Chapter 332: Sakura Nation's Scheme
The bickering over height went on for a bit, with the two of them goofing around on the bed.
In the end, Hikaru had to offer up the physical energy Pokéblock he had originally prepared as a peace offering to settle things.
Only then did Sakura let the matter drop, her attention shifting back to the topic of team formation.
"What about Senior Hayashi Mei? Onii-chan, do you know anyone else?"
Hikaru shook his head. "Who would I even know...?"
A guy who stayed cooped up at home all day—how would he even get the chance to meet people?
Speaking of friends, Hikaru did remember one person from the past.
That was Ash, whom he'd met during the Xiang Province High School League.
He wondered how Ash was doing now.
The Pokémon that boy had left quite an impression—his Pikachu had Champion-grade potential, and his Pidgeotto was Elite-level.
During the National High School League, Hikaru vaguely remembered him saying he would enter the Youth League?
Not just the Youth League—he was still a high schooler, wasn't he?
First enter the Youth League, then crush the High School League afterward?
That'd be interesting...
Sakura didn't seem bothered. "Then let's just go with the flow. Just three of us should be fine—after all, with Latias around, the prelims will be a piece of cake!"
The preliminaries were set on sea islands, which was practically a home game for Latias and Dragonite.
So Sakura wasn't the least bit worried that missing one teammate would affect their success.
"Alright."
Hikaru agreed it wasn't a big deal.
The girl's face immediately lit up with a brilliant smile. "Hehe... Then let's go out today, okay? You haven't taken me out in so long!"
"..."
Hikaru didn't dare respond.
Take a girl out? There could only be one answer:
Shopping, buying clothes, and grabbing food—the holy trinity.
Hikaru scratched his head. "Maybe we should ask Senior Hayashi Mei first?"
Even though they'd already chosen her as a teammate, they should still respect her opinion.
Sakura blinked. "Oh, right..."
So the two of them quickly messaged Hayashi Mei.
Her reply came quickly.
[Hayashi Mei]: Huh? You and little Sakura? Sure, actually, I've got a friend—mind if she joins us?
Hikaru and Sakura exchanged glances.
[Hikaru]: No problem at all, that works great—we needed one more anyway.
[Hayashi Mei]: Great. She's not from our school, so I'll send over her info later.
"All set! Let's go, onii-chan, take me out to play~"
Seeing that Hayashi Mei had agreed, Sakura exhaled in relief, then cheerfully grabbed Hikaru's arm. "It's snowing in Kyoto today—let's go see it!"
"What's so great about snow...?"
Having just returned from Mount Qinling not long ago, Hikaru had seen enough snow to last him a while.
Still, under Sakura's playful persuasion, Hikaru ended up accompanying her outside.
Truth be told, snow always reminded Hikaru of snowy mountains, which in turn made him think of Hayashi Mei.
The image had become a conditioned reflex in his mind—inescapable.
Out on the school track field,
Snowflakes as light as goose down danced in the wind. The ground was already blanketed with a thick white carpet.
Some Trainers with Ice-type Pokémon were out, letting their partners frolic and play in the snow.
Thanks to enhanced physiques, Trainers weren't bothered by the cold.
Hikaru considered letting Greninja out for some fun.
But just as the thought occurred, his wave-sense warned him—he instinctively tilted his head.
A cold gust of wind whooshed past his ear.
He turned his head and spotted Sakura already far away, a snowball in hand.
Her cheerful voice echoed through the air. "Onii-chan, let's have a snowball fight~!"
Hikaru chuckled. With a casual scoop, he formed a snowball the size of an apple in his hand.
Then—
Waveforce activated.
His grin turned sinister.
Half an hour later—
Hikaru stood unscathed, while Sakura was teary-eyed, her previously neat bun undone and her hair dusted with snow. Her flushed cheeks puffed out in protest.
At this point, she finally realized that Hikaru had been using waveforce the whole time.
He didn't just refuse to hold back—he cheated!
There was no way she could win a snowball fight against someone using waveforce.
"Ahhhhhhh!!!"
"Ahahaha...!"
Seeing Sakura storming toward him in anger, Hikaru took off running...
...
The snowfall lasted just one day.
In Huaguo's capital city, one day of snow was already plenty.
Soon after, several Elite-level Pokémon used Sunny Day, and the sky cleared once more.
Natural disasters didn't have much say in this world anymore.
As the Youth League loomed closer...
After securing his place in the Youth League, Yamamoto Nika from the Sakura Nation didn't stop challenging Gyms. He continued collecting Gym Badges and loudly declared that Huaguo's Gyms were "nothing special."
He even challenged a newly established national-level Grass-type Gym—because of league rules, the challenge had to be accepted.
The public outrage grew even stronger.
Netizens were furious, blasting him for his shamelessness.
Using Pokémon that weren't even his own to challenge Gyms and enter the Youth League?
Shameless!
But at the same time, people were genuinely worried—what if Yamamoto Nika actually won the championship?
Others tried to boost morale online by posting videos of their own powerful Pokémon.
> "That Yamamoto guy? He's nothing! My Blastoise will drown his Houndoom!"
> "Relax, Huaguo is full of talents. When the time comes, someone will stand up—there's no way we're letting those shorties win!"
> "Honestly, this guy is smart. By making himself so famous, no one dares to touch him now."
...
...
While public opinion roared online,
In the seaside city of Qingshui,
Inside a certain room—
Several short, shady-looking men around 160 cm tall were gathered together.
One of them was the infamous Yamamoto Nika, the center of the current firestorm online.
At this moment—
He stood bent at the waist, his posture deferential.
Apparently, the man in front of him was so short—only about 150 cm—that Yamamoto had to lean down to speak.
They stared at the screen showing the online buzz.
The smallest man showed a satisfied smile and praised, "Good job, Yamamoto-kun!"
The once-boastful Yamamoto Nika nodded eagerly. "Hai!"
The tiny man issued instructions:
"Now all of Huaguo's attention is laser-focused on you. Your job is to make as much noise as possible during the preliminaries—lure Huaguo's trainers into targeting you. Understand?"
"Hai!"
Yamamoto Nika nodded once again.
The tiny man grinned, clearly pleased.
"Yoshi! Once this is done... you can pick one of those three Pokémon and make it your own..."
To be continued...
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