"Thank you all so much for joining us today. This concludes our auction, and beautifully so."
"All proceeds from items belonging to this auction house will be donated to charitable organizations dedicated to building and maintaining Frostvale City."
"Thank you for everything you've given this city. We'll see you in summer!"
As the auction wound down, the scenery around them thinned out. Purple threads flickered into view, and in the space of a blink they were standing outside the tent.
The plaza was noisy. Some people were still marveling at the spatial technology; others were praising the organizers' generosity.
None of which involved Akiyama and company, because Comfey had woken up again, and most of the eyes nearby were on them.
Smiling and nodding as he went, Akiyama took Gardevoir's hand and started toward the Pokémon Center.
Gengar flew on ahead, well out in front of them.
Kadabra floated along with the Mega Stone clenched tight in one hand.
"Wait—wait a second..."
A girl's voice came from behind them.
They turned to find a redhead catching up, out of breath.
Under their curious stares, her face went red and the words came out in pieces.
"Um—hi. Could I, um, maybe..."
"Get your contact info?"
Then something occurred to her and she panicked.
"I'm Hinano! I mean—I—"
She couldn't figure out how to finish it.
Akiyama was still working out what to say when Nikozo produced a business card and handed it over.
"Thank you!" She grabbed it with slightly too much force.
Nikozo waved it off, unbothered.
Then she turned those hopeful eyes on Akiyama.
He gave in and pulled a slip of paper with his number on it out of his bag.
That satisfied her. She actually pumped a small fist.
A second later she realized how that looked, bowed hastily, and fled.
"You think she wanted both?" Nikozo said, amused.
"You were probably the target. She just asked me too so it wouldn't get weird between us."
"That would make it weird?"
Akiyama considered it. "Girls' brains don't wire the same way ours do, I guess."
"Ah," Nikozo said. "Different priorities. That I understand."
Akiyama shrugged and let the subject drop, because he didn't have anything better.
Then they headed back to the Pokémon Center, and the night ended there.
Early the next morning, Nikozo knocked on Akiyama's door.
Akiyama had only just woken up.
Gengar was still sprawled across the bed, dead asleep.
He didn't bother waking him. Gengar kept hours like an unsupervised college student.
He opened the door to find Nikozo standing there with several breakfasts in hand.
"Got back from my run. Figured I'd bring you guys something." Nikozo came in and gave the bags a shake.
He'd traded yesterday's formalwear for shorts and a T-shirt.
That suit had nearly cooked him alive. Frostvale weather ran to high summer year-round.
"You really didn't have to." Akiyama was grateful anyway.
"We're friends." Nikozo said it like it explained everything.
Akiyama nodded, because it did.
He and Gardevoir were two bites in when Nikozo's phone rang. The voice on the other end sounded like a girl's.
When he hung up and caught Akiyama's raised eyebrow, he said, "That was Hinano. From last night. She texted me for hours after we got back."
"So I was right." Akiyama nodded slowly. "She asked me for mine to spare my feelings."
"She didn't reach out to you?"
"She sent me one message wishing me a nice day, every day." Akiyama held up his phone as evidence. "Guess you're just the one with charisma."
There was a faint sourness in his tone.
Nikozo laughed, recognizing the joke for what it was. "Come on. With a Gardevoir that gorgeous next to you, what girl's going to work up the nerve?"
"Now that I like hearing!" Akiyama laughed out loud.
Gardevoir squirmed a little and slowed way down on her food.
Once they'd eaten, they headed out.
They had a full day.
Get Kadabra's accessory made. Buy Energy Cubes—the ones he'd needed hadn't been available in Greenlight City.
And if there was time, challenge Frostvale's Ice Gym.
When Akiyama found out Nikozo had already booked a craftsman for him, the look he turned on the guy was deeply suspicious.
"What is that face?"
"I'm starting to think you have designs on me."
"Get lost."
For the first time, Nikozo dropped the well-bred-heir act entirely and swore at him.
Akiyama laughed and picked up his pace.
Then they reached the shop, and Akiyama saw the sign—Nick Metalworks—and it clicked.
"Now you get it," Nikozo said, pushing the door open. "You cost me thirty million last night. I've gotta claw some of it back."
"At this rate you'd better start a whole campaign. Clawing it back won't cut it," Akiyama said, following him in.
"A whole what?"
"Nothing. Slip of the tongue."
Inside, the place was all metal and machinery. The old craft of hammering iron had been retired here.
There wasn't a hammer in sight.
There were, however, a few Pokémon with serious muscle behind them.
A Machamp, for instance.
Though whether it was male or female, Akiyama couldn't say.
Nikozo led him over to an old craftsman. "Morning. I called ahead last night."
"You never need an appointment." The old man recognized him instantly and smiled.
He produced a tablet and offered it over. "Designing it yourself?"
Nikozo passed the tablet to Akiyama.
Akiyama let Kadabra out to see what he had in mind.
Kadabra thought for a moment, then used Confusion to sketch a ring on the screen.
The openwork of the band was a stylized rendering of Akiyama's name, wrapping the Mega Stone almost completely, leaving only a sliver exposed.
"That's a good design." The old man took the tablet back and started up his machines.
Kadabra handed over the Mega Stone next.
Reluctantly.
The old man took it, and without thinking, pinched it between his fingers and held it up to the ceiling lights.
Color spilled out of it.
"A Mega Stone. Now that's a rare thing."
Half an hour later, a gold ring came out fresh off the line, and once the Mega Stone was set into it, they were done.
Because the design was open on one side, it would still fit perfectly even after Kadabra became an Alakazam.
"It's perfect." Watching how much Kadabra liked it, Akiyama meant it.
"His design was the good part. Boy's got the makings of a craftsman." The old man didn't take credit—he handed it right back to Kadabra.
Then Akiyama went to pay.
The old man didn't wave him off, either. He charged exactly what it cost.
It wasn't the young master's money, after all. Nothing awkward about taking it.
"Told you you'd need a whole campaign," Akiyama said, looking at the bill.
Nikozo: ?
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