"Don't panic," Xiu said calmly, though Xiaoyuan's grip on his arm remained tight, desperate. "I've already made plans and arrangements, everything will be fine."
Xiaoyuan didn't reply, just stared up at him, her eyes wide with fear and betrayal. The silence stretched, heavy with unspoken accusations.
The intensity of her gaze made Xiu slightly uncomfortable. He gently disengaged his arm from her grip and changed the subject again, adopting a didactic tone. "This reaction," he began, trying to sound like a patient teacher, "your panic… it stems from a lack of self-confidence. An instinct to rely on others for support. But you need to understand, Xiaoyuan, the only person anyone can truly rely on in this world is themselves."
He looked at her seriously. "What you need to do now is focus. Continue learning – everything I've taught you, everything in those books. Enhance your own abilities, your own knowledge. This world, this era, it's developing rapidly. Adapt or be left behind." He gestured towards the stacks of pirated texts and manuals in the office.
"Think about it. You now have access to a wealth of knowledge that most people, even those from well-off families, struggle to obtain. You have the resources, the infrastructure I built. Don't waste this opportunity. If you don't seize this chance, don't push yourself… you will be eliminated by the changing times, just like those who cling to the old ways."
"I…" Xiaoyuan started to protest, to argue, but the conviction in his voice, the harsh truth underlying his words, made her hesitate. She slowly lowered her hands, falling silent again, uncertainty warring with a dawning understanding.
"By the way," Xiu added, as if remembering something important, "I forgot to mention – don't blindly trust everything in those official books either. While reviewing the source materials, I found numerous errors, inconsistencies, sometimes even deliberate misinformation. I don't know if it's sloppy research by the authors, or," His voice turning cynical, "intentional errors designed to mislead readers, to keep certain crucial details hidden. Just… be critical. Question everything. Verify information where you can." He deliberately overloaded her with more information, more complexity, trying perhaps to distract her from the immediate issue of his departure.
— — —
"Ha!"
Xiaoyuan gasped, bolting upright in the cramped tent, heart pounding. She looked around frantically, disoriented. Gray canvas walls. The dusty attic office.
Memory of last night's conversation flooded back – Xiu's pronouncements, his departure, the weight of responsibility he'd dropped squarely onto her shoulders. Fear, cold and sharp, gripped her again, followed by a wave of indignant anger. 'He just… left?'
Carefully, quietly, she unzipped the tent flap. The attic was filled with the pale, hazy light of early morning. She looked immediately towards the dilapidated sofa where Xiu had slept.
It was empty. The sleeping bag was gone.
Her eyes widened. She scrambled out of the tent, looking around the office space desperately. No sign of him. All his personal belongings – his backpack, his notebooks, the few tools he used – vanished. He was really gone.
Panic rising again, she rushed downstairs, hoping against hope he might be in the workshop. The main hall was empty, silent save for the faint hum of the dormant machinery. He wasn't there.
Relief warred with a fresh wave of resentment. He hadn't just disappeared completely. Near the main entrance, on the small table they sometimes used for breaks, sat a single loaf of fresh bread and a folded piece of paper.
"Bastard!" Xiaoyuan hissed, her knuckles white as she snatched the note. She saw the familiar handwriting, felt a surge of fury, and almost crumpled it unread. Then, curiosity, and perhaps a desperate need for guidance, won out. She smoothed it open.
The first sentence made her speechless with indignation.
[Did you enjoy your breakfast? Make sure you eat properly.]
She tore off a piece of the bread and chewed it savagely, as if biting into Xiu himself. But she couldn't stop reading.
[Maybe our chat last night was a bit intense. You seemed to drift off towards the end, so I figured you might not remember everything clearly. There are some things I needed to emphasize, so I'm leaving you this note. Please read it carefully.]
"This guy!" Xiaoyuan fumed silently. 'I fell asleep? No, he definitely did something!' Drugged the water? Some kind of psychic suggestion from Abra? The suspicion felt chillingly plausible now. He had manipulated her, ensured she wouldn't argue further and wouldn't try to stop him.
[First, understand our position clearly. We are small fish swimming against the current, looking for gaps in the net. Our relationship with the Alliance, with the establishment, isn't necessarily hostile yet. Our current actions, providing affordable knowledge, could even be framed as beneficial, supporting their stated goals of education. In the long run, our goal should be integration, finding a legitimate place within their system and not opposing them.]
[To achieve this, sacrifices are sometimes necessary. You need to learn to detach emotion from business. Things like sentimentality, misplaced kindness… they can be weaknesses in this game. Be pragmatic. Be ruthless when necessary.]
"So you abandoned me! Because it was pragmatic?" Xiaoyuan muttered bitterly, crumpling the edge of the note in her fist.
[Most importantly: safety first. Before the official bookstores or the authorities inevitably react, you need to disappear behind the scenes. Transition fully to managing the operation remotely. Delegate the day-to-day running of the bookstore front (once established) and the printing logistics to the people you recruit. If things get too hot, don't hesitate to cut ties. Abandon the physical assets if necessary. You are the most important part of this operation. Your safety comes first.]
Reading that, her anger softened slightly. 'He… he still cares about my safety?' But the next line immediately reignited her frustration.
[Though, honestly, the thought of you accidentally burning down the entire foundation I've built in just a few days does give me considerable anxiety. Try not to do that.]
Xiaoyuan gritted her teeth, resisting the urge to tear the note to shreds. She forced herself to read on.
[Money isn't the ultimate goal. It's a tool. A means to an end. If you lose it all, it doesn't matter, as long as you survive and learn from the experience. But if you truly want to keep pace with me, to achieve the goals we discussed, you must keep learning. The books I left for you – study them. They're specifically chosen, foundational texts suitable for a beginner entering the world of Pokémon Breeding and Training seriously. Absorb everything. Remember, Xiaoyuan: I won't slow down or wait for you. Keep up, or get left behind.]
As she read those final lines, she could almost hear Xiu's voice, see his trademark serious expression, perhaps with that faint, infuriatingly confident smirk playing on his lips. "Tch! Arrogant jerk!" She complained under her breath, but couldn't help feeling a grudging respect for his relentless drive, his unwavering focus.
[P.S. Inside the envelope on top of the books, you'll find the keys to a small, pre-paid apartment I secured for you in a different district – safer than staying here. Details on the new bookstore location and initial setup plans are also included. Handle the transition carefully.]
[P.P.S. I know you've grown fond of the Pichu. Visiting the park constantly is risky and could draw attention. If you want a companion, a partner… why not start with Pichu? It clearly trusts you. It would be good practice for you anyway. You need to start engaging directly with Pokémon eventually. Consider it your first assignment.]
'How did he know?' Xiaoyuan wondered, startled by his insight into her quiet visits to the park to check on Pichu. She picked up the plain envelope resting on the large stack of books Xiu had left behind – a curated selection, she now realized. Inside, she found a set of keys and a small, folded piece of paper with an address and instructions. And something else… the small, tarnished brass bell on its faded red cord. Pichu's bell.
Beneath the envelope lay the books. Many were the pirated copies they had printed themselves, but tucked amongst them were several official Ōto Bookstore guides – likely the ones Xiu had acquired through his 'trade-in' scheme.
Confused why he'd leave these, she picked one up. Tucked inside the cover was another note, longer this time. She unfolded it. It wasn't instructions, but page after page of Xiu's dense, handwritten annotations – corrections to the printed text, questions, cross-references, complex theoretical conjectures, sharp critiques, denials of established 'facts'.
And on the very first page, written boldly above the title, was that familiar phrase from the Stationmaster's gift:
"Learning never stops."
Xiaoyuan gently closed the book, the earlier anger and frustration replaced by a complex mix of resentment, determination, and a strange, budding sense of loyalty. "This… this is what you left for me," She murmured. A challenge. A roadmap. A burden.
— — —
Xiu walked purposefully through the morning streets of Fuchsia City, a solitary figure amidst the bustling crowds. He blended in, just another face, his simple clothes and backpack unremarkable. He didn't know how Xiaoyuan would react to his abrupt departure, to the note, to the weight of responsibility he'd placed upon her. But it didn't matter right now. He had to leave.
For Abra, Happiny, and Scyther's growth, they needed resources and experiences beyond what the hidden factory could provide. For his own plans – the Breeder qualification, gaining real power and influence – he needed legitimacy, access to the Alliance. And for their collective safety, putting distance between himself and the Fuchsia City operation, becoming harder to trace, was paramount.
He couldn't remain a shadow forever. He needed to step into the light, but on his own terms. Clean identity, demonstrable skills, and a legitimate path forward. Hostility towards the Alliance wasn't his goal; survival, integration, perhaps eventual influence within the system – that was the pragmatic path.
He had made his preparations. His new identity was established. His initial capital secured. His 'partner' was in place to manage the necessary, if illicit, income stream.
'Now, the next step.'
Xiu slowed his pace, looking up. Before him stood a large, modern, imposing building, gleaming glass and steel. A prominent monument stood before the main entrance, engraved with familiar symbols. The sign above the doors read: "Pokémon League Certification Center – Kanto Region."