"Whoa!"
"Why did Master bring another woman back?"
"It hasn't even been a week! How did he get another sweetheart so quickly?"
"Seriously... he's such a pervert. I'm ashamed to have such a master."
"Sigh, he can't even go a week without a woman. He's finished."
"Poor us, we're the ones who suffer."
"Looks like we have to go back to living in the berry fields. Farfetch'd's cooking is really no match for Master's."
The legendary Pokémon were all grumbling because a guest had arrived on the island.
After the battle yesterday, Cynthia had been somewhat annoyed with Riku. But after sleeping on it, her curiosity only grew. The next day, she asked Grandma of the Orange League to help her contact him.
Using a mission as a pretense, Cynthia made her way to Riku's island.
Riku, who had already been waiting helplessly, shook his head when he saw Cynthia stepping onto the sandy beach in her black high heels.
"Miss Cynthia, didn't I already agree to go on a mission with you?"
"We only met last night and even had a duel. It doesn't seem necessary for us to meet so frequently."
"What?" Cynthia smiled happily.
"Could it be that your little island has some unspeakable secrets?"
"If there were secrets, I wouldn't have agreed to let you come over," Riku sighed.
"Since you're a guest, Miss Cynthia, please come into my humble abode for a cup of tea."
Humble abode?
Cynthia had never heard anyone describe their own house like that before. But when she saw the small wooden house and stepped inside to find the old and worn furniture, she suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.
This young man—no, this man—was really living in such simplicity?
With his strength, he could have gone to any League and exchanged it for endless wealth and luxury. Yet he chose to remain here, living such an austere life.
No wonder his Pokémon were so strong. No wonder he could defeat the famously tough Elite Four member, Shiba. With such rigorous training, how could he not be strong?
And then Cynthia recalled the matter of the Pokédex.
Before, she had been wary of Riku's blacklisted status. In her view, a trainer possessing Pokémon at Elite Four level—especially pseudo-legendary ones—couldn't possibly be blacklisted. Perhaps he was a criminal with a dark past, trying to whitewash himself with a new identity.
But after meeting Riku yesterday, and seeing his simple life today, she dismissed that idea completely. Would a notorious criminal live like this? Impossible.
"Riku, how long have you lived on this little island?"
Taking the black tea Riku handed her, Cynthia smiled as she asked.
"Many years," Riku said, pretending to recall.
"It should be seventeen years. Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, I'm about to become an adult..."
"You're not an adult yet?" Cynthia was surprised, then nodded.
"Indeed quite young. I didn't expect young people to be so strong nowadays."
"Hmm? Is there anyone else in your family?"
Just as Cynthia was getting sentimental, she noticed some movement in Riku's only room.
"It's one of my Pokémon," Riku explained without hiding anything. Since they'd be working together on a mission later, hiding things now would only create trust issues down the line.
Though Riku looked like a seventeen-year-old boy, he had transmigrated into the Pokémon world. Unless it involved unfamiliar Pokémon matters, he was very mature in dealing with people.
"Little Ralts, come on out," Riku called gently toward the room.
"Miss Cynthia is a beautiful young lady. You definitely won't dislike her."
What kind of wording was that? "Definitely won't dislike me"? He really had no tact. Couldn't he have just said "will definitely like me"?
Cynthia grumbled in her heart. But the moment she saw the blue-haired, small, and adorable Ralts, all her dissatisfaction vanished as she immediately stood up and rushed toward it.
"Ralu!"
Ralts, however, was quite resistant to strangers—even beautiful women. Even when it first hatched and met Lorelei, it hadn't gotten close to her and was clearly a bit wary.
To Ralts, the only truly trustworthy being in the entire Pokémon world was its Daddy Riku—maybe Groudon and Kyogre, too.
Ralts itself didn't understand why, but it instinctively felt close to Groudon and Kyogre. If not for Daddy Riku, Ralts might've thought Groudon and Kyogre were its real parents, what with how often they argued like an old couple.
"So cute, too cute!"
Cynthia couldn't help reaching out her hand toward Ralts—but to her dismay, Ralts turned its head and radiated resistance.
That stung a bit. But Cynthia quickly reasoned it was just a child being shy.
