the seventh day, Huo La raised his head from the pile of books, rubbing his sore neck, his tone full of exhaustion. "I never want to do this kind of high-intensity book-gnawing a second time."

"The perseverance of you brat is really not bad." Gengar floated out of his pocket and circled around. "Being cooped up in the library for a week straight; if it were me, I would have been driven crazy long ago."

"Driven crazy?" Huo La slanted a glance at it, a teasing smile curling the corners of his mouth. "I think you've been peeking under the skirts of the big sisters who come to the library quite a bit, haven't you?"

"Cough cough..." Gengar choked twice, its body floating in mid-air swaying, and it defended itself with feigned composure. "What are you talking about! I was 'checking' their developmental status, understand?"

Fearing that Huo La would expose it again, it hurriedly changed the subject: "By the way, you've been in the library for seven days, and the lockdown outside has been lifted for two or three days. What do you say, are you continuing your journey next?"

Huo La stretched, pressing his fingertips against his brow and pressing lightly: "Let's rest for another day. The things I read these past few days are too messy. Although I took notes, I still need to organize them."

"Fine." Gengar yawned, a hint of interest suddenly appearing in its tone. "Then I'll go follow that brat Red tomorrow to join in the fun. He's been battling a brat named Ash these past two days; tsk tsk, that scene is really violent enough."

"Let's go, let's go back to the Pokémon Center to wash up first; we'll talk about tomorrow's business tomorrow." Huo La let out a long yawn, his fingertips rubbing his heavy temples.

He hugged the organized notebook and went to say goodbye to the library administrator first.

The aunt with reading glasses looked at the light blue under his eyes and smiled, handing him a mint candy: "Young man, you haven't stayed up late much this week, have you? Go back and have a good sleep. If you missed anything in your notes, come and get it anytime."

Huo La thanked her hurriedly and stuffed the mint candy into his mouth. The cool taste instantly dispelled some of the fatigue.

When he walked out of the library, twilight had already spread over the streets of Yuhong City. The last trace of orange-red remained on the horizon, and the streetlights lit up one after another. The warm yellow light spilled onto the stone road, stretching his shadow long.

Gengar poked its head out of his pocket, floating in mid-air and swaying: "This evening breeze is quite comfortable, much better than the old wood smell in the library."

"Old wood smell?"

"The wood used here has been around for at least a hundred years. I just don't know if I've met the person who built this library." Gengar's tone seemed to carry some emotion.

"Time, it really moves forward, never to return."