Chapter 201:
After its first victory, Hayashi Kaede took Goodra to challenge various participants in the remaining Junior Cup venues.
Of course, before the challenge began, he wouldn't release Goodra. Instead, he kept the three little Eevees with him.
This made everyone think he was just an Eevee Trainer, letting their guard down and accepting his challenges.
But when the battle started and Hayashi Kaede released his Pokémon, the Trainers he challenged were dumbfounded.
*Dude, you have an Alolan Vulpix and Eevees with you, and then you release such a huge Goodra? Is that really okay?*
Regarding this, Hayashi Kaede could only feel helpless.
After all, he just wanted Goodra to become more outgoing through the Junior Cup.
In fact, the multiple battle victories were quite effective. Goodra's expression grew brighter, its smile more and more evident.
Just like that, they battled several times until most people in the arena recognized Hayashi Kaede and no longer accepted his challenges. Only then did he leave the arena with a still-eager Goodra.
Having brought so many Pokémon out, he didn't want to waste the little time remaining.
So, together with Takagi Megumi, he took Jirachi to the amusement park.
He also let his relatively new Pokémon experience the amusement park rides properly.
Although Hayashi Kaede could replicate most rides by having Dragonite carry them, the joyful atmosphere of the amusement park was irreplaceable.
The ground-based Pokémon—Alolan Vulpix, the Eevees, Blaziken, and Goodra—had a blast.
Especially on the roller coaster and log flume, Alolan Vulpix was genuinely scared.
When the roller coaster plunged down and splashed huge waves of water, it desperately used Powder Snow on the splashes, trying to freeze them mid-air.
Sitting next to it, Hayashi Kaede couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it puffing its cheeks and blowing out snowflakes while screaming.
The other Pokémon just yelled a bit.
But Alolan Vulpix's Powder Snow hit the water, freezing a section of the pool.
In the end, an amusement park staff member had to stop them and asked Blaziken to use Flamethrower to melt the frozen area before things settled down.
However, after getting off, Alolan Vulpix not only forgot its fear but got excited, immediately shouting,
"Vulpix!" (Again! Again!)
After that, it was a repeat of the previous experience.
This continued until dusk when Hayashi Kaede finally ended the amusement park trip and recalled them into their Poké Balls.
---
Dusk, at the amusement park entrance.
Hayashi Kaede, holding the Sprigatito egg, looked at Takagi Megumi.
"I'm heading back. Do you want to go back too?"
"I'd love to! But… is there enough room on Salamence?" Takagi Megumi's eyes lit up.
Once a journey begins, unless there's an exception, chances to return home become fewer and fewer. So if she had the chance to go back briefly now, she would take it to see her grandfather.
"There should be room, no problem. If you want to go back, I'll call Dragonite for you."
Mewtwo, a Psychic-type Pokémon, didn't need to ride Salamence and could return on its own. But since it was currently appearing in human form, and Takagi Megumi didn't know its identity yet, there was no need for it to fly back.
Besides, calling Dragonite via Rotom phone wouldn't take long.
"Mhmm!"
---
Aogiri Town – Outside the Breeding House.
With two gentle gusts of wind, Salamence and Dragonite landed slowly.
At the entrance, a figure in serene blue stood quietly watching the two Dragon-type Pokémon land, a slight smile unconsciously gracing its lips.
After Rotom received the call and Dragonite flew out, Gardevoir knew Hayashi Kaede would be back soon, so it waited outside.
Beside Gardevoir were the Indeedee siblings, Serperior, Brionne, Bounsweet…
Even the Alcremie leaned against bowls on the counter inside the breeding house door.
Hearing that Hayashi Kaede was returning, they had all come out to wait.
"What are you all doing here… Have you had dinner yet?"
Hayashi Kaede, dismounting from Salamence, asked when he saw everyone waiting for him.
Gardevoir replied calmly,
"Gardevoir~" (They heard you were coming back, so they came to wait. We've had dinner.)
"Alcremie~"
One Alcremie, seeing Hayashi Kaede get off, nudged the female Indeedee beside it.
The female Indeedee immediately understood.
"Indeedee~"
It used psychic power to lift the Alcremie and float it toward Hayashi Kaede.
"Alcremie~" (Hayashi Kaede, Hayashi Kaede, missed you… missed you so much.)
The strawberry-green Alcremie flew to him and reached out its hands, an irrepressible smile on its face.
"Alright, alright…"
Hayashi Kaede caught it with his own psychic power and placed it on his shoulder, feeling it press its cheek against his.
Looking at the large group of Pokémon waiting there, he felt touched.
Knowing he was returning, they had come to wait at the door in advance.
*My Pokémon, they're just so heartwarming…*
"Alcremie!" (Me too, me too…)
"Alcremie…" (Hayashi Kaede is back!)
Seeing the Alcremie on his shoulder, the others cheered happily.
Hayashi Kaede carried the little Alcremie to the counter and patted each one.
"Okay, okay, I missed you all too. Did you behave today and help Indeedee sell all the cakes?"
The Alcremie nodded in unison, starting to chatter.
"Alcremie…" (Everyone liked them…)
"Alcremie…" (Sold out…)
"Mhmm, well done."
After placating the Alcremie like children, Hayashi Kaede turned to the approaching Brionne, Bounsweet, and the Butterfree that had flown over, patting each one.
"Good girls, thanks for waiting."
"Bounsweet~"
"Brionne…"
"Butterfree."
The three Pokémon expressed it was no trouble.
Hayashi Kaede smiled.
All his Pokémon, except for Alolan Vulpix, who grew up with him and sometimes caused minor mischief with its whimsical ideas, were very well-behaved and dependable, putting him at ease.
He then looked at the male Indeedee and asked if anything had happened at the breeding house today.
The male Indeedee replied truthfully,
"Indeedee~" (No, it's Sunday, so the foot traffic was just a bit heavy.)
Hayashi Kaede nodded, first acknowledging its work for the day.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Then he affirmed its efforts, a gratified expression on his face as he patted its shoulder.
"I knew you could handle it! I'll leave the breeding house to you from now on!"
Hearing this, the male Indeedee's already serious expression grew even more stern.
"Indeedee!" (I will definitely take good care of the breeding house!)
At this point, the female Indeedee, who had been watching the Pokémon egg in Hayashi Kaede's hands, finally couldn't help but come over.
"Indeedee?" (What's this?)
Hayashi Kaede immediately replied,
"Oh, right, this is… the Mystery Egg opportunity won back in Aogiri City with Serperior. I just picked up a Pokémon egg today. It's a Sprigatito. Could you take care of it?"
Although he could ensure the egg grew safely in his hands, carrying it was somewhat inconvenient, especially since he'd be out and about over the next few days.
It was best to leave it at the breeding house for the female Indeedee to look after. He could nourish it with his veridian power when he returned at night.
"Indeedee~" (Sure~)
The female Indeedee's eyes lit up. Taking care of babies was its favorite task.
It carefully took the Sprigatito egg from Hayashi Kaede's arms and walked into the breeding house. After sensing the life activity inside and realizing the little one was close to hatching, its mood improved even more.
As it walked, it thought about what kind of hatching environment to prepare for the little one.
---
"Serperior…"
Mentioning their first battle long ago, Serperior also felt a bit nostalgic.
But seeing Hayashi Kaede greet almost every Pokémon except itself, it pursed its lips and started slithering away, intending to enter the plantation.
However, before it could move, Gardevoir's voice sounded in its mind.
"Gardevoir." (Where are you going?)
Serperior paused, looking at Gardevoir in confusion.
"Gardevoir…" (Didn't you come to wait for Hayashi Kaede? Why are you leaving now that he's here?)
"Serperior…" (Isn't Hayashi Kaede back now?)
Serperior didn't understand.
"Gardevoir…" (Aren't you going to say hello?)
Gardevoir glided closer to this most contradictory Pokémon.
"Gardevoir." (If you leave without saying hello, what was the point of waiting?)
As a Pokémon with telepathy, it found Serperior quite interesting.
Clearly so fond of its Trainer, yet always choosing to leave at times like this.
"…Serperior…" (Saying hello later is the same.)
Serperior turned its head away, watching Hayashi Kaede release Alolan Vulpix and the others, its mouth tightening further.
"Gardevoir…" (Then you didn't need to be the first one here.)
The curve of Gardevoir's lips lifted even more.
When they'd heard Hayashi Kaede was returning, Serperior had been the quickest to react.
"Serperior…" (That's not…)
Serperior instinctively lowered its head, but remembering it really had been the fastest, it felt a bit guilty.
"Gardevoir…" (Don't always keep your grievances bottled up. It's not good. If you're unhappy for too long, he'll worry too.)
Gardevoir patted Serperior gently, then said no more.
Serperior paused, then watched as Hayashi Kaede, finished with everything, noticed it hadn't completely left. His eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over.
"Serperior! Oh, I thought you'd left! Let me hug you, missed you so much…"
Serperior turned its head, intending to leave, but Hayashi Kaede hugged its entire body from behind, stopping it.
"Serperior!" (Let go…)
"Huh?"
"Serperior…" (Everyone's watching…)
"Oh, okay…"
Gardevoir, watching from behind, saw this and its smile faded as it shook its head.
In its opinion, Serperior wasn't as strong as it appeared.
Like Blaziken, it was essentially a child that had just evolved.
Although they had reached their final forms quickly, they had experienced too little, so their minds hadn't fully matured.
The difference between Blaziken and Serperior was this:
Blaziken's personality before and after evolution was consistent.
It loved to eat, didn't pretend, and occasionally said things that annoyed Hayashi Kaede just to get his attention.
But Serperior was different. After evolving, it became particularly good at *acting.*
Its personality grew increasingly mature. Alone in the plantation, it could direct the other Pokémon and manage everything in order.
It wouldn't seek attention or credit from its Trainer, as if it were natural.
Like a "little adult."
But in reality, Serperior was still a Pokémon not much older than Blaziken.
Even after evolution, its personality changed, but age-wise, it was still a child.
The more sensible the child, the less candy it gets…
But even the most sensible child can't help but feel somewhat wronged at times.
Gardevoir worried Serperior would keep accumulating those feelings inside.
Watching Hayashi Kaede see off Serperior, Gardevoir felt it should talk to him about this, to make him pay more attention to Serperior's emotions.
---
During the time Hayashi Kaede interacted with his Pokémon,
Takagi Megumi, who had dismounted from Dragonite, didn't go home immediately either.
She first thanked Dragonite, then looked at Jirachi in her arms.
"Do you want to come with me, or stay at Hayashi Kaede's place?"
"Jirachi?"
Jirachi looked at the Pokémon in the breeding house and was startled.
There are so many different kinds of Pokémon.
It looked at Takagi Megumi, then at Hayashi Kaede, wondering why she was asking it to choose. Couldn't it stay with both?
"Well, my home is over there, and this is Hayashi Kaede's home."
The girl pointed toward the setting sun, then realized Jirachi wouldn't have much fun following her home.
So she said,"Forget it, you stay with Hayashi Kaede. He hasn't made dinner for Alolan Vulpix and the others yet. You can stay here and eat delicious food~ See you tomorrow morning~"
The girl waved and released Jirachi.
She was eager to go see her grandfather.
But Jirachi, seeing Hayashi Kaede interacting so warmly with so many Pokémon, wasn't sure if joining in would disrupt the mood, so it only waited nearby.
It waited until—
"Mew?"
A pink little cat appeared beside it.
"Mew~?" (Why are you staying here? Come on, let's find Hayashi Kaede for dinner~)