"Tha--"
Luther hadn't even finished saying "thank you" when his phone buzzed rapidly in his arms with several message notifications. He opened his phone and pulled up the message list. Mai, curious as ever, leaned over to look as well.
There were several messages, all sent exactly at midnight. The first one was from Diantha.
"I marked your birthday in advance. Happy birthday! If there's anything you want as a gift, let Cynthia know, I'll pay for it. Offer valid for today only."
"By the way, your Mismagius has been excited all day and made you a painting."
'A painting? Mismagius can paint?'
That was definitely news to Luther.
A picture came through. It showed a white piece of paper splashed with blobs of strange colors, scattered randomly across the page. With Diantha's explanation, Luther learned that the large blob of black in the center was meant to be him, and the surrounding colorful blobs were his Pokémon.
Luther thought Marill was portrayed quite vividly, two round blue spheres, one large and one small. He even glanced sideways at Marill to compare her body and tail to the drawing.
Jumpluff was also easily recognizable, a blue puff with little white balls floating around it.
Even Mismagius herself was just a purple blob in the picture.
Luther had just sent back a thank-you when Diantha replied instantly.
"I thought you'd be asleep. Looks like you stayed up just to wait for birthday messages, huh?"
Luther sheepishly responded: "Mai made me."
"I get it, I get it. Minami and I aren't home right now, so I can't show you Mismagius in person."
'It was already past midnight… and she was still busy with Pokémon League stuff?'
Still puzzled, Luther sent another message.
"I'm at an entertainment industry party. Still going. Some events don't allow Pokémon inside, so that's that. I'll send you a photo of Mismagius sleeping when I get home."
Luther switched apps and saw another name pop up in the notifications, which caught him off guard.
"Happy birthday! Let me guess, you stayed up just to see who'd remember and now you're grinning at the screen?"
It was a message from Lance.
Okay, fine. Luther admitted it, seeing someone remember his birthday and message him right at midnight made him feel genuinely moved. Yeah, he was grinning a bit.
He replied, and Lance answered quickly.
"Still awake, huh."
"So are you."
"Special circumstances."
Lance sent a Slowpoke emoji.
'How special could it be? What, was he at a party too?'
Just as Luther was about to respond with a sarcastic comment, Lance sent a photo. The background showed a seaside location. Several lighthouses could be seen, their lights casting beams into the distance.
Several Pokémon were gathered around a round table, using Flash moves to light up the area, happily munching on extra helpings of food.
On the other side, Dragonite and Onix were locked in an intense staring contest, while Machamp showed off his 'Bulk Up' pose to an unimpressed Lapras.
At the center of the round table was a grill, with flames burning bright, though Luther couldn't tell what was being cooked.
Surrounding the grill were various beautifully plated dishes, most of which Luther didn't even recognize by name.
From the angle, it was clear Lance was holding food in one hand and his phone in the other.
Seated around the table were three people:
A muscular man, shirtless despite the cold, happily shoveling food into his mouth.
An elderly woman with a slight stoop, accompanied by a huge Gengar holding her cane.
And a cheerful woman helping Cloyster and Jynx pick dishes.
Okay, now that was a special occasion, the Kanto Elite Four gathering!
Because the Kanto Pokémon League had yet to produce a strong new Champion candidate, Lance had been stuck in the Champion seat for years. The odd part was that he also served as the Champion of Johto, which technically fell under the same Indigo League umbrella. This had sparked media debates over whether Lance should be considered part of the Elite Four or a Champion.
According to some reports, by the end of this year, Lance's Champion status would finally be formalized, leaving only the need to select a new Elite Four member.
After all, Kanto still only had three active Elite Four members.
And despite the title of "Elite Four," they somehow only had three.
Luther had also heard from Cynthia in a private conversation that since Kanto and Johto were both managed under the Indigo League, there was no need to maintain two separate sets of Champion and Elite Four positions.
Lorelei and Agatha were expected to transition into other official Pokémon League responsibilities and would no longer serve as Elite Four members.
