After the Cup ended, Satoshi found himself with a surprising number of things to handle.
First, there was the victory celebration, then meeting Sakiko, and also dealing with Aijo Karen and Kagura Hikari.
But as a certified Master of Time Management™, what Satoshi really wanted right now was… another battle!
He wanted to test Frogadier's new strength. In their earlier battle, he'd felt an uncanny sensation—like he and Frogadier had become one. Even their movements had synchronized perfectly. After returning to Rainbow Wing's main hall, Anon had specially mentioned this, saying it was almost like a [Bond Transformation], both trainer and Pokémon completely immersed in battle.
At the final moment, Frogadier had even leaped forward without Satoshi calling out loud, responding purely to his thoughts.
Wait, could it be that I'm the most illegal existence here?
Will I really be able to personally fire off an Aura Sphere someday?
Satoshi lowered his head thoughtfully.
[Satodear, shouldn't you go meet Karen-chan and Hikari-chan first? Seems like they both know you.]
[Uhehe~ Those two girls seem interested in you. Maybe you should use Flabébé's Flo—]
Stop being weird here.
Before Furiko finished, Satoshi cut her off sharply.
Letting her finish that would've been disastrous! Such nonsense had to be handled firmly!
Besides, we never exchanged contact info anyway.
Rainbow Wing Academy was huge. Without exchanging numbers, their next meeting might only happen if those two personally showed up at his class.
More urgently, he needed to meet Togawa Sakiko first. He wasn't sure why she'd suddenly messaged him, but since she had helped him before, he owed her.
With the Afro Buffalo Cup freshly ended, now was the perfect chance to buy Sakiko something as a thank-you.
Most students typically bought themselves something special as a reward after the Cup.
[Satodear, won't you reward yourself too?]
I'll reward myself after giving you two quick punches.
[Uuu... Dummy~]
Casually brushing Furiko off, Satoshi refocused on reality. Right now, Togawa Sakiko was already waiting not far away.
Under the glow of the setting sun, Sakiko leaned alone against the mottled wall, her soft twin tails fluttering lightly in the gentle breeze.
Golden sunlight scattered across her delicate features, weaving mysterious, alluring patterns of light and shadow on her face. She quietly waited for him, her eyes filled with anticipation and longing, the wind gently teasing her hair.
A perfect beauty.
No matter how you looked at her, a flawless beauty…
Yet tragically, a certain someone was completely immune!
"Good afternoon, Sakiko."
"Mm, good afternoon."
Satoshi greeted her casually, and the two just naturally began strolling through the school.
Not a single instant did her charm affect him. Arriving exactly on time was the legendary wooden block—Satoshi himself.
Truly, with this level of cluelessness, who else could resist such a beauty?!
Maybe only the mythical heroine Yuto Shoyo could ever make Satoshi blush.
Sadly for Sakiko, this exact cluelessness was her type.
Such an interesting guy!
"You got third place, right? Congratulations, Satoshi." Sakiko walked gracefully beside him, speaking softly.
Though her earlier irritation with Soyo had long faded, seeing Satoshi now caused her heart to race uncontrollably again.
Perhaps she'd spent too long living as "Customer-Service Saki-chan," and now she didn't quite know how to interact seriously with someone. Not that the person next to her was serious in any sense either.
"Hm? I didn't tell you. You already knew about that?"
"I was just curious about my rival's strength, so I looked it up specially."
Hearing this, Sakiko's cheeks flushed slightly, her voice faintly unnatural.
At this point, she absolutely couldn't tell him she'd secretly followed him around for a while.
While tracking him down to find his team name, she'd encountered Soyo—who was also stalking Satoshi—and a battle had naturally erupted.
She had won, of course. But something this embarrassing absolutely couldn't be mentioned.
If she told him, wouldn't it turn into something like:
Sakiko: "I like you."
Satoshi: "I don't like you."
A scenario too tragic to bear!
Of course, Sakiko secretly thought there was also the possibility that even if she confessed outright, someone with his EQ might not even get it.