Then she turned to Riku, her eyes flashing with desire. It made Riku uneasy.
"Miss Cynthia, what do you want to do?"
"Nothing much, just..." Cynthia hesitated, then said,
"I wanted to ask if you'd give me this Shiny Ralts. Name your conditions."
"Even if you don't go on the mission with me, I'll get your blacklisted status cleared and offer ten billion Poké Dollars as compensation. What do you think?"
"No way. Don't even think about it." Riku's tone turned cold.
"This is my favorite and most cherished Pokémon. I've always treated Ralts like my precious daughter."
"Don't bring this up again, or I'll get angry."
"Ralulalu..."
Hearing the woman in front of it trying to buy it with money, Ralts instantly clung to Riku's leg, its impression of Cynthia plunging.
"It's okay, it's okay," Riku bent down and gently picked up Ralts.
"Don't worry, Daddy will never leave you and will always protect you."
"But you also have to grow up quickly, okay?"
As Ralts obediently nodded, Cynthia's heart filled with envy and regret. She realized she'd said something wrong.
If someone offered her money to buy a Pokémon she had raised for years, she'd be furious too.
But... Ralts was just too adorable. Even ordinary Ralts were hard to come by. And this one was Shiny? No woman could resist.
If Riku were a scumbag who used Ralts to pick up girls, this Shiny Ralts would be a guaranteed chick magnet. He'd have girls falling for him left and right.
---
"Achoo..."
At that moment, Groudon and Kyogre—who were hiding in the berry fields to avoid being seen by their master's new sweetheart—both sneezed.
They looked at each other and, with rare mutual understanding, muttered:
"Needless to say, Master must be talking bad about us."
"No, wait!"
Soon, the two first-tier legendary Pokémon sensed a strange unease in their hearts.
"Did something happen to Ralts?"
"How could it? Master's there. What could possibly happen?"
"But... you feel restless too, right? Like Ralts is angry?"
"There's nothing we can do even if she is. Master's new sweetheart is here. Let's ask Little Ralts what happened once she leaves."
The three legendary birds overheard the conversation. Even though Zapdos wasn't blood-related to Ralts, it also adored the little one.
After a brief discussion, Zapdos volunteered to scout. It carefully flew to the skylight of the small wooden house to gather intel.
Fifteen minutes later, the scout returned to the grove.
"How is it? What happened to Little Ralts?"
"What's the background of Master's new sweetheart?"
The other legendary Pokémon rushed over, all visibly anxious.
"Little Ralts is fine. Master is holding her in his arms," Zapdos reported.
"But her mood isn't great. Still, with Master there, she won't be bullied."
"Let's talk about Master's new sweetheart. That's the main issue..."
After a pause, Zapdos continued,
"She's strong. Maybe even stronger than that Elite Four member, Lorelei."
"I'm pretty sure she has a pseudo-legendary Pokémon."
"That's right!" Kyogre added.
"I smelled a strong dragon scent earlier. Must be a Dragon-type pseudo-legendary..."
"You sister! What do you mean 'dragon scent'? You stinky fish smell like rot!" Groudon snapped, clearly displeased.
"What do you mean, you reptile?" Kyogre shot back.
"You aren't even a dragon! Master sees you as a red shrimp anyway!"
"Alright, alright, stop fighting," the three legendary birds interjected.
"We all live near water. Why so much hostility?"
"Oh, and Master's fish and shrimp porridge last time was amazing."
"Your sister, your elder sister, your great aunt!" Groudon and Kyogre cursed in unison.
"If you keep acting smug, I'll have Farfetch'd roast some birds for dinner tonight!"
"No way, you're too cruel," the three legendary birds said, speechless.
"No matter how angry you are, you can't make Farfetch'd roast its own kind. It's a Flying-type too."
"Hmph!" Kyogre huffed. "Eating birds is cruel?"
"Then what about eating fish all the time?"
The three birds rolled their eyes.
"The problem is... you eat more fish than any of us!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Groudon suddenly looked into the distance.
"Stop arguing. I feel like Master's new sweetheart is heading to the berry fields!"
"Let's get out of here!"
-----------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter