Chapter 194:
And now, outside the arena.
A girl in a white long-sleeved shirt, a sports jacket, and light gray casual pants let out a sigh of relief.
"We're here, Jirachi! You're amazing!"
Seeing the arena right before her eyes, Takagi Megumi exclaimed with joy.
As Hayashi Kaede had predicted, she had been delayed in Nagisuna City's Wilderness Area while chasing a Grovyle. Originally, she was supposed to arrive in the city yesterday, but the delay pushed her arrival to this afternoon.
Yet now, she was already at the entrance to the arena.
It was all thanks to the help of a Pokémon she had never seen before.
"Hehe~"
Behind her, a Pokémon with a yellow star-shaped head—each point of the star adorned with a wish tag—floated in the air. Its tender white body glimmered softly, and its shape gave the impression of small wings.
The Pokémon eventually nestled into the girl's arms.
"Jirachi… you're really powerful~"
Praised, Jirachi giggled, then looked around curiously at its surroundings.
This was the first day of its seven-day awakening, and it was brimming with joy. After sleeping for thousands of years, it had never expected the human world to have changed so much.
"Mhm, you really are amazing!" Takagi Megumi said, her expression serious.
She recalled yesterday's events and still felt a sense of wonder.
…
She had met this Pokémon last night.
As a meteor streaked across the sky, a stone by the river where she had camped suddenly began to glow.
The stone lifted into the air—and transformed into a Pokémon.
She had been stunned.
A stone turning into a Pokémon?
She wracked her brain but couldn't identify what kind of Pokémon it was.
Instinctively, Takagi Megumi assumed it must be extremely rare.
So she sent out Wartortle to battle, preparing to capture it.
But then…
Wartortle was suspended in the air, unable to come down no matter how it struggled.
The gap in their power was overwhelming.
She sensed from this Pokémon the same kind of aura as the Gardevoir at Hayashi Kaede's home.
Just as she braced herself for a crushing defeat, the mysterious Pokémon drifted closer, its eyes curious.
"Do you have anything delicious? Or any fun places to go?" it asked directly.
It spoke.
Takagi Megumi froze in shock for the second time.
Dazed, she fumbled out Wartortle's Energy Cubes from her storage ball and handed them over, hoping to "appease it with food."
After tasting them, Jirachi's eyes lit up. "Wow, so yummy…"
Then it blinked at her, full of expectation.
Ignoring Wartortle's indignant stare, Takagi Megumi was about to hand over more of its Energy Cubes when a thought struck her: If Hayashi Kaede were here, how would he handle this Pokémon?
As if enlightened, she tentatively said, "If you follow me, I have lots more delicious food! And I know a place with even tastier things!"
The rest was simple.
Jirachi gladly agreed.
And then came her third shock—Jirachi could grant wishes.
The reason she had managed to reach the arena so quickly from the Wilderness Area was entirely thanks to Jirachi's help.
Back to the present.
Takagi Megumi gazed at the huge arena, determination gleaming in her eyes. "The second match—I'm here!"
"Charge, charge, charge!" Jirachi cried, caught up in her excitement.
…
Inside the arena.
Hayashi Kaede and the Youngster verified their identities with the referee. After confirming through Rotom's technology that their Pokémon were under one year old, they took their positions on the field.
The moment the referee shouted, "Begin battle!" the Youngster opposite grew visibly excited.
With a wave of his hand, he shouted, "Tepig, this is our first battle! Charge! Use Tackle and take down that Alolan Vulpix!"
Tepig scraped its hind legs against the grass, then dashed forward.
Its speed was comparable to a child sprinting with all their strength.
Alolan Vulpix, prepared and serious, froze in place.
"Vulpix?"
Wait. Is this how battles go? This feels even weaker than when I play hero games with the Eevees…
It seemed to her that even little nine was stronger than this Tepig.
She turned her head toward Hayashi Kaede.
"…Use Snow Warning," he instructed after a pause.
Although Fire-types held an advantage over Ice-types, the disparity in power was far too great. He couldn't help but be cautious—mainly because he worried that in her first battle, Vulpix wouldn't know how to restrain her strength.
"Vulpix~"
Upon hearing the command, Alolan Vulpix focused.
She mobilized the energy within her body.
At once, the temperature across the battlefield plummeted. White clouds rolled across the sky, and within moments, thick snow began to fall.
In just seconds, a heavy blanket of snow covered the field.
The charging Tepig faltered, bewildered.
Each step grew harder than the last. Snow melted around its paws, only to freeze again almost instantly. The cycle repeated endlessly.
The snow deepened, swallowing more and more of Tepig's body until half of it was submerged.
"Tepig?" (Where's the opponent?)
In the blizzard, Tepig could no longer even see Alolan Vulpix.
And it wasn't just Tepig who was confused.
The sudden change in weather, the plunge in temperature, drew gasps from spectators and participants alike.
"Whoa, such heavy snow! Is that Snow Warning? For real?"
"Wait, I can't even see the Pokémon! Is that red nose the opponent's Pokémon?"
"Huh? From this angle, I see it—it's a Tepig?"
"Forget that, shouldn't we be talking about that Trainer? He's holding an egg, and his Pokémon just summoned a snowstorm in ten seconds flat!"
"Ugh, it's freezing…"
"No, you're missing the real point! Don't you realize this weather effect is confined only to their battlefield? There's no snow falling anywhere else. That means this Pokémon's control over weather is absolutely extraordinary!"
Even the referee stood slack-jawed.
This speed, this intensity of weather formation…
Could a one-year-old Alolan Vulpix really do this?
Most gym leader-tier Pokémon couldn't even manage it.
"What the—? Where's my Tepig?"
The Youngster's panic grew. Because in the time it took him to blink, his Tepig had been completely buried in snow.