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"This is all it took to knock him out?"
Aiden glanced at the old administrator lying on the ground, his chest rising and falling rhythmically, and shook his head in resignation.
Though it seemed more like he was feigning unconsciousness after realizing the enormity of the trouble he had caused and choosing to escape reality, ...
In truth, Aiden hadn't planned to take any drastic actions against the villagers. His earlier words were merely meant to scare the old man.
After all, Kitakami was part of Paldea, and although Geeta had given him full authority, escalating things too far would have been difficult to resolve.
Seeing this comical scene with the administrator made Aiden feel much better.
As for the follow-up work, he already had a general idea.
First, these locals influenced by Pecharunt's desires needed to be reprimanded, and the position of administrator should be replaced.
Then...
Aiden turned his gaze toward Ogerpon, who looked tense.
It seemed genuinely frightened by the old man's words, thinking it had committed some grave mistake, so it unconsciously reached out its small hand to grab Aiden's sleeve, seeking some sense of security.
Because of the night's events, this young man, whom it had only met briefly and whose name it still didn't know, had left an indelible impression on Ogerpon.
(T/N: Ogerpon is a female exclusive Pokémon species. However, in-game dialogue consistently uses "it" as a pronoun when referring to Ogerpon.)
When everyone accused it of disrupting the festival, he stood in front of it;
Facing the four villains who killed the man like a father to it, he firmly supported it from behind, unleashing the true power of the mask, allowing it to exact its revenge.
Ogerpon didn't know how to repay such kindness.
When it looked up at Aiden with nervous eyes, it quickly met his deep, gentle gaze that smiled warmly at it.
"It's okay, Ogerpon."
"Everything is over now."
"In the future, no one will look at you with prejudice anymore."
"Pon..."
Hearing the calm tone of the young man before it, Ogerpon inexplicably felt like crying again.
At the same time, a new question arose in its mind—
Now that the man's revenge was complete, what should it do next?
The people of Kitakami didn't welcome it; it had deeply felt this, and this prejudice would only deepen with time.
If it had to leave here...
Ogerpon blinked its red, swollen eyes from crying and instinctively looked at the man beside it.
At this moment, Aiden noticed its gaze.
Thus, the next words naturally followed:
"If you don't mind, would you like to travel with me from now on?"
"Pon?!"
Not expecting Aiden to be so straightforward, Ogerpon instinctively let out a disbelieving cry, even feeling somewhat insecure.
Did I misunderstand his meaning?
But upon seeing Aiden's determined eyes and recalling his actions just moments ago, Ogerpon quickly realized his sincerity was genuine.
After understanding this, it firmly nodded and extended its hand into Aiden's large palm.
If a hundred years of loneliness led to this moment of finally being understood...
Then, perhaps the wait was worth it.
Seeing that Ogerpon didn't resist him, Aiden soon exhaled in relief and smiled.
"By the way, I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Aiden."
Aiden smiled as he squinted his eyes and continued.
"In the future, please take good care of me~"
"Pon!"
Ogerpon nodded repeatedly.
According to procedure, this was the moment Aiden should take out a Poké Ball, go through the normal capture process, and finally shout:
"I caught★Ogerpon!"
Unfortunately, wearing a kimono due to the Festival of Masks, he had no extra pockets; carrying Poké Balls and Tera Orbs for his partners was already the limit.
However...
Since he had already won over the cuteie, he wasn't worried about it running away~
Thinking this, Aiden observed Ogerpon's adorable expression for a few seconds before several lines of text appeared before his eyes—
[Ogerpon (Female)]
[Type: Grass]
[Ability: Defiant]
[Moves: Follow Me, Ivy Cudgel, Synthesis, Spiky Shield, Superpower, Wood Hammer…]
[Affection: 230]
[A very lonely personality.]
[Met on December 25th in Mossui Town, Kitakami.]
[Dislike sour flavors.]
[A bit clingy.]
Upon seeing Ogerpon's information, Aiden was momentarily stunned.
Had his affection level with Ogerpon really grown this high?
However, noticing Ogerpon happily swaying its body side to side and even humming a simple yet incredibly cute melody, he quickly smiled.
Isn't this quite nice?
Meanwhile, standing nearby and having witnessed Aiden's entire process of capturing Ogerpon, the others couldn't help but smile.
Except for Kieran.
Having loved ghosts since childhood, he gazed at Aiden interacting intimately with Ogerpon, his eyes revealing a hint of longing.
If even ogres were captured by Teacher Aiden, where would his own partner be?
No, as long as he continued to grow stronger until he was like Teacher Aiden...
