"This is true skill. Congratulations, Hisako, on acquiring your very own Tropius! ETK not only benefits you but also helps you achieve your dreams—"
"After three months with ETK, Hisako's hard work has earned her a beloved Tropius. ETK's new woman—career in one hand, family in the other—"
"Celebrating Bishop Arato's acquisition of her new partner—Tropius!"
Erina and Hisako stared blankly at the posts on their social media—Hayashi had used his phone, Hisako's phone, and Erina's phone to post three different versions of the same announcement. Truly a master of chaos.
Erina couldn't help but ask, "Hayashi, I recognize every word in these posts, but why do I not understand them when put together?"
Hayashi blinked. "These are ads popular in my world's social media. Basically, 'Join us for a bright future!'"
These ads sound super shady! The young lady pointed at the letters "ETK" and asked, "Okay, then what does ETK stand for?"
"It's—"
"Erina—"
"Tenka—" (World's)
"Ichiban—" (Number One)
"Kawaii—" (Cute)
"Abbreviated!"
Hayashi struck a pose, looking unbearably pleased with himself. "Well? Doesn't it fit perfectly?"
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect!" Hisako clapped so hard her hands turned red. "Hayashi-sama, you're a genius! No, a divine genius! A demonic genius!"
"You can praise me even more!" Hayashi puffed out his chest. "One day, I'll spread this church across worlds, with tens of thousands—no, hundreds of thousands—of followers chanting 'ETK' every day at 3:23 PM!"
"3:23? 323? Wait..." Hisako's eyes lit up with the excitement of a gamer discovering an Easter egg. "Erina-sama's birthday!?"
"Bingo! Correct!" Hayashi snapped his fingers, grinning. "As expected of the Bishop—instantly recognizing the hidden meaning! Impressive, truly impressive!"
"Not at all! It's all thanks to the Pope-sama's leadership—"
"Mutual effort, mutual effort! Hahaha!"
"Hahaha—"
Pika... pika...
Pikachu wiped sweat from its brow, sensing the ominous aura radiating from its fuming trainer.
Sylveon—
Sylveon scoffed and curled up on a tree branch for a nap. Hmph. Why isn't it the 'Sylveon is the Cutest in the World' Church? Master's an idiot.
Hayashi's shadow twitched briefly before settling—no sign of Gengar. How disappointing.
Chirp—
The Fletchinder perched on Hayashi's head rolled its eyes, worried that nesting on such a goofball might infect it with idiocy.
Meanwhile.
If I laugh now, will it be bad? Sabrina glanced nervously at Erina, whose face had darkened completely, and gulped. She desperately tried to signal Hayashi and Hisako that their doom was imminent.
"You... you two..." Erina's face burned crimson as she glared at them. "Disband this nonsense right now!!"
What kind of name is "ETK Church"?! Just the meaning alone is mortifying!!
"!"
Hayashi and Hisako's heads snapped up in alarm. After exchanging glances, Hayashi clutched his chest in agony. "Bishop—"
Hisako responded with equal despair, "Pope, I'm here."
Hayashi stood with his hands behind his back, sighing with a world-weary expression. "I hereby announce the dissolution of the ETK Church, which was just shy of its one-million-year anniversary."
Hisako bowed her head in silent mourning for a few seconds before nodding solemnly. "Understood—"
'Gotta—gotta hold it in—' Sabrina immediately activated her psychic powers, teleporting herself into an empty thicket of bushes before clutching her mouth, her face contorted as she let out muffled "pfft-pfft" sounds.
'Th-they—they're just too adorable not to be doing manzai comedy—' After catching her breath, Sabrina crouched stealthily in the grass, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she peeked at the other three.
Let me see what happens next!
...
...
"You two—you two—!" Erina crossed her arms, glaring furiously at Hayashi and Hisako, who sat before her like obedient children. "What were you thinking!? Honestly!"
"Because Erina is just too cute!"
"Exactly!"
"We wanted more people to know how cute Erina is!"
"Absolutely!"
"Let's all chant together—Erina is adorable!"
"Precisely!"
"Precisely nothing!" Erina shot Hisako a sharp look before grabbing Hayashi's face with both hands, kneading it like dough. "My! Boy! Friend! Care to explain what exactly goes through that head of yours on a daily basis?"
"Let me think—" Hayashi pondered for a moment before looking up.
"If a walnut gets crushed by a door, can it still nourish the brain?"
