Chapter 121. Muzi’s Father, Twin Dragon Academy

“Muzi, where’s the garlic?”
“I don’t know, you find it yourself.”

Cheng Cheng rummaged through the cupboard and eventually found the garlic inside.

By the time Cheng Cheng arrived at Muzi’s house, it was nearly noon, so he decided to use her kitchen to prepare lunch. As soon as Muzi got home, she said she wanted to take a shower, leaving Cheng Cheng to cook alone. Since it was his first time at her place, he wasn’t familiar with where things were kept and had to spend considerable effort gathering all the ingredients.

After about half an hour, Cheng Cheng had prepared a full table of food. Just then, Muzi finished showering and came downstairs.

“Wow, it smells amazing! Cheng Cheng, hurry up and eat!”

“Isn’t your dad coming for lunch? I made enough for three.”

“I don’t know. Sometimes he eats at school; I’m not sure if he’ll be back. But if he’s coming, he should be here by now.”

“Click, creak.”

As soon as Muzi finished speaking, they heard the door open.

“I’m home.”

At the doorway, Saito noticed two pairs of shoes and guessed that Muzi had come back. But he hadn’t expected a third pair and wondered whose it might be.

“Dad, you’re back!”

Muzi ran over and gave her father a hug.

“Mr. Saito, hello.”

Cheng Cheng greeted Mr. Saito politely.

Saito glanced at Cheng Cheng.

“You must be Cheng Cheng. Muzi has mentioned you before. Welcome to our home.”

“I’m Cheng Cheng. Pleased to meet you.”

“All right, Dad, let’s go inside. Cheng Cheng prepared lunch for us.”

“Okay. But really, when guests come, the host should be the one cooking, not letting others do it.”

“Dad, you know my cooking isn’t great. I can’t really serve up something decent. Plus, it’s Cheng Cheng’s first time here; he wanted you to try his cooking. Right, Cheng Cheng?”

“Yes, Mr. Saito.”

Seeing Muzi ask him, Cheng Cheng had no choice but to agree.

“You know your cooking isn’t good enough yet. You should practice more; otherwise, how will you ever get married?”

“At worst, I won’t get married, or maybe I’ll marry someone who can cook.”

“There’s no reason for the husband to cook. As a wife, you should take care of the cooking and the family.”

“Got it, Dad. Now, let’s hurry up and eat before the food gets cold.”

Saito washed his hands and sat down.

“All right, everyone, let’s eat.”

“I’m digging in!”

Everyone began their meal together.

Saito tasted the food Cheng Cheng prepared.

“Hmm, not bad. Definitely better than what Muzi makes.”

“See? I told you Cheng Cheng’s cooking is better than mine.”

“How dare you say that! You should say you’ll work hard to surpass Cheng Cheng.”

“Okay, okay.”

Muzi buried her head in her food, saying nothing further. Cheng Cheng had never seen this side of her before and found it quite interesting.

“Cheng Cheng, I heard from Muzi that you two met at the Pokémon Breeder School.”

“Yes, Mr. Saito.”

“No need to be so formal. Just call me Uncle Saito.”

“All right, Uncle Saito. Yes, Muzi and I met at the Breeder School.”

“Well, you two have known each other for about a year, haven’t you?”

“Counting the time, it’s roughly a year.”

“Have you thought about marriage?”

*Pfft!*

Both Muzi and Cheng Cheng nearly spat out their food.

“Dad, what are you saying?”

“Don’t you get it? Who was the one constantly yelling ‘Cheng Cheng is a big jerk’ and ‘Cheng Cheng is such a liar’ before?”

“That’s not true! Don’t say such things.”

“Cheng Cheng, don’t listen to Dad’s nonsense.”

Cheng Cheng gave an awkward smile. Unsure of what to say, he just kept eating silently.

Saito looked at the two of them and said nothing more, only smiling. His laughter was infectious, prompting Cheng Cheng and Muzi to finish their meal quickly and dash out of the house.

“Hey, one of you stay behind to wash the dishes!”

“Cheng Cheng, don’t listen to Dad. I never said those things.”

“What things?”

“You’re better off not knowing.”

Muzi stormed ahead, and Cheng Cheng followed her, helpless.

Cheng Cheng asked himself, “Have I ever liked Muzi?”

His answer was clear: “Yes, I like her.”

Muzi was exactly the kind of girl Cheng Cheng was drawn to—beautiful, witty, kind, lively, innocent, and a little bit stubborn. There was no denying she was his type.

During their recent travels, spending every day together except for when Ash was around—a bit dense to notice feelings—some emotions had naturally developed.

