Chương 2: No Comparison, No Harm

After Lu Sha had figured out most of the system panel, a strong sense of weightlessness suddenly struck him, followed by a dizzying spin.

When the view refocused, what came into view was a slightly cramped single room.

The old wallpaper had a faint musty yellow tinge, and the narrow layout, combined with the dim light coming in from the window, gave off a cheap and vulgar vibe.

Everything around her was incompatible with Cattleya's status and temperament.

"Click... (This place is a bit too shabby...)" Lu Sha muttered something unconsciously, his gaze sweeping over the peeling paint on the corner of the wall.

"I think so too."

A clear, cold voice rang out.

Lu Sha suddenly turned his head and saw that Cattleya was sitting upright by the only window.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on her white dress, but it couldn't warm the chill that surrounded her.

Meanwhile, above the round table in front of her.

A silver coffee pot is suspended in mid-air, tilted slightly, with coffee flowing from its spout and slowly pouring into an exquisite porcelain cup.

The rising steam blurred her indifferent features.

Wow, superpowers are really useful!

Lu Sha felt envious for a second, then suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Click? (Do you understand what I'm saying?)" The rules of this world are strange. He is born with both Pokémon language and human language, but humans are born without any language talent. Perhaps this is the unique inherited memory of Pokémon.

"I can't understand you, but as long as you speak, your meaning will be transmitted into my brain."

Cattleya took a sip of her coffee, her movements like those of a socialite enjoying afternoon tea.

Unfortunately, it was just a dilapidated hotel room, which made her look more like a down-on-her-luck noblewoman.

Would you like a drink?

As she finished speaking, the silver coffee pot, along with another empty cup, seemed to be drawn by invisible threads and floated lightly to Lu Sha's front.

The pot is tilted, and the scalding hot coffee liquid fills the cup.

"Click! (Thank you!)" Lu Sha opened her mouth subconsciously.

Without his short forelimbs even needing to touch it, the porcelain cup automatically adjusted to the perfect angle, delivering the warm liquid into his mouth.

The scalding hot coffee slid down my throat, and the slightly burnt, bitter taste exploded on my taste buds.

If this temperature were applied to a human body in the past, the tongue would probably have been scalded and blistered long ago.

But for the gible, this heat is merely a comforting warmth that spreads down its esophagus to its limbs and bones.

Cattleya had a very good sense of proportion; she only gave him a small bite, enough to make him feel comfortable without making him uncomfortable, but still allowing him to taste the flavor.

"Click! (The coffee is great!)" Lu Sha recalled the features on the Gaderia panel and knew that the telepathy was at work.

Superpowers are great!

Living without using your hands, protecting yourself, being able to teleport, and even read minds—that's awesome!

However, it seems that Cattleya's current level is not yet capable of mind reading, otherwise she wouldn't need him to speak for her to understand.

He didn't doubt that Gadria would lie to him. After all, there was no reason for a normal person to lie to a Gible. It couldn't be just because she had mentioned Cynthia, could it?

"Didn't you just say that I look a bit like Cynthia?"

The sudden revisiting of the old story left Lu Sha speechless.

isn't it?

Mind reading? Coincidence?

"Even if you don't speak, my telepathy will detect your magnetic field and I can guess what you're thinking."

After Cattleya finished speaking, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

Oh open!

How can we play like this?

If you can read magnetic fields without speaking, then wouldn't it be possible to detect crickets in your mind?

"Cattleya is big..."

The next second, Lu Sha clearly saw that the pair of emerald green eyes narrowed slightly, faintly shimmering with blue light.

"Click! (Cough cough!)" Lu Sha took a small step back, and a few beads of sweat had already appeared on his dorsal fin.

Sure enough, the coffee was still too hot, and he was sweating.

"Click! Click! (I don't know anything about Cynthia, I just heard that guy Raiji mention that Cynthia also has blonde hair, her starter Pokémon is Gible, and she's been touted as a favorite to win this year's entrance exam.)" Lu Sha spoke without hesitation, his tone and expression more genuine than gold, while placing all the blame on the former trainer, as if he himself were just an innocent Gible.

These words are indeed the truth.

Although Lu Sha couldn't understand why an entrance exam had to be made into a league tournament with talk of championship favorites.

However, Rai did mention Cynthia, stating that she was his only rival.

Even the overconfident Raiji acknowledged Cynthia's strength, which is enough to prove the future Sinnoh champion's popularity.

"I see... But heh! Don't compare me to her."

Lu Sha could sense that Cattleya spoke with intense resentment.

Is it because they are constantly comparing their children to other people's children that they develop a rebellious mentality?

opportunity!

"Click! (That bag! From now on, when people compare her to you, they'll only say she looks like you. The bag makes her live in your shadow!)" Lu Sha patted his red belly hard, making crisp sounds, and painted a picture of a pie with ease.

In terms of fighting strength, a hundred of him wouldn't be enough for Gadria to handle.

But a spoiled young lady who lacks the harsh realities of society is much easier to fool than that self-righteous blockhead Lei Si.

Even Cattleya herself might not believe the saying, "Don't compare the two of them."

If she really didn't want to compete, would she have traded her starter Pokémon for Gible?

You can't exactly say that he's the chosen Pokémon, and that Caitlin spotted him at first glance, can you?

Their personalities don't match at all!

Even the Pokémon have to be exactly the same, yet they still stubbornly insist on not comparing them?

To put it bluntly, there's no question of whether or not we want to compete.

