As usual, since they were meeting again after some time, Natsui invited everyone to a nice restaurant for a meal.
They enjoyed a full feast together, which was a perfect reward after all their traveling.
The food Brock made was always delicious, but sharing a proper meal together like this felt different. Eating, drinking, and talking around the same table created a completely different atmosphere.
During the meal, Ash, Brock, and Max all noticed May's Eevee. Naturally, they were curious, so they played with it for a while and congratulated May as well.
At the same time, they also learned more about the upcoming Gardenia Town Contest.
Brock looked at the little Eevee and hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Isn't this a little too risky? Eevee only hatched recently. Even if you want it to make its debut soon, a Contest isn't that simple."
What he said made sense.
A newly hatched Pokémon had no Contest experience at all. That meant the Trainer's own skill became even more important. If anything went wrong, all the pressure would fall on May.
But May already had her own plan.
"It's okay," she said with a smile, waving her hand. "I've been training with Eevee the whole time. I'm not going to force anything, but if there's a good chance during the Contest, I want to let it shine too."
Ash and the others still looked a little worried after hearing that.
Fortunately, Natsui spoke up at that moment.
"Alright, since May has already decided, then we should trust her. Besides, this is a small-town Contest. There probably won't be too many difficult opponents. She still has room to adjust depending on the situation."
Once Natsui backed her up, Ash and the others stopped pressing the issue.
After lunch, they headed to the Contest Hall to take a look around.
The venue for the Gardenia Town Contest was not very large. It stood in the middle of a grassy field, and from a distance it looked like half of a Poké Ball resting on the ground. Its shape was round, and the color pattern made the resemblance even stronger.
There were not many contestants here. Even the audience seating only held a few thousand people.
They accompanied May to the registration area so she could check in. After that, the group walked back outside and onto the grass.
Many Coordinators were already practicing there because the Contest would be held the next day.
There were Bellsprout, Ninetales, Sentret, Koffing, and many other Pokémon all over the place. The whole field looked lively and crowded. But even after looking around carefully, they did not see any familiar faces.
It seemed this really was just a normal small-town Contest. There were no major rivals in sight.
That gave May a little more confidence.
She had originally wanted to start practicing with Eevee on the grass right away, but before she could, a girl with a Raticate approached them.
She looked about the same age as May. She wore a sleeveless green dress, and her green hair was tied in a side ponytail. She looked neat and even a little cute.
However, her face carried an obvious trace of panic, as if she were searching for something and had gotten completely lost.
She looked at them carefully and asked, "Excuse me, could you tell me where the registration desk for the Contest is?"
Before May could answer, Brock pointed toward a small entrance near the front of the building.
"It's over there."
"Ah, thank you so much!"
The girl looked relieved right away.
She was the same age as Luna from the day before, but her personality was completely different. She seemed very polite.
It was hard not to like her immediately.
Just as she was about to leave, May asked, "Is this your first time entering a Pokémon Contest?"
"Yes, it is!" the girl nodded eagerly, her voice full of excitement. "The Gardenia Town Contest is the first one I've ever entered!"
So she was a rookie Coordinator.
Looking at her made May think of her own first Contest.
Back then, she had probably looked just like this too.
"I'm May. I'm competing too. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me anytime."
"That's wonderful! My name is Mollie. Nice to meet you."
The two introduced themselves, and Mollie thanked them once more before hurrying toward the registration area.
After Mollie left, May finally took Eevee onto the grass to begin practicing.
Natsui and the others did not go with her. They found a nearby bench and sat down to watch instead.
Ash, however, could not sit still for long. After only a few minutes, he jumped to his feet.
"Natsui, just sitting around is too boring. Since we have the chance, do you want to battle me?"
Natsui was just about to agree, since he had nothing else to do. But before he could answer, another woman walked up to them and headed straight for Brock.
Everyone noticed her at once and turned to look.
She looked to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. She was very beautiful, with long hair, an orange T-shirt, a red skirt, and black stockings. She looked smart and refined, but also full of energy.
"Oh my... this is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
The woman stopped in front of Brock and stared at him as she murmured to herself. Her excitement was so obvious that Brock immediately became flustered.
His face turned bright red, and his whole body trembled with excitement.
What was going on?
She was beautiful, exactly the kind of mature woman Brock liked most. He thought his lucky day had finally arrived.
His eyes turned into hearts, and he looked overjoyed.
"Oh, please... compared to you, my charm is still nowhere close!"
