Chapter Thirty-Six: The Gathering of Colors and Shadows

The Caiyou Conference had officially begun. After a quick breakfast, Cheng Cheng and Muzi arrived early at the venue. There were even more people today than during the preliminary rounds; they had to wait in line for half an hour before they could enter. Once inside, they found their assigned seats and settled in to await the official start of the event.

Muzi took out Sticky Treasure and placed it on her lap, while Cheng Cheng released Wind Chime. This competition would be a great learning opportunity for both Pokémon. Cheng Cheng glanced at the screen to check the tournament brackets. Ash was scheduled for an afternoon match, but he didn’t mind—after all, he wasn’t here just for Ash.

The morning matches lacked any particular highlights, but Cheng Cheng still learned a lot about the synergy between different Pokémon. The preliminary rounds required trainers to use two Pokémon in tandem, but most trainers struggled to coordinate their pairs effectively. Cheng Cheng picked up many lessons from their attempts at teamwork.

Soon enough, it was time for the afternoon matches. After a couple of bouts, it was Ash’s turn to take the stage. His opponent was a guy named Tomo. Cheng Cheng was baffled by Ash’s choice to send out Crawdaunt and Torkoal—two Pokémon with conflicting types that were notoriously difficult to coordinate. Tomo, on the other hand, used Tropius and Swalot. Judging by type alone, Ash had the advantage, but Tomo’s Pokémon seemed to be of much higher level.

As Cheng Cheng watched the match unfold, he suddenly heard three familiar voices.

“Hello, would you like a drink? We also have snacks!”

Turning around, Cheng Cheng saw the three familiar figures—it was none other than the ever-present Team Rocket duo and Meowth. He recalled that they always took part-time jobs at League tournaments like this. He couldn’t help but wonder where they managed to get their permits to sell goods at such big venues; it was no easy feat.

“Hello, two drinks, please,” Cheng Cheng said.

“Sure thing, meow!”

“Wait, aren’t you...?”

“Long time no see, Meowth. I’m Cheng Cheng. We met before in Valley Town.”

“Oh, you’re the one who was with those kids!”

“Could we have two fruit juices, please?”

“Thank you for your patronage, meow.”

“Meowth,” Cheng Cheng called out suddenly.

“What is it, meow?”

“I look forward to meeting you again.”

After saying that, Cheng Cheng fell silent. Meowth was puzzled—why would he say such a thing? After all, Meowth was always around; they might bump into each other again in just a few minutes.

“Muzi, here you go,” Cheng Cheng said, handing her a drink.

“Thanks. But don’t think I’ll forgive you just because of this, you scoundrel.”

Cheng Cheng didn’t bother to explain. The innocent need no defense, and the guilty are obvious.

Ash’s match was a tough one; if not for his protagonist’s luck, he probably wouldn’t have cleared even this first round. But in the end, Ash emerged victorious.

Cheng Cheng watched the subsequent matches as well. A few of them were decent, but most were quite similar. Ash continued to advance through the tournament, winning each time by the narrowest of margins. Cheng Cheng couldn’t tell if it was skill or sheer luck.

The next day, Cheng Cheng ran into Team Rocket selling snacks again. He found himself a bit envious of their gig—they were probably making more in these few days than he earned in a whole month at his breeding house.

Later, Ash lost to Tobias by the slimmest of margins. Cheng Cheng thought it was a pity, but it made sense. The final match was Meowth versus Pikachu—a classic cat-and-mouse showdown. It was only natural for the cat to win. This Meowth looked cool, but Cheng Cheng still preferred Team Rocket’s Meowth. Most importantly, Pikachu hadn’t gone all out.

After Ash’s defeat, Cheng Cheng didn’t bother watching the rest of the matches. He already knew how it would end: Tobias would win the Caiyou Conference championship. That made Ash the runner-up. Given Ash’s real strength, that result seemed fair, which meant that if Cheng Cheng had participated himself, he might have taken the title.

It seemed this year’s Caiyou Conference wasn’t particularly competitive; most of the contestants were new trainers, with few veterans in attendance.

Before the tournament even ended, Cheng Cheng decided to return to Yin Yu City. In Caiyou City, most of the area was designated as a Pokémon reserve, so he couldn’t catch any new Pokémon there.

Cheng Cheng decided to head home early—his vacation wouldn’t last forever, and his breeding house had run out of Pokémon to sell.

That afternoon, it was time to part ways with Ash and his friends.

“Ash, you did great. It’s just a shame about the result.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit of a pity, but it’s fine. I learned so much from this tournament. Next time, I’ll definitely win it all.”

“Then let me congratulate you in advance.”

Cheng Cheng knew Ash would eventually win the championship in the Alaro Region, but until then, he never took first place.

“Well, Ash, until we meet again.”

