"Um?"
Hayashi Kaede looked curiously at Kondō Satoshi hovering in the sky. He hadn't expected the tournament commentator to suddenly descend and speak to him.
He had thought he'd have to wait until after the match was over and the reporters came around before he'd get a chance to promote his family's breeding house.
As Kondō Satoshi flew down, Hayashi Kaede cleared his throat, already thinking of how to spin his story.
Kondō Satoshi spoke first:
"Contestant Hayashi Kaede, as the champion of this year's Baby Cup, you identified and resolved Lapras's condition with remarkable speed during the match. Are you a breeder? If so, could you tell us which breeding house you work with?"
"Yes," Hayashi Kaede replied confidently. "I've been learning about breeding from my parents since I was a child—twelve years now. I can tell what's wrong with a Pokémon just by looking at it!"
"As for which breeding house… It's just a small shop in Aogiri Town called Neighbor's Breeding House~"
He turned to the Servine at his side and picked it up proudly.
"See this guy? Its skin is smooth and bright, and its energy control is top-notch. This Servine was raised on energy blocks from our very own shop.
We sell both maintenance and stamina energy cubes—100% genuine. You'll never have to worry about your Pokémon's appearance or stamina again. Plus, we handle all kinds of Pokémon-related issues. First come, first served. You can even enjoy some beautif—hey, wait, I'm not done yet!"
He looked disgruntled as Kondō Satoshi subtly pulled the mic away.
Snivy: ???
It blinked in confusion, completely dazed from being suddenly pulled into the spotlight.
Am I… an advertisement now?
Kondō Satoshi felt embarrassed. The live broadcast was currently airing across the entire Pokémon Battle Channel in Aogiri City—who knew how many people were watching?
And this kid just started advertising his shop, live on air.
"Ahem… Well, you've all heard it. That's Neighbor's Breeding House. Feel free to check it out," Kondō Satoshi said quickly. "Now then, we were going to have one last match… but I'm not sure if Ikeoka Sho can still compete..."
He tried to steer the topic back to the tournament.
But by now, the audience was buzzing with curiosity about the little-known "Neighbor's Breeding House." Some had already begun searching for it online.
...
In the end, the final match never took place.
Ikeoka Testsuya's Lapras was no longer battle-capable and couldn't recover in time.
So the final standings were:
First Place: Hayashi Kaede.
Second Place: Takagi Megumi.
Takagi Megumi hadn't even fought a single match after the group stage. She had simply sailed into second place.
You could say she was the true "chosen one" of the tournament.
After the event ended, a swarm of reporters surrounded Hayashi Kaede, asking for basic info—what school he attended, what his breeding level was…
He answered everything sincerely—and used every opportunity to plug Neighbor's Breeding House again.
Then came the awards ceremony.
Organizer Ikeoka Sho handed over the prizes to Hayashi Kaede with a conflicted expression.
There was no doubt the Baby Cup had been a huge success. The broadcast numbers were high, and the audience enthusiasm had reached new peaks.
But in the end… the one who took the glory wasn't the person he had planned on.
Still, he had to admit—if not for Hayashi Kaede, the entire Baby Cup might have ended in disaster. And more importantly, such a talented young trainer and breeder… wasn't someone to be carelessly offended.
So in the end, he smiled sincerely as he handed over the rewards.
[First Prize: A choice of one of three starter Pokémon eggs, a PokéDollar 88,000 shopping card for HappyMart, and one chance to participate in the Egg Guessing Challenge at HappyMart headquarters!]
The first item delivered was the PokéDollar 88,000 shopping card.
As for the starter eggs, they hadn't arrived yet. Hayashi Kaede would be notified to pick one within the next week.
The final prize was the Egg Guessing Challenge, held at HappyMart headquarters.
It was a special event—split into two styles: open guess and secret guess.
In the open guess, 30 Pokémon eggs were placed in front of contestants. If you correctly guessed more than 28 species, you won—and could choose one of the guessed eggs to take home.
The secret guess was harder: the eggs were covered in black cloth. Contestants had to touch the eggs and determine the species by feel—texture, temperature, and so on. Guess 25 correctly, and you could take one home.
Ikeoka Tetsuya had mentioned that the hidden eggs were often higher quality than the visible ones.
The headquarters of HappyMart in Hunan Province was located in Changsha, the provincial capital. The Egg Guessing Challenge was open year-round—Hayashi Kaede could go whenever he liked.
The tournament officially concluded around 6:00 PM. The crowd gradually dispersed.
Hayashi Kaede walked out of the arena, arms behind his head, with Snivy trailing close behind.
Though it was late, the sky was still bright. The red-orange sunset painted the clouds with vivid hues stretching from east to west across Wutong City.
It looked like the contrail of a missile slicing across the sky.
"So much money~"
Behind him, Takagi Megumi stared gleefully at her shopping card, her grin practically splitting her face.
Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but chuckle.
He knew her family wasn't well-off. Buying Squirtle had already put a strain on them—they wouldn't be able to spend freely on its care or training.
But now, this shopping card would help cover the costs of its early growth.
"Heading home already?" he asked.
"Huh? What about you, Brother Kaede? Aren't you heading back too?"
"I've still got to pick up a few things from HappyMart. I'll probably miss the last bus, so I'll just take a taxi home."
"Okay then~"
Takagi Megumi nodded happily and didn't ask what he was buying. She was in a hurry to get home.
She couldn't wait to show off to her parents—and especially to Takagi-ojii-san—that she'd placed second in the Baby Cup and earned a PokéDollar shopping card big enough to support her and Squirtle for quite a while!
Victory~!
Hayashi Kaede glanced up at the fading trail left by a tail flame in the sky. He paused briefly, then turned and began walking toward HappyMart.
That glowing trail in the sky…
…carried a lingering trace of Dragonite's aura that tugged faintly at his Viridian Force.