He would surely meet his own partner, right?
...
December 26th, the Friday after Christmas.
Due to the major incident at last night's Festival of Masks, many guests had already left Kitakami overnight.
Thus, today's Mossui Town felt rather quiet.
However, every significant event happening today was more explosive than yesterday's.
First, the widely recognized streamer "Azure Feather" from Pokémon TV released a video last night.
"Nothing to Do Today, Just Came to Kitakami to 'Catch a Ghost'"
It was essentially a five-minute highlight reel edited from the footage Lacey recorded last night, serving as cyber evidence of the event.
However, viewers who didn't know what happened in Kitakami found it entertaining.
[I knew Teacher Azure wouldn't treat us as outsiders! Even on vacation, he specially sends us videos to keep us entertained!]
[Wait a minute? When did Teacher Azure capture a new Pokémon? So cute!]
[Hmph, cute? Just wait and see, this little cutie is a fierce one who can knock out a muscular dog with one hit!]
Initially, Ogerpon, who wore a mask and exuded an adorably charming aura, attracted everyone's attention.
But when Pecharunt appeared and Ogerpon shattered its revenge dream with six strikes, many viewers suddenly realized—
[This is classic Teacher Azure style—cute Pokémon hit the hardest!]
[Anything you want to say, tell it to my cudgel!]
[Could this be Teacher Azure's real main powerhouse? Were all his battles in Paldea just minor skirmishes?]
As the video progress bar moved forward, soon Pecharunt was knocked flying with one strike, a purple light soared into the sky, and the moonlit figures of the Loyal Three appeared before countless viewers.
This left some viewers who had visited Kitakami dumbfounded.
[Isn't this the Loyal Three that Kitakami promotes? Didn't they supposedly die fighting the ogre a hundred years ago? How did they revive???]
[Could this be special effects? Teacher Azure must be doing well for himself; those effects don't look cheap!]
[Special effects my ass, even Porygon wouldn't be able to make such realistic effects...]
If the revival of the Loyal Three shocked the audience, then what happened next would drop their jaws.
Because—
After changing masks, the Pokémon beside Aiden, which displayed special powers through Terasterallization, effortlessly one-shotted the "Loyal Three" revered by generations in Kitakami?
[Is Teacher Azure filming a movie? I didn't understand what happened!]
[Ah, I know this one! Go check the announcement from Paldea!]
[Just came from there; apparently, Kitakami's long-standing promotion was fake. The Loyal Three seem to be the villains...]
[What? That messed up? Guess I need to check it out!]
Thanks to the live chat reminders, without even exiting the video, one could directly find Paldea's announcement in the related search section of the comments.
The content was simple—
After a joint investigation by Aiden, Gym Leader of Paldea, and Cynthia, Champion of Sinnoh, the historical truth of Kitakami finally came to light.
It turned out that the Loyal Three weren't heroes who saved the village but accomplices of an evil Pokémon. The "ghost" that everyone feared was actually the true hero.
Last night, that evil Pokémon revived the Loyal Three in an attempt to attack Kitakami.
Fortunately, our savior of Kitakami, the great detective who uncovered the historical truth, and the rookie Gym Leader of Paldea—Aiden—timely intervened, preventing a disaster.
This was precisely what the viewers saw in the video.
Of course, Paldea's announcement didn't end there.
Regarding the recent chaos in Kitakami's tourism industry, it would be unified under Aiden's leadership, and some tourist attractions in Kitakami would be temporarily closed.
The original Loyalty Plaza would also be rebuilt and renovated, replacing it with statues of Ogerpon, who protected the village, and Gym Leader Aiden.
For a moment, tourists who had traveled to Paldea couldn't help but applaud.
[Good, good, good, it's about time to deal with these scoundrels! Selling Loyal Three dolls for 5,000 Poké each, not letting you leave unless you buy one—it's outright robbery!]
[No wonder the Loyal Three looked like villains to me, not fitting their legends at all. Turns out they really were fake?]
[Teacher Azure actually did something human this time?]
[That's awkward black humor. Although Teacher Azure might enjoy tormenting opponents a bit, he's serious when it comes to big matters!]
[Teacher Azure, forever the GOAT!]
[There's even a statue of Teacher Azure? Looks like I'll have to visit Kitakami sometime! Not for anything else, just to "greet" Teacher Azure~]
[You think, is there a possibility...]
[Maybe this idea was Teacher Azure's too—he predicted your predictions and brought a wave of tourists to Kitakami?]
[Wow, this is a brilliant strategy!]
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