Chapter 105: Marriage (I Admit, This Chapter is Clickbait)

Fang Tianze suppressed the urge to retort and signed his name, repeatedly emphasizing that it must never be sold.

Tang Yi patted his chest confidently, “Don’t worry, I’ll treat this poster like a family heirloom and pass it down.”

“Your words are hard to trust,” Fang Tianze smiled and glanced at Lalulas. “You’ve got to keep a close eye on your trainer. Even after he grows up, gets married, and has children, he must never sell it!”

Lalulas nodded solemnly, “Don’t worry, I’ll supervise him well. Even if he gets married, he won’t sell it!”

Eevee, bored out of its mind, immediately seized on the phrase and giggled, “Married? Lalulas, are you already thinking about marriage? To whom? Could it be...”

Smack!

Eevee clutched its head, wincing in pain, grumbling, “Ouch! Ninetales, if you keep hitting me like this, don’t you worry you’ll knock some sense out of me one day?”

Ninetales flicked her tails behind her, expressionless. “Honestly, if you got knocked silly, it’d be easier. And I wasn’t the one who hit you just now—I was a bit slow.”

“I was the one who hit him,” Butterfree said sternly. “Eevee, is that kind of thing something you can just blurt out in public?” She then glanced around cautiously.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the weekend, and aside from the fairy girls at the orphanage playing among themselves, almost no one paid attention to the conversation in the corner.

Lalulas’ cheeks flushed a deep red, flustered and at a loss. “Huh? Did I say anything about marriage just now? No, no way, how could that be?”

Tang Yi found it both amusing and endearing. He stepped forward a couple of paces, intending to reach out and gently hold Lalulas’ hand as he usually did to comfort the distressed girl.

But Lalulas, evidently sensitive from her overactive imagination, stepped back like a frightened rabbit. “W-what do you want to do to me?”

“Nothing at all,” Tang Yi replied, bewildered.

“All right, those were just those silly men talking nonsense. Lalulas, don’t overthink it,” Butterfree said, glaring at Tang Yi and Fang Tianze.

Fang Tianze shrugged innocently. “That has nothing to do with me. I didn’t mean it that way.”

Butterfree snapped irritably, “Shut up. Nobody thinks you’re mute.”

Butterfree bent slightly and whispered softly in Lalulas’ ear for a while. The girl’s embarrassed and resentful expression gradually eased.

Straightening up again, Butterfree looked at Tang Yi warmly but firmly. “The basics of Pokémon knowledge should have been taught in high school textbooks. As a senior, you should know better than me. Some jokes are best left unspoken as they cause unnecessary trouble for both you and Lalulas. Understand?”

“Yeah, I get it,” Tang Yi said, feeling a bit frustrated. It wasn’t like he brought up the topic himself.

Everyone knew the basic regulations concerning Pokémon. The state legislated protections for Pokémon girls, forbidding abuse and enacting a global law present in every country.

That law forbids humans from marrying Pokémon girls or engaging in intimate relations with them. Violations are illegal, and both parties face legal penalties.

When this law was first introduced, it met with much dissatisfaction and skepticism, with many arguing it was unnecessary.

The Global Pokémon Protection Association explained that if free intermarriage were allowed, the malice present in human society would turn freedom into “forced freedom,” severely trampling on the dignity of Pokémon.

Therefore, to protect Pokémon girls, this legislation was unanimously passed worldwide.

This was the official explanation, but many online accused the Association of taking bribes and lying.

The so-called protection might be a pretense; the ban on intermarriage mainly stems from biological differences since humans and Pokémon girls are essentially two distinct species.

Unknown unions could lead to unpredictable outcomes, potentially beneficial or extremely dangerous.

In an era when human society is flourishing, humans are unwilling to accept unknown variables in the future, hence the strict reproductive isolation.

All this remains speculative and unsubstantiated online chatter.

Regardless, since the law is in place, everyone must abide by it.

Lalulas surely knew this, so hearing such topics—even jokingly—made her not just shy but anxious, fearful, and confused.

Fang Tianze realized his slip. He had only meant to tease Tang Yi, never imagining Lalulas’ imagination was far more vivid than her demure appearance suggested.

“Alright then, you said you wanted to eliminate Su Chengtao, but with your current abilities, it’s probably difficult. Do you really think you can gain an advantage among the province’s top trainers relying on that clumsy flying style?”

Tang Yi glanced at Fang Tianze skeptically, suspecting the older man was trying to change the subject, so he played along. “I know, there’s still a month and a half left. Lalulas and I will keep working hard during that time.”

“Work hard how?”

“Hmm, learn some new skills, then buy some supplements to boost our basics.” This was Tang Yi’s plan.

“That’s not enough. This limited time and those minor improvements won’t suffice. With your current skills, you and Lalulas will likely only last one or two rounds in the finals before dropping out.”

Fang Tianze analyzed seriously. “You might not care about early losses, but would you be okay losing to Su Chengtao, or worse, letting him reach the finals or even win first place?”

Tang Yi could not question the judgment of this former champion. He vaguely sensed his and Lalulas’ limits.

By the second round of the qualifiers, he already recognized this.

From easily defeating opponents in one round, to needing two rounds, and finally struggling through three rounds just to scrape a win, their opponents’ strength was clearly increasing.

Tang Yi half-joked, “So, are you going to teach me some secret to winning?”

“No secrets, but I can teach you another technique. Mastering it will greatly enhance both your and Lalulas’ strength. As you said, maybe you’ll actually have a chance to win it all.”

Butterfree’s eyes widened slightly, realizing what Fang Tianze was implying. Even to make up for his earlier slip, it surprised her.

Fang Tianze waved a hand, stopping Butterfree. “Honestly, this technique is a bit advanced for you now. It’s difficult to learn and could be somewhat dangerous. Whether you learn it or not is up to you.”

“What’s this technique called?”

“I call it the ‘Limit-Breaker Finish,’ also known as ‘Primal Liberation.’ It goes by many names, but there’s no definitive term.”

7017k