Chapter 196:
"Grotle is unable to battle. Wartortle wins."
As the referee announced the result, the girl opposite wore a complicated expression.
She could tell both Pokémon had similar energy levels, yet despite holding the type advantage, she had still lost to the opposing Wartortle. It was difficult for her to accept.
After recalling Grotle, she couldn't help but ask, "How long have you been on your journey?"
Takagi Megumi, supporting Wartortle as it stood back up, looked at her opponent. "How long have I been on my journey?"
Then she smiled. "Actually, I just started. But if you want to know why Wartortle is so strong, I can tell you."
"Oh?"
The girl's eyes lit up. "How did it get so strong?"
"Come, look here. Aogiri City, Aogiri Town—there's a place called Hayashi's Breeding House. If you want to get stronger, just go there~"
Takagi Megumi had slipped into promoting the breeding house again.
The girl was skeptical, but she memorized the location anyway. Since she needed to treat Grotle's injuries, she left quickly after getting her answer.
Based on previous years' tournament rules, although the battle ended with Wartortle holding only a slight advantage, her overall performance in the match was still enough to advance to the main tournament.
For now, her priority was treating Grotle after it had taken multiple Water Guns.
Takagi Megumi, meanwhile, immediately fed Wartortle the restorative Energy Cubes Hayashi Kaede had prepared in the storage ball. Just as she was about to leave the field, she turned—and her eyes instantly lit up.
"Hayashi Kaede!"
...
Wartortle was the first to rush over. Seeing Hayashi Kaede, it suddenly felt its injuries weren't so painful. It quickly ran to him, its smile overflowing like water.
It rubbed its head against Hayashi Kaede's side. "Wartortle~"
"Alright, alright..."
"Learning to look up when tackling now, are we?"
Looking at Wartortle bumping into his arms, Hayashi Kaede cheerfully placed a hand on its head, eventually settling on its wing-like ears. They were pleasant to rub—soft like jelly yet elusive like clouds.
Among Squirtle's evolutionary line, Hayashi Kaede liked Wartortle the most. It felt reliable, yet still retained its cuteness. Unlike Blastoise, which only became reliable after evolving.
As Wartortle fawned over him, Takagi Megumi ran over with Jirachi in her arms.
Hayashi Kaede waved, signaling Wartortle to go play with Alolan Vulpix, then turned his attention to Takagi Megumi.
"Were you watching just now, Hayashi Kaede?"
"Pretty much."
"So how did we do?"
"Not bad, but asking like this is like showing your exam paper to a parent and asking how you did..."
"Hehe..."
She didn't deny it and just giggled. "Was there anything wrong?"
"...Maybe."
Hayashi Kaede thought about the battle. Since he had [Insight], he could see all of Grotle's moves. But Takagi Megumi didn't, so he put himself in her shoes and said:
"For example, starting with Rain Dance was correct. But you kept relying on Wartortle's agility to spam Water Gun and whittle Grotle down, without realizing it was deliberately enduring the hits while gathering energy.
At that point, you shouldn't have focused greedily on Water Gun's damage. Don't use skill combinations too rigidly—many combos aren't invincible. Use them flexibly.
Also, were you a bit nervous? At the final moment, if you'd reacted quickly, you could've had Wartortle use Hydro Pump directly to break through Grass Pledge's defense."
He smiled. "But it's not a big issue. Performing like this is already impressive."
After all, for someone who had only just begun her journey, achieving this level was remarkable.
Thinking back, Takagi Megumi realized he was right and looked embarrassed. Then she noticed the egg in Hayashi Kaede's arms. "What Pokémon egg is this? It looks familiar?"
"Sprigatito," Hayashi Kaede said with a smile. Just saying it made him a little excited.
But Takagi Megumi didn't notice. Instead, she held up the new Pokémon in her arms excitedly. "Look, Hayashi Kaede! This is the Pokémon I caught yesterday. It's called Jirachi. It's amazing! It can grant wishes—"
Before she could finish, Hayashi Kaede raised a finger and made a shushing motion.
Takagi Megumi blinked, then realized she shouldn't casually reveal such an ability. Even among new Trainers, such power wasn't something to broadcast.
But then she wondered: she hadn't even mentioned Jirachi's ability yet, so how did Hayashi Kaede already know?
Jirachi, meanwhile, curiously examined Hayashi Kaede.
Last night, it had heard of a human named "Hayashi Kaede" who made incredibly delicious Pokémon food. It hadn't expected to meet him so soon.
Hayashi Kaede looked at Mewtwo beside him. "Can you help block off the space around us?"
Mewtwo didn't speak but raised its right hand. Psychic energy surged, and the surroundings fell completely silent, as if the space had been severed. Without a medium for transmission, sound couldn't travel in or out.
The downside was it couldn't be maintained for long—those inside would eventually suffocate.
"Alright, people outside can't hear us now."
Hayashi Kaede nodded, then looked at Jirachi with curiosity.
Jirachi—a mythical Pokémon capable of trading millennia of accumulated energy through sleep for the ability to grant wishes and seven days of consciousness. This ability was enhanced when comets streaked across the sky.
"Was it you who used your ability to restore a bit of Wartortle's stamina just now?" Hayashi Kaede asked.
"Jira?"
Jirachi looked at the psychic barrier but wasn't afraid. It could sense this human meant no harm. It floated out of Takagi Megumi's arms and circled around Hayashi Kaede.
"Yes, yes. Because Takagi Megumi said to hang in there, so I made it hang in there~"
Its natural answer left Takagi Megumi and Wartortle stunned. So she hadn't actually won that match?
Then, Jirachi flew up to Hayashi Kaede's face and looked at him expectantly. "Takagi Megumi said you can make very delicious food. Can you make some for Jirachi? Jirachi can grant your wish too!"
Hayashi Kaede was tempted, but he shook his head. "Granting wishes consumes your own energy. The bigger and more difficult the wish, the less time you can stay awake."
Jirachi's seven days of consciousness included rest. But if a wish was too difficult, it would fall asleep sooner, until it recovered enough to wake again.
Seven days was already short. If he wished for his parents, or even their Pokémon, to appear before him, the cost might be too great.
What surprised Hayashi Kaede was Jirachi's cheerful response. "It's okay. Akaze said I should be like a star, bringing hope to everyone who sees me."
Akaze?
Hayashi Kaede and Mewtwo exchanged glances.
Finally, Takagi Megumi asked, "Who is Akaze?"
"Akaze? He's my very, very good partner. Super nice and always shared his food with me."
When talking about Aki, Jirachi's face turned nostalgic.
"Super nice?" Takagi Megumi felt disappointed. She thought she had caught Jirachi. Turns out, it already had a Trainer.
Jirachi nodded. "Mhmm. His biggest wish was for his tribe to have enough to eat every day. So we looked for delicious food and ate together..."
"Then why don't you go find him?" she asked.
"I can't find him anymore. He went to a very, very far place," Jirachi replied. A thousand years had passed—how could Akaze still be around?
"Before being a star, think of yourself first. Your wish-granting consumes your accumulated energy..." Hayashi Kaede started to explain to Takagi Megumi, but Jirachi flew up and blinked at him, signaling him not to speak.
Just then, Mewtwo said, "Time's almost up."
Even though the psychic barrier could still be maintained, the oxygen inside was running low.
Hayashi Kaede looked at Jirachi and nodded, saying nothing. Everyone had their own choices—and Jirachi had its own.
He turned to Mewtwo. "It's fine now."
Takagi Megumi blinked in confusion, glancing between Hayashi Kaede and Jirachi. It felt like they had discussed something, yet nothing at all. Somehow, Hayashi Kaede seemed to understand Jirachi better than she did, despite just meeting it.
"How do you know so much about me?" Jirachi finally asked as the barrier fell.
Even Mewtwo turned to look.
"You guess."
Jirachi: "...."
Mewtwo: "....."
"Go compete. At noon, I'll make food for you all. Anything specific you want to eat?" Hayashi Kaede asked.
"Wartortle~!!!" (I want meat!)
"Vulpix~" (Ice cream~!)
"Yay! I get to eat Hayashi Kaede's cooking again!" Takagi Megumi's voice was full of excitement.
On her journey, food had nearly depressed her. She couldn't cook, so she mostly survived on instant meals. Though nutritious, they didn't taste good. Every time she saw Wartortle eating so happily, she wondered if she should sneak some of its Energy Cubes.
"What about you? Weren't you just begging for something delicious?" Hayashi Kaede looked at Jirachi.
"Delicious... I also want to eat meat~" Jirachi declared.
"Alright, then we'll have barbecue at noon," Hayashi Kaede said.
He always cleaned his barbecue equipment and stored it in the storage ball, ready for use anytime.
The rest of the time, the two of them—along with Jirachi, Alolan Vulpix, and Wartortle—looked for opponents in the arena.
Though "looked for opponents" was a stretch. Few battles were as evenly matched as Wartortle versus Grotle. Most ended in one-sided victories for Alolan Vulpix and Wartortle.
Because after the previous battle, Wartortle had coincidentally leveled up again.
This made Hayashi Kaede curious. During the Junior Cup finals and semifinals, everyone's Pokémon were around level thirty, close to forty. Why was the gap so wide during the preliminaries?
From the spectators' discussions, he learned most Trainers aiming for the championship would hold back, using their second Pokémon in the preliminaries.
But this didn't matter to Hayashi Kaede.
After both he and Takagi Megumi completed three battles, and Alolan Vulpix grew aware of its strength, Hayashi Kaede led her out of the arena and checked the map of Nagisuna City.
"Apricot Mountain... is it this scenic area?"
Hayashi Kaede was investigating the "Wilderness Area" where his parents had disappeared ten years ago.
Apricot Mountain.
A decade ago, it had been a continuous mountain range Wilderness Area, most famous for its Shiftry population.
Because of their large numbers and proximity to towns, Shiftry and Nuzleaf often caused trouble in markets. Later, the Nagisuna City League opened part of the range near the town and planted apricot trees.
Every autumn, apricot leaves blanketed the mountains in gold, drawing crowds of tourists.
And now, it was exactly the season of autumn leaves.
Hayashi Kaede decided to have lunch there.