"Forget it! I'll go back and see if I can talk some sense into Shiko, that big lazy pig!"
"With talent this good, it'd be such a waste for him to keep slacking off like this!"
Himeko shook her head and let out a sigh.
She put the Poké Ball she was holding away.
"Even though the Pokémon tournament is 3v3 battles and we still need to fill two more slots, I should deal with his problem first."
Muttering to herself, Himeko turned around and retraced her steps.
From far away from the camp,
Himeko spotted Shiko sitting in front of the tent, stuffing his face.
The strange part was—
There seemed to be an extra pink shorty next to him.
A pink shorty?
What was that?
A Pokémon?
Himeko felt puzzled and couldn't help quickening her pace.
"Buneary!"
Buneary noticed Himeko first.
Timid as she was,
she set down the bowl holding Pokéblocks and hurriedly hid behind Shiko.
Huh?
Shiko had just finished a bowl of Pokéblocks.
Seeing Buneary's reaction, he lifted his head—
and noticed Himeko had returned.
"You're back? Any gains?"
Shiko communicated via Telepathy.
Being asked like that,
Himeko's irritation flared up immediately.
If it weren't for Shiko's lazy, slack attitude,
would she have had to storm off into the forest to look for other Pokémon in the first place?
"No!"
Himeko glared at Shiko and snapped through clenched teeth.
Her gaze shifted.
She noticed the Buneary behind Shiko, peeking out with one eye and one long, fluffy pink ear showing.
This is…
A Buneary?
Wait!
A shiny Buneary!?
Himeko looked stunned.
She never would've expected that the Pokémon that had wandered into the camp would be a shiny Pokémon!
Eye of Appraisal activated without hesitation!
A faint layer of pale blue light covered Himeko's clear eyes.
The next second,
Buneary's attribute information appeared before her.
[Species: Buneary]
[Type: Normal]
[Level: Starter beginner (Lv. 2, 30/100 Experience Points)]
[Status: Normal, wound healing]
[Potential: Elite Four-level]
…
Himeko froze.
For an instant,
she thought she must have misread it.
After double-checking,
the expression on her face immediately shifted into shock and delight.
As expected of a rare, mutated shiny Pokémon!
It really did have talent and potential far beyond its own kind!
An Elite Four-level Buneary!
It was impossible not to be tempted!
Himeko's Eye of Appraisal wasn't as comprehensive as Shiko's system readout.
But even so—
That single line saying "Elite Four-level potential"
was more than enough to leave Himeko stunned.
This Buneary—
She had to catch her!
The Pokémon tournament needed three Pokémon slots, and one of them had to be her!
"Little cutie, hello! Don't be scared!"
Himeko radiated friendliness toward Buneary.
She was trying to get the catching process started.
Given Shiko's lazy personality,
Himeko could be certain—
Trying to defeat Buneary in a Pokémon battle to catch her was completely unrealistic.
At a time like this,
she could only rely on herself!
Himeko's naturally strong affinity eased a lot of Buneary's wariness.
But even so,
Buneary still didn't really dare to go out and approach Himeko.
"Go on. It's fine."
Shiko sent that message to Buneary.
Only then did Buneary shuffle her feet and slowly step out from behind Shiko.
So cute!
That full coat of pink, long fluff—
Just looking at it made you want to give it a good rub.
Himeko stared at the long-eared rabbit with stars in her eyes.
But then again…
Why did this Buneary trust and rely on Shiko so much?
What exactly was their relationship?
Himeko's mind filled with questions.
She lowered her head,
and noticed the crooked, messy, loose bandage wrapped around Buneary's thigh.
Her pretty brows knit slightly.
So that's the wound, huh?
And this bandage was definitely tied by Shiko—so sloppy!
"Let me redo the treatment properly, okay?"
Himeko looked at Buneary gently and asked for her consent.
Buneary hesitated.
She looked at Shiko, and only after getting his response did she nod.
From the big camping backpack,
Himeko rummaged out a bottle of wound medicine spray.
This one was a bigger canister than the one Shiko had found earlier.
She cut the bandage off,
then carefully trimmed away the long fluff around the wound site.
After exposing the injury,
she sprayed a layer of medicine over it.
The green, mist-like medicine from this bottle looked even greener.
It seemed—
the quality was much better than the bottle Shiko had found.
After spraying,
Himeko took out a pink wound dressing patch and pressed it over the wound.
"All done!"
After finishing, she nodded with satisfaction and showed a bright smile.
Buneary moved her leg a little.
After the medicine went on,
the pain from before had completely disappeared.
It felt like it had healed.
"Buneary! Buneary!"
Buneary chirped happily,
then couldn't wait to start moving around.
Watching her lively behavior,
the curve of Himeko's smile lifted even higher.
But as she watched—
Her smile suddenly froze on her face,
turning into a stunned, astonished expression.
And right at that moment,
inside Shiko's mind,
the system's voice sounded once again.
(End of Chapter)
If I see that this fanfic has support, I will upload 20+ chapters to Patreon!!
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
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