She might actually need to use [Draining Kiss], [Wrap], [Water Spout], and [Soft-Boiled] all at once just to make this wooden block realize her intentions.
But she'd absolutely never go that far!
For now, attracting him as a rival was enough.
Her Meowscarada, Noivern, Milotic… the gap between them was still massive. Honestly, Sakiko felt...
She'd win easily~
Besides, there were still Togawa family matters she had to resolve first. She couldn't afford to get caught up in romance now.
Such trivial things like romance mean nothing to me!
Determination flashed sharply in Sakiko's eyes.
[Does this girl seriously have tsundere traits too?]
"I see. Thanks, Sakiko. Hearing that you consider me your rival makes me genuinely happy."
Satoshi turned to face her, his lips gently curving upward into a brilliant, sunny smile.
His feelings were transparent—having rivals was always good. More rivals meant more friends, and friends meant better battles!
Yet, seeing that smile, Sakiko's resolve immediately crumbled.
Fine, just for today then!
I'll consider this a reward for myself!
"Ah…um…"
Sakiko quickly lowered her head, her long hair cascading down her shoulders like a waterfall, hiding her deeply shy expression.
She bit her lower lip tightly, desperately trying to quiet the rapid beating of her heart. Her pulse thundered wildly in her chest, feeling as though it might burst out of her throat any moment.
Reward…reward herself.
Normally, because of her beauty, Sakiko was often teased as a succubus. Pokémon also naturally gravitated toward her.
But today, she realized differently.
This guy here—he's the true human-shaped succubus!
Not only attracting girls, but Pokémon as well.
"Oh, right. How about I buy you something? Today I got pretty good results, and it'll be my thanks for when you invited me to visit the EcoDome."
Saying this, Satoshi took initiative, gently reaching out and grasping Sakiko's soft hand, energetically leading her towards the vendor stalls.
"N-no...no need to drag me…geez~"
Rainbow Wing Academy was huge, with many students—thus, there were countless little stalls set up everywhere.
Some students sold things they'd personally gathered from various places. Everyone had their own unique hobbies; some collected stones or rare items.
Satoshi internally praised Steven, the champion heir of Devon Corporation, as truly generous.
In-game Steven gave [Mega Stones], pseudo-legendaries, starters, valuable info, and countless items. Handsome, generous, and strong—truly the perfect champion.
Naturally, the stalls here sold evolutionary stones, all of them quite expensive: [Fire Stones], [Water Stones], [Thunder Stones], and so forth.
But of course, Satoshi wasn't interested in those things at all.
After all, in this world there were countless undiscovered or historically forgotten methods of evolution.
If he were going to search, it had to be among items treated like worthless junk.
Otherwise, as a student, where would he even get the funds?
Wait…actually, it seemed his family really was pretty wealthy.
[You're even rich enough to financially support Customer-Service Saki-chan, right? Satodear, don't you want to keep her around as your sugar baby? I want to see you two together~ Even if I have to sob bitterly as a sad onlooker.]
What nonsense are you talking about? Sakiko's strong and independent. She'd never accept charity from me. And besides, "keeping someone" really doesn't suit a girl as tough as Sakiko.
At that moment, Satoshi's emotional intelligence suddenly soared, shocking even Furiko.
[Eh?]
---
T/N: "Mm. If you've read this far, I suppose you're at least a little invested."
"If you want to support the translator, there's a Patreon here: patreon.com/wisetl. It's optional—think of it as tossing a few extra coins on the counter. Early chapters are just a bonus side-effect of that support."
"This place also has its own strange currency… Powerstones. For every 100 Powerstones the story gets, you'll receive 1 bonus chapter. 100ps = 1 chp, 200ps = 2 chp, 300ps = 3 chp… you can do the math."
"If you'd rather talk than throw money or stones, there's a Discord: discord.gg/wisetl. Go there if you want to complain, theorize, or poke the translator for more updates. Just don't expect me to mediate your arguments."
Say thank you to Maomao guys