But the woman did not even hear Brock's words. She stepped closer and reached out to pick up the Bonsly in Brock's arms.
"This Bonsly is absolutely perfect!"
Eh?
The smile on Brock's face froze instantly.
Only then did everyone realize that the woman had not been talking about Brock at all.
She had been talking about the Pokémon.
It had all been a misunderstanding, and Brock looked so embarrassed that Natsui almost felt sorry for him.
A moment later, the group ended up sitting around a table under a sunshade, each with a hot drink in front of them.
The woman was still holding Brock's Bonsly.
Natsui had already heard Ash mention this Bonsly before. Brock had caught it by accident near the Ninja School a few days earlier, and since then he had taken very good care of it.
He had not expected someone to notice that so quickly.
"I'm sorry," the woman said with a smile. Then she introduced herself. "My name is Yuma. I'm a Pokémon Breeder. Nice to meet you."
A Pokémon Breeder?
Ash and the others were all surprised.
Wanting to find something to say, Brock quickly replied, "Yuma, I'm a Breeder too! What a coincidence!"
Yuma smiled.
"Actually, I could tell you were a Breeder the moment I saw you."
She looked down at the Bonsly in her arms and praised it again.
"I can tell just by looking at this Bonsly that you're different from the Trainers and Coordinators here. Only a really skilled Breeder could raise it like this."
"Eh? You can tell just by looking?" Ash asked in confusion.
"Of course," Yuma explained. "Breeders focus on a Pokémon's health and development. Trainers and Coordinators focus more on battle training or performance. Even the food we choose and the Pokéblocks we use are different. I can tell the difference right away."
That explanation immediately showed how professional she was. Ash, May, and Max were all impressed.
Natsui silently thought that everyone had their own strengths.
He was very strong in battle, but when it came to performance or raising Pokémon in that specialized way, he was nowhere near May or someone like Yuma.
He genuinely respected those skills.
Now that Brock had met another Breeder, and a beautiful one at that, he quickly released more of his Pokémon to show her his work.
Marshtomp and Forretress appeared in flashes of light.
"They're beautiful!"
Yuma praised both Pokémon sincerely.
Then Brock showed her the special Pokéblocks and Pokémon food he had prepared for them. After seeing them, Yuma praised him even more.
"Amazing!" Yuma's eyes lit up. "I never expected to meet such a skilled Breeder here. Have you ever entered a Pokémon Contest?"
Brock? Enter a Pokémon Contest?
Yuma's words shocked everyone.
None of them understood why a Breeder would suddenly encourage Brock to compete in a Contest.
Brock himself was stunned too.
"Eh? Me?"
Yuma nodded.
"Don't let my current job fool you. I used to be a Coordinator too. I even won the Grand Festival."
That alone was enough to shock the whole table.
A Grand Festival winner was the equivalent of a top-class star in the Contest world.
May had definitely not expected that the beautiful Breeder in front of them was also a former Top Coordinator.
It was genuinely surprising.
Brock blinked in confusion.
"Breeders and Coordinators do have a lot in common... but why do you want me to enter?"
Yuma smiled.
"Because I became a Top Coordinator by using the skills I learned as a Breeder. Since then, I've wanted to pass those techniques on to new Coordinators, especially beginners."
Now everyone understood.
Yuma had noticed Brock's talent and wanted him to try using a Breeder's techniques in a Contest, just as she once had.
Before Brock could even answer, May suddenly stood up.
"Yuma, then please teach me too!"
"I'm sorry." Yuma shook her head. "You're already doing very well. I want to guide a complete beginner."
May looked disappointed, but at the same time, being acknowledged like that still made her happy.
Brock, meanwhile, had already made his decision.
"I understand."
His face turned serious. Then he took Yuma's hand and smiled.
"If that's what you want, Yuma, then I'll do it!"
The next second, Brock let go of her hand and sprinted toward the registration desk at full speed.
Natsui laughed quietly to himself.
He could tell Yuma had not expected Brock's personality to be quite like this. Whether she regretted saying it or not, she definitely looked a little troubled.
Only a moment later, Brock came running back, already holding a Contest Pass in his hand.
He had moved incredibly fast.
He had not given Yuma any chance to change her mind.
Natsui chuckled and looked at May.
"It looks like Brock really is going to make his debut as a Coordinator. You've got yourself a troublesome opponent."
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The complete novel is available on my Patreon: LIZBETH1242