Now more cheerful and outgoing than ever, Iono—the social terror—walked straight over and poked Lucas with an arm hidden in her long, wide sleeves, not caring at all about Nemona's curious gaze from the side.
Lucas took out another bag of bread and nodded. "Of course, this is yours. I bought it from Melanchony's place."
"Yay!"
Iono cheered as she took the bag, a suspicious sparkle of drool seemingly appearing at the corner of her mouth.
Ever since she and Lucas became friends, she'd grown fond of this bakery's bread too. Unfortunately, she'd been too busy to buy any lately, so Lucas's timely delivery was a real lifesaver.
Hugging the bag, Iono happily ran to an empty seat, her eyes shining as she pulled out a piece of bread and nibbled on it like a little hamster.
Nemona, a well-bred young lady, quietly savored the delicious bread, then gently rubbed her tummy and sighed, "I'm so full, I can't eat another bite."
"Me too I've way exceeded today's calorie count. Time to start another round of nerve-wracking dieting tomorrow"
Lucas and Alcremie had already eaten, so they just watched in silence as the two girls finished off the entire bag. When their mouths were finally free, Lucas spoke, "Iono, how's your channel doing lately?"
Since he'd just caught up with Nemona, Lucas turned his attention to Iono's situation.
Iono, half-hiding her face with her sleeve, hesitated. "It's awful My follower growth has been flat these past months, barely holding steady without losing fans"
"Wonder how long it'll take before I get a surge like a Volt Tackle~"
"Uh, that's up to you to work on."
"Nooo, Lucas, can't you give me some trending topics for free? I'm at my wits' end here~"
Lucas stopped Iono from getting any closer, palming her head to keep her at bay, and said coldly, "No. If you want to chase trends, collaborate with famous bloggers. Why come to me when I'm not even well-known?"
Nemona, listening in, blinked. Was Miss Iono worrying about getting famous?
Although Nemona was a battle-obsessed airhead, she was still the daughter of a major company's CEO. Raised in such an environment, her insight was naturally sharp.
Nemona's bright mind quickly came up with an idea. She suggested, "Miss Iono, what's your usual video style? I have an idea!"
Both Lucas and Iono immediately turned to her.
"So, what do you think of this plan, Miss Iono?"
Nemona wasn't sure how her suggestion would sound to a pro streamer like Iono, so she looked a bit uneasy.
"Aaahhh!!"
Iono froze for a moment, then suddenly erupted, yelling as she dove into Nemona's arms, pressing cheek to cheek.
Rubbing her face against Nemona's, Iono exclaimed, "Nemona, you're a genius~! Your unique idea is a golden road to becoming a top streamer and internet celeb! I'm so moved I feel paralyzed by ten thousand volts"
"I can't wait to film a video like this! And with both of you here, how about a live, electrifying Pokémon battle?"
"I'll record the whole thing!"
Lucas, who'd listened quietly, felt a question mark appear over his head. Nemona's idea really was novel: have Iono commentate on exciting Pokémon battles as a streamer. Such videos might actually become popular and bring Iono a wave of fans.
But why was the first video to be about a match between himself and Nemona, instead of Iono's own gym battles?
Lucas was about to decline, counting on Nemona to side with him as usual.
But, as fate would have it, Nemona, her mind full of battles, immediately switched sides and eagerly said, "Let's battle, let's battle!"
Lucas: "."
What a headache!
…
Moments later, Lucas and Nemona stood on opposite sides of the field, ready for a teacher-student showdown.
Lucas stood on the left, Nemona on the right, with Iono (Alcremie perched on her head) darting around, camera in hand, eager to catch every highlight.
Lucas asked, "Are your Pokémon still in good shape?"
Nemona had just finished a gym challenge—her Pokémon must be tired.
Nemona clenched her right fist, her gaze determined. "Teacher Lucas, my Pawmot didn't fight in the gym battle."
Lucas's breath caught, then he relaxed.
He knew exactly what that meant.
This girl really was something else.
Iono exclaimed in disbelief, "Wait~ Nemona wasn't going all-out when she battled me? Unbelievable!"
Nemona apologized to Iono, putting her hands together, then threw her Poké Ball and announced, "Pawmot, let's show Teacher Lucas how much we've improved!"
"Pawmot!"
Pawmot raised its arms energetically—its fluffy fur, determined eyes, and strong arms showing just how well Nemona had raised it.
"Then I'll count on you, Arcanine."
Lucas also released his majestic Arcanine. He thought about it—Alcremie disliked battling, Swampert and Dragonite would be too overwhelming, so only Arcanine was suitable, and wouldn't crush Nemona's fighting spirit.
But then again, Nemona would probably just keep battling with a smile, and if anyone's spirit was in danger, it would be his, not hers.
Arcanine's appearance immediately caught Nemona and Iono's attention. Nemona already knew Lucas's Growlithe was special, but seeing this even-more-special Arcanine made her even more excited.
For Iono, it was different. She knew Lucas's egg had hatched into a Growlithe, but she hadn't expected it to evolve into such a unique Arcanine.
This was the highlight!
Iono's eyes gleamed like spotlights, zooming her camera in on Arcanine's face.
She had a feeling this was the turning point of her life!
Even though she'd promised not to show Lucas and Nemona on camera for now, just this special Arcanine would be a huge topic.
As these thoughts raced through her mind, Arcanine charged forward, clashing with Pawmot's electrically-charged paw—the battle had begun.