"Pika?" What kind of question is that?
"Is white sesame just scraped off strawberries? And black sesame from dragon fruit?"
"Uhn?" Is that really how it works?
"If you cook raw oysters, can you still call them raw oysters?"
"Bui?" C-cooked oysters?
"They say pork kidneys can boost kidney health, but what if the pig had weak kidneys?"
"Chu—" These questions are too weird!
"Thunder God and Lightning Mother—"
"Stop!"
As one absurd question after another—the kind only someone with "ten years of brain damage" could come up with—spilled from Hayashi's mouth, Erina hastily cut him off. "Where do you even get these ridiculous questions?"
"How are they ridiculous?" Hayashi raised an eyebrow. "These are carefully curated by netizens as 'dumb questions only someone with ten years of brain damage would ask,' okay?"
"The title alone is ridiculous enough—" Erina pinched the bridge of her nose. "Enough fooling around! Let's talk about something serious!"
'Pika—' Well done, master!
'Bui—' You worked hard stopping his nonsense.
Hayashi looked at Erina with an innocent expression. "Go ahead, I promise I'll behave."
Hisako nodded obediently. "Mhm!"
Erina sighed. She knew all too well that her secretary had been thoroughly corrupted by Hayashi.
"We're heading to the Galar region soon, right?"
"Right."
"Due to time constraints and the story's length, we don't know much about Galar—" Erina said, slightly embarrassed. "So before we go, I'd like you to explain the basics of the Galar region to me and Hisako."
The Pokémon anime series is just way, way, way too long! The TV episodes alone have around 1,200 episodes, plus over twenty movies. If someone really tried to catch up on all of it, they'd probably die from exhaustion!
"Hmm, the Galar region? Alright!" Hayashi rubbed his chin and proceeded to explain the basic situation of the Galar region.
After listening, Sabrina looked curiously at Hayashi's shadow and said, "Gigantamax Gengar? I'd really love to see what that looks like."
Hayashi scratched his head somewhat troubled and replied, "That might be a bit tricky. Gengar needs to drink Max Soup to Gigantamax—otherwise, it can only Dynamax."
Sabrina said dismissively, "Then just get some Max Soup for Gengar to drink."
'Well, that could work...?' Hayashi stroked his chin. "Fine! So aside from catching a Rookidee for me and Sabrina during this trip, our other goal will be to get a few batches of Max Soup!"
"A few batches?" Hisako asked curiously. "If it's just for Gengar, wouldn't one batch be enough?"
"Besides Gengar, Rookidee's final evolution, Corviknight, can also Gigantamax." Hayashi glanced at the Pikachu cradled in Erina's arms and added, "Also, Erina's Pikachu and Alcremie can Gigantamax too. Might as well get some for them while we're at it."
Erina looked down at the Pikachu in surprise. "Pikachu can Gigantamax too?"
Hisako then asked eagerly, "Mr. Hayashi, what about my Tropius, Vulpix, and Florges? Can they Gigantamax?"
Hayashi gave an awkward yet polite smile. "Dame desu, muri desu!" (No way, impossible!)
"Ehh—" Hisako pouted in disappointment. Meanwhile, Sabrina couldn't help but ask, "What about my Alakazam? Can it Gigantamax?"
"Alakazam can only Mega Evolve."
"What about Espeon?"
"Nope."
"Ehh—" Sabrina let out a disappointed sigh, but she quickly perked up and asked, "Then are there any Psychic-type Pokémon that can Gigantamax?"
Hayashi couldn't help but advise, "Sabrina, Gigantamax is only usable in the Galar region—it doesn't work in other regions! So there's no need to force it—"
Sabrina countered, "Then why are you getting it for Gengar, Corviknight, Pikachu, and Alcremie?"
Hayashi coughed. "I may not use it, but I must have the option!"
Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "That's exactly what I think!"
Well, if Sabrina put it that way, what else could Hayashi say?
He tapped his chin in thought, then pulled up his Pokédex. "From what I know, there are only two Psychic-types that can Gigantamax—Orbeetle and Hatterene."
After examining the images of the two Pokémon on Hayashi's Pokédex, Sabrina declared without hesitation, "I see. So the only Psychic-type that can Gigantamax is Hatterene? Then I'll just have to catch her—"
It seemed that under Hayashi's influence, Sabrina had also started caring about a Pokémon's appearance.
But...
Orbeetle is crying, you know? It's really crying!
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