Seeing that Taki was still upset, Satoshi started to feel troubled.
This girl put pressure not only on herself but also on those around her. What a pain.
At times like these, he had no choice but to call for backup!
Furiko, save me!
[Satocchi, my advice is to forcibly kiss her, then follow up by using Draining Kiss on Taki's lovely feet~]
Never mind, I'll handle this myself!
"Anyway, Taki, in my eyes you're really strong. It's just bad luck today. You'll definitely win tomorrow."
Satoshi could only try to calm Taki down by mustering all of his emotional intelligence. There wasn't really anything else he could do. He couldn't exactly use Draining Kiss on her feet, could he?
That was way too outrageous and embarrassing—better rein it in!
"Are you an idiot?" Being praised like this made even Taki feel awkward; her cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her head.
If it had been Anon, the rookie, trying to comfort her, Taki probably would've given in to her inferiority complex and thrown a small tantrum. But with Satoshi, she found herself unable to get angry.
He was talented, kind, and totally unlike her—a girl who constantly pressured others.
"Yeah, maybe I am an idiot. But I believe in you," Satoshi replied earnestly, fully thinking about Taki's feelings.
Taki was probably the hardest-working member of MYGO. As a student in the Pokémon Breeding Department, she had extensive knowledge about Pokémon, including many specialized training methods. She arranged most of MYGO's training routines.
A girl this great needs saving, and I'll be the one to save her!
Reality was quite different from games. Whenever his training went wrong, Satoshi often turned to Taki for advice.
"…Thanks."
Her inferiority complex didn't disappear, but at least Taki felt a little better.
If that was the case, she'd just have to try again tomorrow.
It was still only the first day. According to what she'd heard, even many talented seniors only became strong after being thoroughly tested by society. Someone like her, with no real talent, had to work twice as hard.
"Satoshi~ I'm finished too~ Let's head home together!" At this moment, Karen suddenly hugged Satoshi from behind, her chest pressed warmly against his back.
"Good job, Karen." Feeling her warmth and the intensity of her presence, Satoshi instinctively tilted his head slightly.
"Hehe~ Listen, I got seven straight wins today. Satoshi, you only got five, right? I was watching earlier!"
Karen's lips curved upward playfully, and her eyes sparkled mischievously as she gently patted Satoshi's shoulder.
"…" This seven-win streak was honestly a bit much. Satoshi felt a headache coming on, worrying about how Taki would react when she heard this.
This energetic girl really couldn't read the mood! With stiff movements, Satoshi slowly turned his head and found that Taki's mood had instantly plummeted, a shadow once again darkening her face.
She wasn't very tall, but her temper was something fierce.
Five straight wins…seven straight wins… Do you two have to be this ridiculous?!
I really need to work even harder. To keep up with these geniuses, tonight I'll pull an all-nighter studying…
Taki, who specialized in putting pressure on others, naturally piled even more pressure on herself.
"Well, let's head out for now. I checked the group chat—Soyo and the others already arrived to pick us up. They've been waiting outside for ten minutes."
Satoshi smiled brightly and warmly, naturally reaching out to take Taki's soft hand.
"Let's go."
"I get it… but don't just suddenly hold my hand! What if Tomori misunderstands?" Shiina Taki's cheeks flushed slightly as she stared at him helplessly.
It was the first time she'd been so close to a boy her age, and the feeling stirred something complicated inside her.
But there was no way she'd ever fall for him—especially since she had absolutely no intention of stealing a guy from Tomori, whom she admired (liked).
Impossible. Absolutely impossible!
Yet Taki's struggle didn't last long, mainly because she quickly realized her resistance was useless.
I'm already pretty strong, okay? I can unscrew a bottle cap with two fingers—I've practically got the Huge Power Ability by default.
But isn't Satoshi's grip a bit absurd? Is he actually a human-shaped Pokémon or something?
Taki started feeling suspicious of him.
He definitely looked human, though, and his hand was warm and comfortable, making her impulsively want to interlace fingers.
He really didn't feel like a Pokémon.
His hand was warm, large, and irresistibly comfortable.
Subconsciously, Taki started playing around with Satoshi's hand, thoroughly entranced.
Such a good feeling hand! I'm not even into hands, but I suddenly want to stroke it for an hour.
This strange behavior only stopped when Taki looked up and met Soyo's murderous glare.
As they reached the entrance, MYGO members were already assembled. Taki immediately saw Soyo glaring daggers at her.
"Taki-chan~, what exactly are you doing?" Soyo spoke in her usual cutesy voice, yet the look in her eyes was utterly devoid of warmth—just murderous intent.
I sent you to take down Aijo Karen, so how come you ended up tangled up with my husband exactly like Karen herself?
Taki, isn't it your strategy that's the problem here?
Taki: Wait, I was supposed to take down Aijo Karen? For real?!
At this moment, the bizarre scene was Taki's hand—Satoshi's hand—Karen. The whole situation was incredibly awkward.
Soyo's pressure on Karen and Taki was immense!
"Sorry we kept you waiting. Our last opponent was a bit troublesome," Satoshi apologized sincerely.
Satoshi~ is apologizing~ to me~!
Soyo blushed slightly, heart racing like a startled deer.
"It's fine~ we didn't wait long at all. Actually, I could wait forever—but I think Anon-chan couldn't wait much longer."
Double standards! Two-faced Soyo!
Taki and Anon both secretly complained.
"Soyo-san, I could also wait forever, you know, but weren't you the one who kept trying to rush in earlier?" Anon, sensing she'd been slighted, instantly fired back.
"No way~, don't say silly things, Anon-chan~"
Their eyes locked, silent hostility filling the air.
[Girls sure are troublesome, Satocchi. I can already see your future divided into several pieces~]
What the heck are you talking about?
Satoshi stood frozen, utterly confused.
[Uh… Let me correct myself—not just several pieces. Dozens of pieces!]
...
It was about 6 PM when they finally reached MYGO's usual training room again.
Karen had already left, so Satoshi could finally devote his full attention to battling Tomori.
Or more precisely, to battling her Marshadow. With their upcoming school trip to Alola, Satoshi needed Tomori and Marshadow to synchronize perfectly in order to seek out Marshadow's Z-Crystal there.
Of course, he also had his own selfish motive—a Pokémon battle!
A battle against Marshadow at full strength!
"Haruhikage, [SHADOW PUNCH]!" Tomori's intensity was stronger than ever. At her command, Marshadow's fist became cloaked in shadows as it lunged toward Rillaboom.
"Rillaboom, [DRUM BEATING]!"
Boom!
Rillaboom rhythmically hammered its drum, causing roots to surge up from the ground, directly targeting Marshadow.
The roots whipped repeatedly, keeping Marshadow from counterattacking.
"Haruhikage, use [FIRE PUNCH]!"
"Marsha—!"
Marshadow's right fist ignited, swiftly burning away the roots.
Previously, due to Tomori's lack of trainer skill, they couldn't coordinate effectively. But now she was rapidly growing stronger, and Satoshi wanted a battle against her and Marshadow at their full power.
Seeing Marshadow rushing toward them, Satoshi swiftly issued a command.
"Rillaboom, quickly dodge with [GRASSY GLIDE] and maintain some distance!"
Rillaboom smoothly utilized the grassy terrain, gliding away like a skater.
"Wow, Tomori really got stronger. Hey, Soyo-san, we aren't the weakest ones in this team, are we?"
Anon nervously munched on candy, making Soyo almost laugh out of irritation.
"We"? It's just you!
But compared to that, what bothered Soyo more was Marshadow itself. After all, this Pokémon had brought her nothing but misery in the past. Deep down, Soyo utterly despised this Pokémon named Haruhikage.
"Why… Why are you even using Haruhikage?!"
---
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