Inside his home's training room.
After returning from the battle café, Satoshi and his Pokémon began their routine training right away.
After all, as a student, his first priority was obvious—training nonstop~!
Though the doubles match earlier had just been a casual event, it ignited his fighting spirit even more, filling him with a burning desire to challenge even higher-level competitions.
Satoshi was already itching to participate in the High School League, earn qualifications to challenge official Gyms, and even claim the title of school champion. All these could be settled in the High School League anyway.
The Rainbow Wing Academy's Champion was someone capable of shining on even greater stages.
I'm already preparing to challenge the Elite Four!
Satoshi's gaze fell onto Grookey, a confident smile forming on his lips.
"Grookey, use [U-turn] on me!"
"Pachi!"
Upon hearing the command, Grookey leaped into the air, surrounded by a green glow—like a green meteor streaking straight towards Satoshi.
"So that's how it works. I've roughly got the hang of [U-turn] now."
Taking the attack head-on, Satoshi quickly grasped its characteristics.
Its speed was quite fast. Even if it wasn't as swift as [Quick Attack] or [Grassy Glide], it was still quicker than most moves. Unfortunately, almost every move his Grookey knew was already quite speedy: [Grassy Glide], [Acrobatics], [Screech]... Perhaps only [Endeavor] was comparatively slower.
[Endeavor]—a corporate slave's basic technique.
But as they say, every move had its uses—nothing was completely outclassed!
U-turn [Bug-type]: Quickly returns to the trainer after attacking, swapping out for another Pokémon.
If no replacement was available, it simply dealt damage.
For Grookey, each of these moves was indispensable, especially [U-turn]. For example, if an opponent prepared an Electric-type attack, Grookey could evade ahead of time using [U-turn], landing a hit, and swapping Raichu in. With Raichu's [Lightning Rod] activating, its Special Attack would rise by +1.
But then again… Grass types already resist Electric attacks, so it might be pointless after all.
"Grookey, let's first improve your accuracy with this move. Using it midair faces a lot of wind resistance, so it'd be good to get used to that beforehand."
"Pachi-chi~!"
Grookey smiled brightly, indicating it had no problems at all, and Satoshi turned his attention to the next pair of Pokémon.
"Rai~!" "Koga!"
Raichu was currently training its [Iron Tail] against Frogadier's [Cut], practicing precise tail attacks, while Frogadier adjusted its strength in response, conserving stamina.
Satoshi thoughtfully watched Frogadier.
[What's up, Satobaby~?]
"I was just curious. During battles, sometimes Frogadier's [Water Pulse] is spherical, and sometimes it becomes a shuriken."
During his matches against Kagura Hikari and the recent doubles battle, Satoshi felt he could sense Frogadier's mental state directly. He'd always been vaguely aware of his Aura abilities, but this time it felt genuinely real—like he'd stepped onto the battlefield himself.
They had become one!
Even Frogadier's [Water Pulse] had changed shape, from its usual sphere into a shuriken.
Yet, once they'd returned home, when Satoshi had Frogadier demonstrate again, it had reverted to its ordinary spherical form.
Even that feeling of becoming one had disappeared entirely.
[Maybe it's due to Bond Transformation~ Ahh, I wanna bond with Satobaby too♂ So jealous of Frogadier! If it were me, I'd just hug and kiss you every day!]
"[Bond Transformation]… Wait, am I actually the most illegal part of all this?"
Ignoring Furiko's nauseating comments, Satoshi stopped overthinking it.
He hadn't found the answer yet, but since the trigger chance was high, there was no need to worry excessively. Besides, there was something else more important for him to do!
And that was chatting with girls!
With trainers as powerful as Aijo Karen and Kagura Hikari, it was important to build relationships ahead of time—ideally, battling with them daily.
Another thing he was curious about was the "promise" Karen had mentioned. Since they were childhood friends, Satoshi had already checked out many old photos at the battle café earlier, noticing they appeared incredibly close.
Originally, he'd thought about directly asking Karen—but what if news of his amnesia leaked? He'd probably be forcibly dragged back home.
Though his memory wasn't complete, Satoshi vividly remembered his parents' excessive protectiveness. They'd even refused to let him become a trainer initially because traveling as one was extremely dangerous.
If his amnesia was revealed, his entire trainer journey could be jeopardized—especially considering how ridiculous his reason for amnesia was.
I hit my head on the wall while sleeping, and lost my memory!
That was too embarrassing—he'd never admit it openly.
