Twilight had fallen, and the last traces of the sunset were fading.
Kashiwagi rubbed his sore eyes and finally closed his blog, putting an end to the endless scrolling through comments. He stared up at the ceiling, feeling a strange sense of melancholy.
Not long ago, he had received a congratulatory call from Yamamino all the way back in Orre.
Even though Kashiwagi had told him early on about his decision to enter the Pokémon Contest, the fact that Yamamino was staying up in the middle of the night to refresh blogs, watch livestreams, and call him meant the guy had far too much free time on his hands.
When Kashiwagi teased him about it, Yamamino simply retorted, "How could a Team Rainbow lackey miss his boss's big debut?"
He went on to mention that almost every member of Team Rainbow had tuned in. Some had even gathered in groups to watch together, making it as loud and festive as a national holiday.
The mental image alone was enough to make Kashiwagi cringe. He felt a sudden, instinctive urge never to set foot in Pyrite Town again.
Aside from the congratulations, Yamamino also shared some good news of his own. Next month, he would be officially inaugurated as the County Magistrate... no, the Mayor of Pyrite Town.
During the month Kashiwagi had been away on his "joyride," Yamamino had been working tirelessly, completing one reconstruction and development task after another. His efforts had earned him the unanimous approval of The Resistance.
"Once I take office, handling your operational funding will be much easier," Yamamino said with a chuckle.
Kashiwagi felt a prickle of worry. "Can you even get funding approved for something like this? You're not planning to abuse your power for personal gain, are you?"
"What are you talking about? Do I look like someone like Es Gan to you? Just tell me—do you want the money or not!"
"Well, if it's official funding, of course I want it..."
"Then stop talking nonsense! Talking to you is infuriating. I'm busy from dawn till dusk, barely getting any sleep, and I'm still worrying about your financial situation. Is this how you repay me?"
"I'm just worried you're heading down a path of crime..."
"Ha! If I commit a crime now, it'll be murder. I'll fly to Hoenn and hack you to death myself!"
The two continued their playful banter for a while. Though Kashiwagi wasn't sure under what official pretext Yamamino would send the money, he was genuinely touched that his friend was looking out for him.
Yamamino also warned him not to be swindled by any talent agencies, no matter how high the figures they quoted. With Lisia's experience as a cautionary tale, there was no way Kashiwagi would fall into that trap. Yamamino and Ursula were definitely overthinking it.
After hanging up, Kashiwagi continued browsing his blog until the staff began closing the Contest Hall. Only then did he leave with them.
The moment he stepped outside, he found reporters still lying in ambush. Luckily, he was wearing a hat and stayed close to the staff members, managing to slip away unnoticed.
To be honest, the best part about the Pokémon world was the level of privacy protection. His identity and phone number hadn't been leaked. Had this been his previous life, his phone would have been ringing off the hook by now.
Not only was his number safe, but the hotel he was staying at remained free of crowds.
"What a long day," Kashiwagi sighed.
He flopped onto his bed like a corpse for a few minutes before blindly reaching for his Poké Balls. He released his team, feeling too lazy to even move.
"Lucky?"
Chansey waddled over to the bedside. She was keenly aware that her Trainer's state was different from usual.
"I don't feel like cooking. Chansey, why don't you make something for us?" Kashiwagi said sluggishly, head turned to the side.
He had booked a room with a kitchen, though it used an induction cooktop rather than an open flame.
"Lucky!"
The pink egg-shaped Pokémon agreed understandingly. She had learned to cook specifically to lighten Kashiwagi's load, though she usually only got to act as a helper chef. Now that she had a chance to show off, she wasn't about to let it pass.
Deino pounced onto the bed, naturally resting its head on the Trainer's back before reaching over to nibble on his other hand.
"So heavy... Why go for the far hand when the near one is right there?" Kashiwagi let out a helpless sigh. He then saw his Galarian Corsola floating in front of him.
A pair of glowing red eyes met his.
Kashiwagi: "...What?"
"Sola…."
"I don't understand your 'Sola-Sola….' talk." Even as he said it, he had already guessed what it meant. It was complaining about the lack of training today and making it clear it wouldn't be doing any overtime to make up for it tonight.
This guy was exactly like a clock-punching salaryman.
Seeing that Kashiwagi got the gist, Galarian Corsola didn't bother arguing with its "black-hearted boss" and went silent. It knew if there was a battle or training later, he'd say so anyway.
Seeing the coral ignore him, Kashiwagi gave up on the confrontation. He buried his face back into the bedding, trying to achieve a state of nothingness—imagining himself as a rock.
A pathetic rock pinned down by a Deino.
By the time he snapped out of it, Chansey had finished dinner. Mawile walked over, her ribbons jingling, to call him to the table.
"Mm, I didn't think I'd get back to the 'pampered life' so soon."
Kashiwagi lightly tapped the roof of Deino's mouth with his middle finger. The little dragon understood immediately, let go, and hopped off the bed with a burst of energy.
"Dei-no!"
"The Hustle ability really is something else."
He tugged at Deino's horn-like tuft of hair. The white dye from before was gradually fading; it would probably be gone within a week. There wasn't much point in re-dyeing it; the white hair had only been to help distinguish it during initial days.
Now, even if a hundred Deino were lined up in front of him, he could easily pick out his own hand-biting dragon.
At the dinner table, the spread was more lavish than he had expected. Chansey had clearly put a lot of heart into making sure he had a good meal.
"Thanks, Chansey."
Kashiwagi stroked the pink Pokémon's soft head and began to eat with gusto.
Even though Chansey hadn't spent every night observing the memories of master chefs like he had, her culinary skills had reached about sixty to seventy percent of his level. Looking closely, one could even see a faint, hazy glow emanating from the food.
An average person might think it was some kind of additive, but Kashiwagi knew this was a sign that a dish had reached the baseline level of "Shining Cuisine."
"Impressive, truly impressive."
His constant praise made Chansey blush with shy delight.
-----
After dinner, Kashiwagi resumed his "corpse" pose on the bed, showing absolutely no intention of going downstairs to train.
Aggron and Mawile shared a look, realizing their Trainer was likely out of commission for the night. They decided to head down to the training area to practice their moves on their own.
Mawile let out a chirp to inform him, receiving a lazy "OK" hand sign from Kashiwagi.
And so, Aggron dragged Deino along, Mawile led the way, and Chansey carried Galarian Corsola, as the group headed out in a display of Pokémon solidarity.
During the transition, the "slacker coral" woke up and opened its eyes, seemingly prepared to protest, only to lock eyes with Chansey.
Galarian Corsola: "..."
Chansey: (*￣︶￣)
The slacker coral conceded.
Out of all the Pokémon, Chansey was the one it couldn't handle. On one hand, she was incredibly gentle and took great care of it. On the other hand... this girl had absolutely no life force to drain!
If it were Brock's super-strong Happiny, that might be one thing, but trying to drain Chansey? It felt like its "black-hearted boss" would just end up using it as a stool, a table wedge, or soup stock.