Chapter 75:
Outside the forest.
A young man in a white short-sleeve stained with dirt and yellowed spots, wearing a travel hat and carrying a spatial backpack, caught sight of a wooden cabin across the river. An old man sat beside it, fishing — and the young man's eyes lit up.
"Sir, did you just see a Milotic swim by in this river?" he called.
"A Milotic? Didn't see anything. This river's only ten meters across — catching even a few Magikarp would be lucky."
The old man was, of course, Yanagi-ojii-san. He wore glasses and held a fishing rod, a picture of idle retirement. He didn't even turn when the young man asked.
"Really? Are you sure you didn't see one? I clearly just saw a Milotic swim by," the young man insisted, pointing to the water. "It came from right here!"
At that moment a graceful, shimmering figure slid past where he pointed.
"Look, in the water… yes, that Milotic! Wow — it's beautiful…"
The sight of the lithe, elegant silhouette in the sun quickened the young man's pulse. He'd just graduated this year. About six weeks earlier he'd finished the college entrance exams and set out traveling before university, hoping to train along the way.
But he'd gotten lost in these plains, stumbled about, used up all his food, and had been hungry the whole day. When he'd seen the river he'd followed it, thinking the instructor's old rule — where there's water, there's usually a house — might save him.
On that quick glimpse in the river, a Milotic had breached and looked toward the forest. In the sunlight its skin flashed like the world's most precious gemstone; for a fledgling trainer on the road, a Milotic was irresistibly attractive.
He'd been so entranced by its beauty he'd even forgotten to throw a Poké Ball and try to battle it.
In a blink, Milotic had vanished — leaving the young man raging at his own luck, feeling as if a million-dollar prize had blown away.
Now seeing Milotic again, his face flushed and he acted without thinking, pulling out a Poké Ball. "Milotic — battle me!"
But Milotic seemed not to have heard. It turned instead to the young man who had come from the forest and greeted him with obvious delight.
"Hmm? You want to battle my Pokémon?"
Hayashi Kaede — stepping out of the trees a little disheveled — looked at the young man and at the affectionate Milotic, curiosity showing on his face.
"Oh — that's your Pokémon?"
Seeing the Milotic so close to Servine and how intimate they were with the boy, Kawamura Yū felt the sky collapse for a moment. What was this? Give him hope, then take it away — then crush him?
Kaede put a hand on Milotic's outstretched flank, climbed onto its back with Servine, and the three swam easily to the far bank. "Yes — that's my Milotic. If you want to battle, how about Servine?"
"Servine~?"
Servine cocked its head, curious. It was itching for a fight.
"Wah… never mind." Kawamura Yū shook his head. The color fled from his face; hunger and the gaunt look of a day without food returned. He looked at Kaede with a half-resentful expression. "Friend, do you know if there's a restaurant around here?"
"Uh… come with me," Kaede said.
Kaede found the kid's appearance a little odd — how could a trainer already on the road get lost like this? It seemed careless.
He greeted Yanagi-ojii-san, then led Kawamura Yū toward town. Behind them, Yanagi-ojii-san muttered to himself, "Told you — there's no Milotic here. I don't know what young trainers are thinking nowadays…"
At that moment Yanagi-ojii-san's rod trembled. His eyes lit; he hauled hard. With a splash, a gawky red Magikarp broke the surface.
Yanagi-ojii-san's bright expression instantly soured. "Not again — you! Get back in the water!"
He kicked the Magikarp back into the river and sighed, a little wistful: "Why can't I catch a Feebas? Also… that Milotic was gorgeous. Never seen one like it in my life; makes a man my age want to raise a Milotic…"
He prepared to cast again, but the river suddenly flared with a blinding white light. Waves rolled. When the flash faded, a fearsome Gyarados — its maw bloody red — rose from the water, roaring as if venting at the kick it'd just received.
"Roar!"
Yanagi-ojii-san: ???
"Lucario, Bone Rush…"
——
At the Breeding House.
"You're too kind…"
After Kaede fed him a good meal, Kawamura Yū's anger at missing the Milotic had cooled.
"What happened?" Kaede asked, curious.
"Don't ask. I got lost in the forest for four or five days, ran out of food — almost starved," Kawamura Yū said, not wanting to dwell on it.
Kaede didn't press. He did think it strange: a trainer on the road getting lost like that was unusual.
Kawamura Yū suddenly brightened. "Is this a Breeding House? The place that sells energy blocks?"
Kaede nodded.
"You made the energy blocks? You're a breeder?" Kawamura Yū asked, surprised.
Kaede nodded again.
"That's interesting — I'm a breeder too. I'm heading to the Pokémon Breeding University in Nagisuna City to study energy-block manufacture. I'll buy a bunch to study."
Hearing Kaede's confirmation, Kawamura Yū's eyes took on that competitive look people their age get. From the surface, both Milotic and Servine looked sleek and well-bred; they clearly had good care.
Kaede smiled and led him into the Breeding House, introducing the products. "Three tiers of Stamina energy blocks. They restore stamina by 500, 1,000, and 5,000, with stronger effects at higher tiers. If you are often travelling, keep a few on hand; both people and Pokémon can eat them. Over here are the Defense energy blocks…"
Kawamura Yū, likely desperate after wandering so long, bought one of every type in the small shop — and several extra Stamina blocks — then left to continue his journey.