Soon, they arrived at the Twin Dragons Gym. The gym was housed inside a fortress made of stone, with massive dragon-shaped statues carved at both ends, making for a magnificent sight.

“Hello, is Mr. Sharka here? We’re here to challenge the gym.”

The gym doors opened promptly, and a man stepped out.

“Hello. You’re here to challenge the gym, right? But Mr. Sharka is currently at school and can’t battle you now. You can make an appointment and come back in the evening.”

“Okay, please help us schedule an appointment for the two of us.”

“No problem.”

Cheng Cheng and Muzi handed over their Pokédexes and arranged their gym battle appointment.

“Honestly, I should have remembered Mr. Sharka would be at school.”

“What kind of school?”

“It’s the Twin Dragons Academy, founded by Mr. Sharka himself. Here, students learn about Dragon-type Pokémon and battle techniques.”

“Sounds great.”

Cheng Cheng knew that most trainers spent some time training at school before becoming official trainers. There, they learned about Pokémon and battle strategies, helping them adapt quickly to life in the wild with Pokémon. However, this approach was somewhat limited.

“Why don’t we visit Twin Dragons Academy? I’m curious about it.”

“All right, but the students there haven’t officially become trainers yet; they’re quite young. You might not find it interesting.”

“Maybe not. Let’s go see for ourselves.”

Shortly, Cheng Cheng followed Muzi to Twin Dragons Academy. It was close to the gym, so they arrived quickly.

Inside the academy, many children in uniforms could be seen, along with numerous Dragon-type Pokémon. The academy wasn’t limited to Dragon-types; there were other Pokémon types too, especially pseudo-Dragon types.

At that moment, Muzi spotted a familiar face.

“Ms. Martha!”

“Ah, Muzi! It’s been a long time.”

“Indeed, Ms. Martha. How have you been?”

“I’m doing well. By the way, this is my companion Cheng Cheng.”

“Hello, Ms. Martha.”

“Hello, Cheng Cheng. What a handsome young man.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Ms. Martha.”

Muzi shot Cheng Cheng a sharp look.

“Ms. Martha, I didn’t expect you to still remember me.”

“Of course I do, Muzi. Besides Alisa, you’re the naughtiest one.”

“That’s not true, Ms. Martha.”

“All right, all right. You’re not.”

“By the way, what brings you here?”

“We’re here to challenge Mr. Sharka at the gym. Cheng Cheng also wants to see the academy.”

“I see. Well, go ahead. You’re quite familiar with this place anyway.”

“Okay, Ms. Martha. Let’s go, Cheng Cheng.”

“Goodbye, Ms. Martha.”

“Muzi, from what Ms. Martha said, you must have studied here before.”

“Of course. I studied here for a while, but I found life too dull, so I dropped out. Most students follow the curriculum and have lots of tests and exams. I really hated that kind of life.”

“You’re right. While fixed teaching helps everyone learn about Pokémon quickly, it takes away some of the joy of raising them. Training Pokémon is full of surprises—turning the unknown into excitement and turning effort into experience. That’s how we become better trainers.”

“Yes. That was my thought too, so I dropped out. My dad didn’t agree at first, so I ran off to Dragon Village for a while until he finally relented.”

“You ran away from home? That’s quite rebellious.”

“Hey, who are you calling rebellious? Believe it or not, I’ll hit you.”

“All right, all right, I’m joking. Let’s continue exploring the school.”

Muzi led Cheng Cheng through the academy, where he saw many students. It was study time, and they were diligently learning in their classrooms. Cheng Cheng recalled his own schooling days but also knew such learning could be tedious and not very transformative.

“Let’s go this way, Cheng Cheng.”

They left the classroom and walked down the corridor, soon encountering two people.

“Dad! Mr. Sharka!”

They were none other than Muzi’s father and Sharka himself—unexpected to meet them here.

“Uncle Saito, Mr. Sharka, hello.”

“Saito just told me about you two. Didn’t expect to meet so soon.”

“Mr. Sharka, we agreed that I need to earn my last badge from your Twin Dragons Gym.”

“Of course, no problem. I’ll finish up my business here, and we’ll meet at the gym later.”

“All right, thank you.”

“Saito, let’s go. Let the kids explore a bit. Once I’m done here, they can challenge the gym. I’m eager to see how much Muzi has improved.”

“Absolutely.”

With that, the two men left.

“Let’s go, Cheng Cheng.”

Muzi and Cheng Cheng continued exploring the academy. But Muzi seemed different—there was a hint of pressure in her demeanor. Sharka must be very strong. Cheng Cheng was also eagerly anticipating their upcoming battle.

Two hours later, Cheng Cheng and Muzi returned to the Twin Dragons Gym.