There were voices of opposition, and there were those in support. The historical problems left behind in the region back then had now caused the two factions to argue endlessly. Until some resolution was reached, this situation of shared duties across both regions would continue.
"With the year's end approaching, I've been running back and forth between Johto and Kanto. No idea if I'll be free when the new year hits, so we figured we'd have our gathering now."
"Can't chat anymore, Bruno eats way too fast. While I was replying, he already cleaned off another plate. And Lorelei keeps feeding my favorite dishes to her Pokémon."
"Anyway, happy birthday. Good night."
Luther found it all pretty fascinating. Some people had previously claimed that Lorelei and Agatha had fallen out with Bruno and Lance, supposedly due to losing their status as Elite Four members.
But judging by this, that couldn't be further from the truth. Rumors really were cheap to make, it was as if the people spreading them lived in Lorelei or Agatha's homes and saw it all firsthand.
The next message was from Professor Rowan.
"Happy birthday. By the way, the Pokémon you rescued from those experiments are recovering well. Aside from Arcanine and Nidorina, who still need a bit more observation, the others are doing fine."
"Flaaffy and Musharna have been getting along better and better. They're practically stuck together now. I've started letting Musharna help out with daily research tasks. Also, just a heads-up: the Lairon you brought back has become our next research subject. After the new year, we'll be documenting its full evolution process into Aggron."
Professor Rowan attached a group photo of the Pokémon Luther had originally brought to the research lab.
It was a chaotic but funny scene. At the moment the shutter clicked, something had clearly gone wrong, Arcanine was roaring at Lairon, who had just stepped on Poliwhirl's foot, causing Poliwhirl to randomly fire a Water Gun that hit Nidorina. Nidorina was trembling and curling up, while the researchers and Pokémon nearby were all rushing in, laughing, to break them up.
It looked like this was just part of their everyday life now.
After surviving that nightmare facility run by the rogue faction, these Pokémon had finally found warmth in Professor Rowan's lab.
The revised ID registry that Professor Rowan helped file had officially been approved. Back when Shiran was alive, she had registered Luther's residence in Twinleaf Town, but after her death and the change in ownership at the local Pokémon Center, Luther no longer had any real attachment to Twinleaf.
Sandgem Town now felt more like home. His first battle in this world, receiving his Pokédex, and Professor Rowan generously helping care for the Pokémon he had caught, all those things happened here.
Lucian was still investigating the rogue faction. After the bombing incident in Hearthome City, the trail had gone cold, but Lucian never stopped. He'd been running around nonstop these days.
He had only sent one photo: a group shot of himself with Bronzong, Girafarig, Espeon, Alakazam, and Gallade, along with a simple birthday message underneath.
There was a postscript:
"Scheduled message, just in case I forgot. Things have been hectic lately. Heard about your recent feats from Cynthia. Looking forward to your performance at the Lily of the Valley Conference."
Luther didn't mind whether the message was scheduled or personally sent. The fact that someone remembered him at all was already a blessing.
Even Mao, whom he'd only met once, sent a photo with Etorre, wishing him happy birthday. But the way they snuggled up in the picture felt a bit like couple-flaunting.
Gardenia wrote that she had made a cake and would send a photo later so Luther could "feast with his eyes."
It was borderline cruel, but when Luther saw the "Happy Birthday" written on the cake, he couldn't help but smile.
And that was the end of the message notifications list.
"Your birthday's way more impressive than mine," Mai said. "Champion, all four Elite Four, Professor Rowan, and even a Gym Leader. I'm jealous."
But Luther knew what Mai really meant: through all his growth, he was no longer the lonely boy he used to be.
Feeling a bit emotional, Luther was just about to put his phone down when one last message popped up.
"Happy birthday."
So simple and direct. No extra words. Luther could almost hear her voice, imagine her standing in front of him saying it in that familiar tone.
"Oleander, you should sleep early. Back at the villa, Minami said you had to stick to your sleep schedule."
No reply came after that.
(End of Chapter)
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