If you can beat them, you'll want to compete every single day.

If you can't compete, it's because you never even thought about competing.

"I really like what you said, 'Let her live in my shadow.'"

Cattleya murmured and repeated it, a pleasant smile curving her previously frozen lips.

These words struck a chord with her.

It's a pity that the little guy in front of me doesn't seem to have much confidence, otherwise it would be even better.

Cattleya slightly raised her eyes, her emerald green eyes fixed on Lu Sha, a hint of excitement like that of someone who has spotted prey.

"You are indeed very smart."

"Click! (Absolutely! From now on, I'll treat you to the best of everything, beat up Cynthia, kick the Champion League, and make you the ultimate trainer!)" Lu Sha pressed on, spouting nothing but CPU rhetoric.

He doesn't oppose PUA (Pick-Up Artist) tactics, he just hates being PUA'd; he's a hypocrite.

Lei Si still wants to manipulate him?

Want to eat peaches?

"Click click click!"

"..."

This first conversation between the trainer and the Pokémon lasted a full half hour and was quite enjoyable.

Through a brief exchange and by combining her memories from her past life, Lu Sha basically figured out Cattleya's current situation.

This is a real world. The plot and settings differ slightly from what I knew in my previous life, but overall they are not much different.

This year, Gadriya is 16 years old, the same age as Cynthia.

In this world, sixteen is the age when trainers receive their first Pokémon, and also a crossroads in their lives.

You either have to become an academic, going to an academy or dojo for further training, which is more expensive.

You either become a travel enthusiast, traveling everywhere to become stronger, but that path is more exhausting.

Cynthia is an academic type. As the vice-principal of Jubilo University and the granddaughter of the Sinnoh Elite Four, it's almost a certainty that she will be admitted to Jubilo Trainer Academy.

Even if it's just a nominal appointment, the process will still be completed.

In the Sinnoh region, even though Cynthia is a newcomer, thanks to her grandparents' long-standing fame, she became a household name and a star trainer right from the start.

The reason why Jia Deliya traveled a long way to Zhuqing City and even condescended to stay in such a cheap hotel is simply twofold: One reason was that she was exiled by her family.

Because of her extremely unstable superpowers, she has repeatedly gone out of control and rampaged through her home, injuring countless people.

For their own safety, the family used the excuse that she had turned 16 to kick her out of the house.

The Gothic baby was traumatized after witnessing her super-powered rampage.

If Lu Sha hadn't appeared, Gothic Baby and Gadria would probably have had a love-hate relationship for a long time before finally understanding and accepting each other.

Unfortunately, Lu Sha's appearance changed everything, and Gadriya chose to find their own way out.

Another reason for coming to Zhuqing City stemmed from Gadriya's competitive spirit.

Her family talked about Cynthia every day and compared her to her, making her live in Cynthia's shadow from a young age.

Even though they had never met, she already regarded the other party as her mortal enemy.

She came here to crush her opponent squarely in their area of expertise.

Lu Sha was not optimistic about this at all.

If I remember correctly, if the plot doesn't change, Cattleya will continue to live in Cynthia's shadow in the future.

"I'm going to beat her and prove myself!"

"Click! (No problem! Leave this to me. Let's work together and crush Cynthia!)" Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Sha caught a glimpse of a faint blue light emanating from Gardner's emerald eyes, and he quickly patted his chest in agreement.

Forget about Cynthia, even ten of them tied together couldn't beat Gadria!

but...

I still really want to be Cynthia's Gible!

Why was he so unlucky back then, that the Cynthia family didn't pick up his eggs? Why was he so unlucky that the Rai family got them?

We can't assume his genes are bad just because his mother was a Gyarados, can we?

"Great, let's work together!"

Perhaps it was Lu Sha's bold words that had a calming effect, as the blue light in Jia Deli's eyes gradually faded.

But deep down, she still felt a little uncomfortable.

On what grounds?

What exactly is it about her that makes her inferior to Cynthia?

Even Lu Sha, who had never met the other party, wanted to follow him.

However, Cattleya ultimately held back her emotions and did not vent them.

She stood up gracefully, her movements displaying the poise of a lady from a distinguished family.

She leaned slightly towards Lu Sha, her fair and slender hands clenched into fists, and extended them in front of Lu Sha, who had a shark-like appearance.

She will prove it!

Prove that you are better than Cynthia!

"Click! (With everyone's help, we're sure to win!)" Lu Sha understood immediately, her tone filled with passion and enthusiasm, as she extended her short claws and gently touched the jade-like fist.

This encounter can be considered as a temporary formation of a cooperative relationship.

But deep down, Lu Sha wasn't as confident as she appeared.

He's only three days old!

Not only do they have to take care of a bratty kid who could explode at any moment, but they also have to compete against future Sinnoh champions.

Isn't this script a bit too ahead of its time?

Does a quasi-god cub who hasn't even been weaned really deserve such grand ambitions?

Lu Sha was not optimistic about her future at all, but since things had come to this point, she could only take it one step at a time.

after all.

I can't win in a fight, and I can't run away, so I can only follow my heart.

Moreover, everything is afraid of comparison.

Thinking back to Lei Si, that brainless and arrogant ex-boyfriend, Lu Sha inexplicably felt...

The young lady in front of me seems quite nice.

They just have a bad temper and a high risk factor; they could be in mortal danger if they're not careful.

But she's beautiful and listens to advice!

Now that things have come to this, Lu Sha can only console herself.