So, in short…
Time to set a small goal first!
"I'll become Kanto Champion before going home!"
Satoshi firmly resolved himself.
Deep in thought, he took out his phone, casually swiping through daily news while replying to messages the girls had sent.
"Hm…why don't I have any male friends, though?"
Satoshi tilted his head slightly, momentarily confused, but quickly dismissed it and turned back to the news.
At the same time, Furiko's sugary voice chimed in to narrate the latest gossip.
—[Ursaring once had an evolution?! Mysterious bear Pokémon sighted in Kitakami!]
—[Shocking news! EcoDome's Garchomp has gone missing—Team Rocket sighted at the scene?!]
Team Rocket…
Honestly, Satoshi wanted nothing more than to hunt down Team Rocket and destroy their base in this city. Unfortunately, without sufficient strength, he had no idea where to start.
If Garchomp really had been kidnapped, it would likely be exploited by Team Rocket, stripped for scales. After all, the Garchomp line's scales were key components for crafting TMs like [Scale Shot], [Dragon Claw], [Swords Dance], and even [Dragon Dance].
Wait a second… You're a Pokémon that literally can't learn [Dragon Dance]—why the hell is your scale being used for the [Dragon Dance] TM?!
Game Freak, that's way too malicious!
In Scarlet & Violet, even if Garchomp had learned [Dragon Dance], its competitive strength wouldn't have skyrocketed dramatically. But not only did GF deny it [Dragon Dance], they even used its scales to make the very same TM?!
Yet fellow Sinnoh starter Piplup easily obtained [Competitive] as an ability.
Which could only mean one thing…
Someone at Game Freak must be a Cynthia hater, deliberately bullying Garchomp!
Ever since Paldea's discovery that Pokémon materials could craft TMs, other regions had quickly banned such practices. Pokémon abuse and sales were strictly forbidden. Yet recently, Team Rocket had been repeatedly exposed by the Pokémon League for using Pokémon parts to craft illegal TMs.
With Garchomp captured…Satoshi could barely imagine what cruelty it might endure.
"Forget it—reading this news only makes me angrier."
He had to grow stronger fast and crush Team Rocket as soon as possible.
Swiping past the news, Satoshi's attention landed on his messaging app.
Right then, a new message appeared—from Aijo Karen.
[Karen]:Are you there?
Starting off with the classic high-EQ opener: "Are you there?"
[Wow, Karen-chan seems like a total clown using 'Are you there?' as an opener~]
"Huh? Is starting with 'Are you there?' no good? I do it all the time."
[Satoshi]:Yeah, I'm here.
After casually replying to Karen, they began chatting—convenient, since Satoshi wanted to learn more about his past anyway. Thus, their conversation unexpectedly lasted quite a while.
Karen also took the chance to send detailed descriptions of several Fire-type Pokémon—each message dozens of characters long, often mixed in with personal feelings:
If you wanna learn even more, we can visit Rainbow Wing's exclusive Fire-type Training Hall together! I heard couples holding hands get a discount…there might even be kisses involved…but don't worry, Satoshi, I can wait forever for you…(blah blah blah~)
[Ugh…this girl's way too heavy…]
"Wow~ Karen really is such a nice person!"
Satoshi blinked innocently, his expression sincerely admiring.
Enjoying happy memories with a childhood friend was really quite pleasant. Suddenly savoring this delightful feeling, Satoshi happily replied to Karen's messages before turning to enjoy the lively conversation in the MYGO group chat.
They'd visit the EcoDome soon, after all, to catch Pokémon.
Anon was likely aiming for a Fairy-type, while Soyo intended to capture a Steel-type just to beat up Anon.
To avoid catching more Pokémon than one could manage, EcoDome allowed trainers to catch only one Pokémon per visit. As for Satoshi himself, his target was set firmly on Torchic.
"The EcoDome, huh… Once I catch Torchic, I'll definitely need a [Mega Stone] for Blaziken."
Satoshi lay back on his bed, a small smile spreading across his face as excitement bubbled up inside him.
Anticipation began to rise…
...
"Ehehe~?"
Under cozy lighting, Karen happily hugged her pillow, rolling around excitedly on her soft bed.
At that moment, her roommate Tsuyuzaki Mahiru quietly turned off the lights.
"Karen-chan, time for bed."
"Mm-hmm~" Karen paused, turning back with a sweet smile. After nodding obediently, she opened her phone gallery, flipping through the many secretly taken photos of Satoshi before gently bringing her lips to the screen.