“Yeah, see you next time. We’ll have to battle again!”

“Of course.”

“Goodbye, Pikachu.”

Cheng Cheng gave Pikachu’s head one last affectionate pat.

Cheng Cheng and Muzi boarded a plane back to Yin Yu City, marking the end of the Caiyou Conference for them.

That night, they arrived home very late. After taking a shower—this time remembering to bring his clothes into the bathroom so as not to repeat past mistakes—Cheng Cheng returned to bed to meditate. He noticed the budding sprout in his mind was growing steadily; now he could even make out two tiny leaves. Before long, it would become a small seedling. Cheng Cheng continued to work hard.

The next morning, Cheng Cheng set out for the forests of Yin Yu City to catch new Pokémon. First, he stopped by the city center to purchase some Ralts and Natu eggs. He bought them from the same place as before, and once again found over a dozen problematic Psychic-type eggs. He planned to hatch them all, though it would require quite a lot of medicine. After that, he headed into the forest. He originally meant to go alone, but Muzi wanted to come too, and he agreed—an extra pair of hands meant better care for everyone. At the very least, if they ran into a Beedrill again, Cheng Cheng wouldn't have to be the only one running away.

With a few excursions under his belt, Cheng Cheng was much more comfortable in the woods this time. He remembered the locations of the major Pokémon tribes; as long as he avoided those, there would be no trouble. As he went along, he caught Pokémon here and there, and before he knew it, the day had passed.

As dusk fell, Cheng Cheng decided they would spend the night in the forest and needed to find a safe spot. He recalled the territory of the Treecko clan that he’d visited before. It had been a while since he’d seen them; he wanted to check in on them again.

After some trekking, they reached the edge of the Treecko territory. Occasionally, Cheng Cheng sensed the presence of Treecko hiding among the dense branches, watching them warily.

"Cheng Cheng, where’s this safe place you mentioned?" Muzi asked.

"Just ahead, in the Treecko territory," he replied.

"Treecko territory?" Muzi sounded doubtful. Wasn’t it dangerous to wander into a Pokémon's domain?

"I helped the Treecko before, so we’re on good terms," Cheng Cheng explained simply.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound nearby.

A Sceptile leapt out—it was the very one Cheng Cheng had helped in the past.

"Sceptile, it’s been a long time! Do you remember me?" Cheng Cheng greeted it. Sceptile seemed to recognize him and came over, shaking his hand.

"This is my friend, Muzi," Cheng Cheng introduced.

"Hello, I’m Muzi. Nice to meet you."

Sceptile shook her hand as well. It seemed Muzi had a natural affinity with Pokémon, perhaps because she was a girl.

"Sceptile, I’d like to rest in your territory tonight. Would that be alright?"

Sceptile nodded and led the way.

"Let’s go—no problem," Cheng Cheng said.

He and Muzi followed Sceptile to its territory, where the Treecko and Grovyle soon gathered around. Sceptile seemed to be communicating with them, but Cheng Cheng didn’t use his psychic powers to eavesdrop.

"Hello, everyone. I wonder if any of you remember me," Cheng Cheng greeted them. He recognized the scent of several Pokémon, and one Treecko in particular felt especially familiar—it must have been the very first Treecko he’d encountered.

"Hello, Treecko," he said, crouching down to pat its head. Treecko immediately scampered away.

Cheng Cheng lit a campfire and sat beside it to eat. He shared some Pokémon food with the Treecko as well. Although there wasn’t much, each Pokémon got a little. The flavors varied, and each Treecko reacted differently.

One Grovyle let out a cry after trying the food, as if it were suffering—almost as if Cheng Cheng had poisoned it—but soon recovered. Cheng Cheng and Muzi couldn’t help but laugh at its antics.

They chatted with the Treecko clan. The first time he’d come here, Cheng Cheng couldn’t communicate with them at all, but now he could more or less understand their intentions. The two of them spent a merry evening among hundreds of Treecko, Grovyle, and Sceptile.

Suddenly—a bang! The sharp crack of a gunshot shattered the quiet of the night.

Pokémon hunters.

That was the first thing that sprang to Cheng Cheng’s mind.

Sceptile immediately grew serious, and the entire Treecko clan fell silent.

Sceptile dashed away toward the source of the gunshot.

"Cheng Cheng, what’s going on?" Muzi asked.

"It’s probably Pokémon hunters. They must be trying to capture Pokémon."

"Are these the two you mentioned before?"

"I’m not sure. We’ll have to see for ourselves."

"Let’s go, then!"

"But it could be dangerous."

"We can’t just let Sceptile go alone, can we?"

"Alright," Cheng Cheng agreed.

In the past, he would have been powerless against them, but now things were different. With his and Muzi’s help, Sceptile might stand a better chance.

And so, the two of them hurried after Sceptile into the night.