Seeing Cheng Tian release Froakie, the others also took out their Poké Balls and released their own Pokémon.
"Yaka!" "Pach!" "Bui~" Chimchar, Pachirisu, and Sylveon appeared on the field.
The three little Pokémon were seeing Sylveon for the first time and were extremely curious. "Pach?" Pachirisu moved closer, gazing curiously at the pink Sylveon's white ribbons.
"Bui!" Sylveon brought one of its ribbons in front of Pachirisu, playfully teasing it, and the little Pokémon began to giggle.
"Yaka?" Chimchar merely thought Sylveon was pretty, though its colors were a bit too flashy. After a few more glances, it ran over to Bai Yun's side. "Aren't you going to play with them?" "Yaka!" Chimchar signaled that it didn't play with little kids.
Cheng Tian glanced at it and noticed an additional skill in Chimchar's status panel: Bulk Up (Lv1), which allows it to tense its muscles to raise its Attack and Defense.
It seemed this was the TM Bai Yun had bought for Chimchar. It definitely suited Chimchar well.
"You, honestly." Bai Yun shook his head helplessly. Chimchar was now sitting cross-legged, and a faint brown glow began to appear on its body.
An indistinct aura was gathering around Chimchar. Chimchar's eyes were slightly narrowed, but if one looked closely, they would see a shimmering light flashing within its pupils.
"What is Chimchar doing? Is it done watching JOJO and planning to start cultivating Immortality?" Lin Lin asked in surprise. "Uh… no…" Some unpleasant memories were triggered in Bai Yun's mind. "It was one afternoon…"
It was one afternoon, and Bai Yun was watching Japanese anime with Chimchar. Bai Yun clearly had a plan: he wanted to change Chimchar's strange obsession! To this end, Bai Yun showed Chimchar all sorts of different anime.
However, the results were underwhelming… Chimchar showed absolutely no interest in any Japanese anime other than JOJO. Left with no choice, Bai Yun eventually had to sit down and watch JOJO with Chimchar.
When the protagonists started erupting with auras of various colors during their battles, Chimchar couldn't sit still. It sat cross-legged and used the Focus Energy skill. It started subtly, but as time went on, Chimchar's aura grew increasingly intense.
Bai Yun was astonished. Was Chimchar developing its own Hamon energy?
(Hamon is a technique frequently used by the protagonists in JOJO, where different ripples produce varying effects.)
Because of this, Bai Yun specifically went to a physical store and bought a Bulk Up TM, then took Chimchar to the Pokémon Center to learn it. Thus, Chimchar's self-developed "Hamon" finally took shape: Focus Energy plus Bulk Up. The aura around Chimchar was brown, signifying Fighting-type energy.
Bai Yun felt both joy and worry about this development. He was happy that, like Froakie, Chimchar had developed a new way to utilize a move based on Japanese anime; however, he was worried that Chimchar was traveling further and further down the path of JOJO-fication… "That's essentially what happened…" Bai Yun concluded his recollection, looking at the strange expressions on everyone's faces. Lin Lin sighed, "Ah, it's a shame Pachirisu doesn't have a penchant for watching anime, or it might have also developed alternative uses for its skills."
"Well… I suppose we can just say that Cheng Tian and Bai Yun's Pokémon have very broad interests…"
The group rested in the shade and chatted, letting the Pokémon play freely… "Froakie?" Froakie watched Sylveon teasing Pachirisu, wondering why it was so beautiful.
"Bui~" Sylveon noticed Froakie staring at it, its big, beautiful blue eyes blinking.
This little blue Pokémon seemed to be the one it had seen yesterday. Recalling seeing Froakie kicking its short little legs on the overpass, Sylveon stopped teasing Pachirisu and walked toward Froakie instead.
"Bui~" Sylveon leaned its face closer and sniffed Froakie's scent. "Fro… Froa…" Froakie turned bright red. At such close range, Sylveon looked even more adorable. Moreover, it carried a pleasant, milky fragrance.
"Bui?" Sylveon looked at the foam around Froakie's neck and nudged it with its small nose. The foam stuck to its nose, which Sylveon found quite amusing, but it dissipated shortly after.
"Froa." Seeing this, Froakie peeled off a clump of foam from its neck, intending to offer it to Sylveon, but the latter just smiled sweetly, leaned in again, and actively nudged Froakie's neck with its nose.
"Froakie!" For some unknown reason, a tingling sensation spread from Froakie's neck. "Bui~ Bui~" Sylveon buried itself in the foam, finding the wet, soft texture very comfortable.
Although Froakie was a bit shy, it didn't refuse, simply letting Sylveon continue playing with the foam.
"Hey, Cheng Tian, Froakie and Sylveon seem to be getting along quite nicely," Su Han said to Cheng Tian with a smile, seeing Sylveon's behavior.
Just then, a soccer ball flew over from a distance, heading straight for Sylveon. "Froakie!" Froakie was quick as lightning, leaping up fiercely and kicking the ball back, but it immediately tumbled to the ground.
"Are you okay, Froakie?"
"Froa…" Froakie lay on the ground and waved its little white hand, signaling that it was fine.
"We're so sorry, we accidentally kicked the soccer ball over here," two boys quickly ran over and apologized.
"It's alright, just be more careful next time and don't kick the ball toward crowded areas," Cheng Tian replied. The two boys then ran off with their soccer ball.
"Bui~" Sylveon moved toward Froakie, who was still lying on the ground. Its big blue eyes were full of gratitude. It lowered its head, stuck out its tender pink tongue, and gave Froakie a lick on the face.
"Froakie!"
What was happening? Why was its heart beating so fast?!
Froakie felt its heart pounding rapidly, a sensation it usually only experienced during a battle.
Looking up at the smiling Sylveon, Froakie wanted to get up but found itself lacking strength.
"Bui~" Sylveon extended its ribbon and gently lifted Froakie up. "Froa…" Froakie sat on the grass, scratching its head sheepishly.
"Bui~ Bui~" Sylveon looked at Froakie's reaction and genuinely thought Froakie was wonderful—it protected her and was so easily embarrassed. He was simply too cute!
"Froakie, come here for a moment so I can check if you're hurt," Cheng Tian called from a distance. "Sylveon, you come too. It's easy to get heatstroke sitting out there."
"Froakie!" "Bui~" Froakie wanted to walk over, but Sylveon wrapped its ribbon around Froakie's arm and pulled him along.
"Sylveon, do you really like Froakie?" Su Han asked with a smile, seeing the way Sylveon was clinging to Froakie.
"Bui~" Sylveon nodded, then leaned its face over and gave Froakie a kiss. "Froakie! Froakie!" Froakie's face instantly flushed bright red again.
Cheng Tian nodded with satisfaction upon seeing Froakie's reaction.
Hmm… it looks like Froakie's spring has arrived!