Elf: Rewriting the script, starting with Black Stocking Hanako

Hearing Xiaomao comparing things with Jiang Chuan again, Xiaoxia's temper flared up instantly.

She took a big step forward from behind Jiang Chuan, put her hands on her hips, raised her chin, and exuded a powerful aura.

"You call this accurate?"

Xiaoxia's voice was crisp and loud, and could be heard clearly throughout the entire street.

"Only eight out of ten hits? The targets are stationary and don't move, how could you possibly miss two?"

She pointed to the two still-swaying balloons on the wall, her expression as if she had seen the biggest joke in the world.

"Let me tell you, my Jiang Chuan is the real sharpshooter!"

Xiaoxia speaks very quickly and clearly, with a boldness unique to girls from Hualan City.

"His shooting was accurate, fast, powerful, and fierce!"

When she said those four adjectives, she enunciated each word clearly, as if she were stating a fact that had been repeatedly verified and was beyond doubt.

"Much better than you."

Xiaoxia sneered at Xiaomao's air rifle.

"What's so impressive about shooting down a fake balloon with a crappy little gun?"

"If Jiang Chuan were to shoot, he could shoot through a hundred of them!"

Xiao Mao was so bombarded by Xiao Xia's barrage of questions that he took a half step back.

His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, his face turning bright red.

Because Xiaoxia is a girl, if he were to stand in the street arguing with her in a loud and forceful manner, he would already be at a disadvantage from the very first word. Winning wouldn't be honorable, and losing would be even more humiliating.

And even if he did speak up, he might not be able to win the argument with Xiaoxia.

Xiaoxia grew up under the constant nagging and teasing of her three older sisters.

To paraphrase what she had boasted about to Jiang Chuan, she was the "Number One Argument Queen of Hualan City".

Although this title was most likely self-proclaimed by Xiaoxia, Jiang Chuan, seeing her fierce demeanor as she confronted Xiaomao, felt that this self-proclaimed title might actually have some merit.

He had met Xiaoxia's three sisters before—Cherry Blossom, Iris, and Peony—each one more sarcastic and sarcastic than the last. As the youngest sister, Xiaoxia had been immersed in this linguistic environment for so long; how could her arguing skills be weak?

Xiaoxia rebuked Xiaomao for quite a while with great momentum.

Xiao Mao's face changed from red to purple, and then from purple to dark brown.

His lips trembled, and finally he simply turned his head away, no longer wanting to argue with Xiaoxia.

He turned his gaze back to Jiang Chuan, cleared his throat, and tried to restore his voice to its previous calm and unhurried tone.

"This...this...all that shooting stuff, it's just street tricks!"

He waved his hand, as if to erase the topic of shooting balloons from the air.

"We're not comparing ourselves to that."

He took a deep breath and straightened his back again.

"As trainers, what we're really competing for is the ranking we get at the Indigo League."

When the Quartz Conference was mentioned, Shigeru's confidence returned.

"But the Quartz Conference hasn't even started yet."

He abruptly changed the subject, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a dark blue badge box.

Xiao Mao pushed open the box lid with his thumb, revealing ten badges neatly arranged inside.

Ten badges are arranged in two rows on the velvet lining, each polished to a shine and gleaming with a different color.

"Now we'll be comparing the number of badges."

Xiao Mao stretched the badge box forward, almost right under Jiang Chuan's nose.

"Jiang Chuan, did you see that? Did you see that?"

His voice regained its previous smugness, and he had completely forgotten the embarrassment of being rendered speechless by Xiaoxia's retort.

"I've already got ten badges."

He tapped the lid of the badge box with his other hand, making a crisp sound.

"I have already secured the right to participate in the Quartz Convention."

He took the badge box back, closed it again, and carefully placed it back in his pocket. Then he looked up at Jiang Chuan, a smirk playing on his lips, giving him a "how about it?" look.

"And you?"

He spoke those two words very slowly, as if he was savoring the moment.

"Hmph, did they even get five?"

When he said that, his chin was practically pointing to the sky.

Xiaoxia stood to the side, her fists clenched as she listened to Xiaomao's words.

Her lips moved, as if she was about to continue her barrage of insults—she had at least twenty more useless lines of retort material in her head, enough to make Xiao Mao shut up on the spot.

But just as she was about to take a step, her wrist was suddenly grasped by a warm hand.

Xiaoxia turned her head and saw Jiang Chuan take a step forward, his profile right in front of her.

He didn't look at Xiao Mao, but turned his gaze slightly to her, his eyes conveying a sense of "leave the rest to me."

Jiang Chuan gently pressed his fingers on the inside of her wrist, as if sending a silent signal.

Xiaoxia was stunned for a moment.

Then she looked in Xiao Mao's direction, snorted, and obediently retreated behind Jiang Chuan.

She stood next to Hanako, arms crossed, lips pouting, with an expression that said, "You're lucky, this time Egawa will take care of you."

Hanako reached out and gently patted Kasumi's back, as if she were soothing her.

……

However, after Jiang Chuan stepped forward, he did not confront Xiao Mao head-on as Xiao Xia had expected.

He didn't refute Xiao Mao's claims, nor did he take out his own badge box to compare the number with Xiao Mao's.

Instead, he revealed a smile that was genuinely sincere, which was completely unexpected.

"Xiao Mao."

Jiang Chuan's voice was calm and sincere, and every word seemed to come from the bottom of his heart.

"That's really good, I actually got ten badges."

As he spoke, he nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the badge box in Xiao Mao's hand, as if admiring some remarkable masterpiece.

"I really admire you, I really admire you."

Jiang Chuan bowed slightly as he spoke, adopting a very humble posture.

This reaction completely surprised everyone present.

Hanako, standing behind with a parasol in her hand, blinked, somewhat bewildered, upon hearing this. She and Jiang Chuan had been traveling together all this time, and she had never seen Jiang Chuan speak to anyone in such a tone. Especially not to someone like Xiao Shige, whose tone was clearly provocative and boastful.

She glanced at Xiaoxia.

Xiaoxia's expression was even more exaggerated than hers.

Xiaoxia's mouth was agape, wide enough to fit a Poké Ball. She stared at Jiang Chuan's retreating figure, her mind racing. Had Jiang Chuan taken the wrong medicine today? Or did I damage his head by sitting on him? I remember I held back!

She was fully prepared to see Jiang Chuan fiercely criticize Xiao Mao, and she even had several sets of retorts prepared in her mind for Jiang Chuan. But when Jiang Chuan opened his mouth, he actually offered a compliment?

This shocked Xiaoxia even more than when Primalnamo evolved into Forsaken.

Xiao Mao was also stunned.

He was still clutching the badge box in his hand, frozen in place as if he were showing it to Jiang Chuan. His eyebrows were furrowed, his lips twitched, and countless question marks filled his mind.

Is Jiang Chuan praising me?

He doesn't compare himself to me?

He didn't yell at me, did he?

Something's not right.

In Xiao Mao's mind, Jiang Chuan was never one to back down.

Although he said Jiang Chuan was the second best in Zhenxin Town, Xiao Mao knew very well what Jiang Chuan was really capable of. How could someone whose grandfather talked about him on the phone every few days be a pushover?

Xiao Mao felt a surge of awkwardness welling up inside him.

He subconsciously took half a step back, a hint of wariness in his eyes.

Just then, Jiang Chuan spoke again.

His tone shifted from sincere flattery to a melancholic sigh.

"Ugh."

He sighed and shook his head.

"Look how hard I've worked to get seven badges, I'm still one badge short of qualifying for the Quartz Conference."

Jiang Chuan raised his hand, counted on his fingers, then lowered his hand, a troubled expression on his face.

"I plan to use my last one to challenge the Viridian Gym in Viridian City."

He paused for a moment, his gaze passing over Shigeru and looking towards the direction of the Viridian Dojo in the distance, his brows furrowing slightly.

"What a pity, I'm really troubled."

He withdrew his gaze and looked back at Xiao Mao, his eyes carrying the air of someone looking at a strong person.

"This Viridian Gym is too strong. I've thought of many ways to defeat it, but I haven't been able to come up with a solution."

Jiang Chuan sighed again as he spoke, this time even more heavily than before.

"I estimate it will take a very, very long time in Viridian City to find a way to defeat the Viridian Gym."

He shrugged, looking helpless.

"So, I'm also struggling with this. What kind of expert can possibly beat the Viridian Gym?"

Upon hearing this, Hanako pursed her lips slightly.

Although she didn't know what Jiang Chuan was up to, based on her understanding of him, he never showed weakness without reason. His words must have a purpose.

Xiaoxia was so anxious that she almost jumped up.

What does it mean to "earn seven badges through hard work"?

What does it mean to "not think of a way to defeat it"?

Jiang Chuan, what dojo did you encounter along the way that you just crushed?

Blaine from Cinnabar Island was so fierce, yet he still managed to defeat it despite its type being different!

Could this Tokiwa Gym possibly have the three legendary birds? Is it worth Egawa being so cautious about?

Just as she was about to speak, Jiang Chuan slightly turned his head and gave her a look, the meaning of which was very clear—don't speak, leave it to me.

Xiaoxia bit her lip and swallowed her words, her hands clasped together in front of her, her fingers twisting and turning incessantly.

Xiao Mao's reaction was completely different from that of the two girls.

Jiang Chuan's words sounded like the most beautiful music to him.

Especially the line, "What kind of expert is it to be able to pass the Viridian Dojo?"

This sentence was practically a stepping stone tailor-made for Xiao Mao.

Although Xiao Mao has collected more badges than Jiang Chuan for the time being, with ten, he knows very well that he doesn't feel the same sense of accomplishment as Jiang Chuan.

Every time his grandfather, Dr. Oak, spoke to him on the phone, he would always mention Jiangchuan.

"Shigeru, Jiangchuan recently caught another shiny Pokémon."

"Xiao Mao, Jiang Chuan is a hero in Lampurch City again."

"Xiao Mao, look at Jiang Chuan, he's achieved academic success too!"

These words were like a needle pricking Xiao Mao's heart each time, the pricking getting deeper and deeper.

He wanted to show off the ten badges to his grandfather, but his grandfather just mumbled a few words in response and then started talking about Jiang Chuan.

This anger had been building up inside Xiao Mao for a long time.

Now, Jiang Chuan himself actually admitted the difficulties and troubles in front of him.

The satisfaction derived from this contrast is even greater than getting the tenth badge.

Xiao Mao's eyes lit up.

Without hesitation, he sat in the empty seat that Jiang Chuan had prepared for him.

"Oh, I thought you were really good at training now."

Xiao Mao's voice carried a sense of triumph. He put the badge box back into his arms, crossed his arms, and raised his chin slightly.

"Grandpa always brags to me about how you caught some rare Pokémon and how you helped so-and-so."

When Xiao Mao said this, there was a hint of sour jealousy in his tone, but he quickly suppressed it.

"So it's nothing special after all."

He waved his hand, a smug expression on his face.

"Can't even beat the small Viridian Dojo?"

He spoke the word "small" in a particularly understated way, as if the Tokiwa Dojo were just an ant hole that could be kicked open with a single kick on the roadside.

Xiao Mao took a step forward, reached out and patted Jiang Chuan's shoulder, the force neither too light nor too heavy, carrying a condescending concern.

"Alright, I don't want Pallet Town to come in second place and end up not even making it to the Indigo League."

"If you don't even qualify, it would be so boring for me to have one less audience member to watch me win the Quartz Conference."

Xiao Mao withdrew his hand, straightened his collar, and then continued in a tone that implied "you don't need to thank me too much."

"On my way back, I've continued to spar with these gym leaders to improve my skills."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the direction of the Tokiwa Dojo, a confident smile spreading across his face.

"Let me set an example for you first, easily and simply defeating the Viridian Gym and getting this green badge."

"You'll have to praise me three times then."

He held up three fingers and waved them in front of Jiang Chuan.

"Since I'm in a good mood, I'll just give you a little tip on how to conquer the Viridian Dojo."

After he said that, he exuded an aura of "come and thank me."

Jiang Chuan almost burst out laughing when he heard Xiao Mao's words.

But not a single flaw was revealed on his face.

Instead, he showed a surprised expression, raising his eyebrows, widening his eyes slightly, and opening and closing his mouth as if he had heard something unbelievable.

"Yeah?"

Jiang Chuan's voice carried just the right amount of doubt.

"Shigeru, you actually have the ability to defeat the Viridian Gym?"

He took half a step forward, looked Xiao Mao up and down, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"My God, Shigeru, just how powerful have you become?"

Jiang Chuan's tone was extremely precise—it sounded like both praise and questioning, but overall it sounded like the weak looking up to the strong.

"I think it's impossible, it's still impossible."

He shook his head, his tone so certain that it seemed he already knew the outcome.

"You can't possibly beat the Viridian Dojo so easily."

This questioning became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

This was also the last spark that was lit for Xiao Mao.