Chapter 269:
November 12th
[Congratulations, Host. You have increased Giratina's Happiness Value from 10 to 30. Reward: 1 Master Rare Candy, 3 bags of Master Golden Fertilizer, Reverse Berry (Special Effect: When consumed, types that normally resist your attacks become weak to them, and types that are normally super effective become resisted.)]
The system notification instantly made Hayashi Kaede eager to head for the barn.
A Happiness Value increase of twenty points was the minimum threshold for triggering system rewards.
Ordinarily, such an increase wouldn't yield anything special—but the first time a new Pokémon's Pleasure Value rose, there was usually a bonus.
And this time, that Pokémon happened to be Giratina.
Though the reward—a Reverse Berry—had a rather unusual effect…
---
When Kaede arrived at the barn, he immediately noticed that the wine barrels and the alcoholic chocolates had vanished again. He couldn't help but nod with satisfaction.
It seemed Giratina really did enjoy those specially made alcoholic chocolates.
Without saying much, Kaede followed his previous plan and placed a few new chocolates atop the Grepa Berry Wine barrels.
This time, however, the amount was slightly less than before.
"Let's see how long you can resist this time."
A sly grin spread across Kaede's face as he finished arranging them.
Still feeling rather pleased with himself, he turned and headed toward the breeding house.
It was challenge day today, and the streets were bustling with Trainers coming and going.
After greeting the Indeedee brother, Kaede couldn't help but step outside to check how the day's challenges were progressing.
Just as he exited, however, a young man dressed in white and pale pink appeared on the Bluestone Trail, his expression calm and distant.
Kaede's eyes lit up. "Mewtwo!"
He hurried forward. "You're back!"
"Mmm…" Having been alone for nearly a month, Mewtwo looked a little uneasy at Kaede's sudden enthusiasm.
But soon, the corners of its mouth curved upward. "It seems they've all evolved."
"They" referred to the Pidgeot—one could be seen delivering takeout in the distance, while another was assisting with the Sky Challenge.
"Well, it's been about twenty days since you left, right?" Kaede estimated aloud. Then, with clear curiosity, he asked, "So, how did your Poké Ball research go?"
Mewtwo blinked in surprise. It distinctly remembered not mentioning that it was researching Poké Balls. How had Kaede figured it out so easily?
"That day, you were staring at those Luxury Balls," Kaede reminded him. "Doesn't that mean you went off to study Poké Balls?"
"…"
Mewtwo was silent for a moment. Then, without another word, it flipped its hand, and a sleek, black Poké Ball appeared in its palm.
Kaede's eyes brightened. "Does it automatically lock onto Pokémon? What kind of strength can it trap?"
Mewtwo: "???"
It hadn't even explained the functions yet. How did he already know?
This man really had a talent for stealing its thunder.
But Mewtwo had experienced Kaede's uncanny insight enough times not to be too surprised. It simply gave him a faintly complicated look before answering.
"Yes. The capture strength should be capable of restraining a Pokémon around the same level as Goodra's former strength for quite some time."
"I actually completed half of it before but abandoned it for… certain reasons," Mewtwo added. "Later, I thought it'd be a waste to leave unfinished, so I went back and completed it."
What it didn't say was: mainly because I thought it might be useful to you.
"Whoa, it can hold a Pokémon at Goodra's previous level?" Kaede sucked in a sharp breath.
He had guessed that the black Poké Ball could capture fairly strong Pokémon—but he hadn't expected it to work on something at the pseudo–Elite Four level!
That was seriously impressive.
"Amazing," Kaede said sincerely, glancing at Mewtwo with admiration.
"As long as it's useful to you," Mewtwo replied, smiling faintly as it produced a storage capsule. "There are many more inside."
Kaede accepted it but didn't open it right away. "Is there anything you'd like to eat? You can ask the Indeedee sister or Gardevoir to make something for you."
The smile on Mewtwo's face softened further. It nodded and made its way toward the breeding house.
Watching it go, Kaede shook his head slightly.
Truthfully, these Poké Balls weren't particularly useful to him.
He had no need to capture any Pokémon of his own using them.
Still, his excitement hadn't been faked—he just wanted to make sure Mewtwo's hard work received the appreciation it deserved.
After all, the Pokémon had spent so long perfecting them for his sake. If Kaede had responded with indifference, Mewtwo would probably have been disheartened.
*Another day of overthinking…* Sighing inwardly at his own thoughtfulness, Kaede looked down at the storage capsule in his hand.
To be honest, the Poké Balls Mewtwo had made were only useless to itself.
On the open market, though—Poké Balls that could automatically track targets and reliably contain Pokémon below Elite Four level would sell like wildfire.
Of course, Kaede had no intention of selling them.
From what he understood, these Poké Balls could even capture Pokémon that had already been caught in other Poké Balls.
A truly domineering design.
"Better hang onto them… you never know when they might come in handy."
He didn't dwell on it any further and strolled toward the challenge grounds.
When he arrived, a crowd had gathered, their gazes fixed skyward, frustration evident on their faces as they repeatedly attempted the challenge.
"Mr. Hayashi, this is too hard! Can't you make it a bit easier?" someone shouted.
Kaede looked up and recognized the challenger—it was Rikuchi Homura, the very first participant.
His Pichu had evolved into Pikachu after numerous attempts, and though its strength had grown considerably, he still struggled to clear the first stage.
He'd already earned a consolation prize once before.
Kaede simply smiled without responding.
He glanced at the Pidgeot circling high above, and one of them promptly descended.
It spread its wings slightly, sending a perfectly even gust of strong wind sweeping across the field.
The message was clear enough—Pidgeot's already going easy on you.
The sudden wind left everyone momentarily stunned. None of them understood what Kaede was doing, and they turned confused looks his way.
Kaede offered no explanation.
The wind continued to blow steadily—powerful, but not dispersing.
Finally, someone noticed something odd.
"The Pidgeot stopped flapping its wings ages ago, but the wind hasn't stopped!"
"What's happening?"
The crowd grew restless, their eyes darting between Kaede, the Pidgeot, and the field itself.
Under their astonished gazes, Kaede finally spoke.
"Alright—this is the Sky Challenge Plus version. It's separate from the regular Sky Challenge. The goal this time is simple…"
He smiled.
"Dodge Pidgeot's attacks—or land your own—within the fierce winds controlled